Savoring

The discipline of blogging is grounding me and helping me stay present to what I'm experiencing, even if I am unable to publish the blog daily. The tempation to just float along in a foreign city is great, but I know I would regret not having a record of the details that are so rich here. So thank you to all my friends that encouraged me to create this blog, it was a loving nudge toward discipline and practice.


Day 3 was rich and satisfying, and I savored all three full portions (rather than the nibbling I thought was necessary). We started the morning in a guided Metta (lovingkindness) meditation led by Bhante Sujato, an Australian Buddhist monk and abbot of the Santi Forest Monastery near Sydney. He was a walking (well, sitting) example of true kindness. He gave us great food for self-reflective thought as more and more participants arrived late and (to me) disruptively, he would simply smile and welcome them, open the circle for them, and continue with his soft-spoken message as he prepared us for the meditation. I was humbled by his unconditonal acceptance.

The second serving a lecture by Andrew Cohen, a spiritual teacher and publisher of Enlightenment Magazine (EnlightenNext). He was a New York Jew with a funny, irreverent, and almost inappropriate laugh, and kept our attention for 90 minutes sitting on hard chairs. His message was of the universal nature of the ecstatic urge to create, the evolutionary impulse in all of us. He reminded us that we must come together and collaborate, as the old structures are dissolving and the new has yet to appear. Reminded me a great deal of our Visioning practice, and of course the teaching of Abraham-Hicks, that we must live focused on what we want, live the vision, rather than trying to fix what is not working. It takes courage to live our vision, but is incredibly liberating, yes?


A Catholic-Buddhist dialogue was the next serving, with a panel of priests, monks, scholars, and theologians (sp?). One scholar spoke of the dying Christ and the dying Buddha, one with blood and pain and suffering (Jesus) and the other with a smile of sweet repose (Buddha). They were able to draw similarities, but I was struck by how the dying process symbolized the significant differences in spiritual "tone."

For dessert, we enjoyed the Sacred Music Concert, with amazing performances from around the world. One favorite was Dr. Kim Cunio & Heather Lee of the Sephardic tradition...her voice rang through the plenary hall, contrasted with Dr. Kim's deep deep baritone. Phenomenal. And we all were so proud of our very own Agape International Choir performing on the world stage. You just gotta love Rickie BB, she had our extremely diverse audience on their feet clapping and singing, and you have to know that for one, Australians, like the British, do not dance and clap easily, and imagine how lyrical it was to see the monks with their robes swaying.

Feeling spiritually fed and well-nourished, it was an incredibly day, and we get to do it all over again tomorrow. Stay tuned...