“If I had to summarize the entirety of an enlightened person’s life in a few words, it would be complete acceptance of what is. As we accept what is, our minds are relaxed and composed while the world changes rapidly around us.”–Haemin Sunim from The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down.

Dear Anam Caras,

My heart goes out to you in this challenging time of Sheltering in Place. In last month’s essay, I wrote about how my mom always gave me comfort and perspective in times when it seemed like my world was in crisis. I hope to do the same for you today. At the end of this essay, I’ve also included some comforting, uplifting thoughts from others.

THE NEW ABNORMAL

The twin pandemics of Covid-19 and of Fear now seem to impact every aspect of our lives. They have ushered in a time of global communal grief as so many loved ones have been taken away. We are denied the chance to comfort the ill or dying. No longer can we gather in community to enact familiar rituals to honor the departed and console their survivors.

Having lost their financial safety nets, a record number of people are in survival mode, worrying about paying bills and buying groceries. We witness the stark contrast between the “haves and the have-nots.” No longer is it possible to deny this disparity or allow its toxic effects to lurk in the shadows.

We mourn the absence of Life As We Knew It. Gone are so many familiar ways of being human together—going to work or school every day; casual hugging and leisurely chats over coffee/tea; celebrating graduations, birthdays, weddings, house warming, new babies with friends or family while in the same room; taking a vacation, going to yoga or the gym or grocery shopping, or even getting a haircut. Some of us no longer have the luxury of psychic space. Many more of us are co-existing in cramped physical space with no way to be “alone alone.” We think wistfully of the mundane routines that we took for granted. How precious they seem now.

At the same time, we witness some world leaders display resourcefulness, intelligence, and compassion as they seek to solve this crisis by trusting medical science. Humanity seems able to more clearly see its essential Unity and Oneness. “We’re all in this together” is a new awareness for some.

Around the world, Mother Earth has been given a temporary reprieve from the abusive scourge of human induced pollution and global warming. There are countless stories of strangers offering lovingkindness. Many people display surprising resilience. Boomers like me are learning how to Zoom and be more at ease using social media. Millennials are using their phones to go old-school and actually call people!

In many cities, at adesignated time each day people stop to applaud the heroic actions of First Responders. (Here I send a shout-out to my dear daughter Lauren, an OR nurse. I bow deeply in appreciation to Lauren and all her courageous, exhausted health care colleagues around the world.)

RIDING LIFE’S ROLLER COASTER

The Middle of Nowhere

“Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It’s the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than buy into struggle and complaint. The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid…When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion arises spontaneously. By not knowing, not hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength.”

Pema Chodron, The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times.

More than ever, it feels like Uncertainty is the only Certainty. Given so much that is out of our control, how to respond in this New Abnormal, Anam Caras?

I’m reminded of the tale of the farmer and the horse. There are many versions of this Taoist tale. Here’s how I heard it:

ONCE UPON A TIME, long long ago, in the ever present now, there was a farmer eking out a living for his family. One day a magnificent white horse galloped through the village, its rider holding on for dear life. The farmer captured the horse and calmed its rider. Soon the king came to the village to thank the farmer for saving the rider, his youngest son. The king then gave the farmer this grand horse.

Quickly the villagers gathered round the farmer. They said, “What great luck to be favored by the king and to have this valuable horse! You can sell it and your family will eat for many seasons. How wonderful!”

The farmer replied, “Is that so?”

The next day the farmer’s only child decided to try riding the beautiful white horse. Never having been on a horse, the son quickly fell off and broke his leg. The grand horse ran away. Quickly the villagers came and said, “What bad luck! Now you have no one to help you with the harvest. Your family will starve this winter. How terrible!”

The farmer replied, “Is that so?”

The next week, the king’s army came and conscripted all the young men of the village with the exception of the farmer’s son with the broken leg. The villagers came and said, “Lucky you! Your only son is saved from the war! He will live a long life now!”

The farmer replied, “Is that so?”

And so life continued like this for the farmer and the villagers. The farmer understood the reality that All is Change and the Future is Always Unknown! Unlike his neighbors, he moved through life in a steady state of calm acceptance.

Today, we join our ancestors in facing into the ever changing, always unknown future. For now, there is no getting off this awful roller coaster ride, courtesy of the twin pandemics. We have two choices:

We can be like the villagers and allow every high and low of life’s roller coaster to determine our attitude.

Or we can be like the farmer and cultivate a steady state of calm acceptance.

Many years ago I went to Six Flags Great America for the first (and last time) with Harry and his children. They convinced me to go with them on the biggest baddest roller coaster. Terrified, I closed my eyes and hung on for dear life while the four of them had their hands in the air, screaming with glee. Guess who needed weeks of chiropractic afterwards. Guess what the chiropractor said: “You injured yourself by holding on too tightly. You gotta learn to go with the flow, Marti!” Yes, indeedy…

Please understand I am not making light of our current circumstance! I’m riding the pandemic roller coaster along with everyone else. By now Life has showed how much it helps to keep a steady state of calm acceptance, or what the Buddhists call “equanimity.”

There is no way around it–calmly accepting the roller coaster’s ups and downs is a moment-by-moment practice for most of us!

The Roller coaster and my Watchword “CHERISH What Is”

My Watchword practice this year is to explore how “Cherish What Is” shows up in the 12 Key Life Arenas or the 12 Houses of the horoscope. Today, April 19th, the sun enters the sign of Taurus, the sign associated with the Second House of astrology. The Second House is about Wealth, financial affairs, how we experience gain or loss, how we give or receive.

Most importantly, the Second House is related to our True Wealth. Mystics describe True Wealth as the memory track. When the physical body dies, the soul takes its memory track into its next life. Therefore, what we retain in our memory track will influence our quality of life right now and in the lives to come.

Consciousness is one’s True Wealth. Its quality is determined by what we choose to feed it. (GIGO=Garbage In Garbage Out.) The quality of our consciousness is determined not by circumstances but by our attitude towards external circumstances.

ATTITUDE IS ALL

My paramguru Sri Goswami Kriyananda spoke often about Attitudinal Karma. He served as a medic during the Korean Conflict. One day on the bloody battle field, Kriyanandaji was tending to a young man whose right arm had been blown off. The boy cried out, “What a break! I’m left-handed!” Attitude is all!

I think these roller coaster times call us to focus on the one thing we can control right now—our attitudes.

This month, my Watchword practice asks me to explore what it means to live and to “Cherish What Is” in the Second House of True Wealth. I certainly cherish the wisdom that Attitude Is All.

I cherish the freedom to cultivate a healthy useful attitude. By now, my Memory Track is enriched, knowing that Attitude Is All. It is wisdom that I will cherish now, through the coming days, and into my next life.

What about you, dear Anam Caras? What True Wealth, deep wisdom, are you cultivating these days? What thoughts are enriching your life?

“Bless what there is for being. Whatever it be, bless it because it exists. You need no other reason.”—Br. David Steindl-Rast

DEEPENING YOUR WATCHWORD PRACTICE

1. Make a SoulCollage® card for this year’s Watchword. Keep it out so you may contemplate it daily.
2. This month we are in House Two. In this new cycle, reflect and record your insights about the aspects of that Life Arena/House. For each cycle, make a new card to represent how that Watchword manifests in the corresponding new House.
3. Journal about the House Two card. See PDF here to help you dialogue with it. Step into the card and ask it to…
   • Tell me about yourself. Listen carefully and take notes when you hear the answers.
     •  “I Am One Who…”
     • Keep listening and allow for a kind of stream-of-consciousness answer.
   • What do you have to give me?
   • What do you want me to remember? Or, what do you want from me?
   • How will I remember your message?
     • (What will trigger me to remember your message? Perhaps a color, sound, fragrance, form or symbol, etc.)

HOUSE TWO  (Ruled by VENUS) Natural home of TAURUS,
the “I have” State of Consciousness

This is the Life Arena concerned with…

• Financial Affairs and Wealth
• Memory track (our True Wealth)
• The way we experience loss or gain of things
• One’s financial vision
• Capacity to borrow or loan money 
• How one gives or receives
• One’s resourcefulness
• One’s inner feelings and inner emotions
• One’s capacity for comfort

Here are the 12 cycle dates. Here are the descriptions of the 12 Houses.

If you’d like some help with the practice, please use our Contact page. I am happy to coach you so you can get comfortable. I invite you to share your experiences in the Comments section below.

My Watchword card for the Second House

I Am One Who has learned the lessons
of the Second House of Wealth, Gain & Loss.
I Am One Who realizes that my True Wealth is my memory track.

I want you to remember to…
Ascend and hold the broadest Horizon of Awareness.
Take in the Light and hold out the Light
for others who are struggling in darkness.
I want you to remember that ATTITUDE IS ALL!
I want you to remember that
you can’t go wrong being more of who you truly are.
I want you to remember that you are here to share your SoulEssence.

When you see a pink candle or an elephant of any color,
recall these lessons of the Second House.
And take them with you into your next life.

Peace be unto you, dear Anam Caras. May you walk in Beauty today and all the days of your life, dear ones. With great love and respect,

Take a break from the the anxious roller coaster ride that our screens deliver. Instead, enjoy these uplifting offerings.

The gorgeous music of Andrea Bocelli’s Easter concert.

OR

Chris Hatfield: An Astronaut’s Guide to Self-Isolation

In this short video Chris shares the four simple steps that astronauts use to stay safe in hazardous situations.

1. Understand the Actual Risk
2. Choose Goals. What’s your mission?
3. Identify Constraints
4. Take action 

OR

Gary Zukav writes about Coronavirus—Opportunity or Obstacle

OR

An excellent TED talk about who knows what’s good or bad that includes a version of the Farmer and the Horse story.