Last Sunday in this post, in acknowledgement of the spiritual Energy of the current holidays of Lent and Ramadan, and the practice of spiritual fasting in different forms found in all major religions world-wide, I encouraged you to consider your own March fast. That Sunday, I asked in meditation, "How do I personally engage in this time of fasting?" My mind, although trying to quiet, ran through a spontaneous list of possibilities. I decided I needed a deeper receptive silence. What came then was an unexpected awareness of the structure of my own psyche, around which my daily thoughts and habits are built. The question became clearer, "What fast will open beyond the structure; what do I really need to release through a "fast". Understand that I am not referring to fasting in the sense of refraining from food, but fasting in the sense of "giving up" a struggle, a fixed attitude, or rehearsed pattern that is an aspect of this "structure," not helpful, and needs to go. The answer then was clear: my struggle with time pressure. I simply did not have enough time to do all that seemed necessary to do. My fast began.
Ironically, the week became exceptionally busy. The "To Do" list suddenly expanded. My computer rebelled, obligations multiplied, deadlines loomed, urgent shifts were required, routines were upended, torrential rains--with new evacuation warnings--disrupted things further! With every meditation, I had to re-release my time pressure and lingering resentment with it. I finally let go. One evening I thought, "I'm tired. Forget it all, I want to read a book," a novel I had started, but couldn't find the time to read further. So I did. I didn't check the evening news, or scroll my phone. I meditated. I read. I slept.
The next afternoon, I asked my kindergarten granddaughter about the pile of homework in her backpack and she announced with great clarity and enthusiasm: "This month is National Reading Month! Kids all over the country are reading books this month! I have reading homework and New Words!" It was so serendipitous. It re-ignited my love of reading, and an awareness of how the digital world of news and information steals from my energy and time. My practice now becomes to stay informed, without being inundated. My 'fast' is changing shape.
While literacy remains the foundation of childhood education (with education in America currently fielding upheaval), my focus today is to encourage your personal experiment: set aside the screen, phone, the flashing meme, computer, or TV, and/or the 'voice' of A.I. to hold a book, open it, and read. Digital reading, of course, is still reading, and for some, auditory input is essential. This very post and the hillsidesource.com website are offered through the wonder of technology. But the libraries of the world hold stories and...well, answers...that have yet to find, may never find, their way to digitalization. The broader issue is freedom of choice as books disappear, along with their special kind of private sensory engagement in the turning of the page. How does it feel to you? What kind of reading, allows you to choose, to learn or let go, to relax, laugh, heal. Spiritual insight and answers come in many forms. Try a book this week. (If you simply cannot find the time to read a book this month, consider another holiday in mid-April, D.E.A.R. which stands for Drop Everything and Read! Susan Nettleton)
for poetry: https://www.poeticous.com/dylan-thomas/notes-on-the-art-of-poetry https://allpoetry.com/Good-Books https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/3/16/readiness