The Collection

When I was a little girl, my mother had a cabinet filled with objects she found beautiful or meaningful in some way… plumes of feathers from old hats, antique sheet music, geods, hand blown glass vases my father had given her...

A few times a year, I would take everything off the shelves, wipe the dust away, and then rearrange everything into little vignettes, creating new space and relationships between the objects. 

I don’t know what prompted the rearrrangement. No one asked me to do it and no one stopped me, either. It was an independent moment that arose, in time, when needed. 

The same gesture followed me to  art school. There I created my own objects from an inner landscape foreign to my known outer world. Objects that evolved into stories and revealed deep archetypes from within myself and the human world around me. 

The rearrangement of objects and energies is part of what is called the ‘mandala principle‘ in Tibetan Buddhism. Many are familiar with the sand mandalas that are arranged with such care and then allowed to disspate back into space upon completion. The image is often two dimensional, but is representative of three dimensional space and beyond. What is the truest arrangement of energies to allow for the most benefit? How do we allow them to dissolve into new arrangements at the appropraite moments?… dissolve and let go and come together again anew.

While in school,  my intuitive self came to the fore as I would see that the objects I was making in some way were similar, if not almost identical to the objects made for thousands of years in different cultures and in different moments. That humanity is constantly trying to reveal itself to itself and that the moments of individual liberation are deeply connected with everyone and everything. 

Over the years my intuition has proven much more accurate and to the point than my rational mind. It created pathways that I could never think of on my own and often I had to have blind trust because what was being seen made no practical sense. In hindsight, I have never regretted following that intuitve knowing, but I have regretted ignoring it.

When I was Bhutan, a couple years ago, it was revealed to me that I was going to be entering into a three year retreat. It was very beautiful how it arose in the midst of the lands of deep meditative practice and commitment to sentient beings and their liberation. 

It was unclear to me how I would be able to sustain the resources needed to complete this, but there was also the knowing that many had done this before without understanding how it would be possible. and that others rose to support them. 

I have completed the first five months of this process and it is only more clear why it is so deeply essential. Each individual‘s training and samaya (vows and commitments) reflects differently when it is followed wholeheartedly and with precision. We can help eachother reach the needed inner places … to be able to fulfill our Bodhisattva commitments in this lifetime. We are each an object being rearranged and moved for our own realization and that of others. I am very happy to be dusted off and rearranged over and over again.

it is my hope that by asking for help in this way, that it creates pathways for others to have support for their individual journeys as well.  That people feel the inner and outer mobility needed to be in their true spot and that we encourage eachother to take those leaps of faith based on our inner knowing. 

if you feel inpired to support this retreat in a monetary way, it is extremely helpful. Otherwise, a sincere wish that I and others have what we need to continue,  goes a long way towards supporting the causes and conditions needed.

My deepest and sincere gratitude to all those that have come forward and continue to come forward to support in all the ways. 

With love always,

Sarah Miryam