Compassion

I can feel the clear blue water around my calves. I can see the white sand that’s sinking my toes into its body. It’s cradling my stance as I look next to me and I see my grandmother and her mother standing in a line with all of my cousins, my father, my aunts and uncles, and my grandmother’s cousins. We are all in the water and the sun is shining, making priceless diamonds as it reflects on the blue-green ocean. The ocean water is carrying away the fears and the trauma of our lineage.

Although he may never have thought of himself as such, Ram Dass was a spiritual giant. A trained psychologist, author, teacher, and counterculture icon, Ram Dass was a driving force behind the evolution of spirituality in the West. Known for his pursuit of a wide array of spiritual practices and teachings, he led the way for countless seekers to find and explore their spiritual path.

If you want to change the world, become an activist. If your goal is inner peace, become a monk. If you wish to know yourself, become a parent. Raising children uncovers aspects of a parent’s nature that otherwise might remain latent. A cooing baby is likely to reveal unfathomable depths of love while a defiant teenager has the potential to expose equal measures of anger. From proud to humbling moments, parenting is a sure way to acquire knowledge about oneself. When such knowledge is approached with the intention of personal growth, it has the potential to purify, awaken, and perfect a parent’s character as reliably as any self-development program.

Enlightened teachers of every faith have exemplified a willingness to let go of anger, resentment, and vengeance toward those who have harmed them. Major world religions extol the practice. Yet, how does one move from the anger of injustice to the peace of forgiveness? What happens to feelings of rage, sadness, disappointment, or anger stemming from an offense?

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle. - Thich Nhat Hanh

So often, spiritual journeys feel like solo ones. Whether we’re wrestling with our dark night of the soul or finally feeling the liberation of our loving, awakening heart, these are experiences that belong to our own consciousness, our own awareness.

Salutations to the supreme Lord Ganesha, whose curved trunk and massive body shines like a million suns and showers his blessings on everyone. Oh Lord Ganesha, kindly remove all obstacles, always and forever from all my activities and endeavors. - Ganesh Invocation

For nearly three years we have endured levels of stress, uncertainty, and fear in unprecedented amounts. We quickly became familiar with mask mandates, sheltering in place, social distancing, and a new virtual life. As we’ve familiarized ourselves with these new terms that shape the way we live, we’ve settled into entirely new ways of being.

Have you ever had a feeling of purpose in a way that strikes you to your core? A moment of alignment so clear that you can feel it with every cell? That seemingly fleeting feeling is something we can access at any time of any day, the truth is all it takes is a moment of pause.