The Zen Diarist

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The healing power of love – it’s free and available now

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The healing power of love is so extraordinary that we should be able to bottle it. Actually, we don’t need to because it is freely available anywhere at any time. Yes, it’s on draught right where you are now!

Healing power is more than touch

Physical touch is normally an important part of healing, but that’s only part of the story. Love is, of course, much more than touch. There can be a huge difference between an embrace filled with warmth and one given, say, because it is “the right thing to do”. The first contains the healing power of love, whereas the other is like an empty pot. The same may be said for actions, words and even a glance – it is the underlying intent that conveys the essence.

What is going on below the surface?

It goes without saying that the world at the moment is sick and that there is need for healing on a grand scale. Medicines and vaccines will play a major part in dealing with the pandemic, of course, but at some point the underlying causes need treating, too. In most cultures, it is a tenet of traditional medicine that when conditions are right and in balance there is good health. When there is imbalance, internal or external, there is potential for sickness, and the world has been seriously out of balance for a very long time. The governor of balance is our consciousness, whether that be individual or collective.

Love is movement towards unity of consciousness

Healing is in essence a process that harmonises and unifies. The world has always been troubled with the opposite – divisiveness – and this has manifested so very clearly in world politics in recent times. Divisiveness is a symptom of the ego, or sense of a self that is independent of others. It is this which creates poverty, racism, selfishness and every other human ill. To restore balance, the human race needs to move towards unity, both within itself and with the world of which it is a part.

Mind the cracks

What can we do? One of the ego’s best lines of defence is to blame. When we judge or criticise others, we put ourselves apart from them. Watering the seeds of separateness within ourselves, the cracks in our consciousness grow. This view on life informs everything we think, feel, say and do. Instead, we need to heal the cracks, and love is the wonderful glue that helps to do that. When we notice our thoughts turning judgmental, we send out loving kindness instead. It’s actually not that difficult, so even if we are obliged to stay at home, we can still radiate wholeness and goodness. That’s healing.

Moving towards enlightened living is the theme of Awakening Heart – The Blissful Path to Self Realisation

Related posts:

  1. Trees and the sinfulness of tai chi
  2. Love: why cosmic glue stops us falling apart
  3. Home improvements that strike at our essence
  4. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out

Trees and the sinfulness of tai chi

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There is a wonderful magic about trees. But maybe today we are too concerned with world affairs. Trees have become an ecological issue rather than a beauty to behold. And they can teach us so much. Stand and admire a tree, any tree, and listen. Whether a magnificent horse-chestnut or a scrawny alder sapling, focusing on a tree can help us reconnect with Earth.

Those with some sensitivity may notice that different species impart varying qualities. A stroll through a deciduous wood feels so different from a walk in a coniferous forest, for instance. If we stand by an apple tree, the energy is very much in contrast to that of a mighty oak.

Some meditation traditions employ these differences, knowing that sitting under one type will produce different effects in the meditator than another. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Not just any old tree.

Jesus doesn’t do tai chi, I’m told

Ignorance is part of all of us but it can be staggering at times. Seeing a shard of light through a window doesn’t make us enlightened.

For nearly fifteen years we have run a not-for-profit tai chi group. Tai chi is wonderful for people of all ages, providing exercise for body and mind. It is recommended by the NHS, Versus Arthritis,  and the Alzheimers Society amongst many others.

This week I made enquiries about the possible use of a sports hall for tai chi. The hall is part of a community centre, which used to be in public ownership and is now owned by a church. They know us well on the community side of things and the wonderfully spacious hall was available. It would have been ideal.

However, the manager informed me that they would not allow tai chi there. It was completely at odds with their beliefs. They can’t allow that sort of thing. Tai chi is “Chinese and it has mystical roots which don’t fit with Jesus and his teachings”. Oh. Nor does yoga or meditation, in case you were wondering. I don’t know what they would think of trees.

Related posts:

  1. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out
  2. Qi power – secrets of internal energy for health and stability
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  4. Something to smile about

Looking for light is vital for our future

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looking for lightIs there light in a cup of tea, a blade of grass or a butterfly? There is, of course, and it is in everything if we choose to look, even in what we regard as unpleasant. Looking for light, particularly when it seems to be absent, can be very therapeutic. Nature tends to draw us out of darkness. Evolution is concerned with just that – the process of enlightenment.

Everything vibrates, and what we describe as light simply has a faster rate of vibration than darkness. Someone once said that all on our planet, and indeed the planet itself, is solidified sunlight. Between light and dark is where we may think we find ourselves now, in innumerable shades of grey – but, if we look, there is also an incredible spectrum of colour.

Recognising light

Looking for light has to do with recognition. In the human being, light is akin to our higher nature – our better, finer qualities. How we perceive the world around us, from our immediate environment to all that we see or hear, depends on our inner state. If our heart is heavy, everything we see or hear seems miserable, but if we see the good in the world and in other people, a magical change occurs.

Our world may seem to have been turned upside down but there appears to be a shift in the way many people are starting to think. Instead of a desire simply to return to life as it was, there is evidence of a growing desire for change, for goodness to emerge.

Increasing our inner light

Our own inner light, which has its source in our spirit or soul, is always ready to grow. We just need to give it some encouragement. When the world seems a little dark, which it can at times, recognising the inherent goodness in people and in things is vital for our emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. As we all contribute to the collective consciousness of humanity, that’s good not just for us but for the whole planet.

Awakening Heart – The Blissful Path to Self Realisation

Related posts:

  1. Something to smile about
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  3. Love: why cosmic glue stops us falling apart
  4. Clarity: why it’s a vital antidote to this mad world

Taking refuge can give us what we really want

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When there’s a storm blowing, people and animals take refuge from it and, in a sense, that’s what many of us are doing now. There are plenty who are still working, of course, and others very busy looking after young children or with other responsibilities. But for the majority, it is a form of retreat, or can be. Time to reflect, perhaps, and time to enjoy being oneself. It has certainly caused me to reflect on many things, including a couplet from one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s breathing meditations: “Breathing in, I go back to myself. Breathing out, I take refuge in my own island”.

Taking refuge is finding safety inside as well as out

For many years, I felt slightly uncomfortable with that. It seemed quite at odds with John Donne’s famous phrase, “no man is an island”, with which I was sternly admonished as a teenager, and which thereafter always echoed in my brain. Suddenly, though, in this enforced retreat it makes sense. Staying at home takes care of the physical refuge. It also provides the opportunity to go further than that and bring the mind home, too, closer to its natural state.

Bringing the mind home

A good start is to resist the urge to check news and social media many times a day. We just don’t need so much information. It simply irritates the mind, uses up enormous amounts of energy, and drains our qi. Why shorten life unnecessarily? Taking refuge reverses that process of looking outwards all the time. It allows the mind to come to a more peaceful place, where true creativity lies. Surprisingly quickly, we can be satisfied with less and soon find fullness, here and now. Isn’t that, deep down, what we want? What we really, really want?

Drawn from The Art of Not Doing: How to Achieve Inner Peace and a Clear Mind

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  2. Time: why keeping an eye on the clock shortens your life
  3. Stillness and clarity: here’s how they can save your life
  4. Stop the world? You can’t, but you can stop yourself

Something to smile about

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Have you noticed how many people are smiling today? In spite of all the difficulties that are going on, and the sadness and distress that are affecting so many hundreds of thousands of families across the globe, so much goodness is emerging. Community spirit is growing as we realise we are all part of one family after all. We were asked by a driver the other day as he was delivering some groceries how we were doing. It was a sincere question, to which we gave a sincere answer – every day we count our blessings. He thought for a second, returned a kind smile and said, “I think that’s all any of us can do.”

Smile for today, and for the future

Nothing lasts forever, nor will this pandemic. We know that. There is light at the end of the tunnel, possibly more light than we might think. We don’t know for sure that the world will become a better place, but looking forward to that possibility can uplift us. When we are in the dark, a torch can be really useful. I think a smile is a bit like a torch – it lights up everywhere we are.

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Thank you for reading. If you would like more, please take a look at my books.

Guided meditations

Related posts:

  1. Looking for light is vital for our future
  2. How to live softly with ease and help the planet
  3. It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out
  4. Love: why cosmic glue stops us falling apart