Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, Do
By Kerri Grace
When I received the email invitation to the work week
with Jose in
It's always interesting to see how I begin to dream
about what the work week will be like. I
start fantasizing about what the place will be like, what the people will be
like, what we will all do together. The
moment I pulled up to the house, with its lights shining into the dark night,
highlighting the surrounding trees and the people moving around, that's when it
started to become real; when actual impressions began to replace my
imaginations.
That was my 'Re'.
Then began all of the
introductions.
Another interesting time of seeing
how conditioned I am to connect with others through personality, especially at
first. And to see the impulse in
me that wants to start categorizing my interactions. That was my 'Mi'.
Then begin the shocks.
One of the first shocks for me is being thrown into a
new rhythm and environment; questioning how does this work
around here, and what do I need to do to get myself settled in. Along the way there are opportunities to
loosen my grip on what I believe I need and to see the impulses for negative
emotions to take root, which compels me to allow the energies of my affirmation
and the group's intention to work together to lift me.
The next shocks came through opportunities for my
weaknesses, confusions, and Work to show up.
Once again, negative emotions beckon and I have to Work to keep myself
open and moving into the positive emotions of remorse and wish without loosing
ground to negativity. My sense is that
this is what helps my personality become more passive and my essence more
active.
That brings me to 'Fa'.
Sol, La, and Si, were made
of the uplifting chorus of impressions through movements, zikrs,
readings, themes, meetings, seeing and being moved by others efforts and
expressions. The conditions were created
to be able contact something higher, for which I am grateful.
In thinking about what the final 'Do' was for me, it
didn't come with the final feast, or the
toasts, or the outrageously fun dancing afterward, or the goodbye's with all of
the feeling of what we had participated in together. It came for me the morning after I returned
home and, by myself, was in front of the choice of whether to sit, to keep the
contact brought through the work week alive, to practice with sensation, to
pray. I knew I must. I knew that if I did not, something would drop
in me, would fall down. To continue with
sitting was the bridging between my work week life and my daily life.
I have been sitting but, of course, the intensity is
more difficult to maintain. I have been
home two weeks and already there have been at least 5 days where I have not
sat. This is the work that is in front
of me now.
Perhaps writing this and sending it will provide me
with a boost for the weeks to come.
Well Wishes for our Work,
Kerri Grace