Venture Fourth Weekly Work
Week Sixteen Jan 2

Dear VF friends,

I am closing suitcases and ready to head to Brazil. I leave for the airport in 2 hours. With a laugh at myself I am aware of my attachment to material things. I'm eager to go but also watching the grasping mind this morning as I climbed out of bed with the thought that for the next 35 nights, bed will be less comfortable! There is also last night's sushi dinner, the beauty of the snow out my window, my husband... Attachments! Grasping is indeed suffering! Where does appreciation end and grasping begin?

I wanted to write just a few words about this and next week's areas of focus.

Jan. 3 - truthfulness

Jan. 10 - trust

I'd like you to work on each separately and also on both together. What supports adherence to truthfulness in you? What supports trust?

I find that the more careful I am to adhere to truth and to be trustworthy, the more I am able to trust others. That seemed odd to me at first, because my trustworthiness doesn't mean others will be trustworthy. As I examined this question, I realized that it's myself I must trust. When I know I strive to be truthful, responsible and trustworthy in all areas, I am trusting of my own deepest nature and my ability to respond in a genuine way. Others have that same nature even when they cannot fully manifest it. So I began to see that, for me, trust involved recognition of my own and others true nature and capacity, and holding trust was an invitation to them and myself to manifest that nature. If they were not capable to do so in that moment, there could be compassion for that fact, and patience, yet also a willingness to speak out and ask them to try to be more truthful/ trustworthy/ whatever... or ask myself if it is my lack I'm noticing.

I've just been exploring this relationship of trust and truthfulness the past few weeks. I'll write more about it as I continue to explore. Please look for yourselves, and share your experiences with me.

Awe and sila...

Jan. 17 - awe

Jan. 24 - sila/ morality

...have a similar reciprocity that I am just beginning to explore. That space of awe strongly supports a commitment to sila for me. I'll have more words on that in a few weeks.

Wishing you all a wonderful new year and a good month while I am away. I look forward to speaking with you all in early February. Please do send journals. I'll read as I am able.