Hello,
Dear friends,
Dear ones.
I'd like to speak about how we can keep our hearts steady and wise in this time of coronavirus.
And collectively,
We're going through this unprecedented time of upheaval for our health and those we care about and economic upheaval.
It's really a profound time of life and death and uncertainty.
So we want to understand how to keep ourselves steady within ourselves and for those around us.
Most of you are familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's image of the one person on the crowded refugee boats who remained calm and steady and showed the way for everyone else to survive.
We all in some way can be that person.
I already know a number of friends who have the virus.
Some are sick at home,
Moderately sick and going through the difficulties.
Some have contacted me because they're already in the hospital.
And when I went to visit my daughter and her husband and young grandson some days ago,
The last time I'll see them for a while,
He's a firefighter and first responder in Oakland.
And I asked,
How are they protecting themselves because 80% of their calls are medical calls and he said,
Like health professionals across the country,
We don't have masks.
We don't have that kind of protection.
And I said,
Well,
Will you get tested?
He said they don't want to test us because they don't want to lose their first responders and firefighters.
So my heart sank.
And I realized how many of us are in this in different ways and that there's a whole group of people who are supporting us out there and who we want to appreciate with our own prayers and gratitude and care.
So it's natural for us at this time to feel the emotion sadness and grief or anger or confusion or helplessness.
And they're not just personal.
They're part of our common humanity.
They are called the tears of the way.
Because in times like this,
We're touched and entwined with so many who are vulnerable,
As we are.
And to begin with,
With our mindful loving awareness.
We can begin to name these experiences,
Sadness,
Fear confusion to feel them in our body and heart and mind.
And as we acknowledge them with a loving awareness we can hold them with tenderness and compassion.
Thank you for trying to protect me,
You can say,
Inwardly,
I'm okay for now.
And more and more as you practice in this way you begin to trust mindfulness as a refuge,
You become the loving witness the loving awareness of the joys and the sorrows of the fears and the emotions of the thoughts.
It's as if you can step back.
And as the loving witness say yes,
This is what it's like to go through difficulty.
And we know how to do this.
We've been training for this in our meditations and in our hearts for a long time.
And we human beings know how to do this from centuries and eons of going through difficulty together.
You already have mindfulness practices to help you in a regular way.
Here are two additional practices that may serve you.
So as you listen,
Whatever way is safe for you,
Let your eyes close for the first of these practices and take a deep breath or two to release any obvious tension and let yourself settle in your body.
And as you do,
As you quiet your mind and listen more deeply.
In a moment,
Let an image arise spontaneously but not quite yet.
Of the most steady and loving and courageous being that you can imagine.
It could be a Buddha or Mother Mary.
It could be Clara Barton,
You know,
Or one of the indigenous grandmothers or Mahatma Gandhi,
Or someone you've known.
And let this image arise of the personification of steadiness and love and courage amidst it all.
And as you remember them,
Think of them,
Picture them any way you can.
Feel their wisdom and steadiness.
How they're able to care and tend the world and do so from a place of strength and love.
Let them show you as an inspiration what's possible.
Let them remind you of what it looks like and feels like.
To be steady,
Loving,
Courageous amidst it all.
And now,
They smile at you and you smile back in this gracious way.
Because the fact that you can visualize and sense and see them,
What makes them smile is that they know they are in you.
You already carry this wisdom and this strength,
This love and courage.
The fact that you can visualize and sense and feel this amazing steady being is because these qualities live within you.
They gaze at you and send you the strength and steadiness to help you in this time.
Take it in from them,
Receive it.
Let it fill your body and heart and mind.
And as you take in this steadiness and love,
They now reach under their robes or into their pocket and pull out a special gift for you,
A clear symbol of just what you need to stay steady and loving and strong.
And they place it in your hands.
Let yourself open this gift.
If it's not clear,
Hold it up to the sunlight.
And see this clear symbol of just what you need to keep your hearts steady and your mind clear.
And now with a gesture of gratitude,
A bow,
You can thank them.
And they will respond,
We are here with you.
You can feel that they are inside you to be called upon at any time to steady your heart,
To be as they are,
Love in the midst of it all.
And now when you're ready,
Let your eyes open for a moment and take this in.
Drink in this possibility.
Let yourself feel that you too carry this wisdom and courage.
Here is a second practice that you can use to help get out of your busy thoughts and head and the feeling of being unmoored back to a sense of grounding and steadiness.
So again,
If you haven't let your eyes close and take another deep breath or two to release tension.
And in this practice,
Let yourself remember a strong and steady and wonderful tree that you have seen sometime in your life.
It could be a tree you've seen in the mountains or in your travels,
It could be one that's local,
Or it could be a Sequoia or redwood that you visited at one time.
Let an image and a memory of a great tree appear.
And as you remember and sense and picture and imagine this tree,
Sense yourself under it nearby,
Gazing at the strong trunk,
Gazing up at the canopy of leaves.
And now let this tree become a teacher for you.
As you stand in front of the tree,
Sense its roots going deep into the earth,
Steadying it through winds and storms,
Through rainbows and clouds,
Through beautiful days and droughts,
How the trees deep roots in the earth.
Keep it steady and learn from the tree now.
And feel in the same way as the tree teaches you your own deep roots of connections to life.
Going into the earth.
You are rooted in this earth.
You belong to this earth,
This is your home.
And as you land more and more deeply in your body.
Let yourself feel as if you too are a sister or brother,
Great tree with roots in the earth.
A strong trunk.
And branches open to the sky.
In this deep rootedness.
Let fears and tensions drain back into the earth.
You stand strong and flexible in the great winds of vast time.
Amidst praise and blame and birth and death.
Beginnings and endings.
You're the tree of life in the midst of it all.
Sense your rootedness.
Sense the vast space and time of seasons coming and going.
And feel the quiet,
Steady,
Courageous,
Caring presence.
You know how to do this.
You know how to stay grounded and rooted deeply.
And flexible.
And connected with the force of life.
Coming out of the earth itself.
And carrying the sense of steadiness allow your eyes to open again.
Know that you can come back to these practices,
Whichever practices touch and strengthen your heart.
You can do again and again as you need them.
These are practices that water the seeds of strength and love.
Of courage and compassion.
Again and again in your own heart.
Make a schedule for yourself at home as you stay.
That allows you to incorporate practice regularly in the course of the day.
Make an altar that shows the figures that inspire you.
And let this inspiration feed you.
For a practice of compassion in the time of coronavirus and many other practices.
You can visit my website,
JackCornfield.
Com.
Tara's website,
TaraBrock.
Com.
You'll also find,
Along with many other practices,
Information about other trainings,
Including our wonderful online teacher training.
And most of all,
Do not lose heart.
We will go through this together.
We're connected in our common humanity and our care.
And as John O'Donoghue,
Mystic and poet and inspirer of so many hearts reminds us with this blessing.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours.
May the clarity of light be yours.
May the fluency of the ocean be yours.
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow wind work these words of love and courage around you.
An invisible cloak to hold your life.
Thank you.
Stay steady,
Stay loving,
Stay caring,
Stay well.
