Manager's Reflections

I recently came across teachings of Machig Labdrön, a Tibetan yogini and founder of Chod, as presented by Lopon Charlottee Z. Rotterdam (2021). Machig says that there is no view or perspective that one can not severe (cut through) or let go. The only way to let go is to turn toward that which we find repulsive and frightening, and even nurturing whatever we consider “other” or “out there”. Machig’s teachings about letting go are about cutting through (severance of) the mistaken belief about self/identity in which I set myself over and apart from all that is “not me”.

As I look at the structural changes in society and their impact on the Family Centre and partner agencies, Machig’s teachings resonate with me and challenge me at multiple levels. As a displaced Indigenous man, I find myself located within colonial structures and geographies of power imposed by European settlers, thus obscuring my sense of sense and the “other”. My mind is colonized while my spirit yearns for rootedness in my Indigeneity. This creates a fracture in my psyche while making me flexible enough to act upon the environment.

I have grown within the dominant colonial system and have been brainwashed by the beliefs around individualism and human centrism. Even though I recognize the inter-linkages of individual and global experiences, I find it frightening to get out of the dominant human centric structures and to be part of an unknown decolonized world. Given this situation, I am not sure who is the “other” that I am fighting and feeling emotionally drained as a consequence. If I adopt Machig’s teachings even momentarily, how do I know what I need to know in order to let it go, and take the next step of walking into the world of unknown possibilities?

All around me, I find everyone working towards building and rebuilding the world, and I am part of this process. However, what is it that we, including myself, are trying to rebuild? Are we, including myself, still moving in the circles of familiarity and comfort? What is our reference point? And what if all reference points are gone? What if I let go of all reference points? Would I find myself ready to step in the void without reference points knowing that this open space is full of potentiality?

I invite all of us to engage in further reflection and conversations as we continue to rebuild our world. Contact me at: Santiago.Grande@facswaterloo.org

Santiago Grande

Reference: Lopon, C. Z. R. (2021). Cutting through views: Three practice verses by Machig Labdrön. Lion’s Roar.com