06
A deeper calling
WHAT HAPPENS ‘OVER THERE’ IS NOT ‘OVER THERE’ ANY MORE. IT RIPPLES OUT AND AFFECTS US ALL. IT’S NOT, “OH MY GOD, DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED IN JAPAN?” IT’S, “OH MY GOD, LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US” – AS A SPECIES, AS A WHOLE, AS ONE CONNECTED TO ANOTHER AND TO EVERYTHING. THERE IS NO SEPARATION.
WORDS AND PAINTING BY LESLIE CAPLAN E
arthquake kills 23,000 people, twister splinters an entire town, fires blaze through thousands of acres of forest, flash flood drowns a
community, record heat wave leaves crops barren… This is the world we live in. Every day
there is threat of some devastation that slices through the illusion of certainty we have grown so accustom to, reminding us how fragile life is. And with this dawning of fragility
comes a surge in me to sit and breathe in the depth of life I witness every moment of every day trembling inside my heart. A hurricane of fear, a tsunami of grief, a volcanic eruption of passion for a life that I must let go of, and detach from while simultaneously living it with all my might. The inclination to hold on tightly to what inevitably slips right through my fingers strikes a lightning bolt through the centre of my humanity, a thunderous roar echoing deep in the chambers of my love born from both sides of light and dark.
Accept loss forever… says Jack Kerouac. A halting screech of resistance screams
inside of me. And yet, it’s true. Loss is inevitable. To
be human is to experience loss. There is a deep calling to accept this. To live full and fearless, I must accept this. There is an invitation to cultivate a depth of being that breathes awareness into every given moment. To be authentic, to love strong, to live a life that has some level of impact and purpose, to be inspired, to live courageously, to make the ordinary extraordinary. What happens ‘over there’ is not ‘over
there’ any more. It ripples out and affects us all. It’s not, “Oh my God, did you hear what happened in Japan?” It’s, “Oh my God, look what is happening to us”– as a species, as a whole, as one connected to another and to everything. There is no separation. The woman who lost her son to the
recklessness of war is me. The man who lost his family in the flood is me. The earthquake that killed 23,000 people
is ME – my community, my humanity, my family. It is not THEM any more, and it never was. What is happening is happening to all of us. The poverty, the disease, the natural disasters wiping out thousands, is all personal to me. It is my self, my child, my lover, my sister, my best friend. It is the pulse of the main vein in body that leads to the heart of everything. And it is alive in me, demanding me to wake up and breathe like it’s the last breath, dance as though it’s the last song, make love like the earth is splitting open to swallow everything we know to be true. Last month I was caregiving on a
hospice team. An 80 year old man breathing his last breath. I held his hand as he struggled to let go of his life. I leaned in close, whispered in his ear, “You can let go. You are safe, you are loved, you are free.” Within minutes, his eyes popped open,
he looked at me, took one long deep inhalation as one single tear rolled down his weathered face, closed his eyes, and left the body that had been his companion
for 80 years. When I came home, I received a call from a friend of mine. He was mesmerised by my story and asked me, Leslie, did you see angels around him? Did you feel them? What did they look like? My answer to him was: Maybe it’s not
about seeing angels, feeling them, or sensing them. Maybe, it’s about BEING the angel. And knowing there is no separation – not between me and this man who so bravely took his last breath in front of me, and not between me and the angels that were there to guide him safely home. With life so tenuous, so fragile, so fleeting, the invitation is to become an angel in human form and somehow, amidst it all, ease this very human journey with waterfalls of love. And by accepting loss forever…
Leslie Caplan is a writer and artist living in Ashland, Oregon, USA. She is inspired to share her writing with the world in hopes of inviting deep and courageous living in all of us.
Experience Gain a fulfilling professional career, train for a
Diploma of Transpersonal Art Therapy 51939 Diploma of Transpersonal Counselling 51942
Austudy approved Accredited by IICT, AAHTC
(VET FEE-HELP is only available for the above Diplomas) Bachelor of Holistic Counselling
the Transformation
FREE INFORMATION EVENING Tuesday 20 September 7.00PM
Call now to register your interest and receive an Information Pack
Book your free place for the Information Evening Phone: (03) 9510 4264
Email
info@phoenixinstitute.com.au www.phoenixinstitute.com.au
PHOENIX INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA RTO 21582 • HIGHER EDUCATION PROVIDER 6531 • CRICOS 02701K
An Evening with the Mystic
Leaders in Holistic and Transpersonal Education
www.ishafoundation.org/australia
93624i142
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40