Based on the excerpt from the article written by Meg Wheatley, I had the following reflection:

In my relatively long life journey ( I am 96 years old) I have encountered many ups and downs and there were a few times I felt groundlessness, a sense of sinking down without bottom, darkness without rays of hope. In such dark times of my life I felt and saw the light of based on the ground of unwavering faith. Faith is the light that hardly gets extinguished.

I felt dense darkness and groundlessness during the second stage of my life. I felt helplessness and hopelessness. They were dark periods of my life. Light of Faith in the higher power helped me go through dense darkness and see the light. Keeping my mind open and curious, accepting myself as imperfect, mindfully reducing the noise in my mind, and being grateful to my family and friends for holding my hands when I was falling down have been very helpful to me.
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Namaste!

"Heartbreak comes with the territory called being human." as Parker Palmer says in this passage. As human beings we all go through all kinds of sufferings-physical, mental, emotional and relational. Our challenge is how do we turn the power of suffering toward new life. Trying to numb the pain of suffering as anesthetics deepens our suffering. Keeping our heart suppressed and closed and making it hard and inflexible creates more suffering. When I relate to my suffering and or someone's suffering with an open, subtle and compassionate heart, I develop greater capacity to take in my sorrows and joys. This is spiritual alchemy.

I have encountered many losses in my life causing a lot of emotional pain. And I have learned how to relate to my painful experiences by keeping my heart open and processing my pain with loving kindness. This is the way I relate to "life's little death" without numbing and suppressing my pain without an anesthetics.
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Namaste.

Here is my reflection after reading the excerpt from Jacques Verduin's article:
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We all are interbeings. The face of intrabeing is also the face of interbeing. What I do has an impact on the other and what the other has also an impact on me. We all are intertwined. If I am aware of my wrong doing and do not defend it and ask for forgiveness I get redeemed of my wrong doing. Every moment of offense carries within it the grace of redemption.

We all are facing the wave of COVID19 virus. If I do not take precautions such as taking vaccines and a booster it may have an impact on others who come in contact with me. We do not live on an isolated island. We all are connected with others. As I am 96 years old I am more susceptible to getting the virus. By taking vaccinations and a booster shot I am protecting myself and also protecting others coming in contact with me.

Responsibility is the other side of the face of freedom. In that way my freedom is in your hand of responsibility and your freedom is in my hand of responsibility. Sadly for some people freedom is a one way street. Free but not responsible. Knowing that we all are interconnected and remaining aware and implementing that knowledge in every walk of my life helps me act wisely. I know my freedom is in your hands and your freedom is in my hands. My fate is in your hands and your fate is my hands. We are interconnected. We are not an isolated island. May we all have this awakened state of mind.

Namaste!

Here is my reflection after reading an excerpt from Ken Wilber's book - One Taste.
When I look out from the eyes, the seer is looking out, the witness consciousness is looking out untouched by what is being seen. What is being seen changes but not the seer or the witness. I like what Ken Wilber says, " There is only One State, within which different states arise. There is only One Taste, through which various different tastes flow." Though we see different selves, there is only One Self. When we realize this Truth, "the heartbeat of compassion will resound. A constant cloud of caring will rain on every parade." as Ken Wiber says.

When I am in deep meditative state the self-created walls of divisiveness and fragmentation melt away and I experience unitive state of consciousness, only One Taste. By practicing Meditation, this state of unitive consciousness stays longer and longer and that's a blessing. The heartbeat of compassion and caring continues resounding. Clouds clear up and in the vast pure Emptiness I experience fullness.
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Namaste!

Chelan Harkin is a mystic poet and his poem is posted in awakin.org. Here is my reflection to his poem:

Nature offers many wonderful gifts in our hands everyday and we say "Wow!" I get up early in the morning watching the sun rising and I say "Wow!" I hear the birds chirping and feeding their little babies and the words come out from my mouth, "Wow!" When I see the older brother taking care of the little younger brother my heart is filled with joy and I hear myself saying "Wow!"

There is an old saying in Sanskrit like" ksane kasne yaha upeti navatam tadeva rupam ramaniyayata." Beauty brings joy every moment. When I keep my mind and heart open to perceive and experience it fully each moment, my heart is filled with wonderment. I experience such Aha moments when I fully live in the present moment. When I was a child I had more "Wow!" moments. As I got older I became more thought minded and rational than heart minded and emotional which to some extent dried the flow of my heartfeltness. As I am growing older I have been able to create a dynamic balance between head and heart. This is one of the ways I have reconciled wonder with rationality.

​Namaste! 

Here is my reflection to the wonderful article by Timber Hawkeye: 

How to build, sustain, and strengthen the bridge of relationships between two people with the same goal but different or opposite approaches? This is a big challenge for sustaining and flourishing interpersonal relationships. It is important to understand not only what but more importantly WHY behind the actions. Empathic understanding of each other is the building block of thriving and peaceful relationships. I love Saint Francis of Assisi's words of wisdom when he shows the importance of seeking to understand rather than to be understood.

I love to spend time everyday with my grandson exploring spiritual ways of living life. There are certain ideas of living a spiritual life that are basically different from each other. We respectfully differ and listen to each other empathically and compassionately. This way of relating to each other with an open mind blossoms our relationships. Differences do not create distances between both of us.

I deeply value Viktor Frankl's words of wisdom: "Between a stimulus and a response, there is space and in that space there is freedom and power." When I have a different perspective or stance on an issue from the other person, I pause, breathe and create a space in me and empathically and kindly understand the other person's perspective-the WHY- and respond wisely. I also follow the same approach when it happens to me. Let me conclude with Rumi's words of wisdom: "Out beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there."

Namaste! 

Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a peace activist and author. He passed away on Jan 22, 2022. Below is my reflection to the excerpt from his book Beyond Birth and Death.

I live on many dimensions of life which are time and space bound. Pains and pleasures come and go. Mind is filled with thoughts and worries. Nirvana means extinction of all notions and concepts such as birth and death, being, nonbeing, coming and going. Nirvana is the ultimate dimension of life, a state of goodness, peace, and joy. When I am fully present with the flow of the present moment I feel "nirvanized". It feels like living in the clear sky unbound by space and time.

When I am fully present to the present moment with deep awareness I am in the ultimate dimension of reality. I feel the fullness of breath coming and going. I feel centered. When my mind wanders I know I have lost my connection with the ever flowing present.

Remaining aware of my in breath and out breath helps me live each moment deeply. I am flowing with isness. Conscious and nonjudgmental breathing helps me live each moment deeply. If pain arises, I do not fight or cover up or run away from pain. I embrace pain tenderly-no fighting, no escape. I recognize it and and embrace pain tenderly. Transformation takes place. From the mud of pain grows the lotus flower.

Namaste! 

When I look out from the eyes, the seer is looking out, the witness consciousness is looking out untouched by what is being seen. What is being seen changes but not the seer or the witness. I like what Ken Wilber says, " There is only One State, within which different states arise. There is only One Taste, through which various different tastes flow." Though we see different selves, there is only One Self. When we realize this Truth, "the heartbeat of compassion will resound. A constant cloud of caring will rain on every parade." as Ken Wiber says.

When I am in deep meditative state the self-created walls of divisiveness and fragmentation melt away and I experience unitive state of consciousness, only One Taste. By practicing Meditation, this state of unitive consciousness stays longer and longer and that's a blessing. The heartbeat of compassion and caring continues resounding. Clouds clear up and in the vast pure Emptiness I experience fullness.