My body is history

Not what it seems. When I was meditating in a group of people the other day I had a sense of the history in my body. It was so subtle and fleeting that I can't even describe it. Since then I have thought about it (not the same thing as feeling it) some more.

My parents are in me, and also their parents, back to 'beginningless' time (on shaky ground here - winging it). Some instances of this - thoughts that have 'fallen into' my mind:

• I sometimes imagine stealing something. It's quite random, usually triggered by seeing something I like. When I was at Plum Village, one meditation exercise was to imagine the 5 year old parent in us - our mother and our father. And to imagine ourselves as 5 year old children. It suddenly occurred to me one day after we had done this meditation that maybe my impulse to steal was linked to the 5 year old father in me. At the funeral of my uncle a story about my uncle and father was told and in fact my father was probably about 5 years old. They were in a shop and I think my father wanted to steal something.
• I am always rushing ahead in time (like most people) and it is difficult to have a moment in the present moment! 'Quick' was a word I said to my son a lot when he was little, especially when I had to go to work. I said it to the dog the other day too (not the only time). But what if it isn't just about my life, but also about the generations who have gone before me? My father hated to be late, and my mother too (or was she just following him?).  Maybe my quickness comes from that, and maybe theirs comes from their parents... Although earlier generations couldn't do quick like we can, it still could have been in their psyche.

More instances of my body as history may arise as I try mindfully to go into my body instead of always being in my mind ('aware of the body in the body'). At least I hope so, because by understanding these old habit patterns I can move beyond them. They not only relate to conditioning but to my senses. And they come before thought, so are very subtle.

Refer to the Discourse on the full awareness of breathing for more information about uniting body and mind.

David Suzuki at WOMADelaide

David Suzuki spoke at WOMADelaide 2016. It was a wonderful moment! Here is some of his wisdom. Not his words exactly, as my own passion is added in some parts.

The future is not ours to erase. Whilst we may seem to be ticking along fine, living a lifestyle that implies limitless resources, this is an illusion that denies future generations a sustainable life on this planet called Earth, that is not 'ours' to destroy. We are stealing from the future to feed our present greed and addiction. This is taking the 'selfish gene' to its extreme, but it's true, sadly. More about this later. It's also adding 'stupidity' to our genetic traits.

We are a species (love that word) out of control. It's too late to turn things around.

The older generation can view ourselves as 'elders' if we wish (and if we deserve such a title, as 'elder' also implies wisdom, and some of us have nothing to model/teach). But I still love that word.

As voters, we should demand a commitment to doing something about climate change from every political candidate. Every one. That is our duty, and worth the effort.

Nature can shock us with surprise. If we give her room she will be far more generous than we deserve. We are talking about regeneration, or healing, here. He gave an example of salmon (I think). Examples are always good. I am intrigued by the phrase 'give her room'. What does this mean exactly? Is it about 'space' (another word that intrigues me) or just about being kind? This idea needs more exploration. I am sure that the answer lies in a David Suzuki book. I must read one.

Silent spring by Rachel Carson was mentioned as a pivotal book. Another book I must read. Bless that woman.

We need to educate people to see our relationship with the world in a different way – the way we see the world and our place in it determines how we behave. The planet is our mother. We have to take this literally. There is a wonderful film about this: Mother: caring for 7 billion.

• Our world ('mother') is shaped by laws of nature we can do nothing about – shock, horror, we can't control them.
• Our home is the biosphere. We've exceeded the capacity of our biosphere for our species. We're using up our children's and grandchildren's inheritance. This makes me really sad.

We are animals. As animals our biology predicts our needs. All of the energy in our bodies is provided through photosynthesis. It's a basic fact that we are not separate from the four sacred elements of our mother (Earth, Air, Fire, Water).

Yes, that's right, we are animals. Your reaction to that fact tells a lot about how you view yourself and your place on this planet. If you don't think you're an animal, you don't deserve a place on this planet. (That is my opinion, not the words of David Suzuki.)

As a crescendo to this talk, there is the Declaration of Interdependence (David Suzuki). You can sign this declaration, which is the most important one of our time, if we still want to have a time. That is, if you think you have the time and are not caught up in the busyness-of-life addiction as well as selfishness and stupidity. This may sound harsh (it is my own words) but I will qualify it by saying that I am not superior to other human beings/animals. I too am caught up in the busyness-of-life addiction that refutes present moment awareness. It is our tendency to view ourselves as superior not just to other living things but also to others of our own species that is a wrong view and causes suffering to ourselves and others.

Deep ecology à la Thich Nhat Hanh/Buddhism

The second notion the Diamond Sutra advises us to throw away is the notion of person or human being. When we look into the human being, we see animal, plant and mineral ancestors. A human is made of non-human elements. If we take away the non-human elements, the human being would no longer be there. 

This is the oldest teaching on deep ecology. To protect the human being, you have to protect what is not human. Discriminating between human and nature is wrong view. 

Thich Nhat Hanh, Beyond the self, p xii

I love this teaching! It totally resonates with my view of the world, and relates to another post on David Suzuki speaking at WOMADelaide.