Dear Friends, MC Sungalia sent us Yoko Ono’s playful and philosophical Action-Poems about how to live with greater attentiveness to the world. We liked Yoko's combination of irreverence and earnestness, subversion and sincerity. We thought it’d be a whimsical meditation for our silence practice on Sunday, January 31.
We also wanted to mention the emails and messages coming from this circle about practicing silence on days other than Sunday, in shorter ways as well as on a daily basis ~ all of which is perfect and wonderful. The impulse behind this monthly rhythm of connection - along with the website and the Facebook page - is to share thoughts with each other and encourage us all to find a place of stillness and strength as we live with the challenges of this world.
Warmly,
MC, Peri and Barbara
SKY PIECE I
Towards the end of the Second World War, I looked like a little ghost because of the food shortage. I was hungry. It was getting easier to just lie down and watch the sky. That’s when I fell in love with the sky, I think.
Since then, all my life, I have been in love with the sky.
Even when everything was falling apart around me, the sky was always there for me.
It was the only constant factor in my life, which kept changing with the speed of light and lightning. As I told myself then, I could never give up on life as long as the sky was there.
Tell us when you first noticed the sky. Tell us when you first noticed that the sky was beautiful.
WATCH PIECE I
Watch a hundred-year-old tree breathe. Thank the tree in your mind for showing us how to grow and stay.
EARTH PIECE I
Listen to the sound of the fire burning in the center of the globe.
SKY PIECE V
Autumn
Imagine running across a wheat field as fast as you can. Imagine your friend running towards you as fast as possible.
Imagine the colour of the sky. If it’s clouded, see if there are any blue spots.
If it’s clear, see if there are any clouds. If it’s stormy, look out for thunder and lightning. If it’s snowing, take your coat off so you can wrap it around your friend.
SOUND PIECE VI
Summer
Tape the sound of your baby son crying. Let him listen to the tape when he is going through pain as a grown man.
CLEANING PIECE II
Make a numbered list of sadness in your life. Pile up stones corresponding to those numbers. Add a stone each time there is sadness. Burn the list, and appreciate the mound of stones for its beauty.
Make a numbered list of happiness in your life. Pile up stones corresponding to those numbers. Add a stone each time there is happiness. Compare the mound of stones to the one of sadness.
CLEANING PIECE III
Try to say nothing negative about anybody.
a) for three days b) for forty-five days c) for three months
See what happens to your life.
CLEANING PIECE IV
Send a note of appreciation to silent courageous people you happen to have noticed: parents, teachers, shopkeepers, street cleaners, artists, etc.
Keep doing it. See what happens to the world.
