Fix your mind at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Give the hands to work. Even when you work, work like the typist or the harmonium player who types or plays while talking to you, like the woman who knits and talks at the same time. Let your mind be ever attached to the Lotus Feet of the Lord while your hands are at work. The mind of the girl who has the water-pot on her head, is on the pot even though she talks and jokes with her comrades while walking along the road. You will be able to do two things at a time by practice. The manual work will become automatic, mechanical or instinctive. You will have two minds. A portion of the mind will be at work, while the rest of the mind will be in the service of the Lord, in meditation, in Japa. Repeat the Name of the Lord while at work also. Ashtavadhanis do eight things at a time. They play at cards, move the man in Chaturanga play (chess), dictate some passages to a third man, talk to a fourth in order and continuation, and so on. This is a question of training of the mind. Even so, you can so train the mind that it can work with the hands and can remember God at the same time. This is Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga combined. - from the Practice of Karma Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.
In walking this path of sacred service, one of my great contemplations is how to stay mindful or aware of my connection to the Divine Source on a moment by moment basis throughout the day as I work, serve and generally go about my business. When I was a nun and veiled, this was much easier. I was ever mindful of my connection to the Divine and if I ever forgot, others would remind me by their glance, words or actions. As a visible representative of the Divine within the world, I was viewed and treated as a woman of Spirit. The benefit to me was that I remained mindful of my connection to the Divine and my purpose 100% of the time.
This past November, I left the path of nun (e.g., of renunciation) to live in the world, with the world and for the world – to serve God by serving God in humanity. The purpose or intention for my life hadn’t changed at all, just the ‘how’ of it. The people I was ‘serving’, had known me as a nun and so when I arrived at the shelter that night without my veil and ‘habit’, there was certainly a stir! However, they knew me as a nun and continued to hold me in that light. As a nun, I was called Mahajayne. ‘Maha’ is a title meaning ‘one who aspires to become one’s Great Being.’ It’s been a hard transition for my homeless friends to switch to calling me Jayne. Many asked me what Maha meant. When I told them, they would get thoughtful for a moment and then say ‘You’re still Mahajayne. You’ll always be Mahajayne.’ Mostly now I’m referred to as ‘Mamajayne’ or sometimes just ‘Sister’. The name was also a way for me to remember my Divine connection.
The question now is how to hold that space of connection and remembrance of the Divine without the assistance of external props. I will tell you that this is a work in progress for me. When the shelter was open (November – March) my practice before going on shift was to hold my Mother Mary pendant and state my intention to open my heart fully to love and compassion. I would breathe with this focus for a few minutes until I felt connected. I would go off by myself in the 15 minutes before we opened and meditate. Before opening the doors, I would station myself at the threshold of the shelter so that after each person checked in at the front desk, I would greet them – call them by name, ask them how they were doing and offer them a hug if they were open. My intention was to see the face of God in all of the guests. For the most part, I was successful in my intention. One factor that influenced my success in staying connected and mindful throughout the night was how full I was before going to work. If I hadn’t taken care of myself by eating well or getting enough sleep or taking the time to play or just be, then I wasn’t full enough to remember my connection and give from this space of love.
The previous winter sheltering season, which was my first year of doing this type of service work, I needed to be at the shelter at 5:00 to set up for opening. I usually had to stop at the store for supplies at 4:15 or 4:30. I set aside the time period from 2:00 – 4:00 to play every day. My ‘play’ was to rollerblade on the greenbelt along the river mostly. Sometimes I would walk in a nearby park in downtown Boise that is abundant with wildlife – ducks and geese, of course, but also other birds, fox, deer, and blue heron. I would slip off the path and go sit in the trees by the water and meditate before heading to work. This was sacred time for me and I held to it adamantly. For no reason would I change this routine.
To remember and be strong in our connection to the Divine throughout the day, takes a focused intention to care for ourselves and to connect with the Source regularly in whatever way works for us. This remembrance must be a priority or we will easily get swept away by all the million things that arise in the course of our day.
Andrew Harvey, author and mystic, says that service to oneself is essential on this path. He outlines four things needed if we want to do this work which he refers to as sacred activism.
- A downhome-no-nonsense spiritual practice that you do absolutely every day in whatever way is natural to you.
- Constant examination of your psyche to gain deep understanding of your shadow.
- A proper health and exercise regiment. Because if you are going to do this work in the world, you are going to need to be strong and be able to call upon very deep reserves of energy.
- Make sure you are always inspired in the course of your life. Harvey shares that he is inspired through music, dance (especially sacred), and a constant supply of mystical texts or spiritual poets (especially Rumi).
I would encourage you to take 10 minutes to watch this video by Andrew Harvey that goes into more depth on service to the divine and service to oneself.
Reflection Questions:
- How do you best connect to the Divine? What works for you?
- How do you serve or care for yourself so that you have the strength and fullness needed to do this work well?
- What can you do to remember your Divine connection throughout the day in all that you do? Not just in ‘official’ service type of activities, but in cooking food for your family, e-mailing, writing, driving, shopping?
