Kamalamani - Therapist and mentor in Bishopston, Bristol
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Moved by the 'Occupy' movement: responding to the cries of the world
Kamalamani, 18 October 2011
The 'Occupy' movement is certainly occupying many of my thoughts and actions at the moment. This movement has spread rapidly from 'Occupy Wall Street' in New York across the world, including arriving in Bristol, my home city. Aren't we living through extraordinary times, whether or not we consider ourselves to be part of the 99%? People talk of big changes to come - I think the big changes are upon us, and perhaps have been for some little while. Unprecedented times: broadening unrest and dis-ease, the threat of the collapse of the financial status quo, climate change, peak oil, the loss of bio-diversity (the 'sixth extinction'), global terror, huge gulfs in wealth and equality, and environmental degradation, to name but a few. The myth of progress has reached its limits and whatever you think of Marx, his comments about the internal contradictions of capitalism have come to fruition.
In witnessing and supporting 'Occupy Bristol' I feel a certain relief in that at least we're starting to acknowledge more widely that we're living through crazy, uncertain, exhilarating times and are prepared to do something, showing support for what matters to us, for ourselves and the wider world. The Occupy movment is not just about activists on the fringes, but a very broad range of people from different backgrounds. And all the while there are so many conflicting mainstream messages swirling around - particularly fear of another looming recession (I hadn't realised the last one had left us?) and the resulting loss of services and livelihoods, let alone other pressing global issues, and questions of how to respond amidst this flux.
I find myself reflecting often on how I/we keep living in and through these times. I mean living as in engaging as fully as possible with our experience, as opposed to zoning out or drowning out our overwhelm, horrified anxiety, or deep fear through our particular drug of choice (work, alcohol, sex, social media, shopping, meditation, or actual drugs, or whatever it is). Or through going to town (literally) and giving into unbridled nihilistic hedonism or consumption. Or more topically, going to town to set up a peaceful protest camp on the nearest patch of green.
How do we find a balance between being and doing, activism and passivism, engagement and withdrawal, or overwhelm, hope, fear, or our particular default response of choice?
What sustains us without us compromising further the health of the planet, other than human life and that of our people?
How do we live with a sense of balanced effort on a spiritual path?
And, in the words of Max Ehrmann, how do we remind ourselves often enough that "with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world?" How can we keep our hearts open to beauty and ugliness?
1. Deepening the emotional equivalents to our intellectual understanding.
I am reminded of a comment made decades ago by one of my teachers, Sangharakshita, who said that we need to develop the emotional equivalents to our intellectual understanding in treading a spiritual path. In more modern pop psychology terms the parallel would be emotional intelligence. We need emotional muscle if we are to have the where with all to take off our anthropocenic blindfolds and see where we are, how we are, how we get here, and how to respond and take action, locally and globally. It can be tempting to get busy doing and strategising (or perhaps pontificating) in the current climate. Activity is important and so is the willingness to be able to do our own inner work in facing our fears with honesty and compassion whilst engaging in tasks.
2. Being in the moment. Spot the Buddhist! In fact, the Buddha didn't use this language or the language of the 'here and now' (I think it was Fritz Perls, the originator of Gestalt psychotherapy, who did that?) This isn't about 'keeping calm and carrying on', though it sounds similar. If we carry on in the way we've been carrying on we'll keep getting the same unsustainable, capital and market-driven 'solutions' which are compromising life on earth in all its forms - human and other than human.
The Buddha encouraged his followers to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, stillness, simplicity and contentment and taught alot about the nature of mind/body and the importance of wisdom balanced with compassion in everyday life. I'm particularly interested in how we stay in touch with mind and body, body and mind as we live in the moment. In the face of global challenges, it's useful to be as well-plugged into the heavens and the earth as possible.
3. Paying kindly attention to our growing pains. No one person can save the day in this particular human fix we have got ourselves into. Yet it can be a time - not surprisingly - when we most want a quick fix solution and/or a saviour figure. Not a good enough parent, not a host of freedom fighters, not a clever enough authority figure, not a dashing knight in shining amour, nor a global institution can fix this alone. Perhaps it's beyond 'fixing' anyway and the days of our particular species are numbered. We can't know that.
It feels like it's a time for us to collectively grow up a bit really, facing the uncertain future together, engaging with what we can, without being seduced and sedated by the future promise of hope (a bit like the hope that 'there's sure to be a technical solution to fix the climate change problem, the environmental entrepreneurs will come up with something soon' - with the subtext that we can all relax into 'steady-state business as normal'.)
As the Buddhist quote has it: "hope and fear chase each others tails". Perhaps underlying this hunger to fix and be fixed is a longing for living and working with love and connection. How can we bear witness to the effect we have in and on the world - positive, negative and many shades in between? If we can expect anything at all, perhaps being with expecting the unexpected may conduce to a greater sense of poise and alert. We need to develop more core strength in surfing what are traditionally known in Buddhism as the 'worldly winds' of: pleasure and pain, loss and gain, fame and infamy and praise and blame. Knowing that the winds always blow and the way in which we each respond is of paramount importance.
4. Being and doing. How do we balance being and doing? Engaging with reflecting? I'm reminded of an ecologist friend whose (beautifully simple) theory is that we need to stop doing stuff and stay at home more! This relates to the third Buddhist precept of stillness, simplicity and contentment. I don't think my friend's encouraging passivity, rather a return to considering simple, carbon neutral activities before switching on the telly, laptop or driving to the mall. I'm also reminded of the spirit of the lovely quote: "Meditate as if you have a thousand years and never waste a moment!" in how we cultivate both urgency and spaciousness. Or the symbolism of the bodhisattva 'Green Tara', who's the quintessence of compassion, with one leg in meditation posture, and the other stepping down to help all sentient beings.
Stepping into the world and doing something is also vital in expressing and engaging energy. Find some people with whom you can connect and do something active, whether that's getting involved in the transition movement, lobbying for change, fund-raising, peaceful demonstration, awareness-raising, growing veg, looking at the skilfulness of your communication, learning or teaching a useful skill. Thinking local acting global still applies. Know you really can make a difference - you are unique and yes, you are also just one bod amongst six billion or so people. Both are true.
Know your own tendencies in whether you tend towards being or doing and experiment with the less familiar pole for a little while. Not only is this useful for emotional muscle-building, but also in developing empathy with others. In challenging times it can feel hard to be empathic rather than falling into judging others, but worth the effort for yourself and friends, family, work mates, and enemies. Judging closes us up, getting curious about difference keeps a space open for dialogue.
5. Know your place. How much do you know about your home place? What do you know of the terrain in which you live (country or city) and the species with which you share your locality? What phase is the moon in at the moment? Do you know where you food comes from? Why does this matter? Because it is the stuff that connects us with being a body on the body of the planet, sharing the universal elements: earth, water, fire, space, consciousness. What do you know of your history and your roots? Who are/were your people? Why does this matter? Because we are interrelated, social animal-beings. Knowing our related place (and perhaps, lack of related place) can throw bright light on who we are and how we relate to ourselves, each other and responding in changing circumstances.
So these are some reflections I find useful to bear in mind. Of course they're not answers, simply reflections that are occupying my mind at present. In ending I'm reminded of Rumi's poem 'The Guest House'. I like this poem for two reasons. It reminds me to be a guest house in inviting and being with my ever-changing mind and emotions. It also reminds me of how we might be as a human species if we thought of the earth as a guest house, rather than erroneously acting as if we are masters and mistresses of the universe, to our own - and the planet's - detriment.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
(The Essential Rumi, version by Coleman Barks)
Return to the main homepage. Return to Kamalamani's page of articles.
Kamalamani, 18 October 2011
The 'Occupy' movement is certainly occupying many of my thoughts and actions at the moment. This movement has spread rapidly from 'Occupy Wall Street' in New York across the world, including arriving in Bristol, my home city. Aren't we living through extraordinary times, whether or not we consider ourselves to be part of the 99%? People talk of big changes to come - I think the big changes are upon us, and perhaps have been for some little while. Unprecedented times: broadening unrest and dis-ease, the threat of the collapse of the financial status quo, climate change, peak oil, the loss of bio-diversity (the 'sixth extinction'), global terror, huge gulfs in wealth and equality, and environmental degradation, to name but a few. The myth of progress has reached its limits and whatever you think of Marx, his comments about the internal contradictions of capitalism have come to fruition.
In witnessing and supporting 'Occupy Bristol' I feel a certain relief in that at least we're starting to acknowledge more widely that we're living through crazy, uncertain, exhilarating times and are prepared to do something, showing support for what matters to us, for ourselves and the wider world. The Occupy movment is not just about activists on the fringes, but a very broad range of people from different backgrounds. And all the while there are so many conflicting mainstream messages swirling around - particularly fear of another looming recession (I hadn't realised the last one had left us?) and the resulting loss of services and livelihoods, let alone other pressing global issues, and questions of how to respond amidst this flux.
I find myself reflecting often on how I/we keep living in and through these times. I mean living as in engaging as fully as possible with our experience, as opposed to zoning out or drowning out our overwhelm, horrified anxiety, or deep fear through our particular drug of choice (work, alcohol, sex, social media, shopping, meditation, or actual drugs, or whatever it is). Or through going to town (literally) and giving into unbridled nihilistic hedonism or consumption. Or more topically, going to town to set up a peaceful protest camp on the nearest patch of green.
How do we find a balance between being and doing, activism and passivism, engagement and withdrawal, or overwhelm, hope, fear, or our particular default response of choice?
What sustains us without us compromising further the health of the planet, other than human life and that of our people?
How do we live with a sense of balanced effort on a spiritual path?
And, in the words of Max Ehrmann, how do we remind ourselves often enough that "with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world?" How can we keep our hearts open to beauty and ugliness?
1. Deepening the emotional equivalents to our intellectual understanding.
I am reminded of a comment made decades ago by one of my teachers, Sangharakshita, who said that we need to develop the emotional equivalents to our intellectual understanding in treading a spiritual path. In more modern pop psychology terms the parallel would be emotional intelligence. We need emotional muscle if we are to have the where with all to take off our anthropocenic blindfolds and see where we are, how we are, how we get here, and how to respond and take action, locally and globally. It can be tempting to get busy doing and strategising (or perhaps pontificating) in the current climate. Activity is important and so is the willingness to be able to do our own inner work in facing our fears with honesty and compassion whilst engaging in tasks.
2. Being in the moment. Spot the Buddhist! In fact, the Buddha didn't use this language or the language of the 'here and now' (I think it was Fritz Perls, the originator of Gestalt psychotherapy, who did that?) This isn't about 'keeping calm and carrying on', though it sounds similar. If we carry on in the way we've been carrying on we'll keep getting the same unsustainable, capital and market-driven 'solutions' which are compromising life on earth in all its forms - human and other than human.
The Buddha encouraged his followers to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, stillness, simplicity and contentment and taught alot about the nature of mind/body and the importance of wisdom balanced with compassion in everyday life. I'm particularly interested in how we stay in touch with mind and body, body and mind as we live in the moment. In the face of global challenges, it's useful to be as well-plugged into the heavens and the earth as possible.
3. Paying kindly attention to our growing pains. No one person can save the day in this particular human fix we have got ourselves into. Yet it can be a time - not surprisingly - when we most want a quick fix solution and/or a saviour figure. Not a good enough parent, not a host of freedom fighters, not a clever enough authority figure, not a dashing knight in shining amour, nor a global institution can fix this alone. Perhaps it's beyond 'fixing' anyway and the days of our particular species are numbered. We can't know that.
It feels like it's a time for us to collectively grow up a bit really, facing the uncertain future together, engaging with what we can, without being seduced and sedated by the future promise of hope (a bit like the hope that 'there's sure to be a technical solution to fix the climate change problem, the environmental entrepreneurs will come up with something soon' - with the subtext that we can all relax into 'steady-state business as normal'.)
As the Buddhist quote has it: "hope and fear chase each others tails". Perhaps underlying this hunger to fix and be fixed is a longing for living and working with love and connection. How can we bear witness to the effect we have in and on the world - positive, negative and many shades in between? If we can expect anything at all, perhaps being with expecting the unexpected may conduce to a greater sense of poise and alert. We need to develop more core strength in surfing what are traditionally known in Buddhism as the 'worldly winds' of: pleasure and pain, loss and gain, fame and infamy and praise and blame. Knowing that the winds always blow and the way in which we each respond is of paramount importance.
4. Being and doing. How do we balance being and doing? Engaging with reflecting? I'm reminded of an ecologist friend whose (beautifully simple) theory is that we need to stop doing stuff and stay at home more! This relates to the third Buddhist precept of stillness, simplicity and contentment. I don't think my friend's encouraging passivity, rather a return to considering simple, carbon neutral activities before switching on the telly, laptop or driving to the mall. I'm also reminded of the spirit of the lovely quote: "Meditate as if you have a thousand years and never waste a moment!" in how we cultivate both urgency and spaciousness. Or the symbolism of the bodhisattva 'Green Tara', who's the quintessence of compassion, with one leg in meditation posture, and the other stepping down to help all sentient beings.
Stepping into the world and doing something is also vital in expressing and engaging energy. Find some people with whom you can connect and do something active, whether that's getting involved in the transition movement, lobbying for change, fund-raising, peaceful demonstration, awareness-raising, growing veg, looking at the skilfulness of your communication, learning or teaching a useful skill. Thinking local acting global still applies. Know you really can make a difference - you are unique and yes, you are also just one bod amongst six billion or so people. Both are true.
Know your own tendencies in whether you tend towards being or doing and experiment with the less familiar pole for a little while. Not only is this useful for emotional muscle-building, but also in developing empathy with others. In challenging times it can feel hard to be empathic rather than falling into judging others, but worth the effort for yourself and friends, family, work mates, and enemies. Judging closes us up, getting curious about difference keeps a space open for dialogue.
5. Know your place. How much do you know about your home place? What do you know of the terrain in which you live (country or city) and the species with which you share your locality? What phase is the moon in at the moment? Do you know where you food comes from? Why does this matter? Because it is the stuff that connects us with being a body on the body of the planet, sharing the universal elements: earth, water, fire, space, consciousness. What do you know of your history and your roots? Who are/were your people? Why does this matter? Because we are interrelated, social animal-beings. Knowing our related place (and perhaps, lack of related place) can throw bright light on who we are and how we relate to ourselves, each other and responding in changing circumstances.
So these are some reflections I find useful to bear in mind. Of course they're not answers, simply reflections that are occupying my mind at present. In ending I'm reminded of Rumi's poem 'The Guest House'. I like this poem for two reasons. It reminds me to be a guest house in inviting and being with my ever-changing mind and emotions. It also reminds me of how we might be as a human species if we thought of the earth as a guest house, rather than erroneously acting as if we are masters and mistresses of the universe, to our own - and the planet's - detriment.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
(The Essential Rumi, version by Coleman Barks)
Return to the main homepage. Return to Kamalamani's page of articles.