One result of the Coronavirus is that for many of us, life has slowed down leaving us with fewer distractions and more time with ourselves. This has been disturbing for many, which is uncomfortable but also useful since it drives us to pay more attention to the inner world that connects us to a sense of the spiritual. Stephen Levine offers these words of wisdom for times like these.
At first when we approach the unexplored mind, it is like a stretch of wild, untended ground. All that grows there arises uninvited from passing happenstance and previous conditions. In some areas weeds choke out flowers. In others the ground is barren and impervious to life. Here and there seeds remain ungerminated. All about is deadfall obscuring the rich soil beneath. While just under the surface old roots, so slow to disintegrate, leave little room for new growth.
Because this garden has gone so long unattended much has occurred to limit growth. … One begins in the heart to soften the way for the mind and body to be experienced wholeheartedly without judgment or fear. As we open the heart, certain obstacles may become evident in the pain in the mind or body … Referring to this effortlessly unfolding in Zen, they say “Spring comes and the grass grows by itself.”
Let your flower open but hold nowhere to the fruit. Let the seeds fall to the ground and germinate in your own great nature.
Stephen Levine, Guided Meditations, Explorations and Healings
Thanks Lynn, this is right on.
I’ve ditched the endless fear they push.
Here’s some examples: murder hornets will kill everyone, sars will kill everyone, covid will kill everyone, don’t eat this it will kill you, etc. I remember reading about a boy walking in the grass barefoot and a bug bit his foot and cause major bad damage, so I thought I can’t walk barefoot. Then I read recluse spiders hide in shoes so we should shake out our shoes. It goes on, and on, and on.
So, I’ve pulled a ton of fear weeds and replaced them with flowers.