By Amoda Maa Jeevan
Apart from a number of trips to the British countryside and several visits to remote parts of the world, I have lived in the inner city of London for most of my life.
Nature's Cycles Are Our Own
It is here in the urban jungle that I have attuned to the pulse of life, to the insistent rhythm of birth, death and rebirth. It is here in the slipstream of the technological highway that I have learnt that the cycles of Nature are the same as my own inner cycles, that nothing really dies but is just recycled and that Life is always in motion.
The elemental forces of earth, water, fire and air are within me whether I am surrounded by the lushness of forests or the harshness of concrete.
Like the body of the planet, I too am built of matter, giving me shape, stability and strength from which to plant new creative seeds. Blood courses through my veins just as rivers flow towards the sea and tears soothe my pain just as rain refreshes the land.
The heat of the sun is the same as the fire in my belly, igniting my passion and providing the spark for life-sustaining energy. The wind that blows is the same as the air that inspires me, giving my imagination space to soar and clearing both the cobwebs from my mind as well as the debris from ground.
In today's climate of 'green political correctness,' there is a tendency to believe that we have to 'get back to Nature' in order to realise our interconnectedness.
Not Where You Are But How You Are
But what I have realised is that, whilst standing at the edge of a cliff with a vast expanse of unspoilt land unfurling before your eyes is undoubtedly a more transcendent experience than sitting on a park bench watching early morning joggers go by, it's not so much where you are as to how you are that matters.
Even a few moments of gentle communion with a humble houseplant or a shared moment of silent communication with a beloved pet can take you deep into the stillness of Being that is at the core of Nature.
And this one taste of Being is enough to fill you with reverence for Life. Reverence is a sense of wonder at the extraordinary phenomenon of Life. It's a natural response to God's creation, a childlike sense of innocence and trust in the essential goodness of all manifestations.
Reverence sounds very serious but it isn't really. It's prayerful but it's certainly not pious nor sanctimonious. It's prayerful because it fills us with gratitude for the gift of our very existence. Being able to witness the miracle of Life is a miracle in itself! And it's playful because it fills us with such delight to play a part in God's evolutionary drama. What fun we can have knowing that we are co-creators in the unfolding story of Life!
Loving Our Earth
When we have tasted reverence, respect comes naturally. Respect means living in authentic freedom without harm to the greater whole.
It astounds me and upsets me when I see someone thoughtlessly throw rubbish out of a car window. The ramifications of one small act of unconsciousness are far-reaching. That crisp packet, take-away cup or plastic bag will end up getting blown across the country-side by the wind and will probably go on to poison the soil, pollute a river or choke an animal.
Or maybe it will add to the many bits of rubbish on our streets until yet another road-sweeper has to be employed - paid for by our ever-increasing taxes - in order to clear it up. Or it just might get caught up in the branches of the tree in my garden and make my immediate environment a little less attractive.
Imagine what the world would be like if every random act of carelessness was replaced by a random act of kindness? Would we not then inhabit a world of beauty and harmony, a world in which we would respect the sanctity of the planet and revere all living forms as representatives of God?
Pink Bubble Meditation
Now I'd like to introduce you to the Pink Bubble Meditation … I've worked with this a lot and it never fails to fill me with compassion for the greater whole.
Simply close your eyes, relax your breathing and bring your awareness to the centre of your chest. Breathe in and out here, simply relaxing into the spaciousness of your heart. And - when you are ready - on your next in-breath imagine there is a tiny Pink Bubble right here in the centre of your heart. Imagine, as you breathe out, that this tiny pink bubble gets filled up with Love and Light and gets a little bigger.
Each time you breathe in and out this Pink Bubble gets bigger and bigger so that it fills up your whole body with Love and Light … every cell of your being is enveloped in this beautiful Pink Bubble of Unconditional Love and Healing Light.
Let this bubble expand and move out beyond the boundary of your body into the space around you. As it fills up with your breath it grows and touches everything in the vicinity … including all the objects in the room, any other people with you, any plants, any pets and the very air that you breathe.
Now let this Pink Bubble expand and move beyond the four walls of your home and out into the surrounding neighbourhood to touch and include all the other houses, streets and gardens, all the dogs, cats and children. Keep breathing and expanding, so that it gets bigger and bigger and spreads out into the town or city that you live in and even further out into the country-side.
Let it touch and include every tree, every flower and every blade of grass. Let it touch and include all the animals, birds, rivers and stones.
And let this bubble expand even more and move out across the land over mountain and sea to touch and include every living creature, every human being and every single thing that exists, across continents and oceans, until it envelops the whole planet.
You and everything that exists are bathed in Unconditional Love and Healing Light. Your heart is as big as the Earth.
Now very slowly draw towards you this Pink Bubble with the Earth and everything that exists still inside it, so that it gets smaller and smaller … until it sits inside the sanctum of your heart. And gently reconnect with your breath rising and falling in the centre of your chest. When you are ready, open your eyes.
Remember as you go about your day that the whole planet and everything on it has a place in the very heart of your being.
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