After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

Within the mystery of life there is the infinite darkness of the night sky lit by distant orbs of fire, the cobbled skin of an orange that releases its fragrance to our touch, the unfathomable depths of the eyes of our lover. No creation story, no religious system can fully describe or explain this richness and depth. Mystery is so every-present that no one can know for certain what will happen one hour from now. “It does not matter whether you have religion or are an agnostic believe in nothing, You can only appreciate (without knowing or understanding) the mysteries of life.

And as to me, I know of nothing else but miracles. WALT WHITMAN

Be a lamp unto yourself, make of yourself a light" were the last words of the Buddha. no teacher or outside authority can give us the truth or take it away. in the end, we will find that our heart holds the simple wisdom and unshakable compassion that we have sought all along.

If this day in the lifetime of a hundred years is lost, will you ever touch it with your hands again? The

If only there were evil people out there insidiously committing evil deeds and it was only necessary to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who among us is willing to destroy a piece of their own heart?

consciously suffer the impact, to become the ground where the sorrows can be held and reworked. These things can be carried with grace. But it can’t be faked. If you go to someone with 99 percent of goodwill and are still caught in 1 percent anger, all they feel is the anger, and it pushes them from reconciliation. The heart has to willingly hold the whole of suffering for it to be transformed.

. It is not enough to touch awakening. We must find ways to live its vision fully.

As the first scales and gowns of disguise are peeled away, we begin to learn what is underneath the contraction of anger, judgment, and wanting. Usually we discover a new layer of hurt, loneliness, fear, and grief.This is where offering a tender heart becomes essential. This is the place of courage—the courage to hold in love the hardest pain, our deepest sorrows and greatest fears. It is here that trust and surrender are nurtured.

The first scaly layer to be revealed, whether in prayer, meditation, or devotion, is the pattern of tensions we keep in our body. All it takes is sitting quietly for the areas of contraction and holding to become apparent: the tightness in our shoulders or back or jaw or legs. For much of our lives,whenever we encounter conflict and stress, we contract in habitual ways, building up what Wilhelm Reich called “character armor.”Some traditions begin to release the physical holding in the breath and body directly through techniques like yoga, tai chi, or Sufi movement. If these practices are used wisely, to free rather than conquer the body, the tensions begin to open naturally, and the sense of holding can give way to a newflexibility.

The dragon skin of our unshed tears covers the sadness and longing that connect us with the realm of sorrow in all of life.

Every color shines in the awakened heart.

Be a lamp unto yourself, make of yourself a light' were the last words of the Buddha. no teacher or outside authority can give us the truth or take it away. in the end, we will find that our heart holds the simple wisdom and unshakable compassion that we have sought all along.