HOL

Welcome to the Module 01 "Monologues" thread! Consider what you've written down from your brainstorm in the Meditation portion of our exercises. What jumps out at you that's wanting to be explored a little more deeply? Come up with a topic based around these meditations and write an essay about your personal perspective on the matter ("Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words). This could be a single aspect or multiple elements from your list. In addition to sending in via e-mail, if you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post here with or without including your "Meditation" and/or "Mindfulness" responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversation for any "Mingling" points you may wish to accrue as Extra Credit.

This is my perspective.

One of the most important aspects of Faith is a sense of rules. While I know that the idea of rules at times may seem rather constricting, at the same time they also bring about a sense of comfort.

The earth seems to have a built-in guidebook and as long as we follow the general pattern, our life runs smoothly. All of us need to sleep, for example. Some of us may get by on 6 hours, some of us feel lethargic without 10, while many of us prefer 8 hours of shut eye. Need for sleep is a natural law, and if we don't get our needs met, we will have a difficult time functioning. We also need food. We can estimate how many calories we have to consume, based on our energy output, and we know if we consume too many calories for our physical makeup we will gain weight, and if we consume too few calories we will lose weight. Weight is a very complex topic, but we do know if your weight goes too low we are placing ourselves at risk for significant health issues. Our individual bodies have a good idea of what they would like our weight range to be. Another need we have is exercise. Our bodies crave it for general good health.

Granted, while the earth has these rules in place, we as individuals vary considerably.in our individual needs. We have to sleep, eat, and exercise in order to be healthy, but how much we need depends on the individual. And you know what? We are all different, but we are all equal. No individual is better that any other individual. They are rules, and variations within those rules, and it is beautiful.

Think about trees. There are so many: Dogwoods, Oaks, Palms, Spruces. All have their own individual appearances, needs, and growing patterns, but one isn't superior to the other. They are all equal in worth.

It's all about Faith. You are exactly who the Universe meant you to be. And since the Universe created you, it will support you if you follow who it created you to be.

Meditation -

*Started with 'To be or not to be, that is the question'. What is 'be'? What is that which 'be~s'.
*It is content - stuff.
*If all of what is here is 'content' (stuff) then what does the stuff be 'in'. What's the container for the stuff? Space.
*Space isn't empty. This content is IN the space, held in the space. What is the space?
*Can I be the space? Can I be the space for the stuff?
*I ... AM the space for the stuff.
*Which means ... paradox paradox (DO NOT THINK about it)... I'm both.
*All of that was sort of ideas which popped up, building on each other. Then I felt like I was done with that, and just wanted to be quiet, and not be 'analyzing' what all was in the ISness and just be still. And turned my attention inward.

Monologue which followed the Meditation -

Brainstorm is the word for it! Having read the lesson and thought, okay, here is an assignment, I can do this, and did it. Not noted down in the notes is the constant awareness that this is a timed thing. 5 minutes. ARG. It seemed that there was a lot of attention given to clock time, which I don't usually give much attention to. So the thinking was something which was popping in with different ideas, because, after all, that was the assignment, to give attention to, to take note of, what thoughts and feelings come up. This resulted in a virtual storm in the brain because that is not something that I usually do, to have to have things to think about in order to write about it.
What I figured out, afterwards, is that, for me, meditation is a moment by moment thing. Something which doesn't belong to clock time. I can be still and quiet, and then turn my attention inward and go deeper into the still and quiet and this all happened within moments. There is a lovely book, Moonheart by Charles de Lint, where the person (Sara) had been given some words to chant (she was amused with the idea of so many dollars per word...) and she tried to calm herself in a horrific situation and it didn't work so she decided to play her guitar and, with the music, and forgetting about the need to make herself quiet (that her head had insisted upon), she found herself in Stillness.
Which leads to : " *I ... AM the space for the stuff. Which means ... paradox paradox (DO NOT THINK about it)... I'm both."
And from there is a moment of wonder. Then when I ask, again, 'what am I?' the answer is completely different.

Mindfulness -

From Module 1 - What about the 0 or the 1, and which is definitely the “first” number? How do we wrap our brains around the concept of Infinity (that perhaps even we ourselves are infinite, and that our notion of beginnings, middles and endings may stem from a currently limited perspective), could it be that everything is really born from what we could consider “Nothing” while nothingness is also “All” simultaneously? Is Magic the illusive Alpha and Omega? "
This caught my attention because it says, in different words, something which I felt/knew/gnosis know about 'all that'. A formula which I regard as true, feel is true, and at the time I came up with it (ha - came up with it - ie was so informed... ) I gknew was whole and complete. The 'formula' is " 1 = 0 = 'sideways 8' (infinity symbol)". It's just true.