40 minutes, 40 mornings
What nine months does for the embryo forty early mornings will do for your growing awareness. Jelaluddin Rumi
I decided to go ahead and commit myself to the Winter Feast for the Soul. 40 days, starting tomorrow Jan 15. 40 early-morning minutes of meditation and contemplation.
The idea of this growing movement is to help everyone cultivate a daily spiritual practice, for inner peace and working towards a global consciousness of peace. It is 7 degrees out, snow here to stay, and my mind is a jumble of half-baked projects -- why not tackle world peace and higher consciousness?
Here's my plan: Wake up a little earlier and retreat to the ground floor study, already set up for my 20-minute zazen meditation (floor pillows, incense, candle). Spend 40 minutes there -- either expanding zazen or reading/journaling. I have two Eckhart Tolle books to finish and "The Road Less Traveled" on audio.
I've been thinking a lot lately about forgiveness. To me, it winds up being the final theme of "Passion and Peril." And I'm really shaken by what we are witnessing in Gaza, which dramatizes what happens everywhere. When will we ever learn that revenge only breeds more acts of hatred?
Personally, I like the idea of spiritual practice without regard to a specific set of religious doctrines. Just me, tuning in to what is Beyond Me (and/or Deep Inside Me). Tuning into the moment, appreciating all I have, preparing for the journey into old age and (can I say it?) death. And of course, I'm always looking for fuel to stoke my creative and problem-solving endeavors.
1.14.2009
