Wash, Rinse, Repeat

This simple formula — Wash, Rinse, Repeat — is not only good for our hair, it works wonders for one’s mind and heart as well. Yes, the mind and heart also need some good, regular cleansing. The dirt and dust left over from small, medium and big stresses, the dryness and dullness resulting from all sorts of repetitive and mundane thinking, the stickiness and roughness created by old and obsolete cobweb-like patterns of the mechanical mind — all these must be regularly cleansed off for seeking and creating a new order, a new harmony within.

The shampoo for such cleansing may not always come in a nice bottle (though it can at times — think of your favourite perfume or an essential oil, if you have one). More importantly, the cleansing agent is different for different individuals, and also different ones are helpful at different times.

For some it can be a good book or perhaps a special poem, for others it can be a special piece of music or some old favourite film. For some a walk in the nature does wonders, for others simply cleaning and organising one’s living space is the right cleanser.

A little getaway to some special place is needed for some at some particular time, while at other times all it takes is a quiet hour in one’s tiny balcony at home with a nice cup of tea. Some offer prayers at a temple while others retreat to the temple within; some pursue some fun, enjoyable hobbies while others seek solace in a quiet, relaxing nap.

I have never been a one-brand type of person when it comes to my hair shampoo, I keep changing brands and types. Maybe that also helps explain why all the above listed mind-heart cleansers (and some others) work differently for me at different times.

Today it is the following passage.

It’s all right, it’s all right.

We must endure. The victory belongs to the most enduring.

There are times when one is disgusted, and that’s just when one should remember this. Now, your disgust may have reasons of its own (!) But you have only to endure. You know, there is one thing… as soon as you have a difficulty, dissatisfaction, revolt, disgust—anything—fatigue, tension, discomfort, all, all that negative side (there are lots and lots and lots of such things, they take on all kinds of different colors), the immediate movement—immediate—of calling the Lord and saying, “It’s up to You.” As long as you try (instinctively you try to arrange things with your best light, your best consciousness, your best knowledge…), it’s stupid, because that prolongs the struggle, and ultimately it’s not very effective. There is only one effective thing, that’s to step back from what’s still called “me” and… with or without words, it doesn’t matter, but above all with the flame of aspiration, this (gesture to the heart), and something perfectly, perfectly sincere: “Lord, it’s You; and only You can do it, You alone can do it, I can’t….” It’s excellent, you can’t imagine how excellent! For instance, someone comes and deluges you with impossible problems, wants you to make instant decisions; you have to write, you have to answer, you have to say—all of it—and it’s like truckloads of darkness and stupidity and wrong movements and all that being dumped on you; and it’s dumped and dumped and dumped—you are almost stoned to death with all that. You begin to stiffen, you get tense; then, immediately (gesture of stepping back): “O Lord….” You stay quiet, take a little step back (gesture of offering): “It’s up to you.”

But you can’t imagine, it’s wonderful! Immediately there comes—clear, simple, effortlessly, without seeking for it—exactly what has to be done or said or written: the whole tension stops, it’s over. And then, if you need paper, the paper is there; if you need a fountain pen, you find just the one you need; if you need… (there’s no seeking: above all don’t seek, don’t try to seek, you’ll just make another mess)—it’s there. And that’s a fact of EVERY MINUTE. You have the field of experience every second. For instance, you’re dealing with a servant who doesn’t do things properly or as you think they should be done, or you’re dealing with a stomach that doesn’t work the way you’d like it to and it hurts: it’s the same method, there is no other. You know, at times… situations get so tense that you feel as if you’re about to faint, the body can’t stand it any more, it’s so tense; or else there’s a pain, something wrong, things aren’t sorting themselves out, and there’s a tension; so immediately you stop everything: “Lord, You, it’s up to You….” At first there comes a peace, as if you were entirely outside existence, and then it’s gone—the pain goes, the dizziness disappears. And what is to happen happens automatically. And, you see, it’s not in meditation, not in actions of terrestrial importance: it’s the field of experience you have ALL the time, without interruption—when you know how to put it to use. And for everything: when something hurts, for instance, when things resist or grate or howl inside there, instead of your saying, “Oh, how it hurts!…” you call the Lord in there: “Come in here,” and then you stay calm, not thinking of anything—you simply stay still in your sensation. 

 ~ The Mother [Mother’s Agenda: November 20, 1963]

The moment I came across this passage I could feel how the Divine Mother was giving me exactly what I needed today. An Assurance and a Support. A Light and a Guidance. Not only for today, but for all the days to come.

These words will help me wash away some rather dusty cobwebs of my mind and heart, some old sticky habits of forgetting to “call the Lord in there” especially when “things resist or grate or howl inside there.” They will give me the strength and determination I need to slowly and patiently remove and rinse off the obsolete patterns of mind that are obstructing the path.

As I sit silently with these words resonating within, I begin to feel a renewed strength as I recognize why this cleansing must be practiced patiently, and repeated as part of my inner practice. Because only a regular practice of ‘remembering to call‘ can indeed make the truth of these words truly true, can make this a living truth for me.

So I must Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

And I must Remember to Call.

Because “there are times when one is disgusted, and that’s just when one should remember this.”