We all have had time to reflect and to work on our
own personal healing in various ways. But there comes a time on the path,
whatever that path may be, where we really strive within to know God and to
know the Goddess fully at all times, in all places, and under all
circumstances. The way to do this is to take the energy that we used initially
to heal ourselves and use it to heal others. Anyone can do this practice and
hold the consciousness of light and love.
The key to inner freedom and
liberation is in prayer and practice in the midst of whatever circumstances we
may find ourselves. One powerful practice is tonglen from the Buddhist tradition. In this practice you simply
take a moment to reflect on someone you know who is suffering, and as you
breathe in, you consent to take on or to breathe in their suffering. As you breathe
out, you breathe light and healing to them. It takes compassion and courage to
do this practice. It is deeply healing;
it is deeply healing.
Compassion is the key to being a
loving and kind person without agreeing to the causes of anybody else’s
suffering. We do not judge someone else’s suffering at all. It is much more
pure and simple than that. There is nothing to fear in this practice. The
compassionate heart does not allow you to get lost in any illusion. When you
extend your light and love to someone who is suffering, your light becomes
their light. If you sustain the practice, and you sustain the prayer, the
flower of your heart opens.
One of the most powerful prayers
that I know is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace, / Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
/ Where there is injury, pardon, / Where
there is doubt, faith, / Where there is despair, hope, / Where there is
darkness, light, / And where there is sadness, joy. / Grant that I might not so
much seek to be consoled, as to console, / To be understood as to understand, /
To be loved, as to love, / For it is in the giving that we receive, / It is in
pardoning that we are pardoned, / And it is in dying that we are born to
eternal life.
Take this prayer and commit it to
memory. Bring your remembrance to this prayer and/or to the practice of tonglen. All the moments of frustration
and fear that come to you will dissolve, and you will find yourself in
compassion. You will find yourself in love and forgiveness and peace, because
you are no longer in your own small, little place. All of a sudden, you are
with the presence of someone else, and your heart opens and compassion flows.
In that moment, you are in the act of giving. As you breathe out and give your
light and love, it is a gift that is given instantly through your intention. It
is received, it helps, and it matters.
I’ve
been irritated for about 10 days; I’ve been aware of the foolishness of it and
surprised by the frequency of it. I can see how, if I’d engaged in these
practices toward the people I felt irritated with, the illusion would have
gone.
Exactly. Use those irritations in
the moment, in the situations with people we feel are causing our
discomfort. This is the grand illusion: blaming
someone or something outside of ourselves. Our reaction is about us. We
remember God by holding the consciousness of love and using it. God is love.
This sounds trite, but it is true! This is not the law of the profane world; it
is the universal law of love. And so, yes, right in the moment work with those
situations that are irritating to you and do this practice. You could either
recite the prayer or do the tonglen
practice. Ultimately, these practices
are going to dissolve the barrier of your ego that is creating the separation and
irritation you feel. Your prayer is not for their ego or for their
enlightenment; let them do what they must do.
The prayer is for you to be able to give yourself freedom in that moment. This is real
freedom.
(July 18, 2007)
Maresha's next blog will be published October 21, 2014.
Messages of Light is published by the Sanctuary of Universal Light on Snow Dragon Mountain in Meredith, New Hampshire. www.snowdragonsanctuary.com