Reflections on our Bodhi Khaya Retreat
We met beneath the tall trees at Bodhi Khaya on a breezy Friday afternoon and lay on the lush grass looking up at the sky, joining in the play of dappled sunlight through the branches. It felt so good to surrender to the Earth and melt into her kind embrace as we explored the profoundly healing deep rest technique of progressive relaxation. Moving our awareness from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes. Gently noticing what our dear bodies had to say and allowing the knots to untangle themselves.
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| Our beautiful circle of trust |
We allowed ourselves & one another to feel safe, so that we could begin the most important work of softening our hearts ever more deeply, so that our healing expansive journey could begin.
My beautiful Tibetan bowl from Healing Sounds reminded us to come home to our breath and to soften our hearts. It just takes a moment to close your eyes, take a deep breath and allow the out breath to follow the F tone that resonates with the Heart Chakra.
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| All the elements that we are |
Breathing in Love, Compassion, Kindness.
Breathing out...
YAM the seed mantra of the heart chakra, anahata.
Come home again and again gently, patiently, tenderly to your Sacred Heart.
We practiced the ancient Qi Gong form Ba Duin Jin to cultivate a silken quality in the body mind and emotions. We grounded through our roots, breathed deep into our Yin energy, and connected with the Yang of the heavens and all that we are.
Wu Wei ~ effortless action
According to the central text of Daoism, the Dao De Jing: ‘The Way never acts yet nothing is left undone’. This is the paradox of wu wei. It doesn’t mean not acting, it means ‘effortless action’ or ‘actionless action’. It means being at peace while engaged in the most frenetic tasks so that one can carry these out with maximum skill and efficiency. Something of the meaning of wu wei is captured when we talk of being ‘in the zone’ – at one with what we are doing, in a state of profound concentration and flow.
Wu wei involves letting go of ideals that we may otherwise try to force too violently onto things; it invites us instead to respond to the true demands of situations, which tend only to be noticed when we put our own ego-driven plans aside. What can follow is a loss of self-consciousness, a new unity between the self and its environment, which releases an energy that is normally held back by an overly aggressive, wilful style of thinking.
Taken From The School of Life
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| Deep Rest is profoundly healing |
We explored a writing meditation, allowing the pen to move freely across the page without the Ego interfering. Free Writing can be very revealing and healing if we allow our Little Me to step out of the way with all of its judgements and control issues.
We read Joy Harjo's powerful poems silently
in an attitude of holy contemplation. Another almost lost art is this reading as a meditative act. Allowing awareness to expand even as the mind imbibes the words on the page.
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| Birds eye view of our Home of Awakening - Bodhi Khaya |
Eagle Poem
by Joy Harjo
To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.
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| Happy the moment, when we sit together. With two forms, two faces, yet one soul. You and I. ~Rumi |
Looking up we found the eyes of a stranger who would soon become a friend thanks to listening open heartedly to what flowed from their open heart to ours.
This sharing helped us come to our Intention for the weekend which we could return to as a mantra and marker along our spiral way.
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| A spiral way connected by a golden thread (thank you for sharing this pic dear Tracey Creer) |
The talisman of a spiral shell or operculum, the little trap door that prevents a sea snail from drying out, was worn around our wrist or neck to remind us of the spiral way. To stay hopeful even as we seem to lose our way. To remember to keep our hearts juicy and delicious by lavishing ourselves with kindness.
Interestingly, after soaking these shells in Frankincense which comes from the resin of an African tree and helps promote peace, relaxation, grounding and connection - perfect for meditation, I discovered that the opercula of certain gastropods, especially varieties from the Red Sea, have long served as an incense material in ancient Jewish tradition, as well as Arabian cultures.
We are already that which we seek.
Accepting things...most especially our own dear selves...exactly as they are, is the ultimate peace.
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| As It Is |
My intention for the weekend was to practice my Buddha Smile.
This is a smile that radiates effortlessly from the inside out.
I invite you to join me in the inner smile practice.
Notice how gently lifting the corners of the mouth shifts the inner landscape.
Then our ministering angels at Bodhi Khaya served us our first meal of the weekend. Beautiful fresh food grown on site. What an absolute delight! Thank you! Nicola the chef is love incarnate as are all the incredible staff who received a deserved standing ovation at the end of our heavenly sojourn.
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| Best food and space to feed the soul |
After dinner we surrendered to Noble Silence which allows us to notice ever more deeply and walked the Labyrinth with incense, using our intention as a mantra.
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| We watched the full moon rise and set over this spiral way |
Our first night we gathered to experience Japa Meditation using the Heart Sutra.
According to Buddhist lore, the Heart Sutra was first preached on Vulture Peak, which lies near the ancient Indian city of Rajagraha, and is said to have been the Buddha’s favourite site. In this sutra, the Buddha inspires one of his closest disciples, Sariputra, to request Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, to instruct him in the practice of prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom. Avalokitesvara’s response contains one of the most celebrated of all Buddhist paradoxes — form is emptiness; emptiness is form.
And the sutra ends with one of the most popular Buddhist mantras—
Gate gate
paragate
parasamgate
bodhi
svaha
Perfect understanding is prajnaparamita. The word “wisdom” is usually used to translate prajna, but I think that wisdom is somehow not able to convey the meaning. Understanding is like water flowing in a stream. Wisdom and knowledge are solid and can block our understanding. In Buddhism, knowledge is regarded as an obstacle for understanding. If we take something to be the truth, we may cling to it so much that even if the truth comes and knocks at our door, we won’t want to let it in. We have to be able to transcend our previous knowledge the way we climb up a ladder. If we are on the fifth rung and think that we are very high, there is no hope for us to step up to the sixth. We must learn to transcend our own views. Understanding, like water, can flow, can penetrate. Views, knowledge, and even wisdom are solid, and can block the way of understanding. ~ Thich Naht Hahn
Gate gate means gone, gone; paragate means gone over; parasamgate means gone beyond (to the other shore of suffering or the bondage of samsara); bodhi means the Awakened Mind; svaha is the Sanskrit word for homage or proclamation. So, the mantra means “Homage to the Awakened Mind which has gone over to the other shore (of suffering).” ~ Mu Soeng Sunim Heart Sutra: Ancient Wisdom in the Light of Quantum Reality
The Heart Sutra ends with “the great spell” or mantra. It says in the Tibetan version: “Therefore the mantra of transcendent knowledge, the mantra of deep insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequalled mantra, the mantra which calms all suffering, should be known as truth, for there is no deception.” The potency of this mantra comes not from some imagined mystical or magical power of the words but from their meaning. It is interesting that after discussing shunyata—form is empty, emptiness is form, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is identical with form and so on—the sutra goes on to discuss mantra. At the beginning it speaks in terms of the meditative state, and finally it speaks of mantra or words. This is because in the beginning we must develop a confidence in our understanding, clearing out all preconceptions; nihilism, eternalism, all beliefs have to be cut through, transcended. And when a person is completely exposed, fully unclothed, fully unmasked, completely naked, completely opened—at that very moment he sees the power of the word. When the basic, absolute, ultimate hypocrisy has been unmasked, then one really begins to see the jewel shining in its brightness: the energetic, living quality of openness, the living quality of surrender, the living quality of renunciation. ~ Trungpa Rinpoche Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Extracted from https://tricycle.org/magazine/heart-sutra/
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| Meditation - the balm & the awakening |
We chanted with the help of the Gyuto monks. Gyuto was founded in 1475 and is one of the main tantric colleges of the Gelug tradition. In Tibet, monks who had completed their geshe studies (a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns) would be invited to join Gyuto to receive a firm grounding in vajrayana practice
Tantra (literally "loom, weave, warp") denotes the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed in India from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras.
In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Buddhist Tantras. They include Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism.
Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have also influenced other Eastern religious traditions such as Jainism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism and the Japanese Shintō tradition.
Certain modes of non-Vedic worship such as Puja are considered tantric in their conception and rituals.
Hindu temple building also generally conforms to the iconography of tantra. Hindu texts describing these topics are called Tantras. In Buddhism, tantra has influenced the art and iconography of Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as well as historic cave temples of India and the art of Southeast Asia.
We then rested with Yoga Nidra and the gorgeous Devi Chant.
The 'Lalitha
Ashtram' is a sacred Sanskrit text of the 108 names of Mother Divine. These
words of praise were composed thousands of years ago.
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| The March Lillies celebrated our spiral way |
Devi Prayer Lyrics
Sanskrit "Devi Prayer" from "108 Sacred Names of Mother Divine" by Craig Pruess and Ananda:
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Parashakti Sundari
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Mahamaye Mangale
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Mahakali Bhairavi
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Mahalakshmi Vaishnavi
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Ma Sarasvati Brahmi
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Durga Devi Shankari
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Uma Parvati Shive
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Ma Bhavani Ambike
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Annapurna Lakshmi Ma
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasya Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Kamala Katyayani
Namastastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah
Ma Amba Lalitha Devi
Tvam Tripura Sundari
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasya Namo Namah
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| Goddesses incarnate |
The Divine Mother is everywhere.
She is in everything.
She is the Divine Essence that lives within all beings.
Her domain is the field of life, for she gives to all beings the sustenance that is needed for life. Her beauty lives in the natural world, and spans the universes in all their splendor.
She has been called by many names, for all traditions recognize Her.
Into each consciousness the knowledge is given of the sacredness of life.
This sacredness IS the Mother.
She is the holy generator of the physical world, joined to the heart and soul of every living thing.
All of the Earth is one with Her.
All beings of the Earth owe their life to Her, for she is the Mother of all, the One who bestows all gifts of life.
Her gifts come to the deserving and to the non-deserving alike, for the sun does not choose upon whom to shine.
She is the source of Divine blessing, the part of the Oneness that bestows the graces that fill life.
We have not seen Her because her being is cloaked in silence.
She emerges now as part of the Oneness where she has always resided, blessing all, giving to all.
All who bow before Her are sustained by the life within them.
All who honor Her are sustained by life's gifts both within themselves and beyond.
The purpose of existence is to join with Life that lives in all dimensions and all realms of being.
It is the Mother that creates this evolving,
this unfolding journey, for she is the fabric of Time itself,
the means by which all things grow.
She is the template for life that exists within Her --
the substance and form of all that shall ever come to be.
May all be blessed by the blessings of the Divine Oneness.
Shakti (lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism, and especially Shaktism, a major tradition of Hinduism. Shakti is the personification of the energy that is creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy.
As the Shakti or Creatrix, She is known as "Adi Shakti" or "Adi Para Shakti" (Primordial Inconceivable Energy). On every plane of creation, energy manifests itself into all forms of matter. These are all thought to be infinite forms of the Para Shakti. But Her true form is unknown, and beyond human understanding. She is Anaadi (with no beginning, no ending) and Nitya (forever).
If you would like to explore this Shakti energy through mantra - here's a lovely resource.
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| Shakti |
In Noble Silence alone in our lovely rooms we practiced trataka or fire kasina or candle tip gazing. Placing the flame at eye level and an arm’s length away from you. Gaze gently at the tip of the wick until you need to close your eyes and focus on the after image.
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| The light within (credit iSHAAN Dave) |
After breakfast we planted a tree under the guidance of Emmanuel in the Forest of Intention. It was a moving expreience to help Bodhi Khaya on their mission to restore the indigineous forest while remembering our loved ones.
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| Deepest Gratitude to Emmanuel & Bodhi Khaya |
Our Walking Meditation took us deep into the ancient Milkwood Forest. We walked using the mantra "Be Here Now" & our Intention to call the mind back from its (not always) merry dance into the things of the past and the future.
We breathed and noticed what the senses had to tell us about our actual lived experience in the moment.
In the forest we enjoyed a seated meditation to wake up in our senses. We then took it to the page where a poem of such truth and beauty emerged, describing the truth of all that we are.
We began to play with the elements, nature's playthings and created effortlessly or with resistance, but when we felt "this is mine," we were asked to move on and when we thought we understood the pattern, things moved unexpectedly and slowly something so much greater than us emerged.
In the sharing of the circle we saw ourselves reflected. We heard our story, insight, being reflected in the other. We began to understand the mirror, the spiral way, the golden thread.... We began to see, hear, smell, touch and taste the truth.
On return there was heavenly Chi Kung with Lambro followed by a delicious Lunch.
Then blissful free time to explore the trails, swim in
the lily pond, have a massage under Beatrice's wise hands, chat to friends old and new, contemplate and rest.
Gentle Yoga with lovely Olivia took us to Supper.
We met around the captivating fire under the full moon and laughed and laughed together.
Then we DANCED beneath the Full Moon to these soul stirring tunes.
We tried to be a good dance partner to ourselves by welcoming whatever arose – sorrow, awkwardness, heaviness, boredom…JOY!
We tried to keep going, to find the stillness in the movement and the movement in the stillness.
Connecting to breath, listening to the body, rather than the mind.
Doing what’s right for ourselves in the moment. Moment by moment.
Vocalising.
Staying curious.
Taking our time.
Being brave.
If we prefered to close our eyes and go within we challenged ourself to connect.
If we prefered to dance with others, we chose to dance with ourself…cheek to cheek.
We tried to be patient.
There’s a lifetime of patterns that we’re working with.
We’re dancing with one another and all our ancestors.
Ground.
Breathe.
Take flight.
On Sunday morning we let our hearts burst open with metta, loving-kindness & compassion in our meditation.
Some felt their dearly departed loved ones gather round.
It was a holy moment of pure light and love.
After Breakfast darling Lambro led us through healing, grounding, & elevating Qi Gong.
In our closing circle we meditated on the Ho'oponopono "I'm sorry, Please Forgive Me, Thank You, I Love You."
Some free writing took us to the gift of meeting with someone heart to heart for deep listening.
A review of the events as a visualization helped us revisit our intentions, reflecting on:
I loved…
I did not enjoy…
I learned…
Going forward I can…
We shared deeply and fell ever more in love with our own tender hearts and the hearts in the circle, and in the world at large.
Remember
by Joy Harjo
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star's stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
Finally we enjoyed a Farewell Lunch and bid one another a very fond farewell...till we meet again.
Please enjoy the soothing soundtrack of our weekend.
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