Lifeletter # 179: A New and Radical Possibility

I read last week about a beautiful woman in Iran, who has been peacefully inspiring other women in her country to get educated, empower themselves, and question the confining nature of their culture.  As a result of her activities, she is now facing ten years in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, often described as a torture chamber. As I looked at the beauty and intelligence shining from this woman’s face, I felt that I could not bear the thought of her being sent to Evin. I wanted to shut down in the face of what I was feeling and say, “It’s too much.”

My practice these days is to do something quite different. So I sat, breathed, and grounded myself as I continued to look at her photo. Breath by breath, I allowed myself to open to what I was feeling. It wasn’t easy. I had to connect with the larger field of my sangha, my practice partners, my teachers, and allies, in order to stay present and in touch with myself and my feelings about where she might end up.

Then an interesting thing happened. I noticed that I became more and more aware of her courage, the kind of power it took for her to do what she did, knowing that she might end up behind the walls of Evin. As I allowed myself to make contact with this kind of courage, I could feel it coming from a place I might call her soul, the vast inner depths of her being. I felt more and more gratitude for the clarity, strength and determination she has offered into the world, by remaining true to what she was called to do.

This practice has allowed me to question the feeling of something being ‘unbearable.’ It feels very empowering to question this notion. When we bear witness, there is actually something we have to bear. We have to be willing to share the feelings, the living experience of who or what we are connecting with. Sometimes staying present with the intensity of this seems like more than we are capable of. It’s so easy to find a reason to turn away, to not really show up and take in whatever is going on. This practice of dissociating, of not wanting to know, does not feel at all sustainable. The movement of our evolution seems to be asking us to become more and more available, more and more willing to participate in our global field, by facing into what is going on, and offering our presence and our compassion.

How do we increase our capacity to bear witness to what is happening all over the world? Is it not very clear that we cannot do this alone? It’s when we join together that we can actually create a container to hold the energy and the intensity of what arises in our experience. We can actually learn, if we are willing, to hold this energy and the feelings, as they emerge in ourselves and in others. This is a new and radical possibility. I’m not sure that is has ever happened before. If enough of us are ready to become global citizens in this way, we might feel the ‘arc of history bending towards radiance,’ as Mohammed Fairouz puts it.

A few days ago, my partner and I participated in an online prayer/meditation for Orlando, facilitated by David Nicol of the Gaiafield Project. Through David’s brilliant facilitation I actually felt connected to a large group of people who were in coherence, holding the energy of Orlando with their loving presence. I didn’t feel happy after being on that call. I felt empowered, and full of wonder. I felt reverence for the subtle power of what we can do, if we come together in this way. I was aware of how used we are to discounting this kind of power. And what could happen if we choose to embody it.

You can find out more about The Gaiafield project here.

with love,
Shayla