Making Peace Out Of Chaos

Hey everyone,

It's Judy Cohen,

This is WakeUpCall482,

It's good to be with you.

So last week was about making space for difficult emotions using RAIN and then ultimately letting them go.

And that's kind of half of the classical instructions and the full instructions are to notice unwholesome states as they're arising and try to prevent that and then when they've arisen anyway,

Let them go.

And also notice wholesome states as they're arising and encourage that and then notice when they've arisen and really nurture them.

And meta,

When I think of wholesome states,

I think of meta as sort of the biggest state,

The biggest wholesome state big enough to hold all of the other wholesome states.

And the translation of meta is love or loving kindness or friendliness.

And these days I'm starting to think of it also as a form of peace.

And it can be a formal practice,

So a lot of us we've done together here and a lot of you've done on your own meta as a formal practice where if I'm doing that,

I'm sitting in silence and I'm practicing with phrases like,

May I be happy,

May I be healthy,

May I be safe,

May I be free or live at ease.

And then may you,

Thinking of people who I love and people who I know less well and difficult people and then maybe all beings and I like to include the earth these days as well because I feel like she can use a little love and a little peace.

And then meta can be a relational practice,

A portable practice too,

So maybe I'm offering love or peace silently to somebody right in front of me or before I pick up the phone,

Before I send a text or an email.

And sometimes I'll do that with complete strangers if I'm walking down the street or if I'm at the market in the line or if I'm in traffic.

So that's how meta kind of works and I've had a lot of moments lately that could use a little meta that have felt really hard and maybe we all have,

You know,

These moments where I open the paper or whatever source I'm getting my information from and I have this sense of shock or despair or anger or helplessness or I want to get on my soapbox or I want to hide inside the soapbox.

And so it feels like there's a kind of a relentless quality right now for me and also a lack of predictability.

You know,

I'm oriented in one direction,

The rug gets pulled out from under me,

I re-stabilize,

There goes the rug again.

Stormy seas,

Very stormy seas.

I feel like I'm on one of those stand-up paddle boards and,

You know,

It's not a glassy lake.

So unpredictable and relentless and so kind of chaotic,

Chaotic.

And a lot of people I've talked with recently are reporting these feelings of chaos and not only in the big sense but also on a personal level.

And so I've been starting to wonder if as just humans we're having a kind of a sympathetic response to what's going on in the world.

And,

You know,

I love that line that Adrienne Marie Brown says,

What we practice at the small scale sets the pattern for the whole system.

And I'm starting to wonder if the reverse is also true and if what's being practiced on the systemic level is setting the pattern on a personal level.

So then I started to think,

Okay,

So how could meta meet this?

And,

You know,

As the practice I was just naming or as a different kind of meta,

As a kind of radiating practice where we radiate friendliness and we radiate peace out into the world.

But,

You know,

I also really like to include courage and grace.

And it's the courage to be with the hard stuff and then grace to do that gracefully,

Right?

And what I think that means right now for me is peace.

And not necessarily peace in the face of the terrible wars of the moment,

Although that would be amazing,

But peace as a quality of heart and mind,

Right?

That we can radiate outwards to infuse a moment or to infuse a situation or to infuse an interaction.

And that we can kind of wear like a cloak,

Not to keep people out,

But to provide shelter for everyone.

So,

And I'm saying this because I don't know how it is for you,

But for me,

It's really easy.

It's painful.

It's a form of suffering.

It's unskillful,

But still it's easy enough to relate to the chaos at the systemic level by,

You know,

Jumping onto my soapbox or hiding inside of it.

And I think sometimes wisdom calls for that for one or the other,

Right?

And I'm also thinking about the times when that chaos feeling like it's seeping into my day,

Or it's swamping my day,

Or it's swamping my heart,

Right?

And in those moments,

Then it feels like wisdom is maybe saying,

You know,

First take a breath,

Right?

And settle in and settle down.

We know that,

Right?

We all know that.

And then notice and relate to what's happening with peace.

So maybe that's saying,

Hi,

Chaos,

You know,

My friend,

My friend chaos,

My new friend chaos,

You know,

You're welcome too.

You're also welcome.

And then to really summon a sense of peace,

Right?

Of spaciousness and the ability to be with what's here.

And then without being judgmental,

Or even particularly discerning about whether peace is appropriate in this moment,

Or who deserves it,

And who doesn't,

Just begin to radiate some peace.

And this is,

I'm talking about,

I'm doing this,

I'm doing this for myself,

And I'm doing it for somebody who calls me,

Or I'm doing it walking down the street,

Or I'm doing it thinking about what's going on in the world.

So for for myself,

And for everybody else,

And for all beings,

All the beings,

And for the earth as well.

And just and then just keep doing it all day,

Right?

Because why not?

Why not?

There's no reason not to.

I mean,

Even if you have to go into the most antagonistic meeting,

Even if you have to walk into the courtroom and,

You know,

Pull out your sword,

I guess that's not how you pull out your sword from your your belt,

Your sword belt.

You know,

Even if you have to do that,

Is it possible to radiate peace?

And I don't know,

Maybe it sounds like magical thinking,

But I really hope not.

Because all I'm really suggesting is that is that meta practice,

This practice of love,

This practice that can,

I think,

Can be a form of peace,

As a practice that and that radiates out,

And that permeates our offices,

And our communities,

And our homes,

And,

And our bodies,

Right?

Down to our bones,

Down to the cellular level,

Right?

Maybe it's a,

It's a good,

Maybe it's a strong alternative,

Or maybe it's even an antidote to peace,

To chaos.

Peace as an antidote to chaos.

So,

I don't know.

Check it out.

Okay,

So let's,

Let's sit,

And maybe we'll,

Maybe we'll play with this practice a little bit,

Yeah?

So,

Take your seat,

Or if you prefer to stand,

Or lay down,

Or if you're walking,

Or driving,

But just settle in,

In a way that is supportive of you coming to the present moment,

Bringing the attention to the present moment,

And bring the attention to the breath,

Or to the sound,

And the environment,

Whichever is most supportive for you.

Just let the body settle,

The mind settle,

The nervous system settle,

And then think of a time in the last day,

Or week,

Or month,

Or year,

Maybe you have to go back farther than that,

When you really felt at peace,

At peace with yourself,

At peace with the world.

Could be just the smallest moment,

That perfect sip of tea,

Or yesterday,

I was walking somewhere,

And I just happened to look,

Just look to my left,

And there was a gigantic tree in full bloom,

Blossoms.

It was just that moment of awe,

Awe can be a moment of peace,

And with that recollection,

That sense of peace,

Just let it into the body,

And wherever it lands,

That recollection,

Wherever it lands,

Just let it begin to kind of permeate the body,

This sense of peace,

And then loosen up the boundaries of the body a little bit,

And just imagine that the peace could kind of permeate the space around you,

And still little ways around you,

Like a little space of peace,

Almost like,

Almost like you're in the theater,

And there's a nice warm spotlight on you,

So peace a little bit wider than the body,

And the edges of that spotlight begin to blur,

And the lights begin to come up on the whole stage,

In the whole room,

Wherever you are,

The room,

The car,

Wherever you are,

And just let that peace flow out to to that space,

That wider space,

And then maybe it wants to go farther,

Maybe it wants to flow out into the whole building,

Where you are,

If you're in a building,

Or a wide open space,

If you're outdoors,

And then maybe you can imagine the city,

Or the town,

Or the countryside,

Where you live,

And peace just radiating out as far as you can see,

See in your,

In your imagination,

And then let go of any boundaries around your imagination,

And just let peace flow all the way out,

Into the whole world,

Everything in front of you,

Everything behind you,

Everything to the left of you,

And to the right of you,

And above you,

And below you,

Just this sense of peace,

All the humans,

All the other beings,

The earth herself,

And see if you notice some kind of a feedback loop,

Of,

Of being,

Being ready,

Being the one radiating this peace,

And then having it come back to sustain you,

So offering and receiving.

Thanks for being here,

Everyone.

Be safe out there.

Take care of one another.