Vibrations

All that is, moves. This movement can be described as vibration. What we glean from our lives is related to our ability to perceive those vibrations. Call it a song. Just as the strings on a fiddle will begin to move in harmonious response to music being played, we respond to the vibrations that surround us. It is a subtle effect and in the discordant blare of modern life, it is often hard to discover, but it is there if we can only listen.

It is hard to control all the variables that interact with us in the course of our work, but in the shop we can be aware of those that we do allow to enter. I use to work with the radio or tape playing constantly, blaring is a better word for it. I would crank up the volume to over ride the noise of the machines. A friend was visiting with me one day and he commented on it. "Doesn't that bother you, playing all the time?" I had never thought about it, but after he left, I made a point not to turn the sound on automatically. I noticed immediately that the shop was more peaceful and that I was able to focus. Soon I began to like the sound of the hand tools on the material. I still listen to music, but I use it now consciously and am more thoughtful about what I listen to.

It is not just sound vibration that affects us. If you accept this process as a way of changing and refining yourself then you will inevitably be lead to search out those things that block you. For me perhaps the greatest single element affecting my life has been the quality of the foods that I eat. Each food too has a vibration. Foods that are balanced and centering would be whole grains, beans and vegetables. Extremes would be animal products, sugar, and refined food. You can change your way of life simply by changing what you eat. 

It is helpful to unplug on a regular basis. Go off by yourself, away from any modern distraction and just experience the natural world. So much of our lives are caught up in human energies that it may feel disconcerting and uncomfortable at first, but it will calm the spirit.

Recently a friend invited me to go ginseng hunting. When I arrived at his place it had begun to drizzle. We resigned ourselves to getting wet and went into the woods. Ginseng is a shy plant. It grows in the shade of old growth forests on the side of the mountains. We hiked into the woods to a forgotten corner of a preserved forest and began to hunt. The drizzle turned to rain and then the skies opened and the fury of a wild thunderstorm pelted and whipped around us. We went from wet to drenched. We continued to hunt. The woods were wild, footing treacherous, but because of the elements we were forced to focus and old senses were awakened. The rain washed away all burdens from me and heightened my awareness.

I found the old plant and it seemed to glow in the light of the storm. It caught my eye in much the same way as happens when you feel someone looking at you. We had chosen to hunt after the berries had set so that once the root was harvested, new seed were planted insuring that the plant would survive. I gathered enough root that day for my personal use, but at the same time I gathered much more from the experience. The routine of my day to day had been washed away and by contrast I realized how my life had become encrusted within its own thoughts and patterns. It was as if I had been playing my own music constantly and caught up in this mental environment, I was deadened to the subtler vibrations around me. Once again the process is to let go.

Self