Dear ones, 

Let's take a walk down memory lane. At the beginning of the year, we took the opportunity to sit in the thick of it as we experienced firsthand an unsettling divide in our country like we'd never seen before - at least in most of our lifetimes. Folks in our community expressed frustration and genuine fear for their safety. My heart twinges visiting the memory of witnessing a sangha member passionately inquire to the group, "will you stick with me if it gets really bad?"

As a result, we have come together more intently than ever. We've prioritized space for additional practice, connection, creative expression and play, understanding that without strength, presence and perspective, we'd have fewer opportunities to show up to life's tough moments. The fuel for such determination was keeping top of mind that doubt is the start to every great quest! Without doubt, there would be no search for clarity. In our hearts we knew that keeping connected to the truth of our humanity as something wise, kind and interconnected was of utmost priority. Verifying that goodness for ourselves was non-negotiable. Realization, on a full-body level, was required to keep us motivated into bigger, even more chaotic nests of questions. This is why we practice.

I've been leading circles for over a decade and I can tell you that humans ARE good. Despite confusion, we love each other and we love life. The sangha has been testament to this; creating a myriad of creative ways to stay in touch well beyond the walls of our center. Checking in on our community requires stamina. It requires self-inquiry and attention. How am I and to what capacity am I available to help? A member of our monthly Queer peer-led circle, sent along a brilliant little piece by the late, beloved, American poet and activist, Andrea Gibson. Andrea called it "Wellness Check":

In any moment,

on any given day,

I can measure

my wellness

by this question:

Is my attention on loving,

or is my attention on

             who isn't loving me?

One Monday night a community member reminded us the importance of keeping our eyes open to love. If we only listen to the messaging that targets or seeks to harm us, we will end up believing it, ultimately hating ourselves in the process. It is necessary to look up and all around to reinforce the witness of those who hold your life as something that is precious. In this way, we can keep ourselves open to what is actually true, staving off further disconnection or hopelessness in the process.

Allow me to thread in the *Ox for a moment. Believe it or not, but we have stumbled into stage 8 (of the 10). This stage provides some space - a respite. The veil has dropped revealing that the truth has been right there inside of you all along. There is no self, no ox, no dharma. The subject (person searching/ herding) and object (ox/ Buddha-nature) are both transcended. No subject, no object, no inside, no outside. We catch a glimpse (however brief) that nothing is in isolation. The small self didn't become The Self, it simply disappeared. In fact, it was never really there. Just a much needed illusion to bring you right here to this realization. Well beyond words - you know what I am getting at.

Here we are together, enmeshed, complete, empty of a separate self, and wide open to unlimited potential. This is why the fighting, the scarcity and meanness makes both absolutely no and all the sense. The warring does not match who and what we are. We touch the essence of truth and as quickly as it comes it fades. Here's where it gets tricky - we might see this stage as a hoop to dive through, never to return... if so, ask yourself, who is the one diving through the hoop? Who is the one looking to hide in the ultimate? Return. We must keep ourselves skillfully IN THE WORLD as an attuned loving presence, as our top priority.

Follow the breath all the way to the end of the exhale....

In Gassho,

Meg Lucks

El Getsu Endō | "Brilliant Moon, Way of the Circle"

Lay-Ordained Senior Yoga-Dharma Teacher

The Heart Revival Center for Belonging

*March through December we look to the Buddhist Ox-Herding images and their corresponding verses as an artistic illustration of the student on the path. While we will look at them 1 through 10, it's important to note that they are not linear nor hierarchical. They are helpers in our active practice of listening to the heart. We can gaze upon an image or hear the poetic lines and compare them to our lived experiences, with the intention to expand from a narrow mind to a limitless beginner's mind. In the spirit of for now, we can practice taking up what helps and letting go of what does not. We can practice listening to each other, holding space as a living, breathing dynamic, instead of fueling beliefs and patterns that divide, compare and diminish. My intention for our community is to create the ecology (container, context and content) for inner seeing and empowerment to come alive and ultimately bridge the gap between spiritual practice and daily life. www.theheartrevival.com/news