A Little Princess, a Sufi Meditation, and Wise Instructions.

 

Instructions for living a Life.

‘Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.’

¬-Mary Oliver

dreaming about my new studio.  Photo thanks to Pinterest.

a digital drawing  I made 16 years ago !

so love brushes...

So love smiles - any age...

sound bowls...

mysterious  whirling ...which reminds me...

I am deeply touched by the response of many, many friends to my news! Thank  you all so much. I will never forget the oncologists words: 
‘Todo bien.’  For the third time, ‘todo bien!’
All clear.  Everything's fine.
It's a miracle.

There was a stage early on in this challenge when I though I wasn’t going to make it. I seemed to have lost every ounce of life energy. I wanted quietly to give up.   A friend said, if you want to go Meg, I will support you, but don’t go defeated by this illness. I’m especially grateful for  friends brave enough to challenge me.

Little by little, apart from a daily prayerful gratitude practise, I’ve been re -learning to :  ‘pay attention, be astonished,  and tell about it - the Mary Oliver  quote  I shared a  few days ago.

So, last night when I was invited to a  Sufi meditation I thought, what a perfect end to an unforgettable day.

Dusk was settling amongst the olive trees  as I parked my car.

Inside the spacious house, I met 7 adults, mostly Dutch, and a little princess with a mop of golden curls. I speak three languages she told me, and I’m five and a HALF !  She was wearing a  warm pink dress and much loved, old, grey stripy tights through which peeped three little toes.

 In the black elegant woodstove, chunks of gnarled Andalucian olive wood glowed scarlet red.  White candles burned on shuttered windowsills, on the grand mantelpiece, and on an long oak dining table. There was a delightful aroma, was it jasmine incense?  

The young 'holy man,' not sure what his  title is, sat cross-legged on the floor.   His professionally trainer singer wife sat opposite him on a low stool. She was dressed in layers of flowing white cotton.  Or was it muslin?
About 8 sound bowls waited to be used.

In the semi darkness the singing/ chanting in exquisite  harmonies began.  Over and over the same simple lines were sung, sometimes accompanied by a drum. Then the  words and the melody would change.  Maybe 30 times a verse would be chanted before a short pause, a cough, and then it started again. The harmonies took my breath away.  Some of the adults joined in.

My mouth wouldn't open because my heart was too busy absorbing the beauty of it all, and the joy of the day’s wonderful news.  Then suddenly I realised the little princess was chanting.  In between munching a banana, the sweetest sounds came out of her mouth.

In that moment, I felt the peace and the love and the joy that passes all understanding.

Then the holy man’s wife started whirling.

Then there was the sound bath.

It was hard to talk after experiencing so much ‘Divinity. ’

So the princess and I communicated though smiles as she proudly showed me the three faces she can make while eating an apple !!

‘Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.’

¬-Mary Oliver