Obaitori

awakened one

I'm often a little unsure of just where to start when recapping an Obaitori gathering. How does one condense four hours of conversation and teachings into a meaningful, succinct post? I'll just try.

We began under the dark sky filled with silver stars, the southern cross and the blessed milky way. Venus has been favouring the sky and soon our determinations, prayers and wishes will bear fruit.

We spoke about spirit, creating happiness, balance and self-love. Here are some highlights.

♥ start with the basics at home, a steady yet flexible routine, a good night sleep for all, healthy food,

♥ nourishing our family and ourselves spiritually.

♥ a quote from Satyananda on a starting point for a successful life, "If you take five asanas, two pranayamas, one technique of relaxation, any technique of meditation or repetition of mantra, they will bring about an effect. They will influence the processes that take place in your psycho-emotional plane and thereby you will become healthier, happier and more enlightened. This is the purpose."

♥ We discussed at length the Buddhist concept that, happiness that is dependent on external circumstances can never be truly fulfilling. So how can we be truly happy all the time?

♥ We read that "Those who make an effort to improve themselves, can experience the four noble worlds - learning, realisation, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood. These worlds require belief in the potential to elavate our state of life, self-discipline and a conscious effort to sustain and express these states of life.

♥ We can choose to be happy.

♥ We can elevate our life state our higher vibration through mantra and pranayama.

♥ We listened to part of the Lotus Sutra being chanted. This is the key sutra in Buddhism to unlocking your inherent Buddhahood.

♥ We chanted Gayatri mantra 11 times to acknowledge that we are like the sun, who's qualities include light, illumination, nourishment, consistency and life.

♥ When we polish our mirrors, our own lives, they become bright and we reflect this light onto others.

♥ Be like the sun.

♥ We spoke about the physical body. Especially how as mothers we are challenged or given 'opportunities' to stretch ourselves everyday. We need to be strong, solid and have the resources to do this demanding yet satisfying job.

♥ Some extra nourishment; Mega Magnesium by Ethical nurtrients provides magnesium plus essential minerals zinc, selenium and chromium. This relieves stress, pre-menstrual tension, cramping, it assists in cellular energy production.

♥ The ayurvedic tonic for bedtime to enhance ojas; cow's milk of your choice, brought just to the boil, add cardomon and almond meal. If you need to enhance your loveliness and connect with light beings like Mother Mary, Saraswati, Amma ... add a teaspoon of rosewater. Say your evening prayers to realign your determinations, dab on your swadhistana chakra purfume* and go to bed reading sacred books about these deities and saints.

♥ the shape of the planet Venus unfolds like a rose.

♥ we can pray anywhere at anytime. It doesn't have to be in a formal situation.

♥ Many women spoke of a tender sacrum, swadhistana chakra. This chakra is about power, sexuality, desire, happiness. Swadhistana means, 'one's own abode'. A short meditation of awareness here with the image of a vermillion lotus with six petals. The beeja mantra chanted, vam. Gently, tenderly can start to soften this area and gradually wake it up again.

♥ Swadhistana chakra perfume recipe - in a base oil of 50mls add as many drops to your liking of orange, sandalwood, jasmine, rose. Omit anything you don't like or need due to health requirements, e.g pregnancy. Rub this oil around the pelvis with the image of the lotus just around the cervix chanting, vam. Breathe deeply. Know that you are divine.

To the wonderful women who attended the last night's Obaitori gathering, if you would like to add anything of your experience from last night, please leave a comment. All comments welcome.

 

adding love

I'm reading Immortal Light. This precious tiny drop of love offers a practical and insightful guide about how to blend spiritual life with home life and family life.

Lovely second hand copies here.

I really want to start adding this practice to our day;

"At sunset a lamp filled with clarified butter or any vegetable oil should be lit and everyone in the household should gather near it to sing hymns and do a little meditation. There is no need to compel anyone to participate in worship. Do not be troubled if someone is not joining.

Saying prayers at sunset was a common practice in every household - in India. Today we are suffering the consequences of this neglect. At dusk, the juncture of day and night, the atmosphere is impure.

Through meditation and singing devotional songs, we gain one-pointedness of mind which will purify our minds and the atmosphere."

I'm going to do this instead of 'suicide hour' or the 'witching hour/s.'

Is this a type of Evensong?

We sing many different devotional songs, mainly in sanskrit. I have a feeling that Indira will like Psalm 26 The Lord Is My Shepherd. We have a lovely version of this as a picture book. My favourite line, " I shall not want."

 

 

prayer for the young

"May the children of the world grow constantly in spiritual awareness and peace consciousness. May more and more young people each day find the wisdom of simply being and awakening. May we all find the alert stillness of our Buddha natures."

Source and read more here.

healing with children

Madalasa

We've been curled up on the lounge yesterday and today nursing a sickness. Indira doesn't often get unwell and when she does, she goes all quiet and lies down like a fawn in the forest.

I've been tending her gently, giving her water, flower essences, mandarins, honey drinks and chanting the Mahamyritunjaya healing mantra.

We chant this mantra everyday, at bedtime. It is one she knows and loves particularly at havan time. The benefits of healing from this mantra make it a strong potion. But mantra does more than that.

Niranjan has said that when you expose your children to the science of mantra it unblocks the inner knowledge of self...

Swami Sivananda Saraswati has said,

"The mind is like the sensitive plate of a camera. Whatever is exposed to the lens is registered on the sensitive plate behind. Even so, whatever is seen or heard is permanently impressed on the sensitive plate behind.

The minds of children are very impressionable. They are very plastic. Mothers and teachers should be very careful when they deal with children. They should not tell them anything that will frighten them. On the contrary they should tell them stories of chivalrous persons, which will make them bold and courageous. Even during the period of pregnancy, mothers should read inspiring books like Ramayana, Bhagavata, Mahabharata, if they wish to bring forth intelligent and brave children. Mothers, fathers and teachers should have at least an elementary knowledge of psychology. Then alone can they mould their children properly.

The sage Madalasaa sang the following cradle song when she rocked the cradle of her children: ''Suddhosi Buddhosi Niranjanosi Samsara - maya-parivarjitosi" - "O child. Thou art Pure Consciousness. Thou art stainless. Thou art devoid of maya and samsara." She made all her children sages.

The world is in dire need of women-sages like Madalasaa. The destiny of the world and children is in the hands of intelligent mothers."

Source

Wow, what an amazing job we have! To those of you who are mothers - I think most women are, children or not - I hope you had a fabulous day yesterday, have an even better one today and more incredible day tomorrow.

What do you do when your children are unwell?

 

silence, kindness, humility

 

"During this time of grace let us, in a special way, ask our Lady to teach us her silence, her kindness, her humility."

"Silence of Mary speak to me , teach me how with you and like you I can learn to keep things in my heart as you did, not to answer back when accused or corrected, to pray always in the silence of my heart as you did."

~ Mother Theresa ~

 

 

Wishing mothers all around the world a very special day.

To the Universal Mothers, Mary, Amma, Saraswati ... I humbly bow down to you. Grant my wish for grace, dignity, love, compassion, humility, wisdom and Divinity.

 

turning poison into medicine

The times that I get angry is when I feel my time is impinged upon. For example, we are walking out the door and the children are dawdling or I have asked them to do something and they haven't and then I have to spend the next five minutes doing it. We have lost more time... there is less time for me, for my needs.

I would yell at the children and as a result feel guilty for most of the day. This was becoming a repeated scenario, a pattern. Time to stop.

In meditation I looked deeply at this. I worked out, for me, that I was experiencing what is referred to in Buddhism as, the Three Poisons. They are greed, anger and foolishness.

I was being greedy with my time. I wanted more. When it didn't go my way it manifested as anger which in turn was expressed as foolishness. Fancy yelling at such sweet, young children? Easily done when I wasn't doing morning prayer.

You see it got very cold here in the last month and at 6am I didn't get out of bed when I should have. When I do I have time for me I sit at my altar with a steaming hot peppermint tea, light my candles in the dark, think, be, pray and feel that I could sit there eternally. Peace descends and my heart softens.

This is the way I transform my negative experience. In the stillness of the morning I see it logically, I breath, I get more oxygen to my brain, I think straight, I transform, I re-evaluate those aspects I wish to transform, I pray that I can bring them out from deep within, I forgive myself, I encourage myself, I vow once again to improve, I know that my enlightened behaviour will be a shining example to my children and this gives me even more determination to change.

Here is an extract from Marianne Williamson's book, Woman's Worth on morning prayer;

Time spent in morning prayer and meditation can save hours of tears shed later over something we have said or done. How many times have we said to ourselves, "How could I have been so dumb?" The answer is that we are not dumb; we were simply at the mercy of a frantic mind, not centered on its own sublime power. We were focused on things that were ultimately unimportant, while the deeper issues of life were left mainly ignored. These are the things that are bound to happen when we do not take the time each day to purify our thoughts.

 

According to A Course in Miracles, five minutes spent with God’s Spirit in the morning guarantees He will be in charge of our thought forms throughout the day. Each morning we can begin with spiritual confidence, surrendering to God’s will and praying that our eyes be opened to the miracles He has planned for us. Each day can be a glorious canvas painted by the hand of God, and we pray for eyes with which to see it.

Have a beautiful day.

playful steps to God's heart

As you might know we are polytheist. There is a little uncertainty - on both sides I'm sure - about our new schooling education. Indira started school Catholic school this week and Bodhi comes along for drop off. Here are some of the scenarios and conversational highlights from the week;

At home, settling into bed:

Indira ~ Mummy I have some really good news.

Me ~ Great. What is it?

I ~ Jesus is alive again. He has reincarnated!

Me ~ Oh, I think you might mean, resurrected.

I ~ Is he really alive Mama?

Me ~ Yes Sweetie, he is in your heart. Every time you are kind to others and love everyone, Jesus is alive.

Leaving the church with Bodhi after giving thanks to Mary for all of her blessings:

B ~ Mummy, this is holy water. It's special. I'm going to drink it now. I'll pretend it's beer.

Me ~ slight cringe - "Okay, darling." I figured that God makes beer too and it is special.

Indira travelling to school in the car singing Sarah Humphrey's version of Wilco's Jesus etc. in her sweet 5 year old voice -

Jesus don't cry. I'll be there for you honey.

You can come by any time you want.

I'll be around.

You were right about the stars.

Each one is a setting sun ....

~~~

God, thank you for creating us all so perfectly individual. For loving us totally, for accepting us as we are.

In Satyananda's words; There are as many religions as there are people.

 

 

obaitori march

Tonight at Obaitori we will begin our second series on the Art of Freedom. Attached here is some reading material for your convenience. Look forward to seeing all of your happy faces. Love Katie

Peace, bliss, harmony. Who is able to experience these states? So many people these days are struggling with their own minds. Influenced by their conditionings, and overwhelmed by the pressures of day to day living in today's increasingly stressful society, they are full of mental tensions, which manifest as anxiety, nervousness, guilt, lack of self-confidence, loneliness, fear, obsessions and phobias. Some turn to drugs and alcohol as a temporary means of escape and solace. Others enlist the costly help of psychiatrists or psychotherapists to try and cope. All are looking for some form of change, a little relief from the inner conflicts and turmoil, wanting to feel at ease with themselves, or even to experience, if not bliss, just a modicum of peace and contentment.

~Sannyasi Atmatattwananda ~

For the full article; click here.

 

 

 

spiritual principles in daily life

This morning I awoke after the children, grumbling and complaining. I spent a good ten minutes convincing myself otherwise. It lasted until the whine of children's requests scrambled my brain a bit more and set me back. I struggled through the breakfast routine and secured myself safely in front of my altar where usually I'm not harrassed. I started chanting - Bodhi plonked himself on my lap, this is okay I love it when they sit on my lap but my mind was drawn back into the high pitched voices - and I started to remind myself, "It's okay. You'll be alright. You'll get through this morning. You are doing really well" talk. I said my prayers, "Let me unfold Buddhahood from my life, develop a pure heart, change my karma ..."

The positivity chord really did not strike for me today until I was reminded of my good fortune. I was picking up two new dresses. I have two dresses!

Let me backtrack. Katherine Swynford, my namesake was a powerfully, strong woman from the 14th Century. Although she was connected to royalty and later on created the line of the Tudors she was poor. At age 18 she was given a dress. She now had two dresses nothing else but the dress on her back and a clean dress to wear.

Okay, so I have alot more than two dresses and here I was grumbling. I took a deep breath, looked at the beautiful blue sky around me and mouthed, thank you;

Thank you for my valuable lesson about the nature of my mind, thank you for being so patient with me, thank you for so gently showing me the light through gratitude.

"Spirituality is the technique of increasing our level of awareness. Meditation, chanting, trying to follow the spiritual principles in our daily life - all of these will help us to increase our awareness. If we can cultivate more awareness, we can overcome the obstacles that prevent us from realizing our True Self."

Ramakrishnananda Puri in Ultimate Success.

Also, I'm not sure about the coincidental or synchronicity of this event but the dresses that I was picking up were being made for me. I have worn the same dress for twenty five years and every few years or so I get another one made. Last night whilst reading Katherine I googled what 14th century women wore and sure enough my dress popped up. It is very plain, long sleeved, fitted around the bosom and to the waist then it falls out into a full skirt. ?

Ah, my dear friend, ego. Hello.

oh picasso

This weekend we ventured into Sydney with some friends and visited Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Inspired by his work, silhouettes and shapes from all over the city we came home to draw, write, paint and sculpt.

How was your weekend? I truly hope that you are happy and well.

Joining up with the lovely Amanda from Habit of Being for weekending.

~~~

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child”

Pablo Piccaso