I had seen similar photos of the residence hall on the ashram's website, so I knew what to expect --- sort of --- but the reality of spending two weeks in silence didn't hit until we arrived and began day one (actually the day before the retreat began)in our dorm room, men and women separate, 4 persons to a room.
Prior to my arrival at this retreat, I had been in the practice of meditating almost every morning for about three years. And I was more than familiar with the guru leading the meditation retreat as I had attended many of her spiritual discourses and retreats in the U.S., read several of her books and had traveled to India five years prior.
But no amount of reading or preparation equipped me for the experiences that unfolded for me there and continue to provide me with lightbulb-going-on moments.
Day one of the retreat and Amma (in India, spiritual women are likened to a mother-figure, caring for us all and "Amma" means mother)opened her discourse asking us all "to expand our thinking and caring for all society, not just our family and friends, but the whole world, the universal brotherhood." Well, I thought, this isn't saying anything new; most preachers, religious persons, even heads of state spout this sentiment. But, of course, there was more.
Amma talked about our purpose here and why we need to learn the art of giving. She gave the example of a tree: patient and forbearing through all seasons, giving shade, wood for fire, fruit for nourishment, etc.
From here, Amma spent several minutes expounding on variations of this theme and her soft voice allowed my monkey mind to wander until she broke through with the following.(Note: this is part my paraphrasing her, part my recollection and part fill-in with current research. It's in italics to emphasize this.)
Research on holograms, holograms of roses [hologram: from the Greek word, holos, "whole"; gram, "message"]has shown when the rose hologram is cut in half, you can still see the entire rose when looking at each individual half. Conclusion: we are not separate parts of one whole, but the whole is in every part. Some scientists begin any hologram research with the thesis (not hypothesis) the Earth itself is a hologram: the whole is in every part.
“If you continue to slice up the hologram, each fragment would continue to contain the whole image, that is, the intact whole object in smaller and smaller fragments. The only difference would be that the image would get progressively less clear, more fuzzy.” (David Loye, in his book The Sphinx and the Rainbow)
We are not separate parts of one whole, the whole is in every part of us. This resonates for me throughout the retreat along with Amma's message about communication and communication in silence.
We communicate in silence [hence the reason for the "silent" meditation retreat] and we're communicating across great distances in silence: mother to infant, infant to mother, Mother [as in "Divine Mother" or "Mother of God"] to each and every child.
We are receivers floating through a sea of frequencies transmitted from God, Supreme Consciousness. Research yourself through meditation; communicate across great distances in silence. [Yogananda often cited Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God," when writing about meditation, along with "Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is God talking to us.]
All of this only serves to remind me of the current catastrophic trifecta in Japan and the other area of Amma's emphasis during this retreat: service to Mother Earth (in all meanings of that term).
In the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know?, Dr. Masaru Emoto "gained worldwide acclaim by showing how water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness."
THE WATER CRYSTAL FROM THE WATER
EXPOSED TO THE WORD "LOVE AND GRATITUDE"
EXPOSED TO THE WORD "LOVE AND GRATITUDE"
This photo is from Dr. Emoto's diary archive and you can see and learn more here.
In the years since the silent retreat ended, Amma's frequent recitation, "For all things, meditation is medication" has entered and relieved the pressures of this monkey mind, even if I don't meditate at dawn as I did right after taking this photo in India.
Ten days of silence is quite impressive! I've done a four-day silent Ignatian retreat, which was fairly challenging for me. It was a condensed form of Ignatius of Loyola's 'Spiritual Exercises,' which are usually spread out over eight days or 30 days. It would take me a long time to work up to 30 days of silence, although I have a few friends who've done it. ;)
ReplyDeleteI liked the description of the hologram. It reminds me of how the Franciscan tradition has described the human person as the 'microcosm' and the entire universe as the 'macrocosm.' Fascinating.
Thank you for sharing this timely post. I also thought deeply about Mother Earth last Friday upon waking to the news of the tsunami. I should share a story about that separately on my blog-thanks for the nudge ;) As for Emoto, Bud encouraged me to read his book. One day at a post office in Lisbon, I found the book in Portuguese. I purchased it and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the wisdom contained in water, and our relationship to it.
ReplyDeleteYou have been on more journeys than I could ever know, apparently, both literally and otherwise!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me to note that the two nieces above whose writing skills I believe are partly explained by your progenitor DNA are keen to respond to this kind of entry. This is an area of "meditation" that I personally enjoy: recognizing the gifts within! :).
And there's so much more to say. I appreciate the formation of the water crystal in response to the words love and gratitude. It reminds me of an experiment conducted whereby some special device responded with distinct formations in sand ONLY when the variable factor was use of the Hebrew language vs. other languages. Many believe Hebrew was the original language of man and hence God's creation. It is documented as the most poetic and picturesque of languages. Regarding the ice crystal, then, since God IS Love, it doesn't surprise me that His creation would respond so beautifully . . . .
Keep writing!