January 07, 2005
Igniting Genius and Harvesting Creativity
It took almost a week for me to become clear about my new year resolutions. This year is going to be about igniting genius and harvesting creativity. Just as somebody said, charity begins at home, I am going to focus on harvesting my own creativity. That means completing some of the writing projects that have been on my plate for a long time.
It is also a year for appreciation, acknowledgment and love. I am interested finding what works, what touches moves and inspires rather than what does not work and what gets in the way. Considering that I am a recovering intellectual, criticism comes more easily to me than appreciation. I am going to find one thing to appreciate, one person to acknowledge per day every day this year.
Practical Vedanta sessions started again this week with a renewed commitment. We sat around the table instead of sitting in an open circle as we usually do. It felt more like any other business meeting rather than a spiritual circle in the beginning. But the conversation was very rich and at times deep.
Some of the questions that we explored are:
- What does it mean to be in the moment? What blocks us from being in the moment?
- How do we expand our now?
- When does immersion become obsession?
- Is sitting in front of TV watching a foot ball game and completely forgetting the surroundings � being in the moment?
- Being on the treadmill and recognizing that 20 minutes passed by very quickly � is that being in the moment?
- Being aware of what is happening around me when I am immersed in an intense activity � is that the state that we want to get to?
- Why is it that getting focused on the outcomes and the future makes us anxious, lose focus and get us out of being in the moment?
Is focused attention the same as concentration?
We also told some stories:
The story of Master Nan who asked his disciple whether the umbrella he left at the door is kept on the right side of the door or the left side.
The story of Bodhisattva who kept on carrying water from the melting snow on the top of the mountain to the empty well below in a spoon.
The story of buddhist monk who listened so intensely to the bird singing could not recognize his own monastery and the other monks because 200 years passed while he was listening intensely.
We did not end up with any answers but decided to end the gathering with questions and commitment to reflection and practice.
You are welcome to comment on the stories, questions and add your own reflections and new year resolutions to my blog. Oh, yeah, Thanks to Ragu and Partha, I am starting a blog this year to break out of my writing blocks!
Some of the questions that we explored are:
- What does it mean to be in the moment? What blocks us from being in the moment?
- How do we expand our now?
- When does immersion become obsession?
- Is sitting in front of TV watching a foot ball game and completely forgetting the surroundings � being in the moment?
- Being on the treadmill and recognizing that 20 minutes passed by very quickly � is that being in the moment?
- Being aware of what is happening around me when I am immersed in an intense activity � is that the state that we want to get to?
- Why is it that getting focused on the outcomes and the future makes us anxious, lose focus and get us out of being in the moment?
Is focused attention the same as concentration?
We also told some stories:
The story of Master Nan who asked his disciple whether the umbrella he left at the door is kept on the right side of the door or the left side.
The story of Bodhisattva who kept on carrying water from the melting snow on the top of the mountain to the empty well below in a spoon.
The story of buddhist monk who listened so intensely to the bird singing could not recognize his own monastery and the other monks because 200 years passed while he was listening intensely.
We did not end up with any answers but decided to end the gathering with questions and commitment to reflection and practice.
You are welcome to comment on the stories, questions and add your own reflections and new year resolutions to my blog. Oh, yeah, Thanks to Ragu and Partha, I am starting a blog this year to break out of my writing blocks!
Posted by pkaipa at January 7, 2005 06:53 PM
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Posted by: Karl at May 28, 2006 11:37 PM
The invocation I started the meeting is from Taitriya Upanishad, Siksha Valli.
Here is the translation of that invocation from Swami Gambirananda of Ramakrishna Ashram.
I-i-1: May Mitra be blissful to us. May Varuna be blissful to us. May Aryaman be blissful to us. May Indra and Brihaspati be blissful to us. May Vishnu, of long strides, be blissful to us. Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to you, O Vayu. You, indeed, are the immediate Brahman. You alone I shall call the direct Brahman. I shall call you righteousness. I shall call you truth. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. Om, peace, peace, peace !
It is important to see that various Gods of Pancha Bhutas and elements are being invoked. Because without air, fire, water, rainfall, we cannot live on this planet earth and elements have to be kind to us. In addition, King of Devas, Teacher of Devas are being invoked. Vishnu is mentioned in the passing note. It is also interesting that Vayu -- the god of wind is being called the immediate Brahman -- why? It could be because without that wind, we are dead. Once he invites Vayu to be the direct Brahman, he describes characteristics of Brahman like Truth and Rtam or Dharma. The author wants himself to be protected and that is understandable but he is interested in his teacher being protected.
What can we take away from this invocation? Can you see any patterns that we could identify and adopt practically?
Posted by: Prasad at January 14, 2005 03:31 PM
The books referred to, that I recall. were
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
J Krishnamurthy's interpretation of "Being in the moment"
Book of Zen poems (don't remember the author).
The invocation from the Upanishads (that Prasad started the meeting with) - maybe we can find a place where this is provided, along with its English translation.
It may be good to get exact names of the books from the respective people, and create links to them (an amazon.com link, say) as part of a bibliography/library section at the blog site.
Posted by: Partha at January 13, 2005 04:42 PM
Thanks so much Prasad, for helping others while you also help increase your own creativity with this blog. Your referral to me was timely, as I was much in need of remembering that its ok to ask myself and others the questions, and to take the time to reflect on them and the answers.
Posted by: Thea at January 11, 2005 12:29 PM
Partha pointed me to the blog. Thanks Partha.
Very thought provoking questions. I had come across a small but simple story to illustrate the above point. I will try to find it and share it.
Thanks for the blog effort, I will be visiting regularly.
Posted by: Krishnan at January 10, 2005 11:58 AM
I agree that books and poems and articles would be good things to link to. I don't recall those at this moment. Do others remember the names or URLs? CAn you post them please?
Posted by: Prasad at January 8, 2005 06:20 PM
Hi Prasad,
Excellent start to the New Year! I enjoyed our discussions very much. The idea we discussed, of "Being in the Now" is a very good one. Several books, poems, artticles were referred to during our meeting. Is it possible to put together links to abstracts or the articles somewhere on your blog, so that interested folks can go explore further?
Similarly, if it is ok with everyone, it may be a nice idea to voice record the discussions & archive them for later reference/use.
Another idea I suggest we should explore is that of "Being Yourself" and "Having Faith in Oneself".
Posted by: Partha at January 8, 2005 05:04 PM