Spirituality:  East and West

Studying  Native  American  spirituality  and  Buddhism offers a profound balance between east and west;  heaven and earth.  Earth cannot betray the truths of heaven; nature cannot betray the truths of the spirit.  Knowing one offers wisdom in the other, knowing both places one foot firmly on the ground, the other foot well placed in spirit.  The two forms of spirituality have a surprising number of common truths.  These common bonds lead the way to much larger, universal truths…I mean, when one culture’s truths can agree with another’s that is on the opposite side of the world, then, you know you’ve got rock solid theology.  Below is a message from Black Elk, a revered holy man of the Oglala Sioux.  His legend and words live on, his body was with us from 1863 – 1950.

You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles,
and everything and everything tries to be round.

In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop
of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people
flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop,
and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace
and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north
with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This
knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.
The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball
and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon
does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great
circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is
in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the
nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop,
a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.

Over a hundred years ago Black Elk had a vision of the time when Indian people would heal from the devastating effects of European migration. In his vision the Sacred Hoop which had been broken, would be mended in seven generations. 

 The children born into this decade will be the seventh generation.

Young Black Elk

Questions and Thoughts

“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”~James Allen

Questions: Is there beauty without pain? Is there success without failure? Are there miracles without tragedy? Please keep Haiti in your prayers.

You can’t necessarily change the world around you, you can, however, change yourself. Ironically, as you change yourself, you change the world around you.

 Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees, other times we can’t see the sky for the forest; we look to see the sun peeking through golden leaves as a star of light, in the end, standing in stark illumination.

Decisions. We all have to make them on occasion, but as we flow with the universe, the need to decide comes far and few between. The trick to a good decision is to make a decision that won’t haunt you later on. So, wait until the decision is a natural one where there is no room for regret, even if things go wrong. Confidence doesn’t come from being right all the time, it comes from not fearing being wrong.

If there is no peace within you, there can be no finding peace in what’s around you.  Changing life’s circumstances isn’t necessarily the answer…changing yoruself from within is harder, but courageous and true, although a hot bubble bath and Haagen-Daas might help.

Many people say there are 2 sides to a coin, when actually there are 3.  There’s one side, the other and the rim where the 2 sides meet. this is where you will most often find truth.

If you don’t want to read about some of the things I’ve learned in life, please click on Tiger Stories, ZenSticks or Newsletters Before the Blog to bypass this entry. Scrolling down would work too and I’ve got some cool pictures at the end of this that you’ll be able to see.

Before I get into this entry, for the sake of simplicity, I’m going to refer to the universal force, chi, ki, higher power, Goddess, etc., as God. You can pick it apart all you want, telling me the differences between them, but while seeing the differences between things is a sign of intelligence, finding common bonds is an exercise in humility and love. And for me, THAT is where it’s at.

This is my own small effort to create understanding and love between seemingly disparate spiritual beliefs, so please don’t use this to flex your righteous indignation, this is not intended to be a scholarly essay by any means. It’s just a conglomerate of experiences from the perspective of a little, moderately-old lady. Me. J

I’m not an academic, although I’ve done lots of exploring. I was adopted and raised in the Jewish faith, but found myself always wanting to be in the Synagogue alone. I’d hoped I would hear God whispering in my ear, “My child, I love you, this is what you need to do.”

Then in 1989 I found my natural family and discovered that my great-grandmother walked the Trail of Tears from the southwestern forests of Georgia. When I learned that I was 1/8 Choctaw, it made sense to me, a few pieces of the puzzle came together. I’d always learned such profound lessons in nature, so I really couldn’t say I was surprised. In fact, it explained a lot about my psychological makeup. So I dedicated myself to learning the Lakota way (sweat lodges and ancestral teachings) which was more accessible to me than finding out more about being Choctaw. A Cherokee Shaman took me under his wing for a few years and taught me the truths of the universe according to the Cherokee way. This exploration lasted about 15 years, 10 of which I was a also practicing Buddhist.

In 1994 when I was training in Aikido and Kendo, I dedicated myself wholly to the martial arts and became a Buddhist like my Sensei. He walked the talk, so I knew he could teach me universal truths according to the Buddha. And he did. In my heart of hearts, I felt solidity in the teachings of the far east finding peace with those of the far west within me; I found a comfortable balance between ancient faiths.

Then I moved to Oklahoma and discovered a religion that had always been right under my nose, but I had always ignored. As I studied it on increasingly deeper levels, I found that it contained all the truths I’d learned, from all the religions I’d studied. (I don’t mention it here now, this essay is about what I’ve learned, not a sales pitch for any particular faith.)

There are teachings that most of the world’s religions have in common. God is the alpha and the omega: that is our beginning and to whom we will return. Don’t kill each other; love one another; be tolerant of each other and try to live in a difficult world with wisdom and compassion. They each suggest too, to pray or meditate as much as possible.

While each religion offers its own specific way of achieving utter love and peace, as God’s creations, we all would wind up somewhere when we die; and where we end up depends upon how we conduct our lives (or, what kind of energy we put out into the universe).

I’ve studied other faiths intensely too (Christianity being one). I can categorically tell you that in every single faith I’ve studied, there is a very powerful and human common denominator that tends to be forgotten.

All those who live a deeply spiritual life live a very intense life and all

those who live this way find that spiritual growth comes in cycles, or waves. Intense then easy; enlightened and then doubtful; close to God, distant from God; love then pain, questioning then answering, willingness then roadblocks; self-assuredness then moments of insecurity, there are all kinds of cycles on this path.

Some visualize this cycle as a spiral reaching upward toward God, others view it as a battle between good and evil, still others would call it the Yin and Yang naturally present in life. I call it the Breath of God because it’s an inherent quality of our spiritual progress on a global scale. It connects us to each other rather than rationalizing and engendering our differences.

In a metaphysical sense God breathes in, drawing our spirits closer to eternal love, light and truth, then as is natural to any cycle, He breathes out, pushing us away.

With the understanding that the physical world cannot betray spiritual truths, examples of this can be seen by the cycles of our own breath, in our relationships and our lives. They can be seen in bigger things like the changing of the seasons, all the way to something as enormous and unimaginable as the expansion and contraction of an infinite universe. In my own personal example, I imagine my Dad drawing me near to his heart and then sending me on my way so I would learn how to walk.

As God breathes in, we breathe out, giving him our breath, our will and everything contained within us. Then He breathes out, giving us breath, giving us life. As He breathes out, we breathe in and go back into the “world” renewed in energy, hope and faith. Once we’ve gone as far as we will, God breathes in again and the cycle continues ad infinitum, and at times, ad nauseum. J

One cobalt and cloudless autumn afternoon deep in the Colorado Rockies, I was hiking with a friend of mine. We were standing in front of a steep, brambly ridge and he told me to find a path up the hillside. I looked at the mountain and saw what looked like a deer trail and followed it. I wound up in the bramble, then against some cliffs and downed trees, but eventually I made it up to the top and had to overcome all kinds of things to get there. The view was stunning.

It was a very rewarding climb; I’d worked hard, made it to the top and got to know the mountain intimately. After following me for a few hours, the old Sioux said, “You walk the way of the crow.” I asked him what he meant. He explained that I take the hard way to get somewhere, not the soft, easy one and showed me the trail I should have taken to get up the mountain easily. I got annoyed at the insinuation and grumbled at him, but after thinking about his comment, I have to agree with him and defend myself by asking, “Where is the reward in the easy way?”

According to almost every religion on our complex and diverse planet, crying is easy, laughing is hard; dying is easy, living is hard; hating is easy, loving is hard; war is easy, tolerance is hard; separatism is easy, unity is hard. Just remember this: Like finding freedom in a prison cell or discovering the abundance of life in the desert, apparent contradictions hold deep truths within them.

I’d like to challenge you to take the hard way; embrace the Breath of God; delve beyond the complications of life to find the universal truths they contain. If you think about it, it’s easier in the long run and it’s the most natural thing we each can do as human beings, for ourselves and for each other, no matter who or where we are.

Sitting for meditation and relaxation begin the same way, but it’s your intention that’s different.  For relaxation your objective is to get rid of stress so you can find the stillness in your mind and the natural joy that’s underneath all of your distracting thoughts.  Meditation is to immerse yourself in a pool of stillness so you can hear God, if He chooses to speak. 

*Note:  Please try to be tolerant of my references to God.  Some may call this force ki or chi, some Goddess, some Allah, some “Higher Power”, some as She or Her.  For simplicity’s sake in our largely Judeo-Christian society, I am refering to this force as God and He.  (I hold the belief that God is enlightened enough not to be offended by my potential gender and grammatical shortcomings.)

For both relaxation and meditation, find a quiet spot that has good feelings for you.  If you are not sitting with other people doing the same thing, it’s good to be alone for this.  Doing it in a group is nice though, there’s a group energy that gets going and that can bring you great peace.

Meditating outside is nice, as your mind settles, your spirit joins with nature (an expression of God).  Once you find stillness, it’s fairly easy to come back to it,  but finding it in the first place is the challenge. 

As you sit for this, if you have questions about yourself or the universe, set in your mind the question you want to ask. Remember that the answers you get depend on the questions you ask.

*Note:  Beneath the many questions you may have, is usually one question that addresses them all.  You’ll find each of your questions has a common theme, or a common thread.  Ask that question that contains the common thread…you want to ask the most profound question that you can so you can get the most profound answer that will infuse you and your life in a thousand tiny ways.

(I’m doing a lot of explaining here, it’s best to do this one on one.  I’ll make a list for you at the end and you’ll be able to understand the steps thoroughly.)

Make sure you have no time constraints , that you have plenty of time to sit, otherwise there can be that basic distraction.  Time goes very quickly when you meditate, so try to give yourself that freedom, you deserve it.

Personally, I like to ask for protection while I am in such a vulnerable state of mind.

A lot of my students ask about silence, “There’s so much noise in my house, I can’t think half the time.”  I tell them there is no such thing in life as silence, even in the deepest parts of the universe.  Rather than trying to fight the noise, let it move over you, like a river over a pebble.

So, you’re sitting somewhere that you are comfortable.  Now, close your eyes and breathe in through your nose, slowly counting to 5.  Gently hold your breath for a couple of seconds, then breathe out through your mouth for a  slow count of 5, allowing yourself to expel all of the air in your lungs.  Then  hold your breath for a couple of seconds again.  Do this repetition 15 - 30 times, however many times you need until you get into the meditative “zone”.  Deeply breathing oxygen will help you get there by itself.

*Note:  Don’t lock up your throat when you hold your breath, just gently contain your breath.  Also, by breathing this way, your lungs massage your heart and you get more oxygen which feeds and relaxes your brain, calming your thoughts.

As you breathe in, feel your chest and stomach expand like a barrel.  Feel the air coming in through your nose, down your throat, into your chest.  As you hold your breath, feel the fullness and energy of your body completely using the oxygen.  As you breathe out, feel your chest and stomach contract and relax, getting rid of all the used air, getting ready for a big, fresh new breath.  At the bottom of your breath, as you hold it, you’ll come to find perfect stillness there.

Now that you’ve begun to feel it in your body, it’s easier to bring your mind there too.

Continue to breathe slowly, as you hold at the bottom of your breath, begin rest your mind in that stillness.  Don’t hold it so long that you gasp for air and don’t rush your breathing so you can come back to the stillness  Like a bouncing ball settling to the ground, your mind will bounce away from the stillness less and less, it will gradually just want to settle on that stillness.  Your mind will begin to relax and expand into your breathing as you begin to breathe unstructured breaths again.  Breathe as your body asks you to breathe. 

(You may find your breaths are quite shallow here, only drawing in the air that you need.  Once in a while you’ll want to take a nice big breath, do that and enjoy it, it becomes part of the experience.) 

God knows what you need to know, He can hear it clearly in the stillness of your mind.  Here, begin your prayer.  You can ask Him your question, tell Him you’ll wait for His answer but you need Him to make His answer clear to you. You may find you really don’t have any questions at all and just enjoy being in His presence…you’ll find your dialogue with God comes naturally in this stillness, after all, it is He who is your core being.

When you are done, come back slowly and gently.  Thank God for His presence and guidance, and begin to focus on your breathing again.

Begin to smell the air around you (incense is nice here), hear the natural sounds around you (either noises of the house, or nature).

Slowly wiggle your fingers and toes then gently rotate your hands, feet and shoulders.  Slowly open your eyes and begin to get in touch with your body again.  When you get up it’s good to rotate your head and your hips, it stabilizes you and reconnects your body to a peaceful mind.)

It helps to make a commitment to meditate at the same time every day and do it no matter what , it must have first priority, otherwise your mind will start to come up with all kinds of excuses.  (The mind isn’t fond of being harnessed at first, but once it’s trained, it craves the freedom it has found in meditation.)  Also, that way it becomes a habit for your body, so it makes meditation easier. 

In the beginning a lot of weird things may happen, but don’t believe any of them.  Shocking images may pass before your eyes, you may hear sounds that frighten you, you may feel cramped and edgy, difficult emotions may arise…ignore these and trust that your asking God for His protection is in place.

It may be helpful to have someone you trust read the following list to you the first few times.  If you are alone, print it out using a large font and have it in front of you for easy reference.

Remember it’s really important here to be gentle with yourself.  Don’t reprimand yourself for needing to look at the list.  It will be committed to memory soon enough.

1.  Get comfortable, begin deep breathing and gently close your eyes.

      A. Breathe in through your nose, expand your lungs, slowly and count to 5.

      B. As you breathe in, feel your chest and stomach expand.  

      C. Feel the air coming in through your nose, down your throat, into your chest.

      D.  Hold it gently

      E. As you hold your breath, feel the fullness and energy of your body completely using the oxygen.

      F.  Breathe out, count to 5 and feel the air push out of your body.

      G.  As you breathe out, feel your chest and stomach contract and relax, getting rid of all the used air, getting ready for a big, fresh new breath.

      H.  Hold it, allow yourself to find the perfect stillness there.

2.  Soon you will feel your spirit contained in your body, noting the stillness at the bottom of your breath.

3.  Rest your mind in that stillness, let it expand naturally.

4.  Begin to breathe as your body asks you to breathe.

5.  When you are ready to come back, wiggle your fingers and toes gently, rotate your hands and feet, rotate your shoulders, open your eyes, rotate your head and your hips a few times.

6.  Let your visit with God stay with you and walk away in peace.

I look forward to your comments as you try on these concepts.

Until next time,

Tiger