In practice: Pam Sellman’s Thought for the Week
‘Whatever practice I’m doing, the essence is to be connected to my inner creativeness.’
In Meeting for Worship recently we were reminded to ‘Respect the wide diversity among us’ (Advices & queries 22). Within the diversities that seem to separate us, there are similarities which connect us. I have found many of these through a diverse set of practices, which also encourage me to connect to my inner light.
Recently I have rediscovered Kum Nye, a form of Tibetan yoga sometimes referred to as an internal massage, relaxing both mind and body. The breathing and physical movement can help the participant to focus on the present moment.
Connecting to this present moment is an important concept in many practices. Sun Kyeong, a South Korean method, does the same, incorporating gratitude meditations to start each day. Sun Kyeong embraces the abundance of nature, and the chanting reminds me to let go of negative thoughts and open up to beauty.
A recent mindfulness course also encouraged me to focus on the current moment, letting go of concerns for tomorrow. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu advised: ‘If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.’
Or as mindfulness teacher James Baraz reminds us: ‘Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).’
Another quote, from Austrian psychologist (and Holocaust survivor) Viktor Frankl, says that ‘Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’
One more, from the Buddhist peacebuilder Daisaku Ikeda, reminds me that in our communities we can build ‘networks of wonderful diversity, microcosms of world peace where everyone shines in their own unique way, just as cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms each display there unique kind of beauty’. But we also need to recognise our similarities as human beings who all need to be nurtured and loved.
Then back to Quaker faith & practice: 26.31, a Harvey Gillman quote, which reminds me that whatever practice I’m doing, the essence is to be connected to my inner creativeness/light/power:
‘I do believe that there is a power which is divine, creative and loving, though we can often only describe it with the images and symbols that rise from our particular experiences and those of our communities. This power is part and parcel of all things, human, animal, indeed of all the lives. Its story is greater than any one cultural version of it and yet it is embodied in all stories, in all traditions. It is a power that paradoxically needs the human response. Like us it is energised by the reciprocity of love.’
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