For many years, we received a sturdy, very rich newsletter in our physical mailboxes called Connections featuring a variety of articles by members of the MfP community. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we’re taking some trips back into the archives of these wonderful lineage holders. The articles we’re sharing connect our past to our present and future. Reading them brings a richness and depth to our current experience. And in them, we can hear the resonance of David Darling’s voice—and philosophy.
Balancing our Creativity, a series written by David Darling, has him thinking aloud about some of MfP’s original, core ‘mantras.’ This week… “Heh heh heh.” That is us laughing at ourselves, and it represents the YIN, the internal, heart-focused part of how we show up. In another blog post, we’ll look at the YANG: Yay! Energy. Both of these appeared in the Fall/Winter 2004 edition of Connections.
Balancing Our Creativity: Yin Energy… Heh! Heh!
By David Darling
I am reminded on a daily basis of how difficult it is to be in our deepest and most soulful and real place of creativity. Many of the world‘s most intriguing and wonderful inventions, such as the television, computers, etc., keep us away from the essential soundings that lead us into the “Infinite“ and our most profound creativity.
The voice is closer to the heart. The heart lives in the “Infinite.” The heart is very sensitive to how we are really feeling about our opportunity of consciousness.
When we allow ourselves to quiet our chaos of thoughts and mostly negative self-images and self-doubts, we can enter into a dialogue with the soundings of the voice that give us the center path to our music. The melodies, phrases and rhythmic grooves that we create embody are natural and gifted music.
Remember… Sing what YOU play and play what YOU Sing!!! We discover our natural melodies by simply singing how we feel. Each of us needs to spend part of our daily ritual with music by singing how we feel, and imitating (shadowing) the music that we are listening to. This activity will give us clarity of our musical gifts and, in the ensuing months and years, helps us discover our character and sound.
Lao Tsu says (paraphrased by David Darling)
When we lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster….
Knowing others is wisdom,
Knowing the self is enlightenment,
Mastering others requires force,
Mastering the self needs strength.
He who knows he has enough is rich,
Perseverance is a sign of willpower,
He who stays where he is endures….
Therefore, the sage knows himself, but makes no show,
Has self-respect, but is not arrogant.
He lets go of that and chooses this.