Hearing the Voice

At a workshop recently with amazing Lama Kimberly Theresa, she said that people often wonder where God is. In the bible, it seemed like God was always talking to people - not just through visions but audibly so that anyone can hear. But where is he or she now? Lama K said that the "voice" is everywhere, if we just pay attention. It is in songs we hear over and over on the radio or can't get out of our minds. It is in recurring dreams, or passages that stand out to us in books. But we have to be "present" to hear it.

In biblical times, people didn't have facebook, twitter, computers, and all the other ways we distract ourselves. We like to think that we multitask, but really, we just fracture our attention. Multitasking is a myth. This was made apparent to me (again) as I drove my 3rd grader Samantha home on Friday from Alice In Wonderland (loved it!). She and her four friends wanted to listen to the Lion King in the car. They were all singing along, and then started talking about the movie. After a minute or two, Samy shouted out, "wow, I completely forgot we were listening to the Lion King while we were talking." All the other girls marvelled about that too. Luckily, I wasn't deep in thought about something else, and heard this comment.

The next morning, on my way to teach, I stopped to get a muffin. On the radio was the song Breathe (2AM). This is the part I tuned in to:

Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button, boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,
And breathe... just breathe,
Oh breathe, just breathe

Then this morning, I was watching Field of Dreams with Samy. This is a movie that I've seen a zillion times, but this morning I heard the following line for the first time: "You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day."

And I remembered what Lama Kimberly said -- that if we just pay attention -- we'll hear divine messages all the time. We just have to tune in. We have to place our minds with intention, and work on keeping our focus. Only then, do we have the possibility of really hearing. As Samy pointed out, when you turn your attention to one thing, you forget about the other. These were divine teachings -- from my little lama, from the song I heard at the bakery, and from the line I heard as if for the first time in "Field of Dreams." We will only recognize the most significant moments of our lives if we are tuned in. So place your mind well.

1. Those who wish to keep a rule of life
Must guard their minds in perfect self-possession.
Without this guard upon the mind,
No discipline can ever be maintained.

2. Wandering where it will, the elephant of mind,
Will bring us down to pains of deepest hell.
No worldly beast, however wild,
Could bring upon us such calamities.

3. If, with mindfulness' rope,
The elephant of the mind is tethered all around,
Our fears will come to nothing,
Every virtue drop into our hands.

4. Tigers, lions, elephants, and bears,
Snakes and every hostile beast,
Those who guard the prisoners in hell,
All ghosts and ghouls and every evil phantom,

5. By simple binding of this mind alone,
All these things are likewise bound.
By simple taming of this mind alone,
All these things are likewise tamed.

Bodhicaryavatara of Shantideva circa 8th Century
Way of the Bodhisattva
(Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala, 1997 pg 62 )