I wanted to share a little lighthearted gratitude to Bob Brown today.
In one of my posts titled “Daily, Ordinary Spirituality”, I asked others to share how they bring their spirituality into their daily lives. In Bob’s response, I found a little gem that I thought profound and meaningful. He was talking about remaining present and had these words to say:
“Often I will use body sensation to help me be present in this way. The sensation of butt on the chair, feet on the floor, breath coming in and out -- any or all of those do fine. Sensations exist only in the present -- where I am, where Awareness is.”
I shared this information with my sister, who is my fellow traveler on the path and best friend. During our conversations about different difficulties, or trials, we have often refered back to this tool, or concept of returning to the point of sensation, to bring ourselves back into the present moment – to awareness. We have found that presence is the best starting point for dealing with anything. Little by little, and with humor, this concept got shortened into the phrase, “Where’s my butt?” When one of us gets tied up in some drama or perceived hurt, we can each gently nudge each other back to awareness with the question, “Where’s your butt?” -- which is often followed by genuine laughter!
So thank you Bob, for touching my world in such a wonderful way. Knowing where my butt is has been a tremendous help during these wild and intense times of late!
With Love and Gratitude,
Mary
I like the way you narrowed that down,,is that why dogs and cats are always chasing their tails ?
Lol...that is funny!....and very true.....
I have a really cool Yoga Nidra meditation cd and it has a lady just calling parts of your body...first finger tip, first finger first joint first finger second joint...etc..she goes really fast.....and as she calls each spot you take your mind to it, visualize it and feel it and at somepoint you just disappear.....then you hear her say..."are you awake or asleep"...you would have sworn you were asleep!...was spooky the first few times.....according to my Swami the true definition of Yoga is to unite mind and body........and I think as Bob said so well.....by doing this you bring yourself into the present and closer to your inner self....
L
Jez
I love that, Mary! Isn't it cool when someone says something so offhandedly and we find later that it was really important and pivotal? Yay! I'll have to start locating my behind as well. :)
Yay to Bob, too!
Hey Jez, I'd love to check out that CD. Is it available commercially?
Happy Sunday morning to all. xo
Much Love and light to you,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
The CD is by Dr Jonn Mumford (Swami Anandakapilla Saraswati), and distributed through Llewellyn Worldwide...I am about to go to work ...it's monday morning here!...Lol.....so I can't check it but try www.llewellyn.com
It's called Yoga Nidra meditation, chakra theory and visulization...
You can also check out his own website, just search Dr Jonn Mumford...I can highly recomend his online courses...they do cost money but as he says "education does not cost, it pays!"
L
Jez
generally IS a good idea to know 'where's my butt' ! and to reply to tscout's statement about dog's I'd like to offer this. I told this story to 6 year old boy scouts in a drum circle just last week...(really)
from Ojibwa oral tradition...when Great Spirit created dog (Mu-kaw-gee) he placed them on different parts of Mother Earth and told them to go and take care of their children. He told them they would meet every so often to remain a 'tribe' and to keep track of their numbers so as not to be a burden to Earth's resources. The other rule was, each time they entered the wigwam, they must remove their tails, much like humans remove their hats or coats.
Great Spirit watched and saw that Mu-kaw-gee were following the rules they had been given and meeting each month and doing a wonderful job. He asked for a special meeting so he could tell them so. The meeting was held just after the full moon following winter (Pee-boon) or just about April by today's calendar.
It was still a bit cold and so a fire was kept in the wigwam, and as each dog entered they hung their tails on hooks on the wall all around the wigwam. The dog tending the fire was very excited to hear what Great Spirit had to say and so he was listening and putting wood on the fire. Soon the fire was very large. Great Spirit told the dogs how well they were doing, and we all like to hear praise.
Everyone was excited and very happy. Suddenly the wind blew and sparks caught the grass on the wigwam floor on fire and quickly it became a giant blaze. The dogs were panicking and running toward the wigwam door in their rush to escape. No one had time to find their own tail so they grabbed whatever one they could. They all got out without harm except....
Many moons and many winters later, that fire is still remembered. Whenever you see two dogs sniffing each other's tails, it is because they still aren't sure if they have found their own. Only Great Spirit knows how long that it will take or if they ever will !
so where's my tail? !!
Hi Mary,
We can all help one another by bringing our best words, experiences, and feelings (not that I always do, but I'm happy that you caught something useful in what I said that time). If there is a Singularity (Oneness, Universal Being) -- and of course there is -- then we're all just aspects of this Singularity, and so when we talk and listen, we're just talking and listening to ourselves. That's how I've begun to see it anyway.
And it's somehow in keeping with the notion that this Singularity creates the entire universe as play, that one's butt could be the portal (no pun intended, but there it is nonetheless) ... the portal to Awareness ot that Singularity. (There could be a whole teaching developed around that -- a spiritual movement [damn, those puns keep cropping up].) Anyhow, it's been said that humor is divine (not humor at some else's expense, but the other kind). Think of all the fun, jokes, and humor that the butt has been the butt of. You could say that we're born with the capacity for humor built in, not just mentally but physically. God, we're sitting right on Divine Awareness and Humor most of the time. It's always with us; how can we miss?
Okay, I've had enough fun with that; I'll it go. May you and your sister continue to have fun on your path of Presence.
With love and gratitude, too,
Bob
Bob, yer killin' me!
I'm just giggling over all the butt puns in your latest post. Thanks for the good laugh.
Much love and light,
Kathy
Once again, Bob, your post has added value to my day!! Thanks for the genuine belly laugh this evening.
With Love and Laughter,
Mary