For Morningsong and Casey

[Guest guest]

Dear Morningsong,

 

When the heart cries out in the darkness of pain and grief, it does

not cry in emptiness. She who is the Mother of all knows your grief

and holds you and Casey in her vast arms. It seems love and pain carve

the same space out of our being. Your love being so deep for Casey

obviously leaves a deep well for the grief. Somehow I pray that

knowing the Truth of it all, that your son is not lost from you - just

from this body, will help you to ride the waves of grief and hold to

Her hand rather than be pulled under. I also pray that the fact you

were engaged in the UPS at the time of Casey's death will also help to

soothe his soul in this transition. I have no doubt that was part of

Her divine plan, that your sadhana support your son's soul.

 

I have found some of the writings in the The Tibetan Book of Living

and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche helpful. Today I will spend three hours

doing the UPS for you and Casey.

 

Morningsong, I would also like to pass on this quote from a talk by a

wise soul who has now passed. The part I would like to refer you to is

that when we experience strong emotions, which I imagine that you must

be, then this creates a kind of heat that melts the mind to be like

impressionable wax. For this reason, as difficult as it may be,

keeping some hold on your sadhana so that your mind and heart are also

filled with Her influence will likely help your healing for the long

term. I hope this proves helpful. See quote below:

 

" Mind is like wax. Madhusudanacharya has said that Iron is solid;

however when fired hot, it becomes molten like softened wax and it

melts. Similarly even though the mind is inert and solid, but on

coming in contact with heat it melts.

 

Now who is the one that heats? It has been explained -

 

Kaam krodh bhaya sneha harsh shaukh dayaa dayaha

Taapkaaschritt jatanustschaantau kathinam tu tat. "

 

There are seven things that heat the mind and make it melt. They are -

Passionate Desires (kaam), anger (krodh), fear (bhay), affection

(sneh), rejoicing (harsh), grief (shaukh), and compassion (daya). When

the desire is very intense, and one enjoy the sense objects, then

while indulging in these pleasures, deep impressions are left on the

mind. And often even if 30, 40, 50 years go by, even then, it may

appear as if the incident has just occured. This is because

impressions have been deeply embedded in the melted mind. Now even

when the mind is not feeling this, yet the embedded impressions subtly

remain there.

 

The more the mind melts, the deeper the impressions are that will

remain in the subconscious mind. Similiarly when one is very angry,

the incident that was the cause of the anger, will be remembered for a

longer period of time. This is again for the same reason, that the

mind melted at that moment and impressions were deeply etched in the

mind. Similarly experience of a very fearful incident can cause great

fear, then that too will cause deep impressions and for a long time

that fear will be invoked. This is how all such influences and

impressions get etched in the mind. "

 

From " Sunder Samaaj ka Nirmaan " in Hindi by Swami Ramsukhdasji - pg 39

 

I pray for your peace and Casey's peaceful transition through his bardo.

 

With love and friendship,

Sadhu Maa

 

, " c_morningsong " <shaktimaa wrote:

>

> Namaste'

>

> I woke up early this morning and was looking through my email to find

> this thread on despair. Mother always times everything perfectly

> because in these past few days I have been journeying through the

> deepest, darkest place I have ever been. My 26 year old son, Casey

> Adams, was killed by strangers while camping with friends this past

> Saturday night. My grief has been overwhelming at times and I

> honestly don't know how I will ever see light again. I know that it

> has been my sadhana and the love of Maa manifesting as all of our

> friends and family that is carrying me through. I know that when

> people comment on my being strong that it isn't me, because I can't

> do this. It is God holding me up. Coming to my own practice has been

> hard. Especially once I realized that my son died while I was

> chanting the UPS mantras. Anyway, I'm sure you can all imagine the

> devastation that my family, Casey's friends and myself are

> experiencing.

>

> I need some help with something though... Some time ago we were

> discussing mantras to chant upon the death of the physical body. I

> don't have it in me to find whatever it was that would be most

> helpful to be doing so if someone could help me to find those mantras

> I would be very grateful.

>

> Thank you...

>

> OM Shanti

> Morningsong

>