Instrument of the Divine

Beloved friends, Snatam and Community,

I am so grateful for this 40 day practice of the Ray Man Shabad with you. It has been a true deepening. Especially the first weeks sometimes I even practised twice a day because I felt this deep call within.

The first two weeks I also loved our homework, reflecting on the truth and "my" truth, and then catching the burning flame of the mind ( taatee gaho), thoughts and emotions and be willing to bas kar kee - come into that silent soul space...mmm. I really took it seriously as a deep inquiry.

But then came (now I can see that this is the Chak chak rahay) the test, the spinning of the world around me and tested me. Last week I was restless, maybe hormones, maybe the new projects in our work...but I got so unmotivated... thoughts like: oh I am sitting here…

What is the literal translation of Ray?

"Oh my mind, practice yoga in this way

Let your musical instrument be truth

Let your necklace be sincerity

Let meditation be the ashes you apply to your body"

I would like to share with you some of the things that came up reflecting on those words after chanting and meditating. Some points could be a source of debate, discussions,... please feel free to share your thoughts if some come up!

• Be true to others: not lying, not hiding, not pretending, allowing vulnerability,... Such a beautiful ethics! It asks such courage, and trust that it is right. But when sincerity hurts? That really asks me to come back to my motivation, my intention: why do I say this? Is it coming from an ego place? Or a wise and loving place? Remembering to speak true but also kind, supportive, harmonious, meaningful words as much as possible.