Access Vastness in a Turbulent World
Genocidal wars flaring in the Middle-East. Fires raging across the world. Temperatures in India nearing 125°F. Each day, our fragile world seems to fracture a little more. And we know this is not the worst. How do we hold all this grief, fear, and righteous anger without turning to numbness or despair?
By making our heart and mind vaster.
A small turbulence or disturbance can feel unbearable when it is in a teacup. But that same turbulence in a big still lake or deep ocean becomes gentle, barely noticeable or maybe even cute flicker. Buddhist, Ecodharma or Reindigenizing practices invite us into this spaciousness. Through practice of slowing down and mindfulness of what is still-okay in our world, we drop from teacup into oceanic consciousness. We begin to feel the still and deep ocean that has always been within us.
Grief, stress and despair do not disappear—but they no longer sinks us.
These Four Layers of Belonging help us hold what feels unholdable:
We root in our bodies with mindfulness of sensation that are okay: any calming, buzzing, and grounding sensations—perhaps the sensations of air touching our nostrils or toungue, hum in our chest, the warmth in our hands, or the breath in our belly.
We connect to our more-than-human kin by listening to layers of sound around us: birdsong, wind through leaves, distant thunder, even silence. Try listening to the sounds farthest away from you. These sounds reveal an oceanic presence that holds grief without rushing to fix it.
We turn toward our human community through ceremoniously sharing our pain, whether through grief rituals and storytelling or simple sharing circles after meditation. Sincere witnessing multiplies our capacity to feel and still remain whole. It creates solidarity and resilience. It heals our sense of loneliness.
We surrender to Sacred Mystery by placing our burdens at the feet of Kuan Yin, Tara, Kali, or Christ. In this holy release, we are reminded we spiritually don’t carry everything alone. We are never alone. We belong.
Buddhist practices can become escapism without cultivating belonging. Or if we care, these practices are reverence and resilience. Like Kuan Yin, we can face the cries of the whole world, not because we are invincible, but because we are rooted and accompanied.
Let us make our trembling hearts wider and vaster together so that as pain intensifies, our inner ocean becomes vaster.