In Ubud Library, a small meditation book crashes to the ground,
open. “At a certain age, humans must sift through the
manure of their life so far, evaluate, and decide what to
grow in it!” Oh, ho ho! Well I seem to have accumulated
quite a muck heap so far! This is a theme for the whole planet,
which is why I’m writing about it a lot. I know it has
struck a note with many of you, too (in fact, a friend called
after the ‘Letting Go’ article to repay me a long
outstanding debt!!)
Having spent the past two years scrabbling around in our
possessions, digging into the manure of our lives and discovering
the odd glint of gold we need to retrieve, clean and polish,
it now appears to be almost time to move on. Phew! So, hurry,
finish up any of your uncompleted business pronto, clear the
decks, for soon there will be space for much greater possibilities
and creativity.Two years of incredible change, in a thousand
words. A thousand words and a thousand worlds. We have now
cut out, burnt and blasted away the dead wood. In some cases
it has been ripped from us in disasters personal and global.
It has left us tender, yet open – alive and really feeling
after decades, nay, hundreds of years; a millennium even,
of frozen deadened death to our deeper inchoate longings as
members of the human race, our living planet. Our memories
frozen and lost, deadened like cold fish in ice. Forgotten
to feel. So, we got painful experiences – and our hearts
were prised open. We have been made to feel – feel –FEEL!
And now we seem to be getting the hang of it! This global
awakening, Internet aided – just look how we are starting
to band together as a planet of individuals expressing our
understanding of other peoples, other needs –unprecedented
outpouring of a desire for peace. Horror at the idea of harming
anyone else expressed in a deluge of creative and vocal protests
to government that we will not stand for this again. I don’t
know about you, but I think it’s bloody marvelous!
Perhaps we’re starting to understand that we need to
bond together, not only because it’s a ‘nice idea’,
but because we must, in order to survive (survive the policies
of some of our governments, for one thing…)
Can you imagine though, what other marvellous things might
come out of this burgeoning global connection? How a desire
for a safe planet for everyone might extend to us insisting
the plentiful resources of the Earth be shared a little more
intelligently? Perhaps, an end to the feeling of separation
and fear, inability to say ‘hello’ in the street,
the fear that ‘someone else might take my things’?
Laugh! Smile! Sing! Dance and shout! Bake cakes for your neighbours!
Invite that lonely looking old man in for a coffee! Join in
this wonderful tendency to see everyone as family. Because
that’s exactly who they are!
The Chakra system is a wonderful way of describing aspects
of man. (if you prefer, think of ‘Mazlos hierarchy of
needs’ – pyramid where basic needs must be met
before people may ascend to the next level.) I thought it
might be interesting to use the chakra model to look at the
state of the planet now – and where we are going. We
are now at the Physical Plane: (metaphors: manure, fundamental
things, security, insecurities, money…) this is only
the bottom branch of the chakra tree! After the Physical,
we’ve got: Flow – I’m imagining people moving
freely around the world, unencumbered by documents, new language
solutions, exciting surprising new groups, travel, and associations,
boundaries dissolving. Actually, this is just starting to
happen if you’ve seen anything on the internet about
the Pope and Dalai Lamai being asked to go to Iraq. The Euro
is another example. Next is Power: Power to, by, and for the
people. Self government, new structures, enlightened and refreshing
ways of organizing ourselves. Love – incredible flowering.
Think 1960’s a hundredfold. Compassion, self awareness,
forgiveness, love, sensuality, joy. New ways of healing the
sick. Community. The loving soul, enlightened relationships.
Expression: Renaissance City but on a global scale –
15th C Italy the world over. Your Café Latte cup will
have moving pictures on it – and it will link to the
internet! Vision: Enlightened ‘high view’. Seeing
‘what’s best for all’. Amazing new ways
of educating children – even, letting them educate us.
Divinity: Releasing fixed ideas about religion instead we
find myriad ways to personally connect with God. Living our
higher purpose. Grace. So you see, in chakra terms, we have
a long way to go!
Far out? Not much point having a vision that isn’t
a bit of a stretch, is there? Can you envision the golden
threads of this in your own life, start to pull on them? Here
are a few ideas: Flow: Sign anti-war petitions. Chuck out
your junk, better, throw a junk ball and swap! Dance, swim.
All of the above, together! Power: Join new groups. Or start
them. Connect with surprising people, even the enemy. Trust.
Love: open your heart. Dare to share. Massage with delicious
scents. Share poetry - on violet paper. Expression: Daub yourself
blue, roll on paper! At least, join a painting class! Email
a joke to a friend. Sing in the bath or anywhere. Forget about
trying to be ‘brilliant’ and just play. Vision:
Minimise listening to the news. That’s where the ‘old
ways’ lie. Get ‘out of the box’ - do a lateral
thinking course or Zen puzzle. Use left hand instead of right.
Divinity: Sing your way into the washing up, hum your way
out into a dance, yoga your way in the garden as you hang
out the washing, breathe in the heaven in a lily, a child’s
skin - find a prayer in everything you do! Everything: play
with it! (It is supposed to be FUN!)So, get your clearing
done - soon it will be time to ditch ditch ditch – ditch
the old ways, make whole sea changes, paradigm shifts, quantum
leaps. It IS possible! What’s on offer here is a kind
of ‘return to Atlantis or Lemuria’ – and
I for one am buying a ticket!
Jeli Lala is teaching yoga and metaphysical arts in Ubud,
Saturdays, 10am, Tegun Gallery, Hanoman St. Please TXT 081
239 43354 to book or email JELILALA@BREATHE.COMNEXT ISSUE:
Water – the very stuff of life. Fascinating research
on the memory of water.
Jeli Lala created the ‘Ashram of Spiritual Jewellery
and Art’ at no. 1, Sukma St., Tebesaya, Ubud, with her
husband, Putu S. She has studied yoga and many other spiritual
practices for more than ten years. She writes “As a
life-long artist, I’ve been exploring my inner world
since I was a child. In this column, I will share some of
my personal experiences and spiritual methods – hopefully,
you’ll find this interesting, and maybe it will give
some ideas for your own journey”.
Jeli welcomes comments and may be contacted on:
Email: jelila@jelila.com
Website: www.jelila.com or www.imagine-retreats.com
