Getting in the Gap

In my last post I talked about the Dalai Lama movie. In it, they showed the Tibetan monks creating a sand mandala. The ceremony of creating the mandala is sacred, but the impermanence of it is what got to me. So I decided to create my own.

Years ago I worked with a woman who created mandalas and taught the process as a form of therapy. She used colored pencils to create hers. The point is that mandalas are thought to have sacred meanings. Also, the process of creation is a way to stop the mind chatter--a form of meditation.

I wanted to create a sand mandala because I enjoy the process of creating, but wanted to experience the lack of "possession" that must occur to let the object go. It's harder than I thought. Even as I was shopping for the colored sand my mind was racing, trying to figure ways to make it permanent (sticky paper, etc.), but I forced myself to let it go.

I came home and made the mandala in the pictures. Elementary, I know, but the process was exhilarating. While tending to each detail I forgot to worry, forgot to plan, forgot to even think. I have a hard time getting out of my head and it was a complete feeling of relaxation--of being in the gap, totally in the moment.

The experience reminded me of something I'd read about mountain climbers. That while they are climbing, they must be totally present, only thinking about where each hand or foot will go. That was what it was like. The mindless rambling stopped. I was, for a moment, in the moment. And since it is from sand, I will also learn to let go of this creation and realize the impermanence of existence.

Letting Go of Attachments

It’s funny; I planned to write this morning about choices. I read a quote recently by Steinbeck that said (vaguely) "up ahead there are a thousand lives we might have but we’ll live only one." I searched for the exact quote this morning and couldn’t find it. Instead, I stumbled upon another nugget.

Steinbeck wrote in The Grapes of Wrath, “How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it."

I’ve seen a recurring theme in movies lately about letting go of attachments.

First, and the one that most deeply affected me, was Into The Wild. I read the book a few years ago while I was isolated in Colorado for work. I can’t seem to get the movie out of my mind anyways, but when I read the Steinbeck quote, it reminded me again. In the movie, he literally burns his money and leaves his life behind, continually re-defining himself along the way. It’s the greatest case of “letting go” that I’ve seen. Although he had nothing, only when he was in the city did he seem poor.

The other two movies I watched recently were Redemption and 10 Questions with the Dalai Lama. Of course the Dalai Lama spoke of letting go of attachments. Redemption was about the originator of the Crips gang who began teaching youth from prison. (I believe) he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times. His example of letting go, acceptance in the worst conditions, was inspiring. Even though he had caused his course, he was able to rise above the situation and make a different path for himself.

I occasionally preach that enough is enough. That to be happy, all I need are for my basic needs to be met. In the Dalai Lama movie, the narrator talks about observing the poor and how they seem happier than some of the rich. The Dalai Lama said it is because they have less expected of them: fewer bills, less demands, less stress. I agree. Even though my needs are small, I feel rich with the knowledge of having enough, knowing I’m always cared for. And with that comes peace.