Mud is unavoidable. Plop. plop. Giant drops. Spring started in biblical fashion, wet, soggy, take a soaking weather. Heaven had conspired to macerate every penetrable fingerbreadth of earth. To stay inside was the safe alternative rather than experience getting stuck. Thich Nhat Hanh’s soothing voice softened the backdrop of thunderous rain. His talk: the nature of mud. Coincidence? Maybe not. When it stopped, the rains wet force brought floods of mud. It was everywhere. If you could sell mud, it would make you a fortune. Playing in mud were happy days for me as a child. I couldn’t wait to twirl the mud swimming tadpoles and make mud pies. When did it happened that I sidestepped mud? When did we disconnect from the life giving medicine of mud?
Some of my client’s stories are a stark reminder how powerful our present circumstances and past memories can keep us caught in a storm. One dear friend felt his home was sucking him under. He felt it would kill his spirit if he didn’t leave. What appeared like a drastic measure was a summoning of courage to save his own skin. He began a pilgrimage, visiting havens to collect the fragments of his past. One experience he described was so compelling I felt equally compelled to share he need not feel inundated by the ooze of his memories. I sent him a compassionate teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh. It was meant to reassure him that vicissitudes bear gifts, “Mud…not clean, doesn’t always smell good but it is what the lotus needs to grow. It cannot grow from anything but mud.” “Remember friend, your mud makes you a lotus.”
Mud, glorious mud. Mud represents a meaningful part of the lotus flower’s development. In Buddhist teachings, we humans are born into suffering, it is a vital part of our experience. The sacred lotus grows in the deep mud, far away from the sun. Yet eventually it reaches the light becoming the most beautiful flower imaginable. If you’ve struggled to accept your fears. If you’ve felt your burdens have undermined your redemption. If despair reminds you of what you feel you have failed in, it may be difficult to see that these muddy waters make you the exquisite human being that you are. And you are!
Rain renews the earth, it is a blessing. And renewal is a universal theme this time of year. It is inherent in all manner of life’s DNA. The mud the lotus grows in is the “rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment.” Rebirth and renewal need not only be a physical transformation but also a change of heart about your ideas about life. It can be the renaissance that changes the course of painful memories by forgiving and saying prayers of gratitude when you receive a second chance.
When you feel the pain of your past, hold yourself gently as you would a crying baby. Thich Nhat Hanh shares: breathe in, come home to your body and say softly, “I recognize in you there is pain.” When you breathe out say to your mind, “I will take good care of you.” Mindful breathing brings concentration, insight and liberation. When you feel anger rising, you are not in your body. ”Breathe in, you are home. Breathe out, you realize the miracle of life.”
When you breathe mindfully you grasp the root of your passion. This simple mindfulness practice brings peace and the gift gives rise to find wise, funny and creative ways to reinvent your glorious mud.
There are many metaphors in Feng Shui for creating awareness. Rather than “the aspirin of Feng Shui” as a mirror has been described, it is like your higher consciousness, your Buddha nature. It does not judge, it only fills what is before it. It reflects, it expands, it can bend or turn an image. Like mindful breathing, enhance your confidence and your command of the present moment when you place a mirror before you at your bed, desk or stove and may your blessings multiply in this month of the Dragon.
What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.
