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Lojong Mind Training: A Path to Inner Transformation

In the quest for personal growth and self-improvement, many have turned to ancient wisdom traditions to find timeless guidance. One such tradition that holds profound insights into the human mind and spirit is Lojong Mind Training.

As someone deeply engaged in the exploration of these teachings, I am excited to share the essence of this transformative practice with you, along with the daily wisdom you can find on our website through the “Lojong Card of the Day.”

Lojong, which translates to “mind training” or “mind transformation,” is a Tibetan Buddhist practice that is said to date back to the 12th century. It is a profound system of contemplative techniques designed to cultivate compassion, wisdom, and mental resilience. While it has deep roots in Buddhism, its teachings transcend religious boundaries, making it accessible and beneficial to people from all walks of life.

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At its core, Lojong is a practice of self-reflection and self-improvement. It encourages us to examine our thoughts, emotions, and reactions with unflinching honesty. Through this process, we gain a deeper understanding of our own minds and uncover the habitual patterns that often lead to suffering. Lojong provides a toolkit of practical and compassionate methods to work with these patterns and transform them into sources of growth and awakening.

One of the central themes of Lojong is the cultivation of compassion, both for oneself and others. It teaches us to view every situation as an opportunity to develop empathy and loving-kindness. By training our minds to see the inherent goodness in all beings, we become better equipped to respond to life’s challenges with patience and understanding.

Now, about our website’s “Lojong Card of the Day” feature, it’s a wonderful resource that offers a daily dose of Lojong wisdom. Each day, you can visit our website and draw a card that contains a specific Lojong slogan or teaching. This daily guidance can serve as a powerful reminder to apply Lojong principles in your life. It’s a small yet impactful way to stay connected to the practice and integrate its transformative wisdom into your daily routine.

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One of the most well-known slogans in Lojong is, “Transform adverse circumstances into the path of awakening.” This encapsulates the essence of the practice. Instead of resisting or avoiding difficulties, we learn to embrace them as opportunities for personal growth. Adverse circumstances become our greatest teachers, guiding us toward greater inner resilience and wisdom.

Lojong Mind Training also emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in daily life. It encourages us to bring our awareness to the present moment, no matter how ordinary or mundane it may seem. In doing so, we discover the richness of each moment and the potential for profound insight and transformation.

In conclusion, Lojong Mind Training is a profound and practical approach to inner transformation. It offers a path to greater self-awareness, compassion, and wisdom. By embracing its teachings and drawing inspiration from the “Lojong Card of the Day” on our website, you can embark on a journey of personal growth that not only benefits yourself but also ripples out to positively impact those around you. I invite you to explore the teachings of Lojong and experience firsthand the profound changes it can bring to your life, one daily card at a time.

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Embody Meditation like a Master without spending years in the Himalayas

Have you ever felt the pull of spiritual growth, the desire to embark on a journey of self-discovery, but the thought of spending years in the Himalayas enduring culture clashes, gender inefficiencies, and emptying your bank account seems daunting? If so, you’re not alone. Many seekers face this dilemma, torn between the call of inner transformation and the practical demands of everyday life. But what if I told you there’s a way to embark on an authentic meditation path without all these hardships?

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In today’s fast-paced world, where time is a precious commodity, I invite you to spend the next forty-five minutes with me as we explore the royal tools for mastering an authentic meditation path that can be yours. We’ll delve into the limitations of self-made secular non-traditional meditations when it comes to awakening our full potential.

We’ll discuss how people began flocking to my classes, what you need to do to achieve similar results, and where to start in order to deepen your practice and transform your life. Furthermore, we’ll explore how to embody this path and seamlessly integrate it into your daily life and work, allowing it to become an intrinsic part of your essence.

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In today’s competitive landscape of personal coaching, therapy, and spiritual guidance, many professionals are seeking a doubtless path to reignite their inherent nature and regain trust in their work. The world has changed, and the demands for authenticity and transformation have grown exponentially. The question is, how can you find such a path while stuck in the everyday rat race, especially if you’re committed to helping others transform sustainably?

I understand the challenges you might be facing. As a sincere spiritual practitioner and a professional who’s walked the path for decades, I’ve experienced the need for guidance and the hunger for the right tools to navigate the spiritual awakening journey. I’ve lived through the expansion of consciousness and the uncertainty that often accompanies it. I know the frustration of being in the midst of spiritual growth without an available experienced teacher to turn to.Mainstream meditations, including mindfulness, can take you only so far. To truly reach your destination, you must be willing to dive deep, stay committed, and never give up.

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My own journey began as a young teenager at a Zen Buddhist center in Sweden, driven by my natural inclination toward spirituality. However, this journey also led to a sense of not belonging in a secular world focused on worldly concerns.Despite these challenges, I discovered that incorporating spirituality into my work and life was the key to fulfillment.

It was during a period of intense personal transformation that I realized the profound impact my journey had on others. Students flocked to my classes, my business thrived, and opportunities came knocking. But I also knew that continuing this journey without proper guidance was risky.I prayed for a competent teacher, and one came into my life short there after in the most miraculous way!

Under their guidance, I took a leap of faith, leaving my prosperous life in the west to train as a Buddhist nun for 12 years in the Himalayas and North America. During 3 1/2 of those years, I immersed myself in a secluded retreat, engaging in intense practices that required a strong foundational training.The challenges I faced during this period were immense – language barriers, gender expectations, and limited support, to name a few. Yet, the journey was worth it, and I have never regretted following the call of my awakening heart.

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However, I realized that the path I had taken might not be suitable for everyone.With the wisdom gained from my experiences, I am now dedicated to serving Western practitioners in the fields of yoga, healthcare, life coaching, and therapy. I offer a condensed, accessible form of the tools I’ve learned through the 2600-year-old Buddhist path. These tools, rooted in meditation, have been used by countless practitioners to achieve enlightenment. These masters were once just like us, and by applying these tools, they became what we aspire to be. I promise you; you can do this too, provided you are certain and determined to follow through.So, if you’ve been searching for a way to deepen your spiritual practice, if you’ve hit a wall with your current services, and if you’re ready to explore a more complete path to help others find their full potential, join me in my master class, “How to Embody Meditation like a Master” today, to embark on this journey together, without sacrificing your current lifestyle completely, and discover the transformation you’ve been seeking.

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Blessed be,

Lama Chimey

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The Three Timeless Wisdom Pillars of Triyana Buddhist Meditation


Embarking on a Profound Journey with Buddhist Triyana Meditation

In a world pulsating with constant activity and noise, where the demands of modern life often drown out the voice of our inner selves, there exists a timeless sanctuary of tranquility and profound self-discovery – Buddhist Triyana Meditation. It beckons us to embark on a transformative journey, one that transcends cultures and spans the ages, offering a path to inner peace, profound insight, and lasting transformation.

The Three Pillars of Triyana: Sutrayana, Mantrayana, and Mahamudra

At the heart of Buddhist Triyana Meditation lie three interconnected pillars, each illuminating a distinct facet of a holistic approach to mindfulness and awakening:

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1. Sutrayana: Laying the Foundations of Wisdom Sutrayana serves as the bedrock of our inner exploration, inviting us to engage in thoughtful contemplation. This pillar encourages us to delve into the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, enabling us to observe and understand the intricate interplay of our thoughts, emotions, and sensations. As we become adept at navigating our inner landscape, a deeper clarity and equanimity emerge, becoming our guiding compass through life’s intricate maze.

2. Mantrayana: The Transformative Power of Sound The second pillar, Mantrayana, introduces the profound practice of chanting sacred mantras. Through these sacred syllables, we harmonize our beings with the cosmic rhythms of the universe. This practice transcends linguistic barriers, resonating with the very essence of our existence. As we chant mantras, we kindle a transformative fire within us, transmuting negativity and paving the way for profound shifts in our consciousness.

3. Mahamudra: The Radiance of Great Seal Mahamudra, the pinnacle of Triyana Meditation, is often referred to as the “great seal.” It embodies a state of being where we recognize the innate nature of our mind and experience the direct, unmediated perception of reality. Mahamudra is a path of direct insight, inviting us to rest in the uncontrived awareness of the present moment. It is the realization of our intrinsic wisdom and the full embodiment of awakened mind.

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Transforming Lives: Triyana in the Roles of Guides

For yoga teachers, life coaches, and therapists, the teachings of Buddhist Triyana Meditation offer a wellspring of inspiration and guidance. As guides who assist others on their journeys, these teachings become powerful tools to enrich our practices and empower those we serve.Through Sutrayana, we cultivate the wisdom necessary to address life’s complexities with clarity and compassion. Mantrayana infuses our guidance with a harmonious resonance that deeply touches the hearts of our students and clients, fostering profound transformation. Mahamudra, the culmination of our journey, allows us to guide from a place of profound presence, becoming beacons of light for those navigating the intricacies of existence.

Embracing the Path: Triyana as a Way of Life

Buddhist Triyana Meditation transcends being a mere practice; it becomes a way of life, seamlessly integrating mindfulness into every aspect of our existence. This integration empowers us to transcend self-imposed limitations, opening the gateway to boundless potential and holistic well-being.

As guides, the incorporation of Triyana teachings into our lives enables us to lead by example, illuminating a path of transformation for those who seek our guidance.As we embark on this transformative odyssey, we find ourselves on a pilgrimage into the heart of consciousness. The timeless wisdom of Triyana becomes a beacon of serenity amidst life’s cacophony, a profound illumination on our quest for truth, and an unwavering compass guiding us toward a life of purpose, wisdom, and boundless compassion.

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May our journey through Buddhist Triyana Meditation be the whisper of serenity amidst life’s chaos, the profound illumination in our search for truth, and the steadfast compass guiding us towards a life of purpose, wisdom, and boundless compassion.

Learn more about Triyana Meditation and T.M.I.C.P – The Triyana Meditation Instructor Certification Program here.

Blessed be,

Lama Chimey

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Boost Your Immune System through Relaxation and Meditation

In the midst of your life’s hustle and bustle, amidst stress and anxieties that seem to never end, you seek solace and balance. In this pursuit, you turn to relaxation techniques and meditation. Those ancient yet powerful practices that offer us a refuge of inner peace, and more over, boost our immune system. Meditation, often described as an ‘inner mental exercise,’ has captured hearts with its potential to enhance our physical and emotional well-being. It invites us to sit quietly, focusing on our breath, gently guiding our minds back when they wander. Rooted in the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, which in part draws from ancient Ayurvedic practices, you embark on a journey to explore how these practices can enrich your life and uncover insights into the essence of existence.

1.Unwinding the Knots of Modern Life to Boost Your Immune System

In the chaos of a busy lifestyle, finding moments of respite is like discovering a hidden oasis in the desert. Relaxation techniques and meditation become your compass, guiding you to that much-needed oasis of tranquility. Through meditation, stress finds an exit, as the levels of stress hormones subside, and our minds and bodies embrace a welcome relief. As we breathe in the serenity, our nervous systems shift gears, transitioning from the tense ‘fight-or-flight’ mode to the serene ‘rest-and-digest’ state. This transition not only nurtures our sense of calm but also bolsters our immune function and overall well-being.

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2.Embracing the Wisdom of Timeless Traditions to Cultivate a Healthy Lifestyle

Delving into the roots of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, you unearth a treasure trove of ancient wisdom from Ayurvedic practices. More than just sitting and breathing, this form of meditation takes us on a profound journey of self-discovery and connection to the tapestry of life. As we traverse this inner landscape, we find valuable insights that foster emotional resilience and deepen our bond with ourselves and the world.

Intriguing research on Tibetan Buddhist meditation reveals its magical effects on our well-being. Cultivating compassion, loving-kindness, and non-attachment transforms how we perceive ourselves and others. Such a shift in perspective leads to a reduction in stress-related markers and triggers genes associated with a robust immune response. Moreover, honing mindfulness and mental clarity during meditation enhances our brain’s capacity to regulate emotions, fostering a more balanced and adaptive state of being.

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3.Embracing Serenity, Embracing Life, Finding Balance

In this relentless journey called life, relaxation and meditation offer us a haven of peace and renewal. By weaving these practices into our daily tapestry, we unwind stress, strengthen our immune system, and nurture emotional well-being. Guided by the timeless wisdom of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, we uncover the interconnectedness of existence and the power of compassion and self-awareness.

And now, I extend a warm invitation to you, dear dharma friend, to join me on a journey of nurturing your well-being and exploring the healing power of relaxation and meditation. Allow yourself to experience the wonders of this guided immune boost relaxation, as I lead you through moments of stillness to recharge your body and mind. Embrace the serenity and vitality that await in this experience. Delve into the beauty of relaxation and meditation, unlocking the secrets to inner harmony and paving the way to a more fulfilled existence to discover the joy of a revitalized life.

YES PLEASE, GIVE ME THE IMMUNE BOOST RELAXATION NOW!
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The Qualities You Need to Cultivate to Unleash Your Inner Buddha

The six perfections, also known as paramitas, are invaluable qualities in Buddhism that we can develop through our practice. These qualities represent the enlightened state, but they are also attainable in our everyday lives. In this post I provide you with a brief overview and encourage you to incorporate the cultivation of the six perfections into your daily life in order to unleash your inner Buddha.

Generosity

Embrace generosity by giving without expecting anything in return. Whether it’s material possessions or intangible support, give with love and a sincere desire to help others. Remember, there should be no hidden motives. Being generous not only benefits others but also brings personal fulfillment. Watch out for any ego-driven intentions and be skillful in your giving.

Ethics

Ethics play a crucial role in shaping our actions. It means refraining from harmful behavior and embracing positive actions. Avoid harming others, stealing, lying, engaging in sexual misconduct, and indulging in intoxicants. Instead, focus on behaviors that benefit both yourself and others, while setting healthy boundaries. Be aware of harmful habits like gossiping and competitiveness. Take a vow to change and live ethically, starting with small steps that resonate with your values.

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Patience

Practicing patience involves refraining from hurting those who have hurt you, enduring personal suffering with grace, and being patient with your own spiritual journey. Recognize that everyone is doing their best based on their own conditioning. Hold the intention for healing, wisdom, and the highest good for yourself and others. Whenever irritation or anger arise, take a moment to return to your breath and cultivate patience.

Joyful Endeavor

Joyful endeavor is the heroic courage not to give up when the going gets rough, but to continue exerting effort consistently to the end. Approach life with enthusiasm and perseverance. Embrace the practice of the other perfections and seek the ultimate truth of enlightenment. Let your efforts be sincere and joyful, aiming to become the best version of yourself. By doing so, you not only alleviate your own suffering but also contribute to reducing the suffering of others. Remember, never give up and let your enthusiasm inspire others on their own paths.

Meditation

Develop the ability to concentrate and find inner peace through meditation. Allow thoughts and emotions to come and go without getting caught up in them. On a deeper level meditation helps you distinguish between the activities of your mind and your true nature. Stay focused on your chosen object of meditation, letting go of the restlessness within. Through sustained practice, you will realize the interconnectedness of all things and cultivate a stronger sense of loving-kindness and compassion for all beings.

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Wisdom/Discernment

Wisdom can be gained through a stroke of insight based on having engaged in dharma discussions, philosophical views, personal realizations, and meditation. It plays an important role on the path to enlightenment. Incorporate wisdom into your routine by reading insightful books or listening to audiobooks that can trigger your inner Buddha. Consider exploring works like “The Six Perfections” by Geshe Sonam Rinchen and Ruth Sonam.

By embracing the cultivation of the six perfections—generosity, ethics, patience, joyful endeavor, meditation, and wisdom—you can transform your daily life and positively impact those around you. Remember that this path requires dedication and effort, but the rewards are immeasurable. Stay committed to your journey, and let the light of these perfections guide you towards a more compassionate and enlightened existence.

Blessed be,

Lama Chimey

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The Illusory Dance of Dreams


As a practitioner on the path of Buddhism, I have come in deep contact with the profound interconnection between sleep, dreams, and awakening.

When Prince Siddhartha Gautama, after attaining enlightenment, proclaimed with deep clarity, “I am awake” this pivotal moment gave rise to the term “Buddha,” which transcends a mere name and symbolizes the awakened one who has emerged from the depths of ignorance.

In the teachings of Buddhism, our ordinary waking reality is viewed as a profound state of sleep, while the deep dreamless sleep holds the potential for profound spiritual awakening. This understanding sets the stage for my exploration of Dream Yoga, where I delve into the significance of recognizing the illusory nature of our experiences.

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Within the realm of spiritual practice, I find nocturnal meditations to be particularly significant. These meditations involve reminding myself of the illusory nature of phenomena in my waking life, cultivating a heightened awareness of the transient nature of every experience.

This topic always needs to come with a warning. Illusory or dreamlike does not mean that something is non-existent. It’s merely an indication that things are not as solid and eternal as we are programmed to believe.

By diligently training myself to recognize the impermanence inherent in all encounters, whether pleasant or challenging, I can gain profound insights into the nature of a greater reality that lies beyond.

Rooted in Tibetan Buddhism, Dream Yoga takes the exploration of illusions and dreams to profound depths. It invites us to investigate the very fabric of reality itself, highlighting the equally illusory nature of both waking life and dreams.

Through the recognition of the dreamlike quality permeating our everyday experiences, I use daytime experiences to cultivate a heightened sense of awareness, to gain insights into the nature of existence itself.

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Dream Yoga goes beyond the pursuit of personal fulfillment, beckoning us to continual spiritual exploration. It becomes a sacred path that transcends the boundaries of conventional perception, allowing the practitioner of Dream Yoga and Illusory form to tap into the transformative power of dreams and illusions.

In the context of Buddhism, the concept of illusory phenomena becomes a profound teaching. It emphasizes the understanding that both waking life and dreams are transient, ever-changing, and devoid of inherent essence.

Just as dreams swiftly arise and dissolve, the experiences in our waking reality mirror this transience and constant flux. By wholeheartedly attending to these practices we are bound to recognize the illusory nature of our experiences.

Within the tapestry of Buddhist teachings, the realms of sleep, dreams, and awakening hold deep significance for my spiritual journey. Especially through practices such as Dream Yoga. These practices grant me access to profound insights and potential spiritual awakening. By embracing the illusory nature of my experiences, I Continue on my transformative journey toward true liberation. May what I have shared here inspire you to do the same.

Note: The information presented in this blog post draws inspiration from my personal understanding of Buddhism and the profound teachings of Dream Yoga. It is always recommended to further explore these teachings through reliable sources and seek direct guidance from experienced practitioners to deepen one’s understanding of this practice.

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Do you utilize the Richnesses and the Freedoms in your life?

Start by reflecting on everything you have, your wins, possessions, belongings, etc. And continue comparing these with the most fundamental and vital prerequisite for practicing the Dharma, which is the specific richnesses and freedoms that are so hard to find. That which gives us the opportunity to practice right now.

Nothing is more valuable than the possibility to practice the Dharma, an opportunity given to us right now. 

We have been given that which is so hard to find, a precious human body. Please don’t waste it!

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In the sutra called “The White Lotus of Compassion,” (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka; sanskrit) (དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ; Tibetan) the Buddha says: “It’s extremely hard to be born as a human being, and even harder to get the perfect richnesses and freedoms.”

It is not easy for a Buddha to manifest in the world, nor to make up one’s mind to practice the Dharma. Furthermore, obtaining and maintaining the right aspiration takes prolonged endurance and clarity. Despite all this, we have all these fortunate circumstances to come together. 

Having a precious human life means we are free from the eight bound existences.

The eight bound existences

The eight bound existences are to find ourselves where 1. terror, violence, and wickedness are constant. 2. greed is never satisfied and leaves us starving for more, 3. we have lost our capability to communicate our needs, and basic survival needs are all that we have time for. 4. a godlike existence of fame, success, and beauty where we constantly fight to stay on top and challenge our so-called competitors to show off our glory. 5. being a brutal, cruel, warlike, and insensitive person. 6. holding on to views that hinder our further development towards awakening to our full capacity. 7. living in a time where all wisdom is lost. 8. we have fixed existential limitations that diminish our capability to walk, talk and think freely.

However, we need more than being free from these unlucky states. We also need the ten richnesses—five of those come from ourselves and five from others. 

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The ten richnesses

Our own richnesses include 1. that we have a human existence, 2. with access to wisdom, 3. with the full ability to walk, talk and think freely 4. we are not making a living on something corrupt, and 5. we put our trust in the right place.

The richnesses that come from others are 1. that a fully awakened one, a Buddha, manifested, 2. that the Buddha shared his wisdom, 3. that his wisdom teachings survived, 4. that the Dharma are upheld by his followers, 5. some are willing to teach and sustain spiritual practice, such as a teacher.

When all this comes together, we can say that we have a precious human existence. 

The meaning of reflecting on all of this is to dive to the depths of our understanding and appreciation for these richnesses and freedoms so that we can decide not to waste this unique and precious opportunity. 

Everything else that we can attain in this relative world is no more than magical illusions and passing dreams. Complete liberation is the only thing that makes sense.

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Reflect upon the numbers

Now, continue with reflecting upon how hard it is to get the richnesses and the freedoms in the form of numbers.

For instance, there are millions of beings trapped in the nightmare of violence, terror, and wickedness, and greedy beings who never will have their taste for more satisfaction are more than all the snowflakes in a snowstorm, and those whose lives are in a constant survival mood and who can’t speak up for themselves are far many more than one could wish. At the same time, those who live in godlike existences fighting with their so-called competitors or not, are as rare and few as the breadcrumbs from one of your breakfast toasts.

Compared to all of these ways of living the human life where we have access to all the richnesses and the freedoms described here are very few, and if you have them you are very fortunate indeed. Please don’t waste it!

Reflect on the richnesses and the freedoms in your life this way.

Blessed be,

Chimey

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My path towards greater alignment

Photo @ Orlando G Boström

( This blog article was originally published on the Golden Age Models blog, and has been re-edited here for the Sky Dancer World blog)

Like with all significant transitions, I remember leaving lay life to pursue the life of a monastic as an initiation rite of sorts. My awakening heart was calling me out into deep unknown waters, and I was passionately mesmerized to follow that calling. 

I shaved my head and sent my long curly locks to a new destiny as wigs for children who had lost theirs due to leukemia and cancer. 

A few months earlier I had left a successful business as the founder of my trademarked body-mind practice in oder to journey deep and far on the Buddhist path.

Everything was put on hold; relationships, workload and all other worldly concerns. I sold my clothes and my home. 

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As I followed my heart into the doctrine of the Buddha Dharma everything else crumbled into dust. At the same time the gifts and challenges that came with walking the path was beyond my imagination.

I traveled through sacred places in the Himalaya’s and received transmissions from those who had gone beyond any limited perceptions. I met masters of wisdom and compassion that served as beacons in our dark world.

Some of the insights that came with sitting in the company of such incredible people put a light on the starch contrast between what forms us vs them. 

I could see how our limiting beliefs forms us into miniature versions of what we can be, vs the unlimited reality that the masters beliefs forms them into being unlimited beings.

Most of us are disbelieving that we can become whatever we want and make it work. We get stuck in different identities.

This belief structure is a normalized behavior trade among us, and very unlike the one Buddhist Masters display. Furthermore they are habituated to take a humble but confident approach, even when possessing the most outstanding of minds, while we have a tendency to be impressed by facades and illusions.

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Instead we too can aspire to expand our reality by follow in the excellent footsteps of the wise and allow ourselves to inspire and be inspired by people and ideas outside the norm box.

Since I returned to the worldly world after more than a decade on the road in the name of Dharma life has been a rollercoaster. Still, I’ve never lost my inner compass thanks to being soaked in a stable wisdom tradition. 

I’ve gotten accustomed to life’s inevitable uncertainties and know that they can serve as a preparation for more enormous leaps of faith further on our path. It certainly has for me.

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Joining a model agency became part of my step back into the world. To be part of a force that represents people over fifty in all our glory, and how we can inspire each other to age with grace. After years off grid. I’m also active on social media and continue to align my self with the good forces of the world in new ways.

Being back in the west as a lay person is giving me the chance to incorporate the strengths and insights from my past with the current phase of my life. Life keeps throwing me a curve balls, to put me in greater alignment with my personal journey in the most unexpected of ways!

Blessed be,

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Walking in the fearless footsteps of the Buddha Dharma in Sweden

Many years ago, when I was still a nun, I had the incredible opportunity to meet with the dharmic heroine Gudrun Hegardt. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us, but she acted as an essential anchor for the Dharma to come alive in our dark snowy land of the north during her days.

Without her fearless progress, the introduction of the Buddha Dharma to this frozen soil would have slowed down, and more than one beautiful opportunity to connect with the Buddhist wisdom path for the natives here would have been lost forever.

She greeted great Lamas upon arrival, made sure they had a place to stay, and planned and organized for their longed-for arrivals. She sat with the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa as His Holiness performed the black crown ceremony in Stockholm for the first time during his era. She was also one of the first in this country to meet His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche in his previous incarnation, and so enjoy the nectar of Dharma flowing from these prominent masters visiting our native land.

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Gudrun was one of the precious key holders that opened the door for the Dharma to flourish in Sweden.

Emaho! I rejoice in her merit!

Meeting her over a cinnamon roll and a hot drink, her depth, wittiness, and sensitivity touched my heart. It was a joy and a true honor to make this connection. She was already in her 90s then and spent most of her time in bed. And with the earth as her witness, she didn’t waste her precious life but lived a life full of spirituality.

However, since the golden days of Dharma activities in Sweden during the 1980s, the Dharma has almost fallen into a sleeping beauty state. That state has been prolonged over decades now in Sweden.

If it weren’t for a few torch-bearers that have kept the dharmic light burning in this cold dark corner of the world, this would have been an even darker place than it already is.

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Once upon a time, there was even a classical three-year retreat held in Sweden under His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche. The few Swedish Lamas and senior dharma practitioners that were still around when I first came to know them years back have scattered into the shadows since long. But the warm light I had the good fortune to receive through Gudruns clear blue eyes was filled with sincere and delightful strength—an important meeting between two different dharma generations.

I feel grateful that there was still time to discover some of the precious dharma jewels of Sweden while they were still around. To connect with the pathways they created and the merit they assembled. I feel humble before following in the footsteps of such pragmatic and fearless heroines and heroes. And bow joyfully to the fact that decades of moldered leaves cant hide the dharmic seeds that once started to take root and were planted in this northern mother soil.

I fold my hands with bursting joy for the new sprouting dharma buds that long to break free and embrace the whole space with their fresh petals. I welcome a new spring for the Swedish Buddha Dharma and the global international community that we are in this digital age.

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སྒྲོལ་མའི་བསྟོད་པ། In Praise of Tara

Tara, also known as Drolma in Tibetan, is a Bodhisattva or Buddha of compassion in action, a protector who comes to our aid to relieve physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering.

She is not like most of us human beings who, yes, can admit to her virtue of being a helper, but at the same time, we ourselves instead respond by sending a short text message when someone calls us. Talking to each other seems so last year. 

The time-consuming habits that we develop in our day and age easily persuade us to get into the habit of never answering our phone when someone calls. We don’t have time. It’s inconvenient. We text each other.

So, when someone, like a loving and carrying wisdom force like Mother Tara, does respond to our call, we are so blessed to be reminded of this act of loving-kindness. At that moment, we do our best to take the time to wind down and allow ourselves to say yes to an active response.

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I have been calling on and meditating on Tara the Liberator for decades myself and have a deep love for and trust in this amazing Buddha. She has helped me in so many different situations countless times.

For instance, when I was about to be trained as a nun in the Himalayas and needed conducive circumstances to remain there on a long-term basis, Tara appeared everywhere, in the most surprising places.

The deity showed herself in many unexpected ways throughout that whole time of taking all the proper steps toward a long-term visa. Reminders of the deity Tara crossed my path repeatedly. 

Tara was truly turning up in her twenty-first-century manifestations as painted tattoos on strangers’ wrists seated next to me in public, as wall frescoes on city walls, and through her name displayed on a personalized license plate on a silver corvette. A car in which I was offered a ride home. What are the odds?!?

The swift and protective Mother of all Buddhas dispelled all the last doubts I had as to whether I would be granted the conducive circumstances I prayed for or not. 

The rest is history. I remained twelve years a nun, and I spent much of that time in the Himalayas thanks to some apparent blessings, including a long-term visa.

All these contemporary displays of Tara tickled my connection to the deity. It was as if she was blinking her divine eye at me from tattoos and license plates to let me know she was right by my side and urging me along the right track. 

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To start a Tara practice or deepen our connection with the Buddha Tara, we begin our formal mantra recitation sessions with a lot of love and the sincere wish to know the truth. Pray to be close to the goodness within and to awaken to our natural light for the benefit of all beings. 

There are eight particular dangers from wish we can call on her to instantly free us, each of which represents a corresponding mental agony, namely pride, ignorance, hatred, jealousy, poisonous views, greed, attachment, and doubt. We all can recognize these eight disturbing mental states, which are the main dangers to our peace of mind.

For Tara to be able to benefit us, we need to approach her with an open heart and mind. And we can awaken our own Buddha nature, just like she did a long time ago, by chanting her praise, reciting her mantra, and meditating on her form and presence.

If we choose to recite mantras, they shouldn’t be aimless lip service but come from a heartfelt wish to connect, protect and transform. 

Whatever disturbing emotions we are experiencing, we can relate these to particular sufferings that we are all familiar with. We can meet the unwanted feelings that come with these undesirable circumstances from a place of wisdom. However, no matter how many mind tools, personalized meditation apps, and therapy sessions we have at our disposal, there will always be things like getting what we don’t want and not getting what we do want. These experiences are sprinkled throughout our lives. That’s how we learn and grow. In the best-case scenario, we learn to appreciate whatever comes our way. 

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The feelings and thoughts that come with unwanted experiences could be called “the smelly fertilizers nurturing the seed of our blossoming lotus.” Remembering this might help us to ease our pain in the midst of it all. 

Whatever challenges we are going through, let’s never forget that all these problems are relative, even though we perceive them as genuine suffering for the time being. 

By relying upon Tara and doing Tara practices, such as reciting her root mantra, “om tare tuttare ture soha, “Tara has the power to liberate us from all our miseries. From our side, we need to be determined and stick to our practice to see a difference. “Never give up,” His Holiness The Dalai Lama says.

“Om tare tuttare ture soha” literally means “I prostrate to the Liberator, the Mother of all the Victorious Ones.” On a deeper level, this mantra, like all genuine mantras, is much greater than the sum of its literal parts, with layers of meaning and benefit that resonate with us beyond what our minds first perceive.

To access the most accurate power of her root mantra, “om tare tuttare ture soha, “it’s best to have a transmission for it. Suppose you don’t have a transmission for the mantra but still wish to connect or deepen your relationship with Tara. In that case, you can make the aspiration that you will get the opportunity to get a transmission for the mantra in the future. 

We can subdue our fears by calling on Tara’s protection from danger. We call upon “her who hears the cries of the world” with a sincere motivation to be relieved of our suffering. By doing so, we help both ourselves and others while gaining multiple benefits and becoming happier.

If you wish to connect more with Buddha Tara you can find this blog post available as a narrated version on my YouTube channel. So, to listen to the narrated version of this blog post “In praise of Tara” visit my YouTube channel here.

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In the Dharma,

Lama Chimey

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The Laughing Buddha

When I was little, I had this little colorful Buddha statue.


It wasn’t a statue of the serene sitting Buddha, but rather a Buddha statue of what’s generally considered “the laughing Buddha,” usually represented as a fat laughing man standing up with his arms stretching towards the sky.


I used to delightfully glance at him every time I passed by, and his presence always put a smile on my face.
Like many others in the West, I grew up with limited concepts around Buddhism and my understanding of Buddhism could have remained as a delightful jet superficial appreciation for a fat man with his arms in the air putting a smile to my face.

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Despite all my initial misconceptions, I continued to be interested in Buddhism growing up, until one day, I went to a dharma center and started my journey of meditation and sutra recitations. I stopped learning from the collective misconceptions of the Western consciousness and began learning from real practitioners.


Whether Buddhist, a collector of universal wisdom, or just someone interested in finding practical ways to improve your life, the power of coming together in the name of Dharma is unbeatable.


I have started offering more ways for us to come together online by presenting live online classes with potentially transformative pieces of Buddhist wisdom and guided meditations which we all can benefit from. Subscribe to the Sky Dancer World Newsletter to not miss out.


Stay tuned.

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In a changing world everything is possible

Enlightenment is sprung out of our willingness to consider what is broken, painful, and tragic as precious. Our broken, painful, and tragic stories are the heart of the matter —’no mud, no lotus’ as Ven.Thich Nhat Hanh has said, and ‘there is a crack in everything – that is how the light gets in,’ as the composer and former Buddhist monk Leonard Cohan has stated.

In the moment of an ongoing planetary crisis, it’s hard to imagine the world being any other way than a place of chaos, collapse, and tragedy. Even with cures and prevention methods against threatening diseases and economic catastrophe, our old friend Fear knocks fervently on our door and says, “resistance is futile. I’ll hold you hostage.“

However, nothing lasts, and all is possible.
Nothing lasts, and all is possible.
Nothing lasts, and all is possible.

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Who would have thought in old Tibet that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would sit in a digitally streamed conference calling a Swedish teenager a leader in the context of planetary climate change? Or that a “help me Obi-wan Kenobi” hologram in your car’s front window would guide your vehicle to the next destination while your Grandpa is on load speaker from a skyrocket heading towards the new settlement on Mars.

That’s way out there.

Sounds like fiction to me. Jet, here we are.

Everything changes and everything is possible.

What we thought was impossible or mere fantasies thirty, forty years ago is now a true and living reality.

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Basic Buddhism started beyond the intrinsic rituals and architecturally advanced temple buildings like the ones that came later. In the early days of Buddhism, there was a simplicity permeating its existing core values.

The followers of Lord Buddha focused on a nomadic lifestyle, community building, and leading a middle way sort of life, avoiding falling into extremes. Nor the extreme of over-consumerism or an ascetic lifestyle where you own nothing and only eat what happens to fall from the trees. Neither of these extremes was encouraged. Instead, everyone who had realized the inescapable predicament of basic goodness, ethical conduct leading to a good night’s sleep, and peace of mind was in the forefront.

Buddhism was, and is, a practical philosophy that right from the beginning taught its followers to embody and live its teachings. Its practitioners did not merely gather around interesting philosophical discussions and settled with writing a book about it. Buddhism was never meant to be kept as an interesting discussion over a cup of tea, in a lecture hall, or a Dharma center. Nor as scholarly debates permeated by competitive pride leading to a Ph.D.

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The fundamental core of Buddhism is soaked in the preciousness of embodying an authentic path of transformation through living its’ value grounds.

Live it.
Become it.
Be it.

Buddhism is a practical philosophy, and we need to apply its wise basic goodness to embody that sustainable transformation we are longing for. The peace, the stillness, the bliss is already residing here. At this moment. No need to look outside. And yes, it’s not an easy path, then again – what is?

Everything is possible, and nothing will last.
That’s our chance!

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As we are in the midst of a world of historical change, we can choose what we want to fill our potential future with. You don’t have to believe anything to get something out of Buddhism; you are invited to dive in and live it right now.

Be kind, be generous, develop patience. What matters is not what you believe or even what you experience in your formal meditation and sadhana practice. Choosing a sustainable way that is of benefit to you and all starts in the mind by implementing, that’s right, basic goodness. The historical Buddha portrayed that as the eightfold path consisting of:

right view
right thinking
right speech
right conduct
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right samadhi

Please don’t take my word for it. Try it out yourself. ‘O bhikshus and wise men, just as a goldsmith would test his gold by burning, cutting, and rubbing it, so you must examine my words and accept them, but not merely out of reverence for me.‘
The Buddha – ghanavyuha sutra (Sutra of Dense Array)

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No Sila (ethical conduct) No Samadhi (blissful peace)

A curious mind analyses where the beep we came from, where we are going and how we impact others. To implement an emphasis on ethical conduct doesn’t make much sense as long as we disregard our interconnectedness. Threatening diseases and tsunamis do not stop at a human-made border and show its passport before proceeding. Neither does crops, drinking water and fresh air remain an exclusive limited edition in a shopping window unless we allow it. No matter how hard the winds of separation blow – we are stuck with the fact that we are in this together.

We are now standing before a crossroads where we mindlessly can sleepwalk down one lane and see where it will end up, while some humans settle on Mars, or we can mindfully choose to use this time of significant change to consciously create a society that is far better than what we have today!

The heart of the matter to succeed is to make ethical conduct to heart and embody it today.

Stop waiting for perfect. Just begin.

Be kind.
Be generous.
Set your boundaries out of self-compassion – while practicing radical acceptance, delight at the moment, and be patient with others.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Is that so?

A young girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who the father was. At first, there was a resistance to confess. Eventually, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter’s accusation, he simply replied, “Is that so?“

When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. “Is that so?” Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.

For many months he took excellent care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the birth father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies, they explained what had happened. “Is that so?” Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

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We all have responsibilities. Sometimes others create them for us. 

We then have a choice to accept these responsibilities or create an opposition. The Zen master in this story sees the greater good in carrying the responsibilities that he did not ask for and chooses that option rather than to oppose it.

“Is that so?” is both a passive challenge to the accusers and an invitation to look more deeply into the matter. The Master wisely declines to force the issue, accepts the minor injustice, and getting his reputation dragged in the dirt while avoiding greater disharmony. It’s a wise choice. Only a Master Mind could respond with such calm equality and radical acceptance to both accusation and apologies like these.

By doing so, he teaches the villagers that it’s possible to achieve complete acceptance of every person, situation, and emotion. Accusers or not. The Zen Master had no fear of being unjustly labeled since he had gone beyond the idea of an ego to defend. He received the child with utter care and later gave it up with the same peace of mind when asked to do so. He was beyond attachment to anything and anyone jet capable of acting from a place of love, peace, and compassion in any given situation.

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The Master in the story thereby taught the village accusers that perception is a relative phenomenon. They were given a chance to understand that truth simply is what it is despite how anyone labels it. Since any public criticism is a means for those who do not know themselves well enough to point a finger towards others, they, at the same time, mindlessly points three fingers back at themselves.

Of course, we are all free to tell the mountain that it is too high, the road that it winds too much, and the ocean that it is too wet. But will that change the height of the mountain, the curves of the road, and the wetness of the ocean?

Even a large boulder can not stop a river. Its resistance only marks its demise.

Blessed be,

Chimey

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Sati – Remembering Now

So, what is wrong with translating Sati as Mindfulness? Well, part of the early translations suggests that it has to do with remembering. 

So, what exactly are we supposed to remember?

‘Sati‘ – is the seventh acre of the Buddhist wheel called ‘the eightfold path.’ And in its completeness, the eightfold path includes Right view, right motivation, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. With ‘Sati’ meaning: Remembering the now. 

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Remembering that which is experienced through the five senses at this moment. 

In many modern contexts, ‘Sati’ has been derived from its rightful place as ONE of eight acres in the eightfold path. A wheel that together drives the path of liberation forward. 

In the recent days of secular systems of Mindfulness, ‘Sati’s’ original place is not even known to most of us. A lot has also been lost in translation. By now, only a fraction of the connection is left with the original Buddhist path. 

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Part of the similarity in these practices is the awareness method of purposely bringing one’s attention to the present moment and doing so without judgment. However, it takes more than just being aware to apply the full power of the practice of ‘Sati’, a skill we can develop through meditation and post-meditation.

Whenever you see a form, hear a sound, use ‘Sati’ or “remembering” to take a mental note or to be a witness of what is occurring at the moment without judging it as bad or good. We can draw our attention back to the body, our feelings, the mind, and the different phenomenon around us to take advantage of this practice in the ongoing moment. 

While doing so, the practice will become complete when we apply the right motivation, right view, right effort, etc so that the use of ‘Sati’ includes a broader meaning then simply being aware of the present moment.

As we do so, we include an attitude of equanimity based on the understanding of no-self, no other. A mindset that neither favors nor opposes the object of which we are aware. This attitude is applied to all our experiences, whether that is an experience of the body, feelings, mind, or phenomena. 

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To consciously practice ‘Sati’ in our daily lives, it’s very beneficial to turn to our natural breath as our meditation object. By doing so in conjunction with an attitude of equanimity, we enhance the part of the mind that is aware of the way things are. 

This will also help us to arrive at radical acceptance rather than getting lost in how we would like things to be. Arriving at the point of radical acceptance will allow us to let go of our opinions and wants around our experiences and thereby arrive at a more peaceful place within. 

As someone wise has said,” If we could stop wishing for what we don’t have and be content with what we have, we would be happy right this instance!” 

It is healthy to heighten our sense of awareness and be mindful, AND it’s even more beneficial to do so with an attitude of equanimity. Hence, a change of our way of behaving occurs following our insights derived from incorporating the complete eightfold path. And much more so then detaching one of the acres from the wheel of the path to liberation and leaving the rest behind.

Don’t leave the attitude of equanimity at the doorstep of Mindfulness and allow your practice of ‘Sati’ to fall flat on simply being mindful. Remember the now, apply the complete path and rest in acceptance through letting it be. As.It.Is.

Blessed be,

Chimey

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No Time to Lose

As ten thousand years of climate stability are ending, the call to develop inner stability has never been more apparent. Time is now, so let’s not waste it but move into action!
By being many who can embody a trustworthy path of stability and compassion, we can help many others in our global community.

We have to emphasize the transformative role of unbiased compassion in responding to suffering, including ecological crisis, and make authentic meditation a priority. Our minds can only endure that much, and in a time of crisis, we need to stabilize our minds before the pain gets overwhelming.

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By caring for each other, the Earth, and life at large, through adopting methods that are proven to give outstanding results, we will never regret our choice to engage in specific meditation methods. No matter what is going on in our lives, we need to expand our natural compassion and make our circles of care larger without delay.

Already back in In 2016, I was called to the ISSREC climate conference in Spain by a professor in Geology. Together with scientists and representatives from other religions, we wrote a declaration to our world leaders to address the climate crisis.

The Pope Francis Encyclical Laudato si inspired this declaration and is open to everyone that recognizes the urgency of environmental impact on our planet and appreciates the need to promote greater cooperation between the sciences and major religious and spiritual traditions towards solving these problems.

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According to a Swedish Newspaper (Dagens Nyheter), we now have six (6) years and two hundred and fifty (250) days to end carbon dioxide emission to keep the Earth’s temperature from rising and so create an irreversible tipping point. Six years and two hundred and fifty days from the day this blog post is released. And counting…

This is not a time to hide in denial, give up or stop caring. This is a time to wake up and care even more.

Since we are deeply interconnected with others and the environment, we are caring for ourselves through caring for others and the Earth. For instance, we can not become nature. We are nature. The future generations that we are encouraged to care for are no one else but us – returning.

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Therefore I’m offering the T.M.I.C.P. – The Triyana Meditation Instructor Certification Program. A continuing education for professionals in the healing community. A means to dive deeper into our spiritual journey and take responsibility for sustainable ways of stabilizing our minds so that we, in turn, can offer our students and clients the same. (Link at the end of this post.)

Take your responsibility, for this life and beyond, by committing to level up your ability to remain a stable force through engaging in meditation!

Blessed be,

/ Chimey

Link to T.M.I.C.P – the Triyana Meditation Instructor Certification Program
Link to the complete ISSREC declaration:
Link dn.se about the time we have left to turn things around. (Swedish)

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The most dangerous thing in the world

The 17th Karmapa has said that :

A lack of love can cause people to have no help when they need help, no friends when they need a friend. So, in a sense, the most dangerous thing in the world is apathy. We think of weapons, violence, warfare, disease as terrible dangers, and indeed they are, but we can take measures to avoid them. But once our apathy takes hold of us, we can no longer avoid it.

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By definition, empathy is the opposite of apathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In contrast, apathy is defined as a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

When we stop caring for each other, the earth, and life at large, we are in deep troubled waters. No matter what is going on in our lives, we need to hold on to every little straw of compassion that we can accumulate. 

Plant the seeds of compassion in your life and water them with your tears of carrying until they blossom into a field of empathy. 

Empathy is coming into play when our actions are based on our wise heart-mind understanding—being aware of, staying present, not shutting down, not lashing out—being sensitive to one’s own needs as well as others, sharing our resources wisely. Dare to deeply experience different feelings and thoughts from a place of radical acceptance. No two people think the same. So, by being willing never to give up and keep on growing, we can commit to doing better in our empathy cultivation.

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Since we are deeply interconnected with others and the environment, we are caring for ourselves through caring for others and the earth. For instance, we can not become nature. We are nature. 

If that’s hard to relate to, think of the breath you are taking each moment. Where did the air come from? Who did you share it with? Where did your exhalation go? Why do you get thirsty? How much of your body is water? What’s the difference between the water in your body and that in the lake and rivers?

Reflecting on interdependence, both Buddhism and science agree that we all have an automatic built-in empathic response. We are born with and weird with this inbuilt system of deeply caring! This innate system becomes covered over by habitual tendencies based on ignorance and comes to obscure our natural kind-loving-caring response system. 

So, while being aware of this inner Buddha that we all have, then why does empathy seem in such short supply? Well, the delusion of being a separate self, lonely and cut-off from the rest of the world, easily gives rise to self-centredness. This self-created state wherein aversion and attraction” I want/ I don’t want” hinders us from acting upon our natural inclination toward altruistic action.

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Be kind to others. Give, and you shall receive. Walk in other’s shoes because whatever you are feeling today, others feel too. Whatever needs you have to be happy and joyful; others wish for that too. As long as we can’t hug each other, at least look others in the eyes with lovingkindness. If this were a video blog, I would look at you with lovingkindness right now. We can all give each other that care.

Yes, genuine empathy hurts since it involves sharing the discomfort, pain, and distress of others. When setting out to strip ourselves from the apathetic tendencies that we have developed, we will reach the rawness of our innate compassion that genuinely hurts. And that’s a good thing. Why? Because that’s how you know it’s for real. 

We are not talking about pity here. Not for ourselves or others. That is a very ego-centered standpoint. It’s coming from a place of looking down at” the poor others” and makes us feel superior. Developing compassion can be tricky since we are embarking on a discovery journey where we are about to learn when we are truly capable of equalizing ourselves with others and not. This embarrassing journey of detecting our ego-centeredness is based on the understanding that we are in this together and need each other. By engaging in this journey, we will arrive at the heart that knows.

Developing empathy is not a cute thing that solely some Buddhists engage in. It’s a means of survival as well as a way to living fully!

Blessed be,

Chimey

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Full Moon Holy-Day: Forgive, Let Go & Start again!

Some people may be under the impression that Buddhists are far too serious to celebrate something like the full moon, but it couldn’t be further from the truth! As I’m writing this, a potent Buddhist observation date is coming up—namely, the full moon of March 28th. 

Like all full moon days, as well as new moon days, this one is a cause for celebration in the name of your spiritual practice. Since the full moon is one of the most sacred times in the Buddhist calendar, let it inspire you to make this one and all moon days true holy-days for you. Whether you choose to focus on your meditation practice, offering a generous meal, or engage in a spring cleaning of your house in the name of purification, this is a good time to do so. Full moon days are potent times for focusing on formal practice such as calm abiding and sadhanas. 

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The phases of the moon represent the path of death and birth, reflected in bodies of water, just as in the fertile female body. The 28 days of the moon cycle always invite us to the repetitive cycle of planting seeds of good wishes to reaching fullness and then of beginning over again.

To make use of a complete cycle, plant your good wishes on new moons and let the time of the full moon be the culmination of your wishes for manifesting a kinder world for all. 

There is always a chance to start fresh with the new moon, just as forgiveness, manifesting, and letting go are supported by the full moon’s time. 

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Siddharta Gautama, who later became known as the Buddha, was born on a full moon. His renunciation of a lifestyle in extreme abundance was on a full moon. He became enlightened on a full moon and finally left his human form under a full moon—all in the spirit of intention, completion, and manifestation.

Traditional Buddhist societies observe the lunar calendar instead of the solar calendar used in the west. This is true, with few exceptions, such as the western-made lunar-inspired We’Moon calendar.

One of my poems,” Redemption,” written in honor of my African and Native American ancestors, is in the print to be published in this legendary We’Moon calendar, the edition of 2022 called:” The Magical Dark!”

To have an inclusion of my work in this longstanding lunar calendar in collaboration with international women’s cultures is a true honor. The inclusion of my poem in the We’Moon calendar is a manifestation of my intentions. It is a complete cycle that has culminated into an expression in a true spirit of the full moon that I’m so excited to share with you! It will be available to order in a few months.

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Until then, to get some guided inspiration right off the bat to kick-off this full moon holy-day, find me on YouTube or Sound Cloud for guided meditations.

visit Lama Chimey on YouTube now
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And if nothing else, allow this full moon to be a time for non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting go. These attitudes support each other and are deeply interconnected. Practicing one will lead to the others.

Blessed be,

Chimey

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Renounce The World Now And Find Lasting Freedom

With a developed sense of renunciation, we realize that our usual reliance on pleasure prevents us from having complete happiness.

Our usual compulsive habits need to be worn out, and we don’t have much time to act on them anymore. The more we realize that satisfying our pleasures will never add up, the more we can let go of our expectations for sense pleasures to be the answer to happiness ever after.

Instead of getting too tight around what we want or don’t want, we can remind ourselves to let go of any circumstance and adopt an attitude of both enjoyment free of attachment and radical acceptance.

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Try out enjoying what you have and what is coming your way without constantly wishing things to be different. At the same time, don’t expect any lasting solutions from the tangible items you enjoy. Relax into your appreciation and remember that all pleasures are fleeting.

Set your site on a higher form of happiness than what temporarily satisfies the senses. Go beyond your current wants and needs of what the world has to offer.

When you look in the mirror, realize that you are not the reflection in the mirror. Mindfully observe your reflection for what it is. This should be enough to tell you that you are not what you see in the mirror.

Through letting go of identifying with the wrong thing, the sense world will lose its grip on us. Keeping this in mind, we don’t have to get lost in the pleasures of the world, nor claw into our ownership of precious objects or drain ourselves in misery over misplaced stocks on the stock market.

We do not need to spiral down when things don’t go our way. Instead, renounce the world in a healthy sense. Get your head out of the norm box and take some fresh breaths. Let go. Remember. This too is a fleeting moment.

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Instead of taking refuge in sensory objects to resolve our dissatisfaction, we place our reliance on our inner light and highest potential, knowing that we are beyond measurable, powerful, and capable.

A sincere spiritual path of renunciation often indicates an abandonment of the pursuit of all material comforts, such as a home, intimate relationships, jewelry and investments etc. Something that we associate with the life of a nun or a monk. So-called worldly renunciation. An act of letting go of that which binds us to the material world, done in the interest of achieving enlightenment.

Still, there have been spiritual adepts throughout history who have managed to renounce their attachment to the world of sensory pleasures and adopted a way of relying on their inner resources for happiness while remaining in a worldly lifestyle. Kings and Queens of great wealth have even successfully carried out this type of renunciation without abandoning their riches.

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Most broadly, renunciation can be understood as letting go of whatever binds us to ignorance and suffering. The Buddha taught that genuine renunciation requires thoroughly perceiving how we make ourselves unhappy by grasping and greediness. When we understand the suffering that comes with allowing our greedy minds to continue in an unhealthy way, renunciation naturally follows. It becomes a positive and liberating act, not a punishment.

What can you renounce today?

Can we learn to live with less and let go of attachment to having things in a certain way? What if a healthy sense of renunciation is more than going forth into the homeless life of a nun or a monk?

Our greed and grasping that we indulge in are intoxicants that dull our natural clarity, but if we work our mind, a way out of this miserable state will follow.

Greed is permeating our minds on a global scale and has done so for thousands of years. We are reaching out for illusory objects left and right, which are already in the decay process as we approach them. It is true that not everybody is set up for challenging themselves with being content with less. We might not be ready to live in a tiny house, eat oatmeal porridge for dinner, and watch the stars at night instead of buying a bigger home, overeating and watching digital screens as a source of joy and fulfillment.

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But in a rapidly changing world, we need to seriously contemplate our lifestyles and act on the insights we derive.

Since not even when we know that the world depends on us making a rapid u-turn in this regard do we seem to find enough motivation to override our ingrained habits of reaching out for new shiny objects: a car, a smartphone, a new house.

What does one little plastic container matter? Thinks billions of people…

Instead of habitually turning to fleeting sense pleasures as your source of refuge, set your site on a higher form of happiness. Go beyond your current wants and needs. Place your reliance in your inner light and highest potential whether you live as a royalty or a monastic, or someone in between. Rest assure that we are all beyond measurable, powerful, and capable of making that u-turn.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Leaders who dare to embody feminine wisdom – the future belongs to you

The Divine Feminine is getting loader in society today, but where are the leaders who dare to embody feminine wisdom claiming her equal status as the queen of existence? We need her traits to survive! So take them, adopt them, nurture them within you and hurray them on in others and society at large! If you do the future belongs to you.

We don’t have to look far to find these balancing qualities. These are traits that live naturally within us all. Qualities that have been beaten, neglected, and suppressed for thousands of years. Characteristics that are unstoppable ones their humble waiting posture have been thrown aside, and SHE starts to rise to the throne – like now.

Contrary to popular belief, feminine qualities are not limited to biological women. It has nothing to do with gender identity whatsoever. 

As we move through these times of transition, we must get used to that labeling traits as masculine or feminine reflects popular perception rather than evidence-based fact.

Yes, qualities such as; Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, Community building, Intuition, Environmental Awareness, and Inclusiveness are traditionally identified with women, while qualities such as Courage, Independence, Assertiveness, Drive, Competitiveness, Protection, and Hierarchical structures are generally associated with men.

As of now, we are forced out of the gender-limiting box. We are collectively starting to explore our complete existence beyond the former gender box for the first time in millennia. Leaders who dare to embody feminine wisdom holds all of our collective future in their hands.

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Each and every individual, and most of all leaders of all traits, are waking up to what sought-after qualities needed in the world today look like. It’s those that are called feminine.

To produce excellent results for leaders of any gender, we need a healthy combination of all our qualities to not remain as it has been up until now with divided quality sectors. Superior leadership is born when all our traits are applied beyond historical restrictions and false claims of one heap of qualities being better than the other.

Being sensitive to others’ thoughts and feelings, acknowledging others’ know-how, and not being afraid to ask for help, prioritizing community-building, seeking to serve others – before dominating others, sharing, listening, and supporting. These are the traits that belong to our future leaders. Giving life, and not taking it are some healthy guidelines to adopt in today’s leadership, no matter where we are on the gender spectrum. 

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The Divine Feminine is on the rise after patiently waiting for thousands of years, and now there’s nothing that can stop her! 

In Tibetan Buddhist mythology, SHE is often depicted as a dancing goddess with fierce gestures and bared fangs as a symbol of interconnectedness. A Sky Dancer, a Khandro (Tib.), a Dakini. (Sanskrit.) She is a reminder that we all possess these qualities. To differentiate between any of our inherent qualities is plain ignorance. 

Allow me to use the genius saint Hildegard von Bingen‘s words, the German medieval Benedictine Abbess and contemplative artist, to depict an illustration of the divine feminine: 

“She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at her face or her garments for the splendor with which she shines. For she is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightning and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun, and both her terror and gentleness are incomprehensible to humans. But she is with everyone and in everyone, and so beautiful is her secret that no person can know the sweetness with which she sustains people and spares them in inscrutable mercy.” 

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As our society and planet are cast into the dreadful fright of environmental chaos due to an imbalance between our inherent feminine and masculine qualities, we have to give our voice to HER and implement these qualities before it’s too late. To survive and live harmoniously on the planet, we must nourish the divine feminine without delay. Because when the Masculine and Feminine are out of balance, the natural result is chaos. That’s where we are currently at. Let us change that with the support from leaders who dare to embody feminine wisdom since the future belongs to you.

Our world – the very survival of our species – depends on the rise of the Divine Feminine.

Welcome here. Embrace her. Honor her.

The glorious 17th Karmapa has said:” Our ideas about what it means to be a woman or a man – that is, our gender constructs – are given meaning and importance in our day-to-day reality. Gender identities permeate so much of our experience that it is easy to forget that they are just ideas created to categorize human beings. Nevertheless, masculine and feminine categories are often treated as if they were eternal truths. But they are not. They have no objective reality. Because gender is a concept, it is a product of our mind – and has no absolute existence separate from the mind that conceives of it. Gender categories are not inherently real in and of themselves.”

Traits such as inclusiveness, intuition, supportiveness, gentleness, cooperativeness, empathy, affection, and circular leadership have been cited as stereotypically feminine. Still, they are all neutral and inherent, just as their counterparts. This is the time to incorporate them all, our so-called healthy feminine and healthy so-called masculine qualities, and become whole human beings beyond gender labels for a brighter future. 

I wish you happy inclusiveness in yourself and society at large.

Blessed be,

Chimey

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Love or Die

In our pursuit of the need to be loved, we have a parallel need: the need to love and care for others. This healthy desire is just as strong as the need to be loved and nurtured in return.

We know that the desire to love and care for others is hardwired and intensely seated within us. And when we manage to let it flow through us and bypass all temporary blockages and preferences, we get happy much more easily!

The manifest love experiences that we get through loving also enhances our happiness levels. It’s a double win situation. Because happiness, in turn, sets all kinds of positive endorphins and circumstances in motion. Therefore, expressing love, care, and compassion for others benefits not just the recipient of our affection but also ourselves as the person who delivers it.

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We need to expand that capability of loving-kindness, like I wrote about in my last blog post, “Go To Hell,” as well. Not through forcing change but by expanding our circles of love and compassion, extending that feeling of love and affection that we naturally have to include more and more beings and nature.

When we feel alone and miserable in our lives and our practice, we benefit from remembering that we live in an interconnected web with all there is on a bigger scale. 

Our hearts open when we are relaxed and allow ourselves to be at ease with ourselves as we are. That is where we need to start since our natural openness may be covered up by many layers of doubt, fear, anxiety, and low self-esteem due to habitual patterns. 

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The good news is that we don’t need to go through all these layers one by one to get to the healing rawness of our open hearts. Instead, we can put on our mindfulness glasses and start small by observing when our hearts spontaneously opens. Maybe it’s by seeing a puppy or baby or any other being in a vulnerable position that makes our heart tick. Stay awake to the ongoing moments of spontaneous heart opening, and you will see what ticks yours.

The need to nourish and reach out to others that comes spontaneously before we even have time to think is a good reference point to remind us of this hardwired system of loving kindness that is in us. Use these moments of spontaneous awakening of the heart’s desire to love and be loved, and put them into action in wider and wider circles as part of your mission to live and let live.

Because, with a strong and patient motivation in the right direction, an intention that is allowed to grow organically, we will get to where we want to go; love and be loved, as slow and steady accomplishes the task. 

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While by solely remaining in the intellect, the knots and doubts around what we can do may instead become tighter and tighter. I can’t stress enough how crucial it is that we set the wheel of loving-kindness into motion. 

Love and being loved is a prerequisite for us as human beings to survive. Love and affection is something we cannot live without. We can give material gifts, protection and knowledge, and so on, but there is nothing as important as the gift of love and affection. Without it, we feel unhappy, lonely, and unloved. We forget that geographical distance and physical locations can’t keep us apart and that we are all together in the greater web of existence. 

Today is the first day of the Tibetan New Year of the Iron-Ox. This year offers us the feminine qualities of loyalty, nurturing, and keeping a slow pace. We can tap into those qualities, ride the force of love, and create a reasonable ground for nurturing each other throughout the rest of 2021 and cultivating this innate drive even more within us.

After creating a proper ground by observing our spontaneous moments of extending our care and training our mind to cultivate it, it is natural to develop care and consideration for others further outside our immediate sphere. Start with yourself and let the circles grow from there. 

May you be safe.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be at ease.

Tashi Delek! Happy New Year!

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Go To Hell

Read this blog post to the last word. There is a treasure at the end.

The definition of fearlessness is – the trait of feeling no fear. Braveness, bravery, courage, courageousness – a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear.

Fearlessness is what we get when we realize that we have to do what we have to do, not for ourselves because we might not make it, but for generations ahead.

While fearlessness of the Bodhisattvas (the once next in line to become full-blown Buddhas) points to a state lacking fear altogether.

To be brave and courageous, we need to have its opposite – fear, and go against what scares us.
A Bodhisattva lacks fear altogether.

I once asked my retreat master What is fear? And he said; Fear is a thought.

So if fear is a thought, then feelings are born based on that thought. If we can control, our minds fear can’t take over. Controlling our minds doesn’t mean suppression of emotions. It means pulling our heads out of the self-created mental ant nest and take a few fresh breaths.

Get a bird’s eyes’ perspective on what is going on in our minds. Get clear without stirring up the mud from the bottom of the pond.

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Because to move forward, we need to take risks that activate changes. Patience has its place, but not when life, freedom, and justice are at stake. The WHOLE human raise are suffering together and the whole planet with us. We don’t have time to get snared in fear.

Fearlessness, the Bodhisattvas trade is rising strong within every community right now and permeating its qualities to each and every corner. Fearlessness and compassion that comes through sharing, inclusion, joining, uniting, and remaining friends. These are our new alias.

Because when we share and include, we become each other’s renewable resources. We become each other’s endless powerhouses.

We all feed on the same nourishment. Love. And we do not need to wait for permission to love, share and unite. We already have that power.

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Use it well, fearless Bodhisattvas. Remember your father/mother – the great Bodhisattva of the hell realms, Kshitagarbha, who in his last life before becoming Kshitagarbha was an Indian girl.

The story goes that before the time of the historical Buddha, this girl’s mother died. The mother had often spoken badly about sacred wisdom, and the girl feared that her mother would be reborn in hell. She worked tirelessly, performing many good acts to create merit and dedicate it to her mother.

However, it happened, she was then escorted to the hell realm by one of the great beings, where a hell guardian told her that her excellent acts had indeed released her mother, who had been reborn again, in a much more favorable place.

At the same time, the girl had glimpsed the countless other beings in torment in the hell realms, and she vowed to free them all. “If I do not go to the hell realms to help the suffering beings there, who else will go?” she said. “I will not become a Buddha until the hells are empty. Only when all beings have been saved will I enter Nirvana.”

Her love for one person became the love for all beings. She proclaimed: I will not become a Buddha until all hell realms are emptied.

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Hold close to your heart all of humanity, every plant and insect too. And don’t wait, because there is just too much to be done. Stay focused, laser-sharp, head high, and open heart. We already have all we need to move forward.

The experience of traveling through the hell realms of great suffering are here so that we can work with our benevolent mind. These are skillful means of suffering that brings us to practice. And that’s good.

Remember:
Love. Always. Wins.

Don’t close your hearts, dear once. When the going gets even more challenging, and we find ourselves in hell realms of sorts where fear instills its grip over our minds, then go against the grain. Instead of giving up and shrinking down, widen your circles of compassion no matter what. Feed the stray dogs, love your neighbor, and wish your so called enemies well. Share everything down to your last resources.

In times of intense overwhelm with many people bordering depression, desperation, and hopelessness, it’s challenging to stay open and not allow ourselves to close down. Therefore – don’t.

Remain in love. We need each other more than ever right now. So floating on uncontrollable negative emotions based on fearful thoughts will not be so helpful. Watch your mind like a soaring eagle and come back to the heart again and again.

Directing our love and care specifically to our closest friends and family exclusively is not sustainable, but when specifically directed love is crushed to pieces by circumstances; it spills out and becomes love for all beings. Direct that power of care you have for those closest to you to include all beings and the whole planet without delay.

Thank you.

Here is the treasure that I promised you, Ksitigarbhas mantra. Memories it. You might need it.

Ksitigarbhas short mantra is powerful enough to reverse all sorts of hellish experiences, including severe health and financial problems. Even just reciting it a few times is very powerful.

Om ah Kshiti Garbha thaleng hum.

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How Breath can Lead us Back to Compassion

What can we do in these times of great pain to transform our raw emotions that may be stuck inside? What can we do for ourselves and others that are suffering from loss, isolation, and grief?

In the meditation practice of Tonglen, we bring others suffering to mind and exchange our happiness for their pain. Many people find this to be an outrageous thing to do. In times throughout history, when the temporary rulers have labeled this kind of practice in an unfavorable way, it has gone underground and withdrawn to the inner circles of initiated practitioners alone but never perished.

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It’s a transformative practice that is still with us today.

The courageous meditator who is ready to take on this practice of Tonglen – literally “sending & receiving,” will cultivate a healthy sense of exchanging oneself with others and eventually lead the otherwise habitually self-oriented ego to shift its focus.

Breathing for others in times of pain can offer relief from suffering in many kinds of ways. We can begin the practice gently by taking on the suffering of someone we know and love, someone who is hurting or in pain whom we doubtlessly wish to help. It may be a child, a partner, or a friend.

As we start the practice of Tonglen, it’s wise to begin with what we feel comfortable to engage in at the moment. Don’t aim for the most terrible of hell realms when you start this practice. Send someone a good cup of coffee, a good night’s sleep, a healed wound, or whatever else the person likes and needs who might be in a troubled place.

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As we deepen into this practice, we often face our own fear, resistance, and frustration, or whatever tightness we are currently experiencing.

When that happens, we can shift our focus to breathe for everyone else of those other millions of people who are suffering just like us, from similar kinds of emotional states.

Likewise, when we are enjoying something, for example, a peaceful moment in the sun, waking up safe in our home, or having a gorgeous dinner with friends, we can briefly close our eyes and say: may others too have this joy.

We breathe in for all who are caught with that same emotion, and we send our relief through every exhalation to all.

While staying with the breath, we are engaging in this meditation through contacting whatever raw feeling we are experiencing, and we breathe it in for all of us- and then send out relief to all of us. Yourself included.

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The awkwardness of Tonglen is that it goes against the grain when it comes to the habit of wishing the best for ourselves, no matter what that means to others or the environment, hoping that everything will turn out the way we want it to be, without having any concern for others. It helps us to turn our focus outwards.

This practice dissolves the tight crust around our hearts and makes us soft, receptive, and carrying. We keep on breathing without getting too entangled in whatever emotion comes up for ourselves, but focus on what is needed and be done for others’ well-being.

If you make this practice part of your life, it will eventually reverse the usual logic of avoiding suffering for ourselves and continually seeking pleasure. In that process, we begin to access radical acceptance for what is and love for both ourselves and others.

We become liberated from our ancient patterns of fixating on a self and starts to tip into the absolute void of wisdom and compassion inseparable.

By doing the practice, we begin to connect and open up rather than closing down and isolating ourselves. We can use our pain, frustration, and stuckness in a world of semi lockdown as a stepping stone to understanding what people in general are up against all over the world.

Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us. Please.

Breathing for the world – Widening our circles of compassion is a meditation-based in the Tibetan Buddhist Tonglen practice of “sending & receiving.” This meditation can be found on my Sound Cloud account and enjoyed for absolutely free.

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listen to the Guided tonglen meditation here

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Friendly reminder, Prepare for Death while you can!

Do not back down from the fact that one day you will die for sure.


A Buddhist’s life naturally contains the preparation for death. We aim to cultivate positive, happy, virtuous states of mind during our lifetime while abandoning non-virtuous, harmful, and painful states of mind. One of the reasons is that we don’t want our negative states of mind to follow us around from one realm to another, so we cultivate the habit to abandon painful negative emotions – asap. Not hold on to them.


We need to take this seriously and prepare for death while we can. This current human existence is not forever, you know. Death will come, and that is a non-negotiable fact. It’s only the timing that is uncertain.


That potent moment of death is an opportunity for an enormous spiritual breakthrough – if we can keep our mind in a pleasant place, that is. When we are prepared and remember our spiritual practice during the time of death, we do have an excellent chance to succeed. Succeed with what you might ask?

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Well, we have a rare and precious human life right now, but we are not human eternally. We are spirits having a fleeting human experience. As spirits, there are many different forms of existence available to us. We don’t know where we will end up next time, and only karma will show the way. However, there are pure spiritual realms that we can aspire to go to in the life after this. Such as the pure realm of Sukhavati. (Sanskrit) (Dewachen – Tibetan.)


Due to enlightened activities by the most dedicated and the universal law of interdependence, we can benefit from the masters’ good intentions and promises. Such as the promise of the venerable monk Dharmakara.


Venerable Dharmakara made a promise long time ago, that when he got enlightened, he would come to reign in a non-discriminating pure realm, where everyone was welcomed. A paradise where no one would need to be a saint to go to. Even those with faith and determination alone would still have a fair chance to be reborn there. And an even greater chance if they were habituated to let go of hardships and keep the mind at peace.


Dharmakara kept his promise and came to be known as the one we today call Buddha Amitabha (Sanskrit: “Infinite Light”) – the great savior Buddha. He is usually depicted with a red body, sitting in meditation posture (Vajrasana/dhyana-mudra), with a begging bowl in his lap, in front of a small pool of lotus flowers. That’s where we can imagine the new arrivals being re-born.


By being mindful and grateful to the precious life we have now, we can remain ready for death to come at any moment, using our lives well under all circumstances, and always remember the uncertainness of its length.

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Since we have had a lot of focus on sickness, old age, death, and dying this unstable year of 2020, we could use the comforting grace of Amitabha Buddha’s promise and turn to his infinite light to connect with the pure realm of Sukhavati, by making it a habit to chant his name and his mantra.


Therefore I decided to release a beautiful and simple chant of Amitabha’s mantra before years end. (*See note at the end of this post.) One that was performed during a Kirtan concert I gave years ago with some friends in Woodstock. It will be available from Winter solstice, 2020, in itself a powerful day for stepping into a new way of co-existing, beyond life and death, or any other mind made borders.


Whatever hardships we are going through in our lives, we need to remember that suffering is samsara’s nature. (Samsara means “Wandering” – pointing to the cycle of existence.) Not until we have learned how to get out of this habitual mary-go-round and thereby transformed it, we’ll never be free from our suffering – not even if we take our own lives.

On the contrary suicide solves nothing at all. Since it is the mind that experiences suffering, it will not help to leave the body behind. The pain remains after the body drops and follows us into the next state of consciousness. Our concern here is whether the mind can stay harmonious at all times.

All of us have faced significant trials in life, this year not the least, and it’s often by drawing from such difficulties that we find our most precious teachings and inspiration to remain on a healthy spiritual path.

To die without anger or clinging is vital for a happy death and a good rebirth. So since the state of mind at the time of death is vitally important, it’s of significant concern to die with a calm and peaceful mind. Holding on to anger and other negative emotions will not lead you to Amitabha’s Dewachen or any other pure realm for that matter.

So, be gentle with yourself as well as others. Express love and gratitude whenever you can. And when your loved ones are about to pass, energetically permit them to go, especially since they feel your state of mind even more vividly at this point.

But before you can help someone else through the process of death, you need to learn how to prepare for your own. To die with a happy and peaceful mind is a severe spiritual concern. Some are very well prepared for it, but most of us are not, especially if we have never given death a sincere thought.

Preparing for a happy continuation into our next existence depends not on our formal spiritual practice alone but also on how we hold our minds every day and every moment of our lives, especially at death.

Don’t delay your preparation. Start chanting Amitabha Buddhas mantra today, and get the transmission when you can.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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This is the last blog post from Lama Chimey for Sky Dancer World during 2020. The next article will be posted in January 2021.

*Note: Aum Amideva Hri (Live) with Chimey Lhatso will be released on all major digital music stores online on December 21st, 2020, winter solstice – a day known to most astrologers as The Great Conjunction. May all beings benefit!

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Ngöndro – The Portal to Tantra

The sacred so-called Ngöndro practice is the foundational practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Ngöndro practices are divided into four sections and are profound and powerful means for achieving a deep purification and transformation in body, speech, and mind. They prepare the practitioner for Vajrayana’s profound path, but they also lead her towards enlightenment in a step-by-step fashion.

It’s designed to prepare the sincere practitioner who wishes to go deep into this path. Without the Ngöndro as beginners on the Vajrayana path, there is a risk that we may go astray further on. The Ngöndro is, therefore, to be considered the portal to the tantric practices. So what exactly is tantra?

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The tantras are the teachings and writings that set out the practices of Vajrayana Buddhism, the third vehicle of Buddhism that mainly comes from old Tibet. This is the form of Buddhism that I’m primarily schooled in. The tantric teachings are based on the principle of the transformation of impure vision into pure vision. It is cultivated as part of the secret Mantra Vajrayana. (The word mantra means that which protects the mind.)

Our practice within the Vajrayana vehicle is based on mantra recitation, visualization, and meditation. In turn, meditation is divided into several different meditation styles, such as Shamatha, Vipassana, Analytical, and Settling meditation.

Most of us in the west often prefer calming or settling meditation initially, while analytical meditation can seem like too much of an effort to start with. It has a more scientific approach to it, which, yes, might appeal to us, but not be in the foreground of our choices when it comes to” choosing” which type of meditation to engage in—speaking of which. Our habit of picking and choosing from the different parts of the path or even different paths may have us end up with nothing. Instead, we recommend examining whatever teachings we come across and settle with a path that we trust. When starting a meditation practice, we recommend beginning with resting or relaxing the mind and then practice analytical meditation only once we have developed some peace of mind. Unless we start building a foundation, our practice will not be stable. Like building a house, we need to begin digging the ground and working on the plumbing.

Once our minds are ready to apply the tantric practices, our ordinary perception is transformed through the step-by-step practice approach towards a ‘sacred outlook,’ where everything is seen and experienced purely in its true nature, through working with the body, energy, and mind. Bypassing the road there and going straight to applying a homemade understanding of sacred outlook without building a foundation is, therefore, a mistake.

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Although Hindu and Buddhist Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. For example, the Hindu Tantras has many many schools, where Shivaism might be one of the most commonly known Hindu tantric schools, based on Shiva’s recognition as one of the principal deities of Hinduism. The Hindu Tantric texts are based on dialogues between Gods and Goddesses. This dialogue between God and Goddess is a unique feature of Hindu Tantra that has been written down in their scriptures. Unfortunately, most Hindu Tantras remain untranslated, and their origin veiled in mystery outside of the circles of Sanskrit scholars.

While Buddhism recognizes the Gods and Goddesses as part of the samsaric vehicle within their divine domain and respects them deeply, the Buddhist scriptures don’t base the Dharma on them.

The tantras are such high practices that without a solid foundation in pure outlook and a stable mind, one can easily get lost—That’s why it’s recommended to walk through the portal of Ngöndro to start with. So if the tantric path is something that resonates with you, I strongly recommend that you go slowly, take the step by step approach, and dive in gradually under trustworthy guidance.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Becoming the Change You Want to See in The World, Part 2:How To Transform Your Life into The Dream You want to Live

To prepare for any significant change we want to make in our life, we can start by creating the habit of actively dreaming about the life that we envision and how wonderful it feels to live it, as if it’s already our reality.


The first secret is to prepare for your dream to come true by acknowledging the daily treasures you already have, a cup of coffee, watching the sunset, taking a hot shower, breathing. Count your blessings and express gratitude every day for the small things in life and that which you already appreciate. Take nothing for granted. Whatever is here today might be gone tomorrow. Everything is continuously transforming. By actively preparing for the changes you wish to see in your life by creating the ground of a grateful attitude will, when taken seriously, serve as a springboard to a successful manifestation of your wishes since gratitude is the foundation for bringing more happiness into our lives.


To begin with, ask yourself these three questions:
1.What qualities and deeds are you grateful for with your self? 2.What qualities and deeds are you appreciating in someone else who is present in your life? 3.And how about in the world?


A conscious programming of the mind as a preparation for your life’s new direction will transform your sense of doubt, stuckness, and hopeless free-falling into clarity and confidence that you’re in charge of your life. Maybe not every little bit of it jet, but your attitude towards manifesting will change immediately, no doubt. As we can’t change anyone else’s mind, we can only work with our own, and that’s all we need to gain more sustainable happiness. This way of actively choosing to be grateful creates a ground from which you can take a more confident step towards aligning with what makes you happy.

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The second secret is to dream wide awake as it makes the dream come alive. Making active choices and knowing that all it takes to change your life is your courage to consciously choose the dream. Don’t allow any unexpected circumstances to sweep you along. There is no need to stay uncomfortable. And no one on the outside to blame for how your life is manifesting. You are the designer of your life. If you’re not happy with how things are currently playing out, choose again, my friend. Take charge of your waking life by having a clear vision and determination to set sails for journeying towards having your dearest dream come alive!

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The third secret is to use the power of choice even as you sleep. For example, if you have the good fortune to enter states of conscious dreaming or being aware within the dream (a.k.a lucid dreaming,) know that this is where you can plant deep transformational seeds in your mind. (Sankalpa in Sanskrit) Let the seeds blossom in a good way, instead of being helplessly lead by your mind where ever. When awareness of the dream within the dream happens, know that you’re dreaming while dreaming (without waking up in excitement as you discover that you can control your dreams.) To try this out for yourself, you can start with downloading this f r e e Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep)where I will guide you into a relaxed state. To go even deeper, sign up for the coming online course Yoga of Mind here.


By learning to stay calm and aware and awake while you dream, you can program the awake states otherwise zombie-like manners of helplessly being swept in any direction, to a lifestyle of conscious choices by firmly planting your visionary seeds while sleep-dreaming, as well as when you’re dreaming wide awake.

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The first step towards implementing these transformational tools in your sleep is to get out of the habit of” fainting” into dreamless sleep states where your conscious responses are so dormant that you have no idea of what happened the last couple of hours once you wake up.


Lastly, by making a clear statement of your wish, including how and when it’s going to manifest, and repeating that statement to yourself before you go to sleep, you are preparing the ground. Then, when you’re about to fall asleep, make the decision that you will recognize that you are dreaming while in the dream. Don’t give up on this exercise. It’s not a magic tool that I’m carelessly giving away nor a resonant transmission of any sort. It’s merely a simple suggestion in this step-by-step guide to creating your dream life. Once you start, keep it up for as long as it takes to develop this new skill.


To successfully develop these lucid dreaming skills to program your mind to align with your dearest dream’s outer manifestations, it’s necessary to first awaken to the limitless possibility of creating your conscious dreamlife and trust that you can make it happen. If you carry any hesitations or doubts with you into this, it won’t work.


If you wish to go even further, engage in authentic ancient wisdom proven to lead you to deep insight. Instructions can be handed to you by the masters, and you will find that humbly engaging in these kinds of pearls of wisdom will transform your life and that you better have the right guidance and be prepared for it before you start. Don’t just apply the methods from any random book that says it will work, nor take my word alone for it. My online course Yoga of Mind will get you started. Sign up for the waiting list here.


Learn from someone who can guide you. The possibility to create your dream life, including the wisdom of lucid dreaming as one of the keys to change your life, is within your reach. Once you’ve taken the necessary steps towards having that key in your possession, the benefits that come from consciously dreaming wide awake are limitless, and the practice of this visionary wisdom-art a remarkable companion to rely on beyond the limitations of time.


Whether we have the good fortune to walk in the prominent yogi Naropas footsteps to incorporate conscious dreaming in our lives or not, whether we walk on this earth executing our freedom of choice or not, and despite what background or identity we carry, every one of us can shift our mindsets on the spot, right here, right now by merely applying the first step asking your self; 1.What qualities and deeds are you grateful for with your self? 2.What qualities and deeds are you appreciating in someone else who is present in your life? 3.And how about in the world?


This will immediately shift the state of your mind to one of gratitude, and you can ask your self these questions at any given moment that you feel you’re slipping into a more dull mind state. Then, when you’re ready, learn to dream wide awake and have your wishes come alive through a clear statement about the same. After all, it’s all a dream, it’s just a dream, and it’s a real dream, which means that we can choose to fill that dream with our hearts’ deepest longing.


Why would we do anything but that?


Blessed be,
Chimey

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Becoming the Change You Want to See in The World, Part I: Take a Leap of Faith

Let me start by asking you this: Exactly what are you planning to do with this short, wild, precious life of yours? What leap of faith would be required to make the change you want to see in your life? Are you willing to make that change – and when?

Like with all significant transitions, whether it’s your spiritual path, relationship, politics, location, or personal identity – change will call us out on a cliff every so often. The good news is that whether our mind is set up or not for the giant leap when that moment comes, it is actually up to us. Living the life you want to live means becoming accustomed to repeatedly making leaps of faith, and there are ways you can prepare for it.

During our journey through existence, our awakening hearts repeatedly calls us out into deep unknown waters. It’s a calling that might strike us like a brick in the head or a set of harmonizing chords from a passionately mesmerizing string quartet.

Hard as a rock or unbearably beautiful, either way, impossible to ignore.

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To follow that calling means losing our foothold and free-falling into the abyss of our unknown – or known dreams. When you actively prepare for life-changing events, you are consciously walking into new territory instead of helplessly free-falling into new circumstances where you might end up feeling like a victim instead.

In the middle of a leap of faith, you can, of course, never know for sure whether your life will shift in a favorable direction or not. When the time of change comes, we have to let go of who we know ourselves to be and jump. As change is both an ongoing challenge and an inevitable part of life, we can all serve ourselves better through acquiring some skills to deal with it. And even so, if you succeed to land on your two feet after having jumped ship, it can still be confusing at first to find our selves in new terrain. That’s the way things are, and we need to do our best to befriend whatever shift is going on.

As for all of us, with life-changing transitions, it’s likely that they have first been initiated by an inner knowing that was present before our outer circumstances shifted, whether we listened to that precognition or not.

Squarely facing the fact that we are always in minor transition and accepting that fact instead of insisting on negotiating with it, we are already on a path towards greater alignment.

It is more important than ever to trust our brave hearts to lead the way during uncertain times like this. How could it be otherwise?

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Getting accustomed to life’s inevitable uncertainties can also serve as a preparation for more advanced leaps of faith further ahead on our path. We therefore do rightly to get accustomed to having the rug pulled every so often.

My path as a renunciate western woman can, for instance, stand as a general example when it comes to facing the outcome after having jumped the ship of lay life.

In some ways, I can see that my renunciate path has been very blessed and fortunate. In other ways, it only adds on to many of the insufficient hardships experienced by several of those who dare to take a similar kind of leap.

Still, isn’t it better to leap of faith and jump, even if so only with the parachute of your dreams? Then to wait for a signal from who knows where or when to make the change we are longing for? Isn’t it better to leap of faith than having the idea of pausing in mid-air to wait for a more certain direction to appear, a choice that usually means landing on our face instead of on our feet? Isn’t it better to take a leap of faith than to stay in our ingrained cocoons and waste our opportunity to leave our outworn nest instead of sore like butterflies in the sky?

Listen. When was there ever a moment of certain outcomes that could guarantee a favorable situation ahead? Has it ever helped to sit around and wait for a change to happen? What just excuses are you convincing yourself about to stay put in a situation you don’t want to be in and let your dreams remain on the shelf? Remember that we are dealing with a talented chess player in the game of life here called time, and this non-negotiable player has zero patience with our whims and hesitations. The only choice we have around taking that leap of faith, whatever it is that needs to shift for you, is now.

The shift begins with the conviction that you see the futility of keeping going down the same path you are currently going. That your life the way it’s set up right now, or parts of it, just isn’t working any longer – or never has. The leap of faith is an active choice from your side, born out of trust that you have a choice. The leap of faith involves growing an essential belief in your capability of taking full responsibility for your life without being self-indulgent. By standing firm in a fundamental trust in the vision of who, what, and where you want to be, you jump off the cliff into your wildest dreams. Even if only with your dreams as your parachute.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Carry Your Noble Heart into the World

To find a way walking through life with a noble heart is not a matter of what cast, statues, or creed you’re born in too. It’s about the spirit with which you carry yourself. In your meeting with others, you’ll find the best mirror for self-reflection to really come up close with the truth of how you are carrying yourself in the world.

To love a thousand in your mind and stay in a secluded retreat forever, is a good practice, but it doesn’t really serve the purpose as to carry out a noble heart in the world when aiming to nurture and develop the noble heart of a Bodhisattva.

This Nobel ideal is best known from the wise and profound Buddhist culture of ancient Tibet, and are set into motion in our day and age through our everyday meetings.

Through being present, through staying with what is and not turning back from what is uncomfortable, but staying open this ideal can be met. At the same time it’s not about sticking it out through any uncomfortable circumstance, or swimming against the tide no matter what. Nor is it about wearing out our capacity of staying alive to its ruins.

It’s about finding a way to stay noble and true to our awakening hearts, and have the courage to do so.

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Prior to life as a nun, I was a wellness educator and the founder of CM – Conscious Movement. ™ A body & mind movement practice that I founded decades ago and taught for many years to many students. When we were practicing CM ™ we acknowledged whatever raw emotion came up, along with any impulse to shrink back from what was stirred up by the movement. Through continuously moving on we found a time in space to be with ourselves without getting stuck, nor being in denial. Given the chance of this generous moment, and by using it well, we had the opportunity to free ourselves from identification with some long-lived and well-nurtured habits right on the spot.

Through leaning into the sorest findings inch by inch, while riding on the breath until the pain didn’t frighten us anymore, we learned how others felt the same. And through the compassion that awakened, we could let go of our own painful self fixation and find ourselves in the realization of peaceful stillness. Wishing others could be free from similar pain too. Inch by inch, breath by breath we awakened the noble heart.  

To stand still in the midst of movement and listen to the hearts longing to be heard is something we can all train ourselves in, and a true gift to one and all. This entitles the courage of being true to one another in the midst of a stained world system created by our collective habitual fear born out of the illusion of separation.

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We all want to be happy and we all have had the experience of fear, loss, pain, and blame. Likewise, we have all been each other’s mothers in this swirl of lifetimes upon lifetimes and we all wish for the same. May we be happy, may we be free, may we be healthy, may we be safe.

In the awakening heart, there is no distinction between us and them. There is only the heartfelt wish for everyone to be equally peacefully free. Truly free. Knowing that others honestly want the same we give birth to the aim to bring everyone there through embodying the wisdom and compassion of the noble heart awakening.

Only respect for and recognition of what is true can lead us there. No one wants to have a back turned to them when they’re in pain and despair or reaching out to connect. Nothing will solve our, since time without beginning self-created worldly problems, unless we dare to be with whatever raw emotions are stirred up without acting on it, acknowledge any impulse to shrink back from it, feel it and continuously move on from it to find space to be free and not get stuck in loops of pain. Any initial emotional reaction is said to linger for 90 seconds. Everything after that is our mind grasping and holding on to that initial feeling and turning it into a loop. The moment has gone. Let it be. Changing our habits and standing up for each other is not going to take less than that. Feel what is stirred up by the moment, acknowledge its rawness and let it go. Forgive. Confess. Move on.

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It’s time to cultivate our noble hearts and wake up to our inborn nature. Our full potential is awaiting us as soon as we stop being so self fixated. Think about others, walk in their shoes and carry this true nobility out in the world with respect for one another. Shower yourself with good wishes as well as your loved ones, your so-called enemies and strangers alike. Shortly, send some love and care to all our, at least once in some lifetime, nurturing, carrying and loving Mothers, pray that all will be free from pain, and aim to re-pay each other’s kindness within one lifetime.

Our true selves, which are neither this nor that, but an abiding presence of all there is an eternity of wakefulness, an egoless wisdom presence that effortlessly holds itself in carrying, loving nobility. Our true home is the pulsing noble heart that spontaneously full fills wishes of love, good health, joy, and peace. These are the qualities that we too can come to know ourselves to be inherently when we have the courage to carry out the noble heart into the world.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Overcoming Hindrances on the Path to Clarity

Being blindly led by desire triggered by the incoming sensory information to any of the five gates; seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling will lead us off the cliff. So will hatred, aggression, ill will, dislike, and meanness.

These are the first significant hindrances to recognize when it comes to successfully climbing to the top of the mountain of clarity, while remaining peace. There are many other factors, too, that can come in our way. And if we back out of our set intention to wake up to our highest potential, we will never reach the top of our desired goal. While if we remain focused on our set purpose, we will be able to stand in and act from our wise love power for the good of all.

We can step aside and let others pass us on the journey towards realizing our full capacity and surrender to the unhelpful habit of sloth and torpor. A sidestep that can and will, if it is prolonged, lead us down the road to apathy, depression, and self-doubt. Likewise, if all our minds are engaged in is the restless thoughts of the past and future, we will fail to stay present to the here and now, and never fully blossom.

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Waking up to our inherent truth has never been subject to fleeing into daydreams, fantasies, memories, and distractions. As the road towards clarity is often long and strenuous for most of us, it’s easy to entertain the idea of giving up.

Giving in to old habits and standard rules set by society, we slip downwards to lower existences without even taking note of what is going on. Ignorance keeps us blindfolded and absorb us into the busyness of being poisoned by our desires born out of sense pleasures where we doubt our capabilities and blame others for our incapacity to get to where we would like to be.

While waking up may take lifetimes to happen, the instance it does, all time seems irrelevant, and the past, future, and nowness is all washed away.

Before having the sweet taste of freedom on your tongue, it’s easy to neglect the fact that this is what our journey through existence is all about. Don’t let the outer circumstances fool you, but take refuge under the umbrella of the eternal sun. Lift your gaze high and focus on that top of the snow-clad mountain as you ascend higher and higher in your evolution, not only as a human being but also as a spirit independent of the flesh.

Go for it. Climb that mountain. What awaits you at the top is all yours, and always has been.

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We can help ourselves on our journey to recognize what state of mind we are in currently. Check-in with yourself a couple of times daily, and you shall see that it distances you from the chronic entanglement with thought forms, their structure as well as their storyline.

Accept what is there, accept you for where you’re currently are at, and let it be as it is. Instead of drowning in your minds unceasing creations learn to investigate the thought structures as immaterial hollow substance jet with the powerful potential to shape your relative reality, consciously or unconsciously.

The more you can set your goal towards realizing your thoughts’ emptiness, the clearer the winding ways towards the top of the mountain will become.

Whatever comes up, ask yourself what the consequences will be of following such thoughts. Because whatever you think and put into action will become your world. You are not this body, it’s a temporary guesthouse. You are not this mind; it’s a fleeting structure of impermanence. You are not the name you call yourself; its a label given to you for easy recognition and communication in your daily life. Neither are you any of all the different emotions that come bubbling up from one moment to the next. Don’t identify with all of this. Step out of the spinning wheel of samsara. It will take you nowhere but round in circles. Instead bow to the lessons of the hindrances and keep going! Climb that mountain. A treasure awaits you at the top. So the wise have promised.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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This is Your Perfect Moment – to move beyond peace & gain clarity

It has been said that meditation can transform our brain in eight weeks. All it takes is a regular meditation practice of half an hour a day. By meditating, certain areas related to memory, empathy, stress, and those responsible for our attention and emotional integration are modified and enhanced. The impact of meditation has so many advantages, and it has been proven to change us quickly and have far-reaching results.

To indeed have a lasting transformation for our own and others good, we need to sustain and uphold a regular meditation practice. Just like brushing our teeth won’t do much good if we only brush them once in a while. Likewise, with something far more essential and everlasting such as the benefits of meditation, we need to take our practice a little bit more seriously.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, we don’t merely meditate to find a moment of peace or gain a stronger sense of presence but break through the habitual barrier that stands between us and the realization of our full potential.

Yes, it is well known that meditation leads to modifications in the brain’s regions related to memory, self-awareness, empathy, and stress. And that the sacred practice of meditation can initially be used to improve our mental health, while creating a starting point for further development on the spiritual path.

Self-improvement, when done thoroughly, can lead to the discovery of no-self. It’s a dangerous prospect, though, since it is a destructive process breaking down the structures of what we so long have identified our selves to be, it requires sincere and authentic guidance.

Even though some of our practices in the Vajrayana tradition looks very alluring and intriguing with all its colorful rituals, fragrances, and enchanting melodies, one does best to dive in gradually. Chose to do so with the guidance of someone who holds an authentic lineage and have a good intention behind their actions.

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When we meditate, we do not only feel better. Sometimes we even feel worse, to be honest. The discoveries we make by relaxing and activate the alpha frequencies in the brain not only lead to the structure of the brain becoming refined. The mind stream is activated and modifies the flesh on a fundamental level and reforms it. As our mind changes and we create new patterns in our brain and nervous system structure, everything follows along. The deeper we go into our practice, our body and outer environment change too. So does our outlook and how we relate to our world the longer we get on the path.

If we meditate diligently, one of the changes that we will be able to appreciate first is the ability to stay in the present moment with whatever comes up. Then a sharpened focus and an ability to process information with less storyline and get faster. Setting aside disturbing thoughts and emotions about the past and the future, even for a short while every day, helps to reset our mind frame to continue our day with greater ease.

As I have mentioned, meditation not only induces a state of relaxation, but allows us to align our selves with who we indeed are beyond this human form by exploring who we are not. Thanks to working with the mind, we will manage our speech and thoughts more pleasantly. This makes a noticeable impact on our interactions with ourselves and others. How ever, if our meditation practice is derived from the platform of exemplary ethical behavior and a favorable outlook on the world, it’s frankly quite useless.

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Before practicing meditation, we must be aware that great respect must be shown towards the subject. Only an authentic path practiced with discipline, one that requires great determination, intellectual effort, and habituation, will lead to success with an able instructor’s help.

Even a dog can perform a one-pointed concentration if you offer it a biscuit. As human beings, we have the potential to move beyond that capacity, so let’s expect a little bit more from ourselves.

If you have been on a spiritual path, are working as a counselor in the matters of the mind, or have an inclination towards self-improvement – and you have been doing that for a while – you may want to consider finding a path and a teacher that resonates with you to take your possible awakening a step further.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TRIYANA MEDITATION

Having entered this realm of human beings that brings so many benefits, you have now to dedicate time to reflect on how you want to utilize this rare opportunity and put it into motion. Choose what resonates with your heart and” ready or not” take that first step today.

Don’t wait for a” perfect moment” because then you risk never to get anywhere.

LEARN ABOUT INNER STILLNESS MEDITATION

The step you take today doesn’t have to be grandiose. Start with one little step, and the rest will follow. Make that phone call, buy the book, contact the teacher, whatever has been on your mind for a while.

Whenever you are ready, the path will unfold for you.

Without a doubt, this will be the most crucial step you will take in your life to turn yourself into that beautiful, wise, kindhearted being you always were, but covered up with so many storylines.

Having an authentic path is the greatest gift in a lifetime. I can’t emphasize the importance of taking a leap of faith enough to enhance our self-worth, self-love, compassion towards others, and many more benefits that follow as we travel towards the deep understanding of no-self, no-other.

I wish you nothing but the best for you.

Anyone can do this who can direct their attention and move beyond it.
And we can be better people each day, for the benefit of both ourselves and others.

Ready to dive in, and learn more about meditation? Click here:

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Appreciating the Rainbow


We live in a dream. With a reality that is as solid as a rainbow.


Before defining what we experience has even begun, there is a pause, a gap that we seldom notice. A space free from any concept that most of us never pay much attention to.

We repeatedly miss the chance to leap through that gap to what could become our most remarkable discovery. In our daily life, we keep holding on to the illusion that nothing ever changes, no one dies – at least not anyone” I” know, and that the table we have in our kitchen is the same as it was yesterday.

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Whatever we have become aware of rests in its non-conceptual form before it comes into consciousness. When it does, it first appears in its purest form, without a concept, name, and no need to have an opinion around it.


A sound is a sound, a smell is a smell, a taste is a taste, a form is a form.
Not beautiful, not ugly, not right nor wrong, not yours nor mine.


We get lost in our opinions and standpoints about what we perceive and start to defend our position based on the same. A sense of separation is there. We can sense it as a churning feeling in our guts, a tightening in the throat, or a pressure over the solar plexus. And when we experience any resistance from the world around us, that which we perceive as being out there and separate from” us,” we start to defend our creations with all that we have, which in turn strengthens a sense of self – and so an ego has been solidified.


Simultaneously, without a sense of self, it’s hard to co-exist in this world. The dualistic perspective is not to be discarded entirely. That’s a dangerous prospect.


It’s practical to have a personality structure and a sense of self to rely on. Jet, it’s of utter importance that we gain a comprehensive understanding of how our minds and senses work. That way, we can more easily pull our head out of our self-created ant pile now and then and fill up with some fresh air.

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Our hearing so quickly produces anger, our seeing creates desire, and likewise do we habitually create other poisons through our other four senses. Smelling, tasting, touching, and the mind by applying likes and dislikes to all pure phenomena after they have gone through the distancing show of our creations.


Walking through life with a sense of me and others, them, and us comes from creating and reinforcing this false sense of self and separation.


The Ego is nothing but a heap of habits, memories, and ideas that we identify with.
And in this way, most of us carry out our lives without ever appreciating the rainbow.
From an ultimate perspective, the subject-object relationship is an illusion. There are awareness, yes, but no self-existing independent self or objects. If you look closely, you will see that the dream knows itself. Not” you.” What is illuminating the objects is the lucidity of the mind itself.


Who is dying? Like the Zen saying goes.


The near-death experience I had decades ago changed my life forever. The first steps of the bardo were clear and are still vivid in my mind. The unadulterated bliss of mind that explodes spontaneously at this point goes far beyond what we call I. No doubt about it. Our mind streams continue beyond this body and our current life, and it has nothing to do with Ego or personality structure. Only thing is – we don’t know where we will end up next time…but that’s a topic for another blog post. That which never dies is a non-personal lucid awareness that permeates everything, jet it is all, at the same time.


Everyone who dies experience this. Some even realize it within this lifetime. It’s not an exclusive experience. It’s just that most of us forget this from life to life.


We can train our minds to penetrate the seemingly tangible reality with proven tools for awakening from illusion into the awakened dream. We can all do this, because it’s what we are.
You’re sitting on a treasure case, and it’s up to you to open it or let it remain closed.


If you just read about this as an inspirational text, absolutely nothing will change for you. You have to enter the process of deconstruction bravely. Don’t keep it conceptual. Get into your daily meditations and start to settle your mind and get it ready for deeper explorations of your old way of perceiving the world until it crumbles. We can change our shared reality from a place of separation to one of unity by continually reminding ourselves about the view.


Yes, we can.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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The Hourglass


I feel like I’ve been swimming toward the shores of no return since time beyond beginning. Especially since these last twelve years of my life have been an unwavering focus on the path.
Devoting myself entirely to the dissolution of my identities, structures, and internal programming, I’ve let everything else fall, but the path.


Following the sunlight of the wisdom teachings, sitting at the feet of the wise and the brave who have gone before me, sending out hales of purification prayers and bowing to the most profound truth.


I shaved my head and sent my long curly locks to a new destiny as wigs for children who had lost theirs due to leukemia and cancer. I left a successful business as a teacher-training facilitator and founder of my body-mind practice behind. I traveled through sacred places and received transmissions from those who have gone beyond. I journeyed deep into the Dharma, and watched everything else crumble into dust while the gifts and challenges beyond my imagination presented themselves.


All the while, holding on to the spiritual practices that I was given that spurred me on to a more in-depth uncovering of self and samsara. At the same time, trusting that at some point, there would be an end to the journey. An arrival at a point of no return, a stepping out of the veiled truth into the sunlight and on to the Absolute’s unshakable shores.

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I had begun to wonder if my capability to apply the teachings that would lead me to the other shore was just an overestimation of what was possible for me. I was carrying a significant undertaking on my shoulders while getting weaker and older with every step and already shortly felt crushed under its weight while I stubbornly kept on walking. Further on, I started to slip into the thought train that this might be the way things were going to be from now onward. There was no obvious way out. I had to crawl forward without any light insight.


And as is often the case with such a total and complete process of spiritual undertaking, it doesn’t always make sense to those around us. I couldn’t expect that others would comprehend my intentions nor my sound urge to follow the calling. All I could do was turn with compassion to those who loved me and worried for me as they lost their patience with the constant process of letting go that runs like a red thread through my life. Basking in the grace of the masters that have reached beyond became my rainbow tail to follow. Realizing that doing it my way and my way only was not sufficient enough and never had been. I was ready to surrender to the loving guidance from the force that knows.


Through all and any profound transitions that we undergo in this journey called life, it can be hard to reach through the noise of worldly concerns and samsaric whereabouts. To fully communicate to our loved ones what is going on, and let them know that we are genuinely ok inside of it all.


I had been nearing the crescendo of a massive transformation for years before this undertaking. And my whole being knew that I had to give space to the unfolding that was bursting inside me while being led by the Gurus grace. Arriving at the other shore seemed to be within my reach until it all subsided back into worldly concerns again—a humbling experience for a spiritual warrior who still has the taste of the indescribable on her tongue. The habitual tendencies were so dominant that they override the portal that had been opened. The portal left only a narrow opening left, where a tiny stream of light could seep through the crack. Karma, ignorance, habits, and all the rest that veils the absolute was still in play, and very much so.

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A serene passage towards awakening had revealed itself to withdraw again and land in the periphery just outside my reach. A progressive peeling of layers to make way for the strong undercurrents of non-personal transformation begun anew. Becoming enlightenment prone while still a samsaric being in a step by step process is an undertaking that many of us are facing right now. How ever, total transformation doesn’t happen overnight – until it does.


Dying and dying again, being born and being born again, traveling through the different bardos up and down and sideways and back again. Getting the teachings, having a genuine understanding beyond words, and starting all over again and again and again. For how many more times shall we do this? Appreciating this precious human life where we can practice until we drop dead and maybe maybe with the right amount of merits gathered free-fall into whatever was in the end.


Never giving up as His Holiness the Dalai Lama says. Its never too late to follow our hearts, but we have to realize that the clock is ticking. This human life is not forever. Listen—Tik-Tok, tik-tok, tik-tok. We are wasting our precious opportunity. The grains of sand are falling to the bottom of the hourglass. Let’s not waste our chances to awaken to our full potential anymore. Let’s ride the waves of a deeper calling and follow our hearts into the abyss. Lets free fall. Let’s go to the other shore of no return.

I pray that where I’ve been and what I’ve come through may serve as an inspiration and a warning to you and that whoever is ready to hear the urgent call to action for prioritizing your awakening will listen to that roaring call.

We have work to do, and yes, we can do this, so let’s get to it!

Blessed be,
Chimey

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Love Knows No Colors

Lama Chimey in Bodhgaya, India, 2011, at the seat of Lord Buddhas Enlightenment.

We need to walk in other’s shoes to feel what they are going through genuinely. Make their happiness and sorrow, worries and concern our own. We cant merely stay on the outside looking in. We need to embrace the fact that we are one humanity and that Earth seen from Space does not have borders like on our man-made maps. Every element flows and spreads without distinction, just like unconditional love does. When setting the intention to apply lovingkindness and compassion in our daily life mindfully, it’s easy to feel contrived to begin with. Still, since the mind is this universal tool for manifestation, it will follow our lead.

If we can learn to ride the waves of our thoughts and ground our selves in that knowing, there is nothing what so ever in samsara worth losing even one-night sleep over. By creating a daily habit of grounding ourselves and consciously creating the intention to feel others situations as our own, we are much more equipped to stay with whatever comes then without grounding and a set intention. If we leave compassion on the outside, it can become very ego friendly as long as we see ourselves as someone from ”over here” that are helping or carrying for those less fortunate ”over there.”

We need to see the difference between chasing a path that leads us to separation distinct from one of understanding interconnectedness. Love knows no color, race, gender, borders, etc. We do wisely to put each other not below, but beside each other, or else there is no happiness to be found. Happiness even multiply and become greater when shared just as sorrow is lessened when we let people in and share our hearts concern. We need to see that others happiness is as important as our own happiness. We are in this together – for real.

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We can seemingly go in the same direction, but depending on our intentions, it will bring different outcomes. Once we have decided to set out for a path of sustainable happiness, our peace and joy will prevail when we choose to be for not against. Go towards, don’t leave behind. Applying this equation shifts our mindset to one of abundance and possibilities. See your self and your potential. Meet the obstacles head-on and conquer them with conscious love. When we truly see each other for what we indeed are, we become enchanted by one another and filled with awe by meeting heart to heart. Bow in gratitude and joy to the pure qualities within, beyond, race, gender, etc. everyday. These qualities belong to you and your dear ones, those estranged to you and even your so-called enemies without distinction.

Genuine compassion and love doesn’t come in a limited form directed towards an exclusive group of individuals. It doesn’t belong to someone and not to others. No one is more worthy of it than anyone else. Compassion is not an act of giving others your pitty just as love is not true love as long as you have a selfish agenda; these qualities are pure, inherent, unlimited, and universal. Compassion is naturally wired into our intrinsic system, and we can tap into that source every day. When we discover ourselves to have complete access to these transforming powers without limitations of place, time, or particular object – it expands. And from there, joy arises naturally.

Love doesn’t have a particular house, a country a selected few friends and family that it’s limited to, its the very nature of things. The whole universe is pulsing and breathing and being love. We don’t need to wait for meeting that transformative power until we have a full-blown realization of oneness. Its what we are. We can be happy right now by merely knowing that we have unlimited access to these beautiful qualities. No password. No credit card. No V.I.P. list needed.

Choose happiness. Choose Gratitude. Choose Love. If that is not our driving force, then why?


These are some of the actual keys to Paradise within and without. It has to start with you, and it has to be now. Where else, when else and by whom else could it be done? Fill your cup to the brim with joyful, meaningful activities every day, who knows how long we have to live? Use every single day wisely. Knowing that the present moment is all we have got. Make wise choices. Rest assured that there is no switchboard to use for on and off access to the unlimited. We cannot choose to be limitless. We A.R.E. limitless. The dynamic transformation of the wholeness comes through transforming your mindset into generosity, gratitude, and carrying.

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To discover love, you need to love. It will not take place by reading about it or waiting for it to come and knock on your door. Even if you don’t know how to reach out to someone else, just be kind without distinction. If you don’t know where to start – just do it anyway. Pray that you will be able to forgive and develop compassion, while carrying a loving heart for yourself as well. Compassion always has to start with you, include yourself, your near ones, and those you are estranged from, as well as those you perceive as hostile.

In this life or another, we have all been each others Mothers and loved ones. There is no distinction between us. We are not our bodies or names. There are no borders, no race, no gender. Love knows no colors. Take the first step today. Breath for the world, help someone, pray. Fill your cup to the brim with the joy of meaningful activities, so when the day comes to move on from this life, you can joyfully indeed ride on the waves of merit of having consciously developed these valid keys to happiness. Do it right now. There is no other time.

Blessed be, Chimey

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Turning the Wheel of Time

Photo by Free Nature Stock on Pexels.com

The impact of natural time on our bodies’ rhythm to follow the moon, sun, and earth phases could be argued to be a forgotten wisdom. And along with it, the body’s capacity for change and renewal in line with nature, as well as our understanding of cosmos. By rediscovering our mind-body-cosmos connection and transforming the body from solely a material object to worship or to condemn, to a harmoniously flowing process in sync with the rest of the cosmos, we could align ourselves with how it always was.

The cells in our bodies are made up of stardust, containing the five elements; earth, water, fire, air, and space. This heap of components that we usually refer to as” I” can be explained as contracting and expanding particles, just like the rest of nature. They respond to how we act, sleep, what we eat, think, and say. So, to lead the body and mind back to a more balanced state in line with the rest of nature, we have to get back into natural alignment with the wheels of time.

“Turning the Wheel” is a metaphor for setting new teachings into motion. The first turning of the wheel includes the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha in the earliest historical period of his forty-five teaching years. These fundamental Buddhist teachings include the four noble truths, the eightfold path, selflessness, mindfulness, dependent-arising, the five aggregates, and more. Simultaneously,” the wheel of time” can be found within Shakyamuni’s later teachings.

Today – the twenty-fourth of July 2020 is the day we celebrate that these pearls of wisdom came into motion by the so-called first turning of the wheel!

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We can find the hidden matrix of what creates this ever-changing-rapidly-decaying-impermanent vehicle called our body that we live through every day of our life, through studying the wheel of time. This matrix predicts the ups and downs connected to our future through an examination of the planets, the lunar phases, and so on. Furthermore, this wisdom map includes a description of the physical nature of the world and how it came to be.

By embracing every day as new as it genuinely is and transcend the obstacles that afflict our bodies, humanity could find an equilibrium, a lost key of wisdom that, when used, could open the doors to a more harmonious state of peace and vitality, available to all.

The cycle of the planets’ interactions is reflected in the 28 days of shedding layers of skin cells, to hormone cycles, to the approximate seven-year period of renewing bone mass. This interplay between the universe and cells is based on the fact of interconnectedness. That also means that there is no benefit whatsoever in distorting the wheel of time, as in inventing a man-made 12-month calendar. Skin is shed, bone mass is changing, and we are moving on because we are made of stardust.

The natural ways have been neglected for so long, and man-made “solutions” applied for millennia, that we are now facing a world out of balance, and reaping its effect.

Could one of the factors to our distorted alignment with the turning of the universe be found in that we have incorporated a calendar out of sync with time, by adopting the twelve-month calendar? Has our way of interacting with the rest of nature been distorted because of this step away from the natural turning of the wheel of time?

Its likely one of all the factors that has added up to our current imbalance. And like any radical change acquires our full participation, so does this one.

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Since we are not going back to how things were, we could all benefit from consciously adopting this ongoing amazing planetary dance that we are part of through the study of and meditation on the outer cosmos of our realm of existence. By attuning to the natural half-forgotten standard of the thirteen-month/ twenty-eight days calendar, we could find a piece of harmony again.

With a natural way of being with the rhythms of time, a beat that altogether make up a perfect three hundred and sixty-four day year, we would no longer be distorting our natural alignment with cosmos. The thirteen-month calendar is nothing new. It has been in use by our ancestors for thousands of years. It was possibly more widespread among matriarchal societies in the past than in our current systems that have turned their backs on this wisdom. Our times lost perfection of aligning with nature further shows to be in starch contrast to the wise alignment with time when studying the available thirteen moon calendars. For example, these calendars divination of the quarter years can be counted into exactly ninety-one days each, which equals thirteen weeks of seven days per quarter. Perfect by nature!

We can incorporate this natural cycle in our individual lives to move into balance. Suggesting that we would not have to fight against time, jump between different lengths of months, and add an extra addition of a day every fourth year to keep the rhythm. Nor remain in opposition to what we are already a part of—merely relaxing in the natural flow of how we spin with the rest of the world. Never finding a reason to hold on to an unnatural man-made distortion of the same, ever again.

Keep in mind that all the thousand buddhas of this eon, (yes, there was never only one) after demonstrating the attainment of enlightenment came to sit at the Vajraseat in Bodhgaya in India and proceed to Sarnath to give the first turning of the wheel of Dharma. Within the wheel of time, this happened and is happening and will be happening – again and again, naturally.

It is said that Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha of our time, entered the magical mace of Benares (Varanasi) early one morning, made his alms round, took a bath, ate his meal for the day and, left the city through the east gate. From there, the enlightened one walked to Rishipatana Mrigadava, – a place that until this day and age is called the Deer Park. Well, there he turned the first wheel of Dharma, which we celebrate today. The teaching he gave, as simple as profound, which is the same wisdom that the Buddhas to come will reveal, can be summarized into these four noble truths:

There is suffering.
There is a cause for suffering.
There is an end to suffering.
There is a way that leads us out of suffering.

There is a map. We need to apply it.
Meaning – we too can change and get into alignment with the natural flow of time again. We, too, can wake up.

I hope this blog post has been beneficial to you.

Blessed be,
Chi-Mey (Deathless)

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With Every Step You Take

When we long for wisdom to take root in our lives, we’ve come to the right place by turning to the Buddha Dharma. It’s not an easy path, and no one said it was, but it will provide us with the reliable wisdom tools we are looking for, to awaken to our full potential, and growing a competent and capable nature along the way. This is a path proven to reignite our inherent wisdom and help us polish that diamond of light that lives within.

Most of us think of meditation when Buddhism is spoken of, but it is far from the whole picture.

Meditation is only a fraction of the whole palette of the wisdom teachings and one of the practical methods to” get it” rather than the method.

Meditation is practical. It is found in every moment of life when we live deeply. No one needs a special cushion for that, even if having one is a good reminder to use it to get into our formal practice, or keep it up – if we have one. Through meditation, we can experience the two realities of our everyday existence as a living fact—the relative and the ultimate, simultaneously. Even while living in the relative reality of so many challenges and distractions, we can touch upon the ultimate by staying present, aware, and making friends with how things are.

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If we never withdraw our heads from the busy ant nest of life, we will continue to suffer extensively. We need to balance our continuous sufferings and worries by resting in all there is, as it is, not as we want it to be, and the knowledge to distinguish the difference. By embracing the two realities, we learn how to keep a bird’s eyes perspective on our busy entanglements, and eventually realize that nothing distinguishes us from the completeness.

When we say that we see something out there, for example, a tree, the tree’s visual sight doesn’t happen from the side of the tree alone. Like everything else, it is empty of self inherent existence. All our experiences are resting in the hands of the cosmic law of interdependence.

For example, when having a functioning eye organ, the information of visually perceiving the tree runs through our eye-consciousness and is transmuted through our so-called sixth sense, evaluating the experience as good, bad, or neutral. What I here call” a sixth sense” is jet another consciousness, assess the experience, and, most of the time, is mistaken for being an I. A person. A separate self.

When we look closer, we discover no such thing as a separate self or a different tree. Its all bits and parts of a dance that is continuously changing. We can put labels on it and have opinions about it until we turn red and blue, but that will not affect the actual reality of how it is.
Many of us come to the practice of the Buddha Dharma to seek relief from the harsh currents of the relative reality, such as loss, sickness, and grief. Through the practice, we develop compassion, good-heartedness, patience, and generosity. And we can continue to grow on the path when we are allowing our hearts to delight in the presence of that which lies beyond nirvana. Provided that we are not relating to meditation as a tool to be worshipped, but as something to put into action.

This is where we get the deepest kind of relief. It allows us to get out of the obsessive grip of our busy minds and into the way of how it is. While meditating, we can more easily see that we are eternal winds that rides the nonexistence clouds, inseparable from everything around us, since we are that.

Each of us can awaken to a remembrance of the two realities as one. No one has to be a man or be born in the Himalayas to do that. All of us have always been resting in the grace of the two realities intertwined, unknowingly. That’s what we truly are.

We love meditation because it stills our minds and brings us home. No one should have to be deprived of that delightful genuineness of what an authentic path has to offer. There is guidance to receive; we just have to reach out for it. So as its all here, what is needed for us to sustain it and give it a place in our daily lives and the Western societies?

Sustaining a personal practice without guidance is hard. We should be asking for nothing less but a miracle to see this prospect through. And the miracle we are looking for is not to walk on water or dance in mid-air, the miracle is to be sincere about our spiritual development and start where we are by walking on this Earth aware of both our feet touching the ground with every step we take. Realizing that we are part of all that exists, the planet is not apart from us. We are nature. The miracle we should be praying for is that we wake up to remember right now that everything is possible if we put our minds to it.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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The Evolution we are in

It’s happening. We are in the middle of a vast and fast pace of Evolution that is throwing out the old paradigms in a blink of an eye. This transition is not limited to the so called top 1% of humanity, a particular race or country. Nor is it a gender question. We are all in this together, and our lesson is about embracing all the qualities that we have within, whether we label them feminine or masculine. The old paradigm is falling, and we are not going back. This new era will take some time to adjust to. Meanwhile, we can support our transition to this new way of life by dedicating ten minutes a day to checking in with our selves and rest in what already is. To help you with this transition and stay committed to this vital integration practice in your everyday life, I will, part from releasing the Swedish guided meditation album Jord on July 14th, soon start posting English guided meditation videos on my youtube channel. Subscribe for my youtube channel here.

I’m putting this out there so that your mind can get ready for what is coming. The Sky Dancer World is here to provide you with up to date alignment with the current flows of our existence so that as many of us as possible can benefit from the eternal and essential value grounds of the Buddha Dharma. This is not about innovations, but adoption. We are not straying away from the inherent truth. We are dancing along with how the current flows. I’ll write that again. We are not straying away from the inherent truth. We are dancing along with how the current flows.

A complete person is someone who’s balancing all these qualities that we call feminine and masculine within. Let’s take my primary teacher, the Gyalwa Karmapa, a master of sorts, as an example. He walks like a sturdy captain, AND his gestures are like those of a gentle goddess. And that’s just the outer appearance. Inside we all need the drive to move forward into action (so-called masculine quality) and trust to follow our intuition (so-called feminine quality) to whatever we are called to, for the better good of all humanity and the planet. To uphold and grow with the existence that we are part of, we all need to develop in the direction of freeing the heart from old, unresolved issues and limiting beliefs. Whether we take personal responsibility to be on board with this current shift or not, our world is leaping ahead into new territory. We don’t want to be dragged behind, right, so to make as a smooth transition as possible into a more balanced world where we can start to unfold our complete set of inner resources there are three things we need to do.

  1. Still your mind and integrate the shift by meditating for 10 minutes daily.
  2. Seeing the importance of taking joyful responsibility in the global change by committing to your meditation practice no matter what.
  3. Stay focused on your commitment by applying the tools at hand of being mindful so that you, through your discoveries, can make sure you trust the path and never stray away from it.

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Your gender identification is irrelevant when it comes to balancing the predominant qualites you already have with those you are lacking. This is the time to balance these out and equalize all our qualities within. That’s where it has to start.

We have all been forced to stop in our tracks for some time now. Luckily it seems that most people are getting that there is a blessing in disguise going on with this. We have time to look deeper into that which scares us, unsolved issues, face our shortcomings, and spend more time alone or with our closest family and friends. These are just some of the gifts that this current situation is inviting us to.

Now we can choose to make conscious steps towards aligning with the new paradigm that has already awakened. It’s not a future scenario anymore, and the shift involves us all on a grand scale. Again. The best way to ride this current phase of evolution is to commit to a daily meditation practice and choose a path that you trust to support you with tools that work.
Until I have my videos up and running at my youtube channel, I suggest that you sit down in silence before you go to sleep or wake up in the morning. Direct your focus to your natural breath, and keep pulling your mind, gently but surely back to the breath as the mind starts to wander.

Life will present challenges to uphold even such a short and straightforward practice. So, before you start, whether you choose to do this in the evening or in the morning or any other time of the day, make the resolve that you will bring your awareness back to a place of stillness as part of your daily routine. Remember, you are not doing this alone; we are a universal grid of light that expands together, so once you’ve consciously logged in to this truth, there’s no reason to doubt its power. No need to invent anything just rest in what is already here. And if doubts come creeping in, remember that thought-forms are limited. Just like all compounded phenomena, they are interdependent and impermanent. See the doubt the insecurity and the worries before they take over you, acknowledge they’re fleeting existence, and then let them go. Place your awareness on your breathing, in, gap, out, gap. And if you like to sit longer, please feel free to do so.

Enjoy your meditation, and remember we can equalize this world into a more balanced and harmonious existence for all. It’s already happening.

Much Love,
Chimey

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From Earth to Earth…


In my early twenties, I had a personal close up encounter with death that became a close call to ceasing to exist from this current human life altogether.

I had been back and forth to a hospital for reoccurring emergency surgeries due to undefined stomach pain for some months. Eventually, during the third surgery preparations in a row, my mind spontaneously evacuated the body. I remember my last thought thinking: If there is anything left that I need to do in this life, I trust that this body will take care of this.

If it had not been due to my early practice days of meditation, I hadn’t been prepared for that moment with trust, surrender, and peace. Due to spending hours and days soaked in meditation, I had real tools to apply when my time to face the inescapable occurred. Without a spiritual practice that could have been a scary fact of life to embrace.

To prepare for this inescapable moment, it is crucial to step closer to that which might scare us. A lot can be learned from befriending death if we dare to stare the great riper in the eye sockets. When our bones become one with the earth, take roots, sprout and penetrate the surface, our interdependence with our surroundings become clear.


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In Buddhism, we talk about the links between our flesh and ignorance, our blood and desire, our bones, and aggression. If we instead of holding on to that which pains us due to ignorance, desire, and hatred, we can choose to acknowledge the pain right down to our bones, our pain and others, feel it, honor it and then let it go. Remembering that we are not confined by our bodies, names, or history that we are temporarily identifying with. Ultimately we are innate light, an eternal interconnected web, a storehouse of dancing truth.

Fifteen years ago, when we recorded “Jord” (Earth), I was still active with my body-mind-spirit method CM – Conscious Movement. The cello player Gertrud Stenung and I gave many kirtan concerts and worked together with acoustic music and dance as a healing art. “Jord” contains one of my trademark meditations from that period in time. It begins with a guided relaxation that takes you on a journey through the densest part of your body, your bones, as you let go and surrender into the earth. The relaxation touches on themes such as creation, death, interconnectedness, and surrender. It is followed by a seated meditation guided by visualizations riding on the natural breath through your spine. Through the practice of letting our current identification of self blend into the bigger picture, our surroundings, and fill that landscape with love, vitality, creativity, and compassion we can become aware of our interconnectedness.

The soothing accompanying music has been tried out live with many students who love what we are offering, long before this album was recorded. The music for Jord is composed and performed on cello, piano, and electronic glass piano by Gertrud Stenung. Due to these days of huge transition, I decided to make a new release of Jord and make it available digitally. May you find joy, peace, and truth in your own heart through this beautiful practice.

Jord will be available in all major online stores from July 14th, 2020.
10% of profits from sales of this album goes to water aid projects, as a contribution towards a more sustainable future for the world.

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May all beings benefit,
Chimey

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Challenges with bringing the Dharma to the West

After some years of studying, receiving empowerments, and being close to the masters in India and Nepal, in particular my main Lama, the Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, I went back to the West with his blessing. At first, I came to live in New York, at Karma Triyana Dharma Chakra, the Gyalwa Karmapa’s main seat in North America, where I served as the assistant shrine keeper.

After receiving an invitation of a Dharma organization in Malmö, Sweden, I accepted their request and moved there as their teacher in residence.

During these first couple of years that I was back in the West, I embarked on an ongoing investigation in how to apply and live the Dharma most beneficially. That investigation is continuing.

My mind was soon filled with questions like, “Where do we find the motivation today to uphold the Buddha’s teachings in a society that is filled with values and ways of life that are not always so helpful?” “How do we go from a place filled with encouragement for self-indulgence to a shared space of basic sanity?”

The process of investigation became an indispensable part of both my own and our collective progression towards a more awakened, compassionate, and wiser state of being. As a part of our culture, many Westerners come from a perspective that is highly suspicious of orthodoxy and religion. This makes hierarchical, medieval patriarchy such as the system that has been developed within Vajrayana Buddhism even more impossible to digest for many Western spiritual seekers. This skeptic approach can paradoxically be a strength when approaching the Buddha Dharma as many of our masters are emphasizing the foundation of studying the Buddhist teachings based not on faith alone, but also a rigorous investigation, just like a merchant of gold who buys the gold only after a thorough analysis of its purity.

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Buddhism appeals to this rationality by challenging ingrained ideas about death, suffering, happiness, and the nature of mind. Still, when we study with traditionally trained Tibetan masters, we often find that the teachings are intertwined with cultural assumptions that do not fit neatly with a strictly rational perspective and other Western-oriented perspectives. Here in the West individualistic needs and opinions usually come before community building and prioritizing the power of the collective, which is quite the opposite to the traditional Eastern habituation. These different standpoints create a fertile field for cultural clashes to arise. Applying rigorous inquiry to traditional Eastern Buddhist teachings is therefore more delicate than it might appear, and a lot is yet to be done to create a harmonious bridge.

There is a growing interest in Buddhism among the general public in the West. This has come about primarily through the popularization of Buddhist philosophy and core values, such as the seventh branch of the Noble Eightfold Path, mindfulness, along with many psychologists who are turning to Buddhism to find sustainable ways of caring for our mental health. This has also led to an increase in the confusion that may arise when students don’t know the broader perspective of the Buddha’s wisdom teachings, nor how to develop a healthy approach to their lama and monastic sangha. Students may be enchanted by the intriguing aura that often surrounds Tibetan lamas, and we may not have the emotional or spiritual maturity to distinguish healthy behavior from unhealthy patterns of emotional dependence. These co-created patterns are also due to teachers’ lack of bridging the Dharma from one culture to another. Western students may be seeking a “quick fix” to their problems or a spiritual experience, which may unconsciously manifest as excessive devotion to their teacher without a careful examination of the teachings or the teacher. Likewise, turning to mindfulness meditation in the same way you would go to the gym for an hour might not have such longstanding positive results. So to avoid falling into these situations of culture clash based on lack of knowledge and thereby potentially watering down the Dharma, it is crucial for both teachers and students to carefully investigate with whom we form spiritual relationships and how these relationships are carried out. We need to learn what to adopt and what not from another culture and above all how to adopt the Buddhist wisdom teachings beyond time and culture when integrating the Dharma on Western soil.

At this point, the Dharma has yet to be carefully nurtured in the West to grow into a steady and rooted tradition in our culture. We need to make a smooth bridge to our part of the world, learning from our Eastern sisters and brothers while knowing that we need to grow up. At this point there are but a few Western torchbearers out there who are keeping the light of the Dharma burning in the West. If it weren’t for them, those parts of the world would lack the compassionate and wise presence of the Buddha Dharma even more. I feel humbled at the prospect of following in the footsteps of such pragmatic and fearless heroines and heroes. My heart is yearning to keep bridging an ocean of Dharmic wisdom, art and activities into the open fields of these native grounds of ours, to be part of and to welcome a continuous blossoming for the Western Buddha Dharma altogether.

Blessed be,
Chimey

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A global citizens outlook

Knowing no borders nor clinging to a creed or fixed state of mind. Moving with the wind, faster than the speed of light. Reaching beyond and bringing it home. Welcoming all, both intellectual and drone.

Chimey Lhatso across the Hudson River

I’m here because I have something valuable to share. I’m making myself available to the ever-expanding net of equality through voicing the sacred feminine, not as a preference, but in order to contribute to a more balanced world. I’m a skyrocket bound for the unlimited space of the multiple billion universes. Writing, laughing and crying through it all.

If you are looking for a forum to rest your mind, restore, get inspired, and engage – Sky Dancer World is for you. If you are looking for a Dharma partner in the field of various activities for the greater good, or an ordained Buddhist Minister who can officiate the ceremonies for the sacred moments of your life – Sky Dancer World is for you. If you have wished that there could be easy access to a Dharmic lifestyle in the West in line with Western culture and values by the Western Sangha, yet rooted in traditional Eastern dharma – Sky Dancer World is for you. Let’s meet, explore and nurture the origins of the Buddha Dharma towards an authentic embodiment in our own backyard, and grow together from there.


As the masters say; Start where you are, and that’s what this is all about.


Welcome to Sky Dancer World!

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