Hibernation

So about a month ago, I started a new blog. It came out of a desire to have a space to just write about whatever. I started with the intention to write one post about something, anything, everyday. It went well for a week or two, then I let life get in my way.  As with most things I attempt to do everyday, the daily commitment wanes as time goes on. But I want to work to change this and have decided that every month I will take up a new thing to do or not do everyday. I'm taking the 30-day challenge.



I'm going to stay committed to my new space for now, Not So Seriously, nyssarhi.blogspot.com and report on my 30-day efforts as well as whatever else I want to share. But I'll be back...

What is the Self?

The Eternal Question.

This seems to be what it all comes back to, for me at least. Sure, I ask and am interested in other questions too. Like, Where did we come from? Where are we going? What happens after we die? Why? WHY???

But beyond these specific concerns, they all seem to be related to the concept of self, which can be varied, even for a single individual. That's part of the issue. 

I've started to design a spiritual studies course for an independent student. So far we've met twice and both times have been as enriching as I imagine participating in a religious community can be.  We are using the study of religion as the diving board into the investigation of our own consciousness.  I say 'we' because there is no denying that I am involved in my own exploration as she is; but the course is tailored to her needs and interest.  Since I have been doing this approach (using the study of religion as a spiritual practice as its own), I act more as a guide for someone who is new to the territory. 

These Questions of Ultimate Concern are at the core of our investigation. Especially the search for who we are. 

As far as the answers to any of these questions, you're guess is as good as mine.  My thrill is within the pure presence of the question. ItSelf.

_____

Part of my mission is to offer experiences and safe spaces where others can open up to these questions.  One way is through original workshops. The next of which is Embracing the Other: A Partner Yoga and Writing Workshop, April 21st. If you are interested in becoming a spiritual studies student yourself, contact me. 

What the World Has Lost

At the end of Huston Smith's chapter on "Primal Religions," he quotes John Collier:

They has what the world has lost: the ancient, lost reverence and passion for human personality joined with the ancient, lost reverence and passion for the earth and its web of life. Since before the Stone Age they have tended that passion as a central sacred fire. It should be our long hope to renew it in us all.

I have a long hope to help renew this passion in us all. I also know that it starts at home, which is precisely what I am working on. 

Evolution?

When I was out to brunch with my parents last Sunday, my dad tells me he discovered a new law of nature.  He has been reflecting on how much of his life he has spent sitting.  As a computer programer with  a regular 30+ min commute, he has racked up the sitting points.  


As a side note it is amazing to think about how often we are sitting throughout our day. At the computer, watching TV, eating, driving, on and on...


So, my dad says that as we've evolved things are no longer about survival of the fittest. It is about survival of the SITTEST! 

My dad has also started writing haikus over the past 6 months or so.  He sent me this haiku a few days ago:

Evolving to walk

Through a lifetime of sitting

That is irony.

Indeed. Indeed.

We Are Not Separate

When reflecting on the blood donation experience, my friend and I noted how letting go of some blood can be therapeutic.  And then, of course, we brought up the cleansing effect of menstruation.  It was interesting to note that when we were in the bloodmobile, all the other people, except one, were male. The phlebotomists and the donors were all female.  The dude was waiting for one of the donors.

I then thought of a few lines from a song off of Ani DiFranco's new album, which is on almost constant rotations in my car at the moment. In a song called, "Splinter," she says:

o women, won't you be our windows 

women who bleed and bleed and bleed 

women who swell with the tide and change when the wind blows 

show us we are not separate from everything 

show us we are connected to everything

so here's to the joys and trials of living 

here's to feeling our share of pain 

yes all the way from childbirth to dying 

here's to staying connected to everything 

here's to being connected to everything

  Here she is performing the whole song live:

Intentional Bleeding

So earlier this month I did something I had never done before. I donated blood. I friend of mine is a regular donor and invited me, including the incentives that we will get a long-sleeved shirt (way more valuable than a t-shirt, she indicated) and a chance to win a car.  That's enough for me!

The phlebotomists were friendly, the pain minimal (though the finger-prick iron test caught me off guard - that's the worst part), and you can't leave without feeling good. I watched as other donors bags filled up while they occasionally squeezed a padded tube in their fists and sipped on juice.  Then I got in my chair and looked away when she put the needle in. Once it was going I started to check out the scene and felt really proud of myself that I made it there.

I only felt the true weight of what I had done once it was all over and I could see the blood, my blood, distinctly outside of my body.  That little bag right there of my life juice could be a crucial part in saving another person's life.  It is truly amazing when I think about it.

Kind of like when I started to learn about birth and realized how it is this incredible thing that our bodies do.  We can grow people inside of us (at least most of us who are female). It blows my mind. What blows my mind about giving blood is the fact that I give away blood that my save someone else and my body will just make more of it.

There is this balance that must be understood with blood.  We have plenty to give away (the blood bank says you can come back every two months). But it our bodies lose too much, like in an injury, we might die if we don't restore it.  When I think of that I figure giving blood is one of the best things I can do.

Believe

This year I received multiple cards that featured the classic animal rivals, dog, cat and mouse, as all living in harmony.  One was a card I got from my Dad (pictured below); the other was an interactive email card I got from a client where you help these animals build a snowman.

It may very well be that these cards appear every year around the holidays or that animals working together is just a general theme of cards in general. I'm not saying that it is not. But this is the first time I have noticed it and can't help but feel that now more than ever there is this message that we all ned to put down our predatory instincts and just get along.  We need to believe it can happen or else get swallowed in our own fear or someone else's.

---

Note: This is how studying years of literature can affect one's perception of life as it presents itself.