On Oral Tradition

the ritual of mind protection

Thanks to everyone who signed up and were waiting for the next thing.  I know some of you might be new to me so I hope some of these writings give you a flavor of my voice and style of approaching living and supporting this funny vessel of being a human.  I take great care not to just chuck something for the sake of productivity.  A significant amount of time is spent in stillness and observing the threads of happenings to the best of my ability from my intersectional perspective.  All of the practitioner paths I tread– somatic psychologist, poet, Buddhist chaplain, death doula, yin yoga teacher, trickster teacher– have a few threads in common, among them– ritual, protection, and truth-slaying.  These are paths of practice– there is no mastery (though there can be progress) and its path is lifelong.  

As a trained clinical psychologist, I understand the many ways our minds are attuned to a problem that needs fixing. Mental health is more than fixing a problem, for me, in part, because I don’t see symptoms as a problem, but merely a sign or a message to be attended to.  I approach my work as an artist and see the work as two-fold, first, to be a witness and secondly to offer, teach, co-create rituals to help others recognize, reflect, and reaffirm their truest self.  Thus, mental health is a way of life for me, which is probably why Buddhism was so aligned– there is extensive mind (heart) training but also, as a Queer Black masc-presenting, femme-bodied human, it was a path that was upfront and unflinching in witnessing and naming the truth of my suffering. No DEI training required. Something about that made me think there was a possibility of having one less thing to explain.

What all that mind-training is really about is how to continuously redirect mind (because, the human tendency to forget and the speed of capitalism to distract)  the mind-heart towards liberation– freedom from suffering.  This training is reps not infinitely holding a deadlift.  It is about attention, intention, and protection– the latter of which is of particular interest to me. 

When I speak of protection I speak of realizing the sacredness of the Truth and that it needs protection to make sure it is not twisted, misconstrued, or used in malicious ways (ahem our government).  In order to be a vessel capable of protecting anything properly (attention US law enforcement), one needs to be clear about the view.  To be clear about the view, one needs a regular practice (not a one-off training) about all the obstacles that obscure our view (i.e., the stuffs of being human).  

During the pandemic, my dharma sibling and I started reflecting on these slogans (i.e., pithy instructions that help move the mind from suffering to clarity) and they were like the ground lights on the aisle in a dark plane.  It was a way for us to have something to come back to throughout the day (or weeks because sometimes one of these really makes you pause) so it was often in direct connection with our living experiences.  

At their root, these slogans were accessed first from one of my teachers, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from which he received it from the teachings of Jamgön Kongtrül, and it is based on the Kadampa (Tib. ka - command or absolute truth; dam is oral teaching, how to handle life properly; so a practical oral teaching for ones practice of contemplation or meditation ) text, The Root Test of the Seven Points of Training the Mind.  In truth, many traditions have oral teachings that help guide a people towards how to live as “good” humans and this touched me. It touched me because over the years I watched the ways it created more tenderness in my heart, towards myself and others.  When we are not suffering, our interactions, relationships, businesses, government, etc. will offer the opportunity not to cause further suffering and harm.

I am a product of the 80s & 90s of the twentieth century, which brings with it a particular love of commercial jingles.   I also seem to have delayed echolalia, self-diagnosed – legit as endorsed by my own experience.  What is delayed echolalia you might ask (or maybe what you are really asking is how is this connected. Trust, we will get there, but first we must follow a neurospicy lavabrick road to get there)?  It is the repetitions of speech after a significant time lapse.  I have deep respect for my inner children and their ability to memorize, especially truth. I feel I still learn best through music, storytelling, and visually.  And I don’t think I am alone.

These short nuggets of wisdom are like those commercials from the 80s/90s– they have the power to stick in your head providing you with a pretty fierce toolkit of reminders on how to be a compassionate being to yourself and others.  I know what you’re saying, these aren’t going to stop the many concurrent genocides around the world, of the boiling temperatures, or police violence.  Alone? No, nothing alone, but this is the ground.  Without a good foundation, we sometimes become the very thing/people we are fighting against.  

So begins our journey. In each entry I will note the slogan as written in the text, and offer some commentary to help explore this in your daily life.  Go at your own pace… come back to them… often… they have their own alchemy over time. Dare to memorize your favs and see how and if that changes your process. 

Most of all, have fun with them. There will be 59 of these slogans!

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