WuChiKu Reflections 8.24.13

Reflection of this week's WuChiKu class

From George Breed: There are 5 actions/motion of WuChiKu
-Away
-Towards
-Against
-With
-As

The goal is to move As while keeping our own center of being.   The true state of moving As means being at our center of our universe (not The Center, but a center...) and allowing others to be at their center.  We can move our center to be concentrically aligned with others and allow others to be concentrically aligned with ours, this is the true act of Be-ing.  So, there is actually only 1 motion/action: the action of Be-ing. When we are truly Be-ing, we will move Away, Towards, Against, With or As as the circumstance needs, expanding and contracting our own sphere as the situation calls.

8.29.13
Waking contemplation on the motion of Be-ing...

I think there is also moving Without.  This is motion of absence; absence of another, absence of oneself, absence of consciousness, absence of thought.  But not necessarily absence of Be-ing.  It is motion that is independent of other energy.  It is motion that can be outside time and space.  It is motion of survival.  It is motion of refuge.  It is motion of contemplation.  It is motion of Loss.  It is motion of seclusion.  ...or is this still the motion of With?  And one would be moving With Out?  Who/What is "out"?

reaction to the recent rapes & subsequent capture of the suspect in Flagstaff

08.16.13

Thoughts and Ponderings: Rape, Victims, & Suspects

1. Rape is evil.
2. People should feel safe wherever they are.
3. NO ONE “deserves” or “is asking” to be raped.  Ever.  No matter the clothes worn (or not); no matter the substances ingested (legal or illegal); no matter time, place, circumstance; no matter what.

I am angry that 3 rapes took place in my home town.  I am angry that it took a 3rd one for the town to be actively searching for the perpetrator.  I am heartbroken for the people whose lives have been irretrievably changed.  And I am disturbed.

I am disturbed by the rancor and vitriol that is being spoken.  Not because of the anger.  There is every reason to be angry.  But, I’m uneasy because it holds an overtone of Rage.  With a capitol R.  With a scorching, intensely roiling fire-bolt of destructive indignation.  I’m troubled because instead of this opening a place to truly address the illness that this is a symptom of, we are all rising up and saying, “KILL THE BEAST!”

I won’t say, “The rapist is a victim of society.”  No.  He’s responsible for his own actions.  He has to suffer the consequences.  He has to pay for his transgression.  But, the punishment has to be meted out without heat, without Rage, without righteous indignation.  In a fair manner.

“But, HE WASN’T FAIR TO THE WOMEN HE ATTACKED!” you scream.

And I agree.  He wasn’t.  But, who do WE want to be in the future?  Striking out with blind fury puts us in the same category as him.  We can’t change him, so we have to change ourselves.  Not to accept rape.  But to address the things that lead to rape.

Somewhere along the way, society failed him.  And we are a part of that society.  The fact that there’s even a HINT of invitation to rape because of clothing, actions, being in “the wrong place” shows there is sickness that needs to be dealt with.  Those comments should NEVER be thought (let alone voiced) when there is an attack on someone.

My heart is saddened for him.  I grieve for the little boy who ran around outside, maybe playing in the mud, maybe building forts, maybe counting stars at night.  Somewhere, he did not receive what he needed, so he felt justified to take.  And that, too, makes me sad.

Punish him.  Let him rot in jail.  Take his life, if that’s truly what is warranted.

But, do it in a way that does not plant the seeds of unforgiveness, maliciousness, and unkindness in our own hearts.  Do it with compassion (odd as that may sound).  Do it without emotion.  Do it as if we are doing it to ourselves.  Because as much as it infuriates us, he is a part of us, and we have to address it.  We have to figure out how to initiate change.  We have to discover ways to make the world a better place for our descendants.  

So, what will I do?  I will receive and give love.  I will not walk in fear.  I will fight against wrongdoings and stand up to bullies.  I will be aware.  I will appreciate beauty.  I will stand my ground against injustice.  I will speak kindness.  I will shed tears of sorrow and of joy.  I will keep learning to defend myself and encouraging others to do the same and working towards a day that it is no longer necessary.

And if someone ever harms one I love, do know there will be fury…but it won’t be blind.