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New Twist on Old Tech: Wait

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you Which shall be the darkness of God…
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be for the wrong thing;
Wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing;
There is yet faith…
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light,
and the stillness the dancing.    ~ T. S. Eliot

As an intuitive, sensitive, whole brain kind of gal I quickly synthesize information and react. This makes me a great improvisational manifesto Queen.  On the other hand, I can over-act, over-create, and over-extend my own and others physical resources.  Just because I can doesn’t mean I should, especially with my dominatrix North American credentials. I want to follow love. For this “efficiency of energy” is needed.

What is embodied waiting? I think its an art. T. S. Eliot suggests waiting and stillness as dancing. Art may play its greatest service as waiting while writing, dancing, doodling, making music. The less I ask of art, the more glad emptiness it delivers. Of course it really helps to give up on the idea of good art and bad art. If art is waiting What if waiting is living?  A myth from Kazakistan offers a slant on art and brains in waiting.

Meanwhile, tempted by too many visionary dreams and the shock of social ills I upwell with instincts to over maneuver, mother, and manage life. The antidote?  Some suggest a golden word, NO, the spiritual term, “WAIT,”  or in 12 step work, “HALT.”  A stimulated brain needs simple instructions and lots of practice to calm down.

Each day I think, WAIT. When I can I add, LISTEN. That’s tricky when imaginal connections get me stimulated. Perhaps this is why advanced meditators encourage going easy on ALL stimuli, even when it looks awesome.

On the other hand, those who avoid action may need the words, “YES! GO!”

In an emergency I want to act immediately. If it’s far away, I go when needed and see people immediately linked without hesitation to their highest good.  If I want to create I let go of worry and make stuff. Mostly I try to be of service where I am, “Stay Calm and Play the Ukulele.”

Post 12/21/12, I don’t know if enlightenment is  knocking at my door, I sure don’t think Spirit is tied to a Roman Calendar or that we’re all through the worst of it. I do think I’m invoking more spiritual resource and intention for the Soul and Love I want and need in greater measure.

That’s why this holiday, I crafted my W.W. D. D. (What Would Dog Do) shrines as reminders not just to create but to wait, play, and rest.  May I be more like my dog, Yogadogananda, prince of waiting, an adept canine who knows how to “STAY!” and enjoys Green Balls Forever!

By the way, I am glad to say that the Body and Soul Retreat was an outstanding success. There is nothing like mystics and artists gathered in body. It is not always easy to do this, but the encouragement is priceless.  If you seek to advance your spiritual journey with embodied wisdom, witnessing, playfulness, and creativity, I will provide a couple of small groups and a new forum called The Mystic Heart Wheel. Stay tuned.

Yours in the dancing.

One comment

  1. Dyck Dewid says:

    Ah, Cynthia, You cause me to contemplate the beauty in surrender to intelligence of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva (Creator, Maintainer, Destroyer)… and poise in awaiting unfoldment…

    Beyond my own ending, I contemplate ending of all my brothers & sisters & cousins, so near and inevitable now (climate change), as I begin to see the humor and love of the next Earth Ice Age.

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