Wednesday, October 03, 2012
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| Photo courtesy of Robin Layton |
I have a friend who has one of those clocks that
makes bird sounds at the strike of every hour in his kitchen. A few years ago, our whole band stayed
at his home in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, piling into every free nook and
cranny that the house could give us. Arriving late at night, we gratefully accepted his invitation for some
ice cream and tea. There must have
been seven of us sitting around his kitchen table. And it was instantaneous, the jokes started rolling out, the
laughter, and the fun. There is
something so wonderful about laughing with a group of people, such as a band,
after the trials and tribulations of the road. Music is so heart centered, so
beautiful, yet the road can be tough at times. It was as if our hearts just poured out in celebration to
have something to laugh about! So,
each one of us began taking our turns at telling jokes. I think I told one of two jokes that I
actually remember, the mole joke. Its so funny! At least I
think so. Actually as I write this
at my ripe old age of forty, I have to confess, this is the only joke I can
remember. Oh well. Its a good one.
In any case, it got to my friend's turn, our
host. For the first few seconds as
he started telling his joke, I got distracted, thinking how absolutely grateful
I was to him and his wife for opening their home to us, for providing us with a
kitchen table where we could sit around and talk, for the tea and the delicious
ice cream, for laughing with us, and especially for laughing at my joke. (Laughing at my jokes scores high marks
in my book, in fact, that's the thing that tipped the scales enough that I
decided that yes in fact I would marry my husband.)
So pulling myself out of my spinning inner world
of gratitude, I tuned into his joke, really trying to pay attention. He was a really good joke teller, a
kind of twinkle in his eye. This
was going to be a good one. The anticipation was building as little recognition
twinkles lit up in everyone's eyes with the joke unfolding. And suddenly the clock went off, and I
think it was a blue jay sound or something, whatever the 11:00 pm bird happens
to be. And my friend, right before
the punch line of his joke, as we were all looking at him expectantly, closed
his eyes, sat up straight, and with a little smile was silent in a moment of
inner reverence. As that
electronic blue jay sound awkwardly filled the silence, it was one of the
longest minutes of my life. My
knee jerk reaction was to laugh. It was crazy. My mind
couldn't grasp it, couldn't figure it out. But, as I looked at him, a little confused, and shocked, I saw this
silence, the reverence, this peace, a breath, a pause. And I thought to myself, "I want
that too." And so like him, I
closed my eyes too, and just breathed, just listened. We all did in fact. In those few moments I did not want anything, I did not need anything, I
was being filled by being in the
moment, accepting what is, what is now, what shall always be.
Something like God I suppose. And then
the bird sound stopped, and we opened our eyes. And my friend finished his joke. And then we all laughed! It was a funny one. (I can't remember though, sorry.)
The next few days we got to stay at my friend's
house. On every hour that clock
would go off in the kitchen. And
my friend without fail would stop during those moments, breathe and meditate.
He explained to me that it his way of remaining
connected to his spirit, to his breath, to gratefulness in his life.
I began to try to do it too. It was such an inspiring concept. And never before had one of those
annoying bird clocks ever felt so refreshing. But it was also just the peace that he so beautifully carried
within that got me. He was filling
that peace up every hour. It was
real, it was tangible. It was
working.
At times I would be getting ready to go to a
concert, putting on my turban or something of that nature, and hear the clock,
and just not be able to stop what I was doing to meditate until the bird call
was almost over and I'd just get in a few seconds. But as our time there passed, I got better and better.
The moments when I would stop got
longer and longer. And the peace,
yes, the peace got deeper and deeper.
In one of the new songs on a collaborative album
that I am doing with an artist named Peter Kater I sing the words,
There is peace in every breath
As my mind dwells on your name
Finding peace, peace within
Treasure of bliss, never ends
These are the words of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of
the Sikhs, which is my spiritual path. Here are his words in the original
Gurmukhi language:
Saas Saas man naam
Man naam samaarai.
Eho bisaraam nid paa-ee
Today in the airport terminal on my way home
from a concert weekend, I listened to the words of this song, with the
beautiful piano, and with the hussle of the airport terminal passing before my
eyes. All sorts of people, all
sorts of business, all sorts of disconnection, all sorts of discomfort, stress,
movement, lives, in and out, up and down, crazy food, cell phones, blinking
lights, loud announcements. How do
we stop? How do we get off the
wheel of the makings of our mind? How do we feel peace even in a place like a crazy airport terminal?
And then the words came,
"There is peace is in every breath,
As my mind dwells on your Name
Finding peace, peace within
Treasure of Bliss never ends."
And so I did, for a few moments stop, just like
my friend back there in that kitchen in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. I stopped, I took a breath, and paused,
and yes the peace came.
It's as easy as that. All we have to do is stop, and breath. And yet it is one of the hardest things
to do. To stop, stop the drama,
stop the train of thoughts. We
believe so strongly that in the shear thinking, we are holding the world, our
jobs, our families, our lives in place. When in fact, the thinking itself takes us away from the center of our
being, where we can be most effective in all that we do. It is not that we should not
think. It is just that we are not
just the mind. We are full
beings! We flow with energy in our
entire body. When we get stuck in
our minds, when the energy of our mind rules the day, we loose connection to
the myriad of gifts that our entire beings offer. Our hearts carry compassion. Our feet give us humility and grounding. Our lower back gives us strength. Our blood gives us fluidity. Our bones give us commitment. Our smile
gives hope. Our breath gives life. And it is God, really who gives us this breath, and takes this breath
away. In an instant, as one of my
friends experienced last week, someone's life can come to an end. We may die at any moment, because it is
God, it always has been, it always will be, who gives and takes away this
life. And so like this, we need to
die, for just a moment, stop, breath, and remember that One, that great One,
whose Name, by the mere recitation in a state of awareness, can bring absolute
liberation.
That is my message to you this week.
Take a moment, stop, breath, meditate, and find
God's Name in your breath. That
Treasure of Bliss shall never end.
Sat Nam.
Blessings,
Snatam Kaur
PS.
If you live in the United States, please vote in this upcoming
election.
Comments:
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I also have been blessed sitting in this kitchen, observing the hourly inward silence-
so grateful for your reminder of such good times with friends of deep faith.
anandamayi
so grateful for your reminder of such good times with friends of deep faith.
anandamayi
You are so right Snatam. This world we live in is full of contractions, the push and pull, just like a Mother in travail. We expand, we contact, the earth itself does this, and there is so much wisdom in the silence alone with the breath and with God, and so much chaos in the minds of man alone with ones self, if one chooses to detach the self, which in my opinion is only an illusion of separation, as God is always with us, but yet, so much discontent right now in this world, but soon the change is inevitable, and soon many will conform to the Golden Age of enlightenment. Today I found myself having to do exactly what you said, and it was indeed hard to slow down and take that peaceful silent breath, in fact it was hard to breathe in my torrent of emotion, during my my yoga practice, I was stretching and released a blockage, one that brought forth the moments of my Uncles passing, and then a myriad of other incidences of others who have passed, and the pain was there like it was yesterday, and I wanted to scream with frustration, I meditated through it, and I cried hysterically, I then talked to God, and it was so hard to breathe. I then began to become flooded with overwhelming emotions of the tumultuous strain the world is under, and felt so much pain in my heart for it, and I asked God to please bring peace to this earth. Aum Shanti. Eventually I was able to breathe, and felt some peace. It is days like this I really do not like being an empath....but yet, somehow I must still be grateful, because it is a gift. Much love to you.
Sat Nam, **(-_-)**
Piper
Sat Nam, **(-_-)**
Piper
# posted by 
: 5:29 AM
: 5:29 AM
Dear Snatam,
Your dedication is amazing. I enjoy reading your blogs about your travels and life experiences. Thanks for sharing with the world. You touch so many people through your music. Fantastic voice, crystal clear! There is this show on TV called The Voice, not your style, I know, but you would nail it!
Take Care
Christine
Your dedication is amazing. I enjoy reading your blogs about your travels and life experiences. Thanks for sharing with the world. You touch so many people through your music. Fantastic voice, crystal clear! There is this show on TV called The Voice, not your style, I know, but you would nail it!
Take Care
Christine
# posted by : 7:14 AM
: 7:14 AM
awesome..keep up the excellent wrk...waheguru ji kirpa karan..!
Thanks,
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Thanks,
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