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| Openings |
Bonus of sitting in an ashram and observing spiritual life from a spiritual location. Witnessing Gurudev pranam to another visiting Guru. In that moment to watch two highly evolved beings share respect, love, and, wisdom was a remarkable teaching.
I had been caught off guard by some street behavior in the ashram and it sent me in a spiral to want to lift one of my old warrior weapons, but knowing inwardly there must be a different "weapon" to wield at this point.
Watching the Gurus, getting input from one of the wise, spiritual women abroad, running, and hanging up clothes on the clothes line allowed a simple solution. Fact check with Gurudev. " Isn't the point of the spiritual path to treat every rock, plant, animal, human, and moment in life like what I witnessed in your respect to the visiting Guru?" A smile and a nod. "But, not everyone is operating from that place, so all I can do is stay true to my own beliefs and actions by having love and understanding for what unfolds outside of what I can do." More smiling and nodding, plus he reminded me, "You can only control yourself. You cannot have expectations for how others perceive your actions and respond." (Paraphrased)
Basics and how many times do I have to twirl around and forget this? India is an outstanding place for a white, woman walking/seeking to be rocked from that place of operation. It has enabled me to shift the warrior weapon. Can I use my strength and will to stand in the stream of disrespect with my heart open? The pain is for me to bare when I don't. My perspective that I operate from is my strength and my weakness. How much has changed from three years ago, to have an option and to be able to move through these dark places in a short time and in alignment with truth and love.
I was sorting through some new depth in my heart when the outer world pulled me out, but the solution answered the heart sorting and provided a clearer path in the outer world. As the wise woman reminded me, "It is all spiritual...the sacred in the mundane, the mundane in the sacred, spiritual in the personal and the personal in the spiritual...It is whole cloth." (Thank you Bhavani!)
A cow with a broken leg has drawn my attention. Gurudev asked me about the cow today and helped me with a plan that we were able to put into action as well. It is such a bonus that he knows that the western world is different and navigates it with ease as well. I recognize that many of the people don't have the education or money to take action, so the animal is caught in the suffering. Thank you Help In Suffering for your founder's strength to carry through on a vision of creation and the current people to carry on the remarkable work for helping animals on the streets of Jaipur.
While in India, 6 or more hours a day have been spent on organizing one of my horse mentor's life story and wisdom to eventually publish. It has been a privilege and such a wonderful complement to the meditating and integration of spiritual principles. Through our earlier hours of the interview process, we shared the depths of our passion for feel and intuition in the communication with horses. As a 77 year old woman, she has helped open the doors for women's evolution in the west, survived cancer, and lived spiritually through the horses. She has her sights set on riding the Tevis again (she has already completed it 6 times!)--a rugged 100 mile endurance ride in California. She loves hearing about Gurudev and what I am learning in India, so the timing for this project has been wonderful. She now understands what sent me to India in the breaking of my heart for what I experienced in the horse world. She started mentoring me 34 years ago and we have stayed in touch over the years. Even though she didn't follow dressage as a training practice, she always followed the heart and right action of the horse. When I was troubled over some ethical, moral aspect of the horseman's professional world, I would call her.
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| The start of my run--good morning. (Not the one with the broken leg.) |
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