LETTERS FROM CAMILLE
September, 2001
Dear Friends,
Since the disaster of 9/11, I have searched for some words that might be a bridge between my heart and yours. Many wise and insightful emails have circulated through our community at fantastic speed, giving support and inspiration. As I receive their wisdom I am grateful for such connectedness, appreciative of the mixed blessing of technology that allows such swift communication. My own response at first was oddly wordless. The tarot image of The Tower has become a collective physical reality, and I sought another image that might redeem the death, destruction, and despair. What can we do with a psychic event that is so unbearable, and that is not over? What images can give awareness a channel deep enough to allow the intensity of pain to find its way back into creation?
This precious life, the mystery of this tender body and soul, this planetary home, this inconceivably vast and glorious universe that encompasses each of us in its eternal arms… this Body of Love that we are…
In meditation the morning of the tragedy, before I knew what had happened, the image of wings around the planet wrapped itself around me&endash;a sacred presence often called Tara, Kwan Yin, Divine Mother, or Black Madonna. That humanity is living in a shared dream is more apparent now than ever. As Lorin and I walked around the Marina, not far from LAX, the atmosphere was supernaturally quiet: the sky muted and overcast, the ocean unusually placid, the air strangely windless, the background noise from planes eerily absent. Over these days, people I've encountered have seemed like dream characters, each a messenger voicing some gift of perception. In this communion of sorrow, the sense of my body spreads even wider around the world, dissolving habits of constriction and separation. We are one body; we carry each other; we hold each other in a tangible web of consciousness and love.
Catastrophe rips us open, and for a moment or two our consciousness stretches to perceive a reality larger than the fear, hatred, and pain. The outpouring of compassion and generosity during this grievous event demonstrates the best of human nature, in the face of the worst. That there is a divine or higher purpose behind such horrendous events I am not prepared to say; the most unspeakable atrocities have been perpetrated in the name of "holy" wars and crusades.
One thing has been proven: the human spirit can and does turn crisis into opportunity. Each of us responds in our characteristic way, and we each have our own way to transmute shock into creativity. Ministers, astrologers, seers, and healers have shared their visions, and I admire their faith. Though theories provide little refuge for me, seeing how the human soul grapples with this very raw material and transforms it for good does give me solace and hope. This creative capacity of the human being to perceive, to feel and communicate from the soul through symbols, imagery, and words seems divine to me. Great art is often born of tragedy; art, music, dance, poetry, and theater give expression to feelings that are too huge for one heart to hold, whether they are of sorrow, despair, wonder, or joy.
I believe this is a time of personal and world initiation. These openings typically are fleeting; the needs of everyday life readily fill in the cracks. Lorin and I find that a daily awareness practice &endash;meditation, reflection, expression&endash;becomes an urgent necessity if we want to seize the opportunity to change and live more fully in the substance of love. Meditation is a sanctuary for the soul, and cleanses the senses to be able to perceive reality more directly, intimately, and creatively. It helps us to wash fear from our system and cultivate the atmosphere we want to breathe in. We can strengthen our willingness to be moved by life, to flow with change, to balance passion with equanimity. Our bodies can become more open to the streamings of life force, more available for manifesting our heart's desire. We can see with the eyes of an artist through surface appearances to the living soul of the world beyond. We can find what is ours to be and to do, the life we are designed for, the life we want to create.
In the union of spirit and flesh, every conscious breath renews the marriage vow. These values I hold dear: To keep our energies flowing, to make sure that the truth of our hearts gets felt and expressed, especially to loved ones… To dare to be intimate… To take time to see the miracle in each other's face, to receive the little miracles of nature that are everywhere around us…To welcome each day with awe and wonder and gratitude…to serve this precious and sacred life…
In that spirit, and in that flesh,
Camille
January, 2002
Dear Friends,
As we ease into 2002, most of us long for renewal, healing, and reconnection with life. The trials of last year and the specter of challenges on the horizon require new and deeper inner resources. We have come through a major passage together and stand facing the unknown.
Almost all people we speak with express some version of rededication to their deepest values. Intimacy with friends, family, and other loved ones tops the list; we want to make the most of our precious time with one another. The crisis has sparked the desire to live fully, to express ourselves and engage with the world creatively in whatever ways our hearts are called. At the same time we are drawn to live more simply and honestly. Soul is calling and its time is now.
I will be forever grateful to Alan Watts for his writings on "The Wisdom of Insecurity." Since reading his book in the 70's, the title has remained etched in my awareness, a powerful mantra of living in the present. So as here and now all of us have a heightened awareness of life's insecurities, many people are experiencing the wisdom and strength of that raw, tender state.
Opening to what is, dilating the senses to perceive reality more directly and intimately, having the courage to love again despite our disappointments and loss…these are the gifts of the moment.
Every one of us can use some support on this journey of the heart. Not the least of the tools for being present is body awareness developed through movement and meditation. This grounding of energy in the body helps to soothe the tigers of stress and to "breathe in our own atmosphere" no matter what's whirling around us in the world. Connected to our essence, we can then have more access to the contributions that are ours to make.
Lorin and I invite you into this intimate awareness. We are initiating two workshops together in LA this year: Meditation and the Life of Passion. Please join us for the first one in March (wonderful for couples). In the meantime, we send you sustained wishes for a healthy and heartful year.
Camille