journal
How to do the Loving Kindness Meditation
October 17, 2008
To do the loving kindness meditation, find a quiet place to sit upright in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and bring your attention to the heart. Bring to mind your own self–as you are in the present day or as a child. Imagine the breath going gently in and out of the heart center and silently say these words:
“May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be safe and protected,
Loved and respected,
Peaceful and at ease.” More»
Why Meditation is Coming into the Mainstream
October 16, 2008
Meditation and other contemplative practices have begun to move into the mainstream and out of the realm of only those spiritually seeking. Most notably, in the late 80s and early 90s, Jon Kabat-Zinn, M.D. singlehandedly brought mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine with the founding of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His emphasis is on how patients can control pain, stress, and illness with meditation. And while we see more research being done on the effects of meditation on physical and psychological health, there is a rising movement to apply the use these tools on everything from politics to education. Meditation and contemplative practices can have a direct application on some of the most thorny challenges encountered outside the walls of churches, mosques, temples, and monasteries, including and especially violence. More»
Approaching Diversity with Kindness
August 6, 2008
I was recently asked, “How can we approach introducing the topic of the problems of discrimination in a way that fosters openness and curiosity about this societal problem, particularly when people believe it no longer exists?” It is a a very good question. In the past half century, the U.S. has come a long way in dismantling racism and sexism. We have gone from Jim Crow to seeing blacks, women and other minorities gain a strong foothold in our economy. Yet, we also see in events like the beating of Rodney King and here in my own hometown, an attack a few years ago on Daisy Lundy, an African-American student at UVA by white men in retaliation for her run for President of Student Council that these problems still exist. Those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered probably face the most difficult hurdles today for basic civil rights. More»
Shamanism in a New Age: Story and Healing
August 2, 2008
[Excerpted from a forthcoming book by Rachel Mann, Shamanism in a New Age: Story and Healing]
“May I offer up my suffering so that all beings will be freed from suffering.”
–A Buddhist prayer
What happens when we trace the thread of emotional pain throughout our lives, following it unconditionally like a baby duckling follows its mother? What happens when we follow the suffering of the body deep into the recesses of our unconscious? Do we fall apart? Do we break? Do we grow divided within ourselves? Do we succumb to despair and suicide? Perhaps some do—perhaps some must. But perhaps we can do something else. Perhaps we can also become whole and end up having something to say to the world. More»
Healing Work with Animals
July 18, 2008
Animals in our world take on many burdens and face many challenges. Like humans, they can experience trauma, abuse, neglect, abandonment, and illness. However, unlike humans, unless they have been terribly abused, they do not lose a sense of connection with the living source of life that feeds all creation. Nonetheless, their bodies, minds, and energies can become imbalanced. Animals grieve when they have lost a loved one, they feel anxiety when circumstances change, and they struggle against aging and sick bodies, wanting like any of us, to be active and well. More»
MettaKnowledge Fall Workshop Schedule Now Available
July 2, 2008
The MettaKnowledge for Peace Fall workshop schedule is now available. Go to the Calendar to find dates and locations!
The Spirit of Play: Exploring the Role of Creativity and Spirituality in Healing
July 1, 2008
Dogs take play for granted. We have a lot to learn from them. Many of us have forgotten the art of play. Play is anything that involves spontaneity, creativity, the use of the imagination, the use of our bodies in athletic or fun ways, and relaxation. Often we believe that we are not playful, creative or artistic. We think that when there are so many problems in the world around us and when there are so many people and animals in pain and suffering, how can we justify doing anything fun? How can we find the time to do anything lighthearted when there is so much to do to help others? More»
Rachel Mann Recipient of Catalyst Nexus Award
June 5, 2008
Rachel Mann, owner of MettaKnowledge for Peace, was honored to receive the Catalyst Nexus Award by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance for her work on the Art of Surviving, a public physical and digital exhibit educating the public about the impact and process of healing from sexual violence. Including the art, poetry and stories of survivors of sexual violence, the Art of Surviving shows how healing and spirituality are connected and accessed through creative expression. Her collaborator wrote: “To put it in simple terms, Rachel has been absolutely instrumental in getting the Art of Surviving…funded and off the ground….She is an Agent of Change in ‘bringing new ideas to the movement’ because she successfully incorporated the elements of humanities and the spiritual aspects of violence and healing into the Art of Surviving….Rachel exemplifies Nexus because she has brought together people from disciplines and roles that do not commonly collaborate: artists/poets, activists, survivors, and humanities scholars to find a common vocabulary for discussing the problem of sexual violence in our society within the framework of humanities.” Thank you, Kate! Thank you VSDVAA!
The Art of Surviving Compassion Fatigue: A Multidimensional Approach
May 22, 2008
We are living in perilous times in which at every turn, we are faced with unrelenting human suffering: natural disasters are increasing with alarming frequency, wars waged on every continent, and terrorism a constant concern. What is more, even if we live in relatively peaceful conditions in our immediate family, communities or even nations, all we have to do is turn on the television or open the newspaper to be confronted with a collective dream filled with images of torture, abandonment, abuse, murder, dismemberment, poverty, guns, bombs, and various forms of physical and emotional abuse. With the rise of global technologies and globalism, no one is immune. More»
Exploring Spiritual Diversity with Respect for Self and Other
May 6, 2008
It is estimated that there are around 4200 religions in the world today, but it is impossible to know the exact number. Religions are also always growing and changing, so offshoots can come about within a matter of days, weeks or months and spawn whole movements. They can also die or come to an end as quickly. More»
Shamanism: Healing for a New Age
May 1, 2008
This 19th century Russian embroidered cloth, with its geometrical images of a tree reaching up out of fertile fields to the sky suggests that prior to the adoption of Christianity in the 9th century, an earth-based religion may have existed in Russia with all of its attendant rituals, healing and curative practices, and beliefs. With the fall of the former Soviet Union and the end of practices of killing or threatening death to anyone maintaining the old ways, shamanic healers with knowledge of ancient healing practices began to reemerge into the light of day. More»
The West Means Learning to Face Death with Grace
March 28, 2008
It is Saturday morning. It finally rained yesterday after 40 days. The drought has been so severe this season that all the shrubs I planted this year in my gardens have died. More»
Compassion Fatigue Monthly Support Group for Professionals
March 4, 2008
MettaKnowledge for Peace is hosting a monthly Compassion Fatigue Support Group starting in March. Meetings will be for 2 hours at a time agreed upon by interested participants at a central location in Charlottesville, VA. More»
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What is Compassion?
February 27, 2008
The word “compassion” is glibly bandied about these days by politicians, religious leaders, and in our daily discourse. We are told we should “have compassion” for the poor, soldiers in war, our physically and mentally ailing family members, and anyone else who appears to be suffering. More»
Services Offered to Animal Caregivers and Advocates
January 31, 2008
Ghandi once said that the level of a civilization can be judged by the way it treats women and animals. He put the well being of animals on the same footing as human beings. When we are committed in our caregiving and advocacy work to supporting and aiding animals, some may think we are wasting our time or even crazy. More»
What Does MettaKnowledge Mean?
January 12, 2008
The most common question I get is what does “MettaKnowledge” mean? Metta is a word from Pali, the root language of Buddhism. Many Buddhist sacred texts are written in Pali. Metta means “friendliness” or “lovingkindness”. There is a meditation practice in Buddhism to cultivate metta towards self and others. More»
What is Healing?
January 11, 2008
What is healing? Healing is the dynamic process of finding our wholeness even in the midst of the inevitable challenges of living in a body. Every spiritual tradition speaks of healing as integral to the path of discovery. Healing sometimes leads to a cure of symptoms of illness, but sometimes not. Healing is about finding greater sources
of sustenance beyond the merely physical. Healing is about letting go of what we no longer need and finding joy in all experience. This joy is our birthright.
However, we sometimes forget what we are borne knowing. Big and small traumas knock us off balance and we feel lost, alone and despairing. Violence and trauma in our families, communities, nations, and the world at large often make peace appear to be a distant and even non-existent dream. Nonetheless, that aching longing for happiness and our knowledge of an ever-present peace never dies, even when things seem most dark and difficult. It may be but a tiny cry, barely heard. But it is always there somewhere—waiting to be nurtured and fed.
For the Rain We Offer Thanks
December 16, 2007
Virginia and many parts of the Mid-Atlantic have been suffering on and off from drought for the past 6-7 years. As I write this, it is finally raining. In the county where I live, we are under water use restrictions. At the end of the summer, I took my pup, Sym, to Sugar Hollow where a large creek pools into lovely swimming holes before it spills out into the county reservoir. The creek was so low. It was sad and even frightening.
It calls to mind the history of the Anasazi and of Chaco Canyon, their great ritual site now located in Northern New Mexico. Over a period of 500 years in the 11th and 12th centuries, the Anasazi built a fantastic city of multistoried buildings, public spaces, and dozens of kivas in a breathtaking canyon now located in Northwestern New Mexico. Four wide highways lead into the city. They were built with huge timbers transported on the backs of Anasazi workers from hundreds of miles away. Chaco is filled with sites that have been identified by astroarcheologists as being positioned to record very specific astronomical events such as the equinoxes and solstices. The building of Chaco was a feat of engineering and ingenuity and clearly marked a pinnacle achievement for their society. There is evidence that the religious life of Chaco was informed by the Maya of New Mexico. Ritual objects and products such as brightly hued parrot feathers have been found among the remains of a great people.
When I visited Chaco in 2003, there was no doubt in my mind that it was a very spiritual place. I had been told before I left I would visit a place “where the veil between the worlds is very thin” and where I could ask for help from the Spirits. As you stand in various places in the Canyon, there is a palpable vibration or hum. The inner senses are stimulated and if you tune in, you can hear voices. It was here that a beautiful hawk feather came to me in a very mysterious way. The Anasazi clearly chose this location due to its high energetic frequency and the ability to speak to the Spirits with little difficulty.
In the early 12th century, the buildings and squares of Chaco were precipitously abandoned. In a place called Cowboy Wash nearby, archeologists unearthed what has been identified as human remains from that time period. There is evidence of cannabalism. In the meantime, it appears that the Anasazi retreated to heavily fortified aeries built high in the cliffs of the region. The only way to reach these rooftop homes is by scaling the sandy, slippery sides of rock. The homes are surrounded by walls with small, narrow windows out to the plains below placed at strategic locations as if there was a need to keep close watch for approaching enemies.
The Pueblo tribes of the region who claim the Anasazi as their ancestors vociferously argue against the cannabalism theory and the theory that the Anasazi devolved into a long period of violence of neighbor against neighbor, tribe against tribe. Of course, we know that Western scientific methods can misinterpret and even overlook evidence. It is also possible that other kinds of people could have come to the area who did not leave any traces. Yet I was curious about the contrast between the oral history of the Pueblo and the written history of Western scientists, so I did some research of my own. It appears that Chaco’s demise was brought on by a long 50-year drought. During the rainy season, the Anasazi would collect water in huge stone canisters pouring off the high plateaus surrounding the Canyon. Little by little, rain stopped coming.
Upon seeing the immensity of Chaco and understanding the complex processes that would have been involved in both its construction, maintenance, and management, it stands to reason that there had to exist some kind of hierarchy to oversee it. I could imagine the Chaco project being undertaken with a combination of great inspiration, vision, love, and fervor. Hundreds of thousands of men and women could have been joined in a common purpose–to create a great religious center to enhance their communion with the spirits. In that amazing spirit of cooperation which sacred space can inspire in humans, they build with tenderness this vast ceremonial complex under the direction of trusted priests and guides.
But human nature being what it is, there is always the possibility for greed and fear to arise, particularly when resources become scarce. The trajectory of drought followed by famine and the eventual evacuation of a beloved center of spiritual growth and opportunity into places that evoke images of fear and mistrust speaks to a very human story of transgenerational trauma. Hierarchies are very delicate things. Where a few control and manage many, there is always the potential for ego distortions to take hold over certain individuals. Seeking power and control under the guise of spiritual guidance, certain individuals can take over masses of people desperate for relief from suffering. It is a common human story that we have seen in many places over thousands of years: Rome, Egypt, and the rise of the Western Powers in the 20th century. The former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It only takes one act of terror such as a human sacrifice to frighten people into submission.
Yet at the same time, we also know that oppression and scarcity can bring out the best in people. I imagine that even while things became more and more desperate among the people of Chaco and fear began to pervade their daily life and prayers, there were some who chose the path of peace and resisted giving over their inner authority to a few petty despots using spiritual language to justify their hold on power. Fewer and fewer people went on pilgrigmmage to Chaco for spiritual enlightenment. Numbers dwindled as water was reduced to a bare trickle. Eventually, this place of wonder and inspiration was left to be purified over centuries of its human story, leaving only the bones of a once great city.
Paradoxically, violence engenders peace through the delicate flower of courage and compassion. Fear is simply fear. Death is only a transition, not an end. Those who recognize this–know it deeply in their bones–do not fear pain nor the possible end of things. They surrender to change with kindness in their hearts, no matter how harsh conditions may be. We can assume that the many generations of prayers and rites offered by the Anasazi in their beloved canyon had created so much light that there was enough to hold the revealing of darkness in their midst. For the inner darkness is part of the human condition on earth as we traverse our way to higher levels of being. No one is immune to the work of the shadow. The body, with its neurobiological fight or flight mechanisms, combined with the amazing storytelling capacity of the neocortex means that we all must grapple with the experience of fear at a very primal level. The mind can create stories of hope or stories of despair. The body seeks its own value fulfillment on these levels even as we seek transcendence and peace on other levels. Before mind, heart, and spirit can come into balance with all, the body must take its own, slower journey. This is the nature of physical existence. To experience these heavy states and to eventually hold them with love.
My research into the history of the Anasazi and Chaco Canyon convinced me that at least one incidence of cannabalism may have been undertaken as a scare tactic. Divide and conquer is a common way to attempt to control. Despite my desire to honor the history as it is told by the Pueblo and to not be another Western anthropologist who naysays it, nonetheless, there is too much evidence in human history of a desire to whitewash the shadow actions of our ancestors. This becomes particularly true when we are caught up in trauma triangles where we stand frozen in the position of victim or perpetrator. Both want to deny their culpability in certain historical events. Nevertheless, none of us are immune from such leaps into darkness in times of desperation. The most spiritually aware people recognize the movement of the shadow in the mind and body even if they have the self-discipline to not act upon it and instead dissolve it in the light of compassion. Even the Dalai Lama, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time, says he occasionally hates the Chinese. But then he remembers that they are human like him and he holds his own hatred and theirs in loving kindness.
Over the years that I have lived in Virginia, I have seen the waters slowly recede from the creeks and springs. It was not uncommon 20 years ago to have mold growing on the walls of my home. My books would carry a characteristic hint of mildew in their leaves. Now newer books remain crisp and fresh smelling and while there is still humidity, there are more days that are high and dry. I have no doubt we are in the midst of the great Earth Changes predicted by the Pueblo and other Native peoples. We are emerging from an age of incredible violence and disparity of resources.
At the same time, while fear is sometimes present in my own mind, I also feel the sweet elixir of hope. As darkness emerges in human actions, such as in the War on Iraq, increased incidences of terrorism around the world, and the rise to power of petty despots who spout archane religious tracts of patriotism and spin off accusations of heresy to those who disagree, I also see more and more evidence of light. The offering of ancient teachings for ameliorating hard histories in body and mind by Cherokee, Andean, and other spiritual guides. The numbers of people who are seeking spiritual answers to human problems. An ROTC student in one of my classes at the University of Virginia who was about to graduate and go on to be an officer in the army who said: “Everyone should take your classes. When I first came to class, I wasn’t sure what I had to learn. But it taught me that to be an effective leader, I must know what is going on with my soldiers’ inner life and to allow them to talk about their fears openly.” This man was going to go on to be a fighter, but he was beginning to fight not from a place of force and fear, but from a place of openness. It is one step towards relinquishing the war within and without.
So, as I close this journal, I am thankful for everything that has come my way, both the difficult and the joyful. I am thankful to the Ancestors and the Spirits for the gift of this Living World! Aho!