Synchronicity ~ The Call of the Heart

The Taoists say there is an underlying Flow to all Life, a seamless Flow of Existence that is in all life – in all beings – that *is* Life. There is an interaction of the currents and eddies of this Flow in synchronistic “coincidences” and circumstances of living that bring us what we need and not necessarily what we want. The synchronicity of circumstances of this Flow “awakens” us, or awakens something *in* us, like a homing call. It seems no matter what our experiences in life, our Being is calling us “home” *through* these seemingly synchronistic life experiences – the Self calling the Self back to Self - the call of the Heart.

Strangely my husband and I are not synchronous. Our inner rhythms and timing are very different, often causing conflict on the River. We are like a confluence of seemingly disparate currents within the larger Flow, both returning to the Ocean in our own way. However, he is often the vehicle of synchronicity. He is often the one who brings me the wisdom I need to “wake up”, either in the words that fall out of his mouth, (that I share here sometimes), or in books he finds, and of course in the dynamics of relationship as teacher. Last weekend he brought home a 2 CD set series he picked up at the library for himself called: “Meditations for Emotional Healing” by Tara Brach; subtitled: Finding Freedom in the Face of Difficulty. He thought I might be interested as well. I read the back. It lists the meditations: Arriving in Natural Presence (hmmm, liked those words); The “Yes” Meditation (yes, intriguing); the “RAIN” Meditation (ooo – I like the rain, remember? :) and “Calling on Love – a heart-opening meditation for taking refuge in unconditional love.” And there it was again – the heart-quaking that I’ve been experiencing lately. I was drawn to the words: “heart-opening” and “taking refuge in unconditional love.” The call of the Heart? Synchronicity?

Tara Brach is a practicing Buddhist as well as a psychologist. She also wrote a book called: Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha. My heart leapt at the words “Heart of a Buddha.” With my new love for “the Buddha” I felt drawn in by the words as if there was something there for me to see or know. I’ve been feeling what I call the “call” of the Buddha, the call of the awakened Heart within. So when I read the words I knew it was a must have book. The local book store had it and I had a 30% off coupon – heh, heh, heh – synchronicity?

Sunday afternoon I settled in on the couch and started listening to the CD’s. She says there is an energy in us that draws us to the truth, to love, to the *awareness* of our “Natural Presence: that awake Beingness within that is listening and looking through our eyes. And what our hearts long for most is love, awakening, truth…” As I listened it started: the heart quaking – literally skipping beats, my whole being quivering, and an antsy, unsettledness running through my body that I’ve been experiencing lately. I knew I was on to something that was *needed* just by my body’s visceral response. It wasn’t as if the words she was speaking were new to me, but they stirred something deep inside – awakening a raw, tender vulnerability of the Heart; causing a deep quaking in my being as I felt the resonance of the words calling me inward to the Heart – to “Natural Presence,” or Buddha Nature.

She tells a story about a well-known ancient statue of Buddha in Southeast Asia. Apparently the statue was made of clay. But there were cracks in the clay and a curious monk took a flashlight and peered through the cracks to see if there was anything underneath. He evidently saw a flash of gold inside the statue. They discovered that there was a gold statue of Buddha *inside* the clay crust. The clay was applied to the statue to protect it from harm during times of conflict. I have seen glimpses of this shining Buddha within myself. I have felt this Presence in many forms, and called it different names. Yet there is apparently a cracking of the exterior constructs of protection occurring here, so that this True inner Being can be fully revealed.

I started reading her book. And it started again – the deep heart-quaking. My mind fogged up. I had to go back and keep re-reading; not because the content was intellectual, or esoteric, or so profound, but because I wasn’t ready to let the words in. Avoidance strategies were kicking in: the antsy-pants, the numbing, and the “hungry ghost.” I had to put the book down. It appears I’m in for a little excavation into the heart of things, layers of old patterns that have cracked open revealing the vulnerability of an open Heart that I don’t feel prepared for, but it’s evidently where the Tao is calling me… Synchronicity – the call of the Heart…

~*~

photo - christine