Shinzen Young retreat 11-15-10

    The peace that passeth all understanding . THat is where all of this practice leads to.  Watching the expansion and contraction of a peace that just gets deeper and more serene. Just spent the hour doing just that hanging out in the space of not knowing in peaceful serenity.

We are folding up camp and this afternoon and several of us are going to  a sweat lodge ceremony. My tibetan doctor encouraged me to do this having given me the right pills early for the best effect.

After breakfast we did some more meditating and then broke up our retreat. Most of the folks left for their independent destinations but several of us went to the sweat lodge with R. An Indian friend of Shinzen.

This was my first experience with a sweat lodge and after getting through the logistics of getting there, we watched as  R  heated some stones. The appropriate dress for the ceremony in the lodge was a bathing suit. We got into a line and  then we filed in one by one saying the words   MAI TAI YAKI HO  roughly translated as  greeting to all friends. 

Upon entering we crowded around the fire pit and watched as red hock rocks were thrown into the pit and the cover flap of the tent was  closed. The first round was done with drumming and chanting  by R ,leading a chant in the  Tohono O'dam, his native language. 

Then the chant was  concluded and cool night air was allowed in. Once again red hot rocks were brought in the flap  was poured closed and water poured upon the rocks . THe sweat had really begun. After a few moments prayers began, Talking in a sweat lodge with a Shaman in praying. The chance to share what is deepest in your soul in the company of others. It starts generally with gratitude at least  it did for me, I thanked my guru  Neem Karoli Baba for bringing me to the right place , at the right  time ,with the right people, and the right circumstances to hear and understand exactly what I need to know. I asked that learn to transform my suffering since because if I could transform my suffering I could transform that of others. 

The nature of a sweat lodge is that you are in uncomfortable circumstances feeling various degrees of pain ,heat cold sweat crowded into a small space with others sitting on the ground and sharing with other what  I want. The more intense the outward manifestation of the suffering the more clearing it is in the soul and the deeper the sharing. To reveal what are the deep concerns of your life and ask for help from the great spirit however that is conceived. To some it was a great opportunity ,some used it to ask for deep parts of their desires,  such as to allow them to be better parents or children, to ask for the way back to life after losing a  beloved figure such as a sibling, to pray to the great spirit for children to come back  onto the path , or elders to  have  their suffering relieved, to ask forgiveness ,and to forgive.  As the sharing of the suffering increased the bond of those who participated increased. Concomitantly the letting go of the sense of isolation and separateness decreased. 

This sweat was a good one for beginners . 

I still held back and in the holding back have held onto a level of my own suffering. I was not alone in the holding back. 

I am entering the promised land slowly. I see all of the impediments and I realize that more purification needs to be done but the resolution to do  is so strong now.  Freedom  from suffering for all is a worthwhile goal .
      I am on that path.