Writing with Sharon. \u00a0We wrote for 20 minutes, then read and talked about what we wrote.<\/p>\n
Talking to Erica about Non-duality.\u00a0 <\/span>I find that my comfort with not knowing who I am, not having any \u201cidentity,\u201d is actually a non-dual experience \u2014 if that\u2019s the right word.\u00a0 <\/span>I was surprised to find so many people in the class are concerned about their identities and very uncomfortable if they don\u2019t have one.\u00a0 <\/span>I guess for me, and Erica pointed this out, I would often say \u201cI\u2019m a mixed bag.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>A frequent answer to how are you today?\u00a0 <\/span>There was a time when I mostly saw myself as worthless.\u00a0 <\/span>I would occasionally manage to see something \u201cworthy,\u201d I could remind myself that I am intelligent \u2014 evidence: my Wellesley degree \u2014 or that I had helped somebody.\u00a0 <\/span>When did I begin to be able to acknowledge that I had some worthwhile qualities \u2014 I think of Elizabeth saying I was \u201ckind\u201d and my astonishment \u2014 I would usually balance them with the worthless parts, and now I\u2019m beginning to see that the parts of me I think of as \u201cworthless\u201d are actually wounded.\u00a0 <\/span>In any case, seeing myself as someone with positive talents and gifts, and negative behaviors and woundings, started me referring to myself as a \u201cmixed bag.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The beauty of the phrase is I don\u2019t have to specify what different things are in the bag.\u00a0 <\/span>Might be certain things one day, and something different the next.\u00a0 <\/span>No wonder I never got attached to an identity.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s true that I still see myself as separate from the world, which is duality, but hey!\u00a0 <\/span>So what?<\/p>\n
Nothing more to say.\u00a0 <\/span>Was there another piece?\u00a0 <\/span>Cynthia talks about \u201ccosmic mystery\u201d and I immediately think of my vision of the Universe, multi-dimensional, so complex, complex beyond the capacity of a human brain to understand.\u00a0 <\/span>That reminds me of the print that hangs on my wall.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCanst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades?…” and thinking God was saying something akin to \u201cwho do you think you are?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Then later realizing that God was saying something much closer to \u201cthe complexity of the universe is beyond the capacity of your brain.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCan\u00a0 <\/span>you make luck happen?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s name was Pleiades<\/a> and I was about to graduate with a degree in Astronomy, so of course I bought it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Pleiades<\/a>, by the way, are a star cluster, also called the seven sisters. “Can you make luck happen?” is a literal translation of “bind the sweet influence…”<\/p>\n
Cynthia is Cynthia Bourgeault, who is teaching the course on Practical Nonduality for Spirituality & Practice<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Writing with Sharon. \u00a0We wrote for 20 minutes, then read and talked about what we wrote. Talking to Erica about Non-duality.\u00a0 I find that my comfort with not knowing who I am, not having any \u201cidentity,\u201d is actually a non-dual … Continue reading