To sadvhi (thank you) about on empathy

[Guest guest]

sadvhi wrote:

 

....We ALL inspire each other in ways we cannot begin to

imagine! Many people here, I'm sure, are dealing with things that

they may not talk about but are very "difficult" nonetheless...The thing

that makes a huge difference is the willingness to hold onto our intention, to

get up

and try again no matter how many times we might seem to "fail". I

know that I used to think of sadhana as linear....like a staircase

that you climbed (with difficulty, sometimes, and with ease, at

other times). As I've gotten older, I find that sadhana moves in an

elliptical way...you move along, you circle back, you seem to

make "progress" only to realize you are off on a tangent! you circle

back...But, underneath it all is intention and, most of

all (as sal says above) DEVOTION. That's the most important

thing...devotion and surrender to the circumstances of our lives as

what "is" for us at the moment. I spent alot of time when I was

younger fighting the circumstances of my life and trying to change

them....it took a long time to realize that the energy I expended

trying to make Maya more "acceptable" for me was energy that could

be focused on sadhana instead...just changing where I was placing my

attention. It was a huge lesson for me! I really salute you, Linda,

for your efforts....

 

 

Dear sadvhi ~ okay, you guys ... I'm going to break down and cry like a baby

with all this loving encouragement. And I can't thank you enough. I know

that others are dealing with difficulties of their own, and perhaps we should

all feel that it is okay to share this with the group as part of our sadhana.

When you have fallen back a few rungs on that spiral (or circle, or staircase),

besides the bruises, it really does help to feel the encouragement of

others. And isn't that part of what satsang is about? A very wise man once told me,

"we learn by our bruised and skinned knees."

 

I am soooo familiar with this spiral of growth. When I was younger, it

excited me, even if I feel back a ring or two, because I felt in my heart that

growing and learning could go on forever, even into the next plane or the next

life. I was much better at accepting then too. And part of what I am reaching

for right now is to reconnect with these earlier beliefs and abilities because

they seem to have gotten lost somewhere since I became ill. And I've looked

everywhere. So now I am presented with the opportunity to remember what I

once knew, learn it again, apply it again, etc. But really, everyone, don't be

shy about sharing any struggles you may have. Sharing them helps get them

outside of yourself where you can be more objective, and then, just look at all

the wonderful support and feedback that the group provides. I pray I have the

chance sometime to reach out a hand to another who may be having a difficult

time.

 

And you are so right, the key is DEVOTION, ultimately. But sometimes, when

all else fails, the key is just to keep on doing it, whatever it is. For me it

is the EMS Sankalpa. And now that May is over, I find I don't want to give up

the MM Mantra, so that has become part of my sankalpa too. Last evening when

I went to do my sadhana, afterward, something inside nudged me to pick up

the "Cosmic Puja," which I never finished when the group was doing it. The

place I had left off was the Ganesh Puja ... oh how perfect does the Universe and

our beloved Gurus arrange our lessons. I cried; I recited; I cried some

more. Recently, I told Muktimaa that my daughter had given me a crystal Ganesh

Murti (very tiny). Now it is packed for my move. But she suggested that when I

am in my new home, to use the Ganesh Murti with some kind of puja, and last

night, as I recited that chapter, I realized how perfect this would be.

 

So I thank you from the bottom of my heart, sadvhi, and sal, and Muktimaa

and Nanda and all those who may not have written to me personally, but who,

nevertheless, have inspired me, challenged me, and knowingly or unknowingly,

held out a hand when I have fallen back on that spiral. This is a very special

group; it is a blessed group because Maa and Swamiji have guided us, helped us,

provided us with sankalpas and other ways of learning.

 

Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda