Good news from the good earth-10/27/09

I am a great fan of “News of the Weird,” the site maintained by the illustrious and hysterical Chuck Shepherd that compiles the strangest and often most grotesque exploits of the human race; they remind me all too often of the Darwin awards and how outrageous living as a human on earth can truly be. So while looking over it this week I stumbled on the snippet below which illustrates to me the subtle and impossibly quirky nature (and humor) of the universe, and what is sometimes referred to as karma.

Adventure in the Bush: In June, after a monitored, endangered marsupial (a “woylie”) was killed in West Australia, scientists set out to recover the expensive radio collar transmitter it was wearing, but as they approached the signal, a 6-foot-long python swallowed the woylie and collar. The scientists captured the snake, intending to wait for the collar to pass through, but poachers broke into the Department of Environment and Conservation’s shelter and stole the python, surely intending to sell it. According to a June report in The West Australian, the scientists, aided by authorities, eventually picked up the radio transmissions again, arrested one poacher, and freed the snake from its impending life of captivity. [The West Australian, 6-27-09]

Life does not always reward the righteous, nor does it always punish the pilferer, but in this instance, it seems to have done both. Poachers feel, perhaps not unjustly, that they simply can’t feed their families and need to poach animals to survive. Animal protectors feel that it is their (and our) duty to protect endangered and threatened (and really all) species from ourselves. Both were acting in what they feel to be the right manner. Yet the poachers slipped up and as a result, were caught. The diligence and care of the scientists was rewarded. Is there an unseen, karmic hand of justice at work here? Tangentially, this incident makes me think of the work being done with elephants in Africa to track down and catch the poachers that have killed members of their herds, as they have near-perfect memories of the humans with which they come in contact.

So what is my point? I raise the question of morality to you dear reader, and whether or not the universe rewards those who seek to do good to others and act compassionately, without very much self-interest and often against all “logical” reasoning. I raise along with it the question of whether or not surrendering to the universe helps this process along in any noticeable way.

Often when looking back on an event that seemed grueling, terrible or unjust as I was muddling through it, I find this sort of pattern emerging when hindsight finally graces me with its insightful lens. Examples abound in my life, and surely in yours. Essentially, I feel that the present moment hides the deeper purposes and machinations of the universe and the Cosmic Intelligence that permeates it, because we hide it from ourselves and are often projecting the future/past onto it. This is rarely done from an entirely (or partially) selfless intention. Thus, it seems that only while looking back from some point in the future can we really see that the branching but subtle nature of cause and effect was leading us towards some unforeseen boon. Or perhaps, tragedy. I again raise the question of karmas, a much-used term that I define as actions, whether beneficial or harmful to ourselves and/or others.

A good example from my life, of beneficent karma coming about through surrender, and no small measure of mystery: several years ago I lived with a couple and the woman’s younger brother in Nederland, Colorado. She worked at Century 21 selling real estate and one day a man showed up at her office with his Norwegian Keeshond and his pickup truck, saying he was looking to buy property in the area. She waved him over to the house where I and the other roommates were relaxing, telling him we were good folks that would certainly entertain him while she got some prospective homes together for him to look at.

He ended up staying with us and living in the truck in front of our house for about two months, using our shower and kitchen, and though he never bought a house there he stayed for two years and became a great friend. One year after meeting us, out of nowhere, he dragged me to L.A. on an all-night road trip for a Playaween party, an annual Burning Man-related event that takes place on or around Halloween. In order to go I had to skip 3 days of work, spend money I didn’t have, and take a chance-yet it felt right, so I did. At that party I met a gaggle of wild and unpredictable burners, as they are sometimes called, signaling to me that I should certainly attend Burning Man the following year to experience it and reconnect with these new friends. I was told by near-perfect strangers, “don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of.” Bear in mind that at this time in my life I felt that the universe was a dangerous place and certainly not supportive of me and my projects.

Flashing forward to almost a year ahead, the same friend with whom I was living that was in the abovementioned couple, was meant to be married the day that Burning Man was to start to the woman who lived with us-but through another string of cause and effect the wedding was broken off 3 days prior to the planned day, very painfully and suddenly. On a whim I flew back to Colorado, grabbed the pickup truck of the friend who had arrived looking to buy a house (the same truck he slept in, parked in front of our house) that was now sitting parked and idle in Denver (he suggested I take this bizarre course of action and it felt right, so I said “sure”), and drove myself and the heartbroken groom-not-to-be out to Burning Man with just enough gas money to get there and no tickets to the event, no food or clothing and not a clue about how to survive in the desert for a week at a wild art and music festival. Yet we were taken care of, fed, dressed, shown around and sent home with money in our pockets, just as I was told we would be. In truth we were cared for far beyond any expectations I could have had.

This experience at Burning Man led me to meet several other amazing folks, one of whom (after I moved back to the NYC area) hired me at a yoga studio founded by a man named Dharma Mittra, one of the great living masters of yoga. Again this friend said to me, “I think it would be a good idea for you,” so surrendering my other job, I jumped in with both feet for a pay cut, a 2-hour commute (as opposed to 15 minutes) and a job working for a studio that I knew nothing about. Merely a good feeling led me to do this. This in turn led me to start practicing yoga in a serious manner, delving into the sacred history, practices and texts of this ancient and scientific path to liberation, health and compassion, and 200-hour certifications in two different styles of Hatha Yoga, one of them with the man who is now my teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra. In the midst of this I found a job at a holistic learning center that led me to a Reiki certification, and gave me the confidence to start studying with the Shamanic teacher and healer who I had been receiving healings from over the last few years, and now I am practicing that incredible form and sharing the light with others.

Don’t worry if it sounds like a tangled web and I lost you about a paragraph ago. The gist is this-as it was happening, I felt a bit crazed, wayward and often was beyond broke, borrowing money here and there and eating little. Yet looking back, rather than a tangled web I see one line in the sand, drawn by a wise and compassionate hand that was leading me, step by step, into my current passion and profession, yoga teacher and shamanic reiki practitioner. Some of these branches were conscious decisions that I had to make and ordeals to pass through in their own rights. Yet each time, something “felt” right, and I grabbed the outstretched hand of a stranger, a friend or a teacher, and simply went along for the ride as best I could.

This brings me to the real point-surrendering to the universe. In all these instances I simply said “yes,” regardless of finances, responsibilities and “better judgment.” In fact, I consciously went against all my monetary concerns (and the advice of others) because somewhere along the walk/web I learned that surrendering to fate while keeping faith that the universe is an ally invariably ends up well. I guess it was a case of listening to my heart, to put it in a trite but accurate way. And of course, I have not yet seen the end of this journey, so it may all go south; in the meantime these experiences have led me to a deep feeling of reciprocal trust towards the world around me.

Back to the snake, the woylie and the poachers. What can we learn from this incident, and can we draw any insights from these events that certainly tie in with surrender and stealing? It’s too simplistic to say that because the poachers were committing a crime, that because they were breaking and entering and even worse, depleting dangerously depleted animal populations, they were punished by the universe, the Divine, by God, et al. Yet the great sages of all the world traditions speak of merit, karma, good works, compassion, etc, as the key to a happy life and all the world’s spiritual paths suggest that there is retribution for wrong action, even if the method varies. The wise ones suggest that as soon as we begin to release the plan, even if we try to formulate one at first (not a bad idea of course), and start to listen to the subtle language of chance and see if things “feel” right, we enter into a direct relationship of give and take with life. Perhaps it already exists but by consciously releasing our agendas and taking risks we are able to come more into balance with it.

And in that spirit I offer gratitude to you, dear one, for having made it this far. I invite you to take ten minutes during the next day and look back on the branching path of cause and effect that has led you to this blog and to your life in its present form, whatever that may be. Try to release the judgment about that life and see if there is indeed a visible trail of cause and effect that you can begin to pinpoint that has run through your life like a string of pearls-major events, choices, crises, etc. See if you can begin to feel when and where you have chosen to surrender to the world and when and where you have felt dearth, lack and fear, and forcibly taken what you could, even if it was not offered. Then see if you can find any kind of effects that came from these choices, and where those led. This is a sometimes scary process but it begins to offer insight into the mind-forms that we live with, and perhaps it can help to loosen some of them and offer deeper wisdom. As the wisest of the wise say, the more we surrender and give, the more we are able to receive.

Blessings, Gratitude,

Barbu

 

News of the Weird excerpt can be found on the url listed below:

http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html

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