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Dear Aurelia,

Welcome to our family. This beautiful day, I would like to share with you a creation story of our kind, humans, humanos, descendants of Manu.

This creation story came to us through the Hindu mythology. It is about Manu, the first human.

Manu, a great sage, was praying on the banks of the Ganges river, when one little fish came to him for protection. Manu put him in his hands and asked, “What do you want?”. “A bigger fish wants to eat me, please, save me”, said the fish. Manu, moved, carried the little fish to his home, put the fish into a little pot and fed the fish. In the morning, the fish had become as big as the pot and said, “I cannot live in this pot any longer”. Manu then carried the fish and put them in a tank. The next day the fish was too big for the tank, so Manu carried them to the river. The next morning, the fish filled the river, so, finally, Manu carried the fish to the ocean and let them free. As Manu was putting the fish in the ocean, the fish called Manu and said, “Manu, Manu, in a few months, a big flood will submerge the whole earth. You must build a big ship”. As the fish had predicted, the rain came. Manu started to build the boat and other people started to help him. They took seeds and food and called out to animals to take refuge in the boat.

Manu, the other women and men who also built the boat, plants and other animals got into the ship. The fish then said to throw them a rope. The fish took the end of the rope and pulled the ship through the water, through the nonstop rain. Eventually, as the rain started to decrease, the fish led the boat to a mountain top that was safe from the flood. Manu and the beings in the ship had survived.

This is how a new world and our kind was born. We are the children of Manu, who once decided to stop and care for no other reason than just because. That is the story of our kind, and what defines us being human.

I hope the kindness that touched Manu’s heart be with you all the way, in your heart and in the heart of the people in it.

On Silence and Words

“Deep listening is at the foundation of Right Speech [mature or wise speech]. If we cannot listen mindfully, we cannot practice Right Speech. No matter what we say, it will not be mindful, because we’ll be speaking only our own ideas not in response to the other person…When communication is cut off, we all suffer. When no one listens to us or understands us, we become like a bomb ready to explode… When we listen with our whole being, we can defuse a lot of bombs.”

In his book, The heart of the Buddha’s teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh reflects on the importance of choosing wisely our silence and words, “Right Speech”. Given the power that they have to destroy or to heal:

“For example, a family member may suffer very much. No one in the family has been able to sit quietly and listen to him or her. If there is someone capable of sitting calmly and listening with his or her hear for one hour, the other person will feel a great relief from his suffering.”

He develops on the qualities of silence that can bring healing:

“Kwan Yin, a person who has a great capacity of listening with compassion and true presence… Listening like that is not to judge, criticize, condemn, or evaluate, but to listen with the single purpose in mind to help the other person suffer less.”

“`I am listening to him not only because I want to know what is inside him or to give him advice. I am listening to him just because I want to relieve his suffering.’ That is compassionate listening…If you don’t feel that you can continue to listen in this way, ask your friend, `Dear one, can we continue in a few days?’…training oneself to listen with compassion. That is very important, a great gift.”

Then, reflecting on the words component of speech, Thich Nhat Hanh highlights the importance of using caring words when telling the truth and being aware of the context and person you are speaking to:

“Sometimes we speak clumsily and create internal knots in others. Then we say, `I was just telling the truth.’ It may be the truth, but if our way of speaking causes unnecessary suffering, it is not Right Speech… Words that damage or destroy are not Right Speech.”

“Before you speak, understand the person you are speaking to…so that your speech is `Right’ in both form and content… Of course you have suffered, but the other person has suffered also… When you begin to understand the suffering of the other person, compassion will arise in you, and the language you use will have the power of healing.”

His reflection, is a reminder that communication requires practice and attention, not only to our words, but also to our silence.

Awakening the Soul de Michael Meade

Estoy leyendo a Michael Meade, su libro “Awakening the Soul. A deep response to a troubled world”. Una de las ideas que maneja que me gustaron mucho es la visión de que a lo largo de este viaje tenemos un compañer@ de viaje, un remanente de estrella. Este entendimiento que ha acompañado a personas a lo largo de la humanidad en la época actual comienza a extinguirse y ante esto escribe:

“Lacking a sense that there is a greater self or soul within”, the feelings of emptiness and void that come when the time has come to radically change the way we have been living in it can be easily confused and find one self feeling disoriented, unsettled and disconnected from the source of life.

“It is one thing to suffer anxiety and feel the pull of despair,” it is quite another thing to do so with “the felt sense that there is a knowing and sustaining presence inside oneself and that meaning and purpose are woven into the cells of our bodies as well as the depths of our souls.”

Each person must learn the language through which the unseen world speaks to them or else miss their star and become lost in the storm of the world and the confusions of life.

“The inner spark would light the way to a meaningful destiny in each life, yet it must find its fuel in the limits of the here and now and in the exact conflicts found in each psyche.”

On Love. Resonating Love.

On Love. Human Love.

“Love, amor, amor es diferente a atracción. Atracción es tu cuerpo indicándote resonancia con esa persona. Es tu cuerpo diciéndote compartimos una frecuencia, una vibración que resuena.”

Love, “amor”, what is love?

Is love physical attraction? 

Attraction is your body telling you this persona and you share a frequency, that your shared frequency or frequencies resonate. 

“In Physics the term `resonance’ refers to the natural tendency of many objects to vibrate more vigorously at some frequencies than at others. The frequencies at which this occurs are called the object’s `resonance frequencies’.

In acoustics great use has been made of a particular kind of resonance, called air resonance. This occurs when the air in a container is made to vibrate and produce a sound.”[1]

In case of human interaction, if two people talk to each other, what would their conversation be about? If their bodies share the same frequency, what would the air in the container produce sounds of? How would they vibrate?

If an angry person joins a conversation for example, would his/her frequency impact how the conversation evolves? Would the new frequency in the conversation lead to the other people to tune into his/her anger?

In the 1850’s Herman Helmholthz designed “Acoustic resonators”, vessels that “only respond to a specific frequency of sound, and would greatly amplify the sound when it was present. 

[…] 

Each resonator was carefully tuned to respond to only a single frequency. For the person using it, the resonance would occur quite suddenly, with an unmistakable amplification of a particular sound.”[1]

And, sound is vibration.

“A sound wave is created as a result of a vibrating object. The vibrating object is the source of the disturbance that moves through the medium…Any object that vibrates will create a sound. The sound could be musical or it could be noisy; but regardless of its quality, the sound wave is created by a vibrating object.

Nearly all objects, when hit or struck or plucked or strummed or somehow disturbed, will vibrate…If you pluck a guitar string, it will begin to vibrate…The frequency or frequency at which an object tends to vibrate with when hit, struck, plucked, strummed or somehow disturbed is known as the natural frequency of the object.”[2]

What affects our natural frequency?

“The speed at which waves move through the strings is dependent upon the properties of the medium.”[2]

For example, in the case of a guitar, the material a string is made of the density and tightness affect the speed of the wave and the length of the strings affect the wavelength when the guitar is strucked. Or, in the case of wind instruments, the speed of a sound waves can be altered by changes in room temperature.

In music, the “role of a musician is to control these variables in order to produce a given frequency from the instrument that is being played[…]to find instruments that possess the ability to vibrate with sets of frequencies that are musically sounding (i.e. mathematically related by simple whole number ratoios) and to vary the length and (if possible) properties to créate the desired sounds.” 

In life, we are both the instrument and the musician, we can choose where to be, with whom and what to engage with given our natural frequencies and based on these natural frequencies we may resonate or not with someone else. 

But, all of this, is attraction, physical attraction or resonance. Is this different than love? 

[1] “Resonance – Smithsonian” https://americanhistory.si.edu/science/resonance.htm 

[2] “Natural Frequency” Sound Waves and Music – Lesson 4 -Resonance and Standing Waves https://physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/u11I4a.cfm

My Cup of Tea

As the world We knew crumbles
and the world unknown emerges,
I sit here.
Just me and my cup of tea.

Sitting, here,
in between what was and what will be.
Here, doing nothing,
but drinking my cup of tea.

So much pain, so much hope,
so many possibilities, so much unknown.
So much fear, so much love,
all spinning on hold.

Just me,
while I sit here.
Just me
and my cup of tea.

Achira, estornudo

“Achira, proviene del término quechua Achuy, cuyo significado primario es “estornudo”. Conduce a la idea de “transportar algo entre los dientes o con la boca” y de aquí al concepto de lo que el alma humana emite o expresa con espontaneidad. Por lo que achira es la palabra, el cuento, la historia, el relato que se comparte. Se vincula con la enseñanza y la transmisión de conocimientos orales. Puede encontrarse en términos como Arachán una familia nativa extinta de la región Este del Uruguay y Río Grande del Sur en Brasil, así como en el nombre de la fronteriza ciudad de Chuy, entre estos dos países. ”

Wikipedia

Hay una planta de Achira en el jardín. Le he regado en el año que llevo viviendo aquí; sin embargo, en las últimas semanas, le he puesto más atención debido a que unas moscas blancas decidieron establecer un campamento en las Achiras del jardín.

Después de buscar información sobre cómo atacar a los visitantes indeseables, encontré que lavando las hojas con agua removería los campamentos. Así que me dediqué a lavar las distintas hojas con agua. Al hacerlo notaba mi enojo y como mis cuidados para quitar las moscas blancas se tornaban menos delicados con la planta. De pronto, dos pensamientos me vinieron a la mente.

El primero se relacionaba a mi enojo. Mi enojo es por temor a daño físico y por miedo, más que por lo que le pasara a la planta, sino por el que me fuese a pasar algo por estar en contacto con estas moscas, sus huevecitos y sus campamentos. ¿Qué tan diferente es este miedo al que sienten los que creen que las personas que se mudan a sus comunidades les producirán un daño?

El segundo, me vino como respuesta al primero, sólo cuando confiemos, pero realmente confiemos, en que hay algo más que esta realidad física dejaremos de tener miedo.

Días después me di cuenta de que los campamentos no estaban únicamente en las Achiras, sino también en un árbol de plumería, o en Maya, el árbol del cuervo. Dado que el árbol es muy alto y eran muchas hojas, no podría alcanzar todas, así que inicialmente decidí cortarlas que tuviesen huevos, dado que creí que solo había unas cuantas. Pronto después, vi que eran muchísimas, así que si cortaba todas las que tenían Moscas Blancas terminaría cortando a muchísimas partes del árbol la “cura” sería mucho peor que la enfermedad. Aunado a mi incomodidad al ver la savia escurrir al cortar las distintas ramas, decidí regresar al remedio del agua y a usar manguerazos en lugar de ir hoja por hoja. .

La mayoría de los huevos, larvas y tiras como de algodón desaparecieron. Al ver mi colibrí par todas mis idas y venidas y mis esfuerzos por desterrar a la mosca blanca, me dijo: “¿Sabes que en pocas semanas todas esas hojas se caerán del árbol naturalmente? ¿No recuerdas lo que pasó el año pasado?”.

Se nos olvida que no somos las hojas o la flor, sino el árbol o la planta. Sólo cuando confiemos, pero realmente confiemos, en que hay algo más que esta realidad física dejaremos de tener miedo.

Words are Magic

In many cultures, words have been seen as magic, being able to put spells on people. Now, it’s not that different. Repeating a message many times, unless contrary information that it is regarded by the listener as coming from a credible source, will be accepted by the subconscious as being a truth, independent if it is real or not. (Begg et al, 1992).

Repeating something many times reinforces the message and unless contrary information is acquired, eventually gets accepted by the subconscious as being the truth.

“Translation of an Eskimal Shaman’s Poem or Song “Magic Words”–

‘In the very earliest time, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if they wanted to and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they would be people, sometimes animals, and there was very little difference. All spoke the same language [now is the time] that was the time when words were like magic, and the human mind had mysterious powers, and a word spoken by chance might have strange consequences. It would suddenly come alive and what people wanted to happen could happen all you have to do was say it…'” Extract from Michael Meade’s Podcast “In a Time of Ashes”

The spells currently being spread towards peoples of many colors and forms become stronger as science gets discredited and television and social media gets used as a weapon to gain support for dehumanizing humanity.

References

Begg, Ian Maynard, Ann Anas, and Suzanne Farinacci (1992) “Dissociation of Processes in Belief: Source Recollection, StatementFamiliarity, and the Illusion of Truth”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 92. Vol. 121. No. 4.446-458

On Fear and Anger

“Notice how aversion and anger almost always arise as a direct reaction to a threatening or painful situation. If they are not seen clearly and understood they grow into hatred…A fearful situation turns to anger when we can’t admit we are afraid…When fear arises, anger and aversion function as strategies to help us feel safe, to declare our strength and security. In fact, we actually feel insecure and vulnerable, but we cover this fear and vulnerability with anger and aggression…

When a painful or threatening event arises, we can open our eyes to it. When we learn to tolerate our own pain and face our own fears, we will no longer blame and inflict it on others…We can train ourselves to notice the gap between the moments of our experience and the reaction or the response…In a healthy response to pain and fear, we establish awareness before it becomes anger. 

That’s why mindfulness training starts by paying attention to small things, small pains and disappointments. When I start to get into an argument with my wife, if I pay attention I notice that I usually feel hurt or afraid. If I speak to her angrily, she will become defensive and the argument will grow. But if I’m mindful, I can talk about my hurt or fears instead of being lost in anger and blame. Then my wife becomes interested and concerned. Out of this a different and more honest conversation occurs.” – Jack Kornfield, https://jackkornfield.com/fear-and-anger/