The Inevitability of and Resistance to Change

The fourth translations of Wu Li is “I Clutch My Ideas.” This is appropriate to a book on physics since the history of science in general often has been the story of scientists vigorously fighting an onslaught of new ideas. This is because it is difficult to relinquish the sense of security that comes from a long and rewarding acquaintance with a particular world view.”

I'm struck by the inevitability of the change that is happening all around me. The tsunami/earthquake in Japan, the anti-union bill in Wisconsin and Indiana. It brings me to wonder why i'm not more actively participating in my own evolution. I mean, all these things are happening whether we participate or not, especially Mother Nature's growing pains...or are they death throes? Guess we'll find out. (I like to believe the Earth will outlive us longer than we've been a species walking upon her.) So yeah, my own evolution. I feel it intensely as the seasons move towards spring. Six months of living here and much has changed. The biggest change has come from not being in my physical yoga practice. I stress the word 'physical' because i've been deeply involved in a moment to moment mindfulness practice. It feels as if this 'mental' yoga has taken center stage to the physical because of the transition of moving to another coast and moving in with my boyfriend. A necessary practice as it is super helpful to be aware of what's mine and what is the other's when you are meeting new people all the time and meeting all the different sides of the person you've chosen to co-habitate with. A good friend of mine is in the midst of a move towards co-habitation as her boyfriend moves in to her open loft-style condo. What were the words she used? I only remember the sense of her anticipation, for better or worse.

Anyway, the lack of a yoga practice has been changing my body. I feel out of balance. Was it my imagination the other day and this morning looking at the noticeable differences in my right vs. left legs? I think of the challenge of re-building my body with a regular practice. I know it's possible. I've seen it happen. But am I strong enough? Am I strong enough mentally and emotionally for that kind of commitment. Compared to this, making the commitment to my partner and to a new home seems easy. Can I commit to moving towards my highest potential for health and wholeness? If change is inevitable, my physical form is going to change no matter what, why not help it reach health. The lack of healthy choices leads to transformation anyway though it feels the result of this option would be way less comfortable.

If change in the world that we live in is inevitable, why not make choices that are for health and wholeness? Why stick with the status quo? It seems irresponsible to pretend what we do and how we live can't affect change in the world though i'm working not to motivate myself negatively (thought pattern: you must make these changes for the good of the entire planet!). Mostly because there's no need for it...just as there's no need for negative political ads. Sure, it may work but it's way less comfortable. Although I just had a thought that for some, and certainly for myself at different times in my life, the discomfort of making an 'irresponsible' choice is less than the discomfort of the possiblity of failure to achieve wholeness.

What started this train of rambling thought was reading (in Gary Zukav's Dancing Wu Li Masters) about the enormity of different paradigm shifts in our history—like Newton's physics and Copernicus' proof the earth was not the center of the universe—and how almost everyone at the time couldn't believe that such a change is possible not because it couldn't be true but because of the implications on their way of life. These ideas changed everything! And in this day and age, all signs are pointing to a similar radical change in how we view our world. Quantum physics says that nothing exists and what we perceive as reality is really just fields of energy interacting. Our entire universe is simply the relationships of different fields of energy to one another. The world events we are experiencing as seemingly separate from ourselves are actually events that we relate to as individuals. So what does this mean for our relationship to ourselves? Are we brave enough to step into the new paradigm and make conscious choices for wholeness?

Thanks for reading my this rambling. Sometimes these thoughts interweave through my brain in ways that are difficult to grasp and I wonder if it makes any sense when I try to relate it in writing.

Pros and Cons

The Road into the Methow Valley

I know it's been a while since you've heard from me. All I can say is that i've been immersed in the experience of the now watching how often that moments of now are spent in contemplation of the future or reacting as if the past is now. As I get to know this valley I'm struck by the following:

Con: Living in a small community there may be days where you don't see anyone outside the small group you're living with. The small group for me is my boyfriend, 2 other people who we share a kitchen with, and the owners of the farm. Though, we may not see the owners for days. It can feel isolated at times

Pro: Time spent together is precious and real...and these people like to party! Most events encourage costumes like the roller skating party, the Hot party (friends crank their fire up so the room is heated to over 100 degrees), and casino night. 

 

Pro: The mountains are beautiful and (as stated above) there aren't many people around. No matter what the weather, rain or shine, the mountains around here are stunning. Every day I am amazed at where I am living. Oh, and there is a group of citizens strongly concerned with keeping this area the way it is...as in limited development, a.k.a. no condos or sub-divisions.

Con: Mountains get snow storms that are difficult to drive in. So far, every time i've had to drive to Seattle or back home from Seattle, there's been a snow storm. Last night a 4 hour drive took 6 hours and by the time I got to the airport, I was shaking all over. I've been wondering about my car karma...

Con: Having to stay in a hotel because the mountain passes are too treacherous to be driving on in the middle of the night.

Pro: Well, first, not crashing in the middle of the night, but more importantly: my boyfriend gets to ski a foot of fresh powder at Stevens Pass. Can you say epic.

Con: Living in a little cabin without running water means lots of peeing outside, often in the cold.

Pro: Waking in the pre-dawn hours to relieve oneself as the moon is setting, you may hear the great horned owls hooing their mating calls back and forth. Beautiful... and peeing outside is way better than sitting on a freezing cold toilet seat.

Con: (OK, this is a confession) I've been out of my yoga practice for months.

Pro: I understand in a more real way the advantages of a consistent practice. Also, I've been turning my activities (feeding goats, mixing plaster, chopping wood, snowboarding) into a practice. The increase in mindfulness is great though my body is feeling the effects of being out of practice.

Con: Missing people back home

Pro: I love living here and hope you come to visit.

What time is it?

It snowed 19” Saturday night. Then it rained on top of it Sunday morning. Crystal rain, coming down hard enough you could feel that you were being pelted with mini icicles. Lots of trudging for a couple of days especially because the plow broke. Up and down the hill, in and out of the goat pen, freeing the kids from the snow wall that built around the opening to their shelter. The dogs were hilarious. At one point it looked like Xerox was swimming through the snow. And this night, as I sit in the warmth of a fire, with ice cream batter cooling down, the city feels so far away. Would others who have made the same transition find it much more difficult? Would a storm like the one that moved through last night send them packing as soon as they could shovel their car out? I sometimes wonder what it is that draws me to live so far removed from town that some days and even weeks, you don't see anyone but those you live with. Of course there are those moments when I feel I must get to town just for the sake of getting to town. Though most of the time I'm content on the farm with no need to go to town. There are countless moments where I must pause to simply take in the beauty that surrounds me. Why just the other day, as I was shoveling snow off the roof of the greenhouse project, I was surrounded by some of the coolest cloud formations I've ever seen. The sun was covered by a cloud thin enough that you could look at the disk without squinting. That was to the south. To the north there was a mix of clouds hugging the hills with patches of clear, bright blue sky. Every few minutes the whole scene would change. I was grateful for something to observe as I rested, shoveled, rested, shoveled, shoveled, rested, shoveled...

Another difference, besides the weather, that I have been noticing lately is in time management. My life in Philly was pretty much scheduled every day. I knew when I was 'on' and I knew when I was 'off.' Here, on and off time dance in flow. For instance, we were expecting to work then were afforded time off because of the weather. The other week, E was 'on' milking and I was 'off', eating breakfast. When he showed up for breakfast, he revealed that the machine was frozen and hadn't gotten to the milking yet. Suddenly we're all 'on,' to get the goats milked by hand. I'm not saying it's more difficult to live this way, just different. Seems to take a lot more flexibility and if one isn't careful, free time can slip away into day after day of work.

In my 'off' time, I've been reading this series of documents called “The Law of Time Study Book.” They describe the Mayan calendar with its 13 months, one for each full moon of the year. The biggest point to come across is how our relationship to time, and therefore the Earth, has been skewed because of our current calendar. The Gregorian calendar we now use was created in the late 16^th century...a mere 5 centuries ago...by Pope Gregory. It was based on the 360 degrees of a circle, an element of space. The extra 5 days were added arbitrarily to get the length of the year close to the solar year. The Mayan calendar is based on the 28 days of the moon cycle, an observation of time rather than space. The folks that wrote this info about the Mayan calendar were saying how we've gotten it backwards: the dimension of space is contained by the dimension of time, not the other way around. A small but important difference. 13 months at 28 days gives 364 days. The 365^th day is called “day out of time” and is a 'free' day, one for forgiveness and atonement. This day was given to ceremonies and celebrations. What a great idea!

Here is a wonderful thought from this series of readings:

“Just as air is the atmosphere of the body, so time is the atmosphere of the mind; if the time in which we live consists of uneven months and days regulated by mechanized minutes and hours, that is what becomes of our mind: a mechanized irregularity. Since everything follows from mind, it is no wonder that the atmosphere in which we live daily becomes more polluted, and the greatest complaint is: ‘I just don’t have enough time!’ Who owns your time, owns your mind. Own your own time and you will know your own mind.”

This reflects back on the differences in time I've been experiencing. Here, I own my time completely. Therefore, according to the above quote, my mind is free, it is unowned by anything else except me. What is a girl to do with complete ownership of her own mind? Well, I wish I could articulate more about this yet I haven't quite figured it out. Fow now, my mind and time are headed for the evening chores of feeding the animals their hay.

Missing you all, happy holidays.

Peace and Love for the whole planet.

Maureen