Five Directions Workshop

Last weekend, I taught a third round of my Meditation and Art two-day workshops at AVA.  Each time is slightly different, with the embodied Five Directions practice as a constant guiding structure.  People who turn up for something like this are pretty self-selecting: you have to be interested in contemplative practice; you have to be interested in art-making; you have to be willing to dedicate a whole weekend to exploration, without the built-in payoff of CEU's, a famous teacher,  or any established tradition.  Just: pack your cushion & mat & lunch, and come on down.  I could not have asked for a more marvelous group of participants, nor a better venue than AVA's sunlit South Studio.

For me, guiding people through the cycle of the Five Directions, finding their own imagery and connections, their own challenges and griefs, their own wholeness and wisdom, is incredibly rewarding work.  People know so much, and as soon as they feel there is a genuine invitation and safe space to reveal what they know, they open gladly into revealed presence.  That might sound pollyanna, but I've seen it happen again and again.

I'm going to post a few images of my own work from the weekend, describing the arc of the practice in a few images… 

PART 1: Offerings
What have you recently enjoyed in eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind?  Bring these to your attention, and offer them in gratitude to What Is, as you prepare to enter into the sacred space of contemplation, inquiry, and embodied expression.

Part 2: Guardians
Who within yourself guards the boundary of a safe & sacred space?  These guardians could be bright, wrathful, or both.

Bright guardian: I am protected by being grounded like a mountain. I am protected by being hidden as if by clouds, seeing only what I can receive in ear moment, as the whole reveals itself.

Dark guardian: I am protected by anger, and by being unafraid to see the darker aspects of things. I am protected by spirit (white) and by soul (red) coursing through the body.

Part 3: Teachers and Lineage
Who are your teachers?  Who has shown you something of your true potential as a human being in this life?  What are your lineages?

Part 4: The Five Directions

The Northern Gate: the back of the body, blue, winter, night, the pause between things. Equanimity and steadfastness: I have the ability to be with my experience exactly as it is, neither shying away, nor clinging; neither ignoring, nor being overwhelmed.

The Eastern Gate: the left side of the body, green, spring, morning, the beginning of things. Compassion and fearlessness: I have the ability to be with my suffering and the suffering of others. I give no fear.

The Southern Gate: the front of the body, yellow, summer, high noon, the peak of things. Generosity and joy: I have the ability to give and to receive blessings without reservations. I rejoice in my own goodness and in the goodness of others.

The Western Gate: the right side of the body, red, autumn, sunset, the ending of things. Lovingkindness and concentration: I have the ability to love unconditionally and to be loved. My body, heart, mind, and soul are unified and whole.

The Central Gate: the whole vertical core (or central channel) of the body, black and white, all seasons, times, and phases. Wisdom: I know what I know & feel what I feel. I am intimately connected with all beings, and with my ancestors, guardians, and teachers.

Part 5: Bringing the Mandala into Three Dimensions
Working with the tactile qualities of clay, go into the directions, making a small devotional sculpture for each one.  Let yourself be surprised by what your hands want to make.  Let yourself see their particular qualities and their unity.

So, those are the bones of the two-day Five Directions workshop, plus discussion time for each person to present her work, and periods of sitting and laying-down meditation interspersed.  I offer thanks to all my teachers, and my students.  Thank you for the chance to practice.  Thank you for the chance to teach.