Walking In Quiet Stillness

This week’s blog will focus on some of my favorite exercises from the second section of my book “The Songbird In My Heart.” These exercises are called “Acts of Contemplation, Freedom for a Glad Heart” and are designed to put you in touch with your deeper self. Each day a corresponding prayer from the book will also be posted to Facebook.

The inspiration for these exercises came from two unlikely sources. The first are the beautiful books from Thomas Merton and his editors A Book of Hours, Seeds of Contemplation, and New Seeds of Contemplation. The second is the red Fieldbook by Peter Senge to his best selling business book The Fifth Discipline. While this part of the book bears little resemblance to these great books, they did serve as inspiration.

Please take some time and try them out! If you like, let me know how it goes. Best of luck. Mark

Acts of Contemplation, Freedom for a Glad Heart

Today – Walking In Quiet Stillness
Tuesday – The Blue Skies Shine
Wednesday – Mindtime
Thursday – Naturetime
Friday - The Universe in Time

Walking in Quiet Stillness



Opening Thoughts
The deepest part of you can be found in the quiet stillness of your inner being. Walking mindfully without purpose, without intent, with an empty mind will lead you to this place. This cannot be achieved by force, only by surrender. Allow your inner self to come forward. Put aside the obstacles of intent, purpose, and the agenda of your racing mind.

Acts of Contemplation
Act 1 – Pick out a safe, quiet route for walking. Put aside the issues of the day. As you walk call on the witness of your inner self to observe the thoughts that come. This is as if there is an observer on your shoulder watching and recording what is happening. When you return from your walk, write down what you experienced.

Act 2 – On this next walk, notice everything that is around, the sounds, the smells, the sights. Look deeply and see beyond the obvious. Breathe, see, and hear to that deeper level beneath the level that is beneath the level that you might typically. Be empty of the racing mind and be mindful of everything around you. Write down what happened.

Act 3 – Now, in the quiet of some special place, sit down and review your notes. Then, wait for the next thought. Patiently wait for the next thought. Be empty of your racing mind. If anything rises up out of this emptiness, try to translate it into words and write it down.

Act 4 – On this next walk, start by empting the mind of any racing thoughts or issues of the day. Then, wait for the next thought. Patiently wait for the next thought. Continue this throughout the walk. If you are successful you will have walked in the quiet stillness of your inner being, free of illusion and false reality. If not successful start back at Act 1 and repeat the steps.

Cardinal and Blue Jay

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Yesterday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Today - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Cardinal
Most everyone knows what a cardinal looks like; being named after the red robes of the Roman Catholic Cardinals. Their song you probably also recognize as either purty-purty-purty or sweet-sweet-sweet.



I have these beautiful red birds on the lower ridges of the farm, but for whatever reason they don’t come to the higher elevations. As a very territorial bird, perhaps there are birds up here that they don’t get along with. Is there anything more stunning than bright red cardinals dancing across the white snow in search of food?

Blue Jay
As one of the larger and loudest of the songbirds, the Blue Jay is also among the most gregarious. I guess it is no surprise that the Blue Jay is related to the Crow and Magpie. They appear in the hundreds at my upper level feeders, staged in the distant trees, the near trees, and surrounding grass. They must come from miles afar to be in such numbers throughout most of the winter months.



Their main song is jay-jay-jay, but they are also known to queedle-queedle-queedle, as well as mimic other birds such as hawks. The Blue Jay buries seeds, acorns and nuts for future use and as such has earned the title of nature’s tree planter, credited for reestablishing oak trees after the last glacial period. They are a striking blue contrast to the green grass when waiting their turn at the feeders.

House Wren and Eastern Phoebe

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Today - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Tomorrow - Cardinal and Blue Jay

House Wren
The size of a chickadee, some say the House Wren is plain brown. I say that this beautiful little bird is every shade of brown and with its energy-filled, exuberant song is the fiercest of competitors. It is reported that they add spider’s eggs to their nesting materials to fight off mites and other nest parasites. Like the chickadee, the House Wren also is a cavity nester and will use a bird box.




Eastern Phoebe
Like the American Robin and Barn Swallow, the Phoebe prefers an open-fronted nest. I had them use one of my open nests on the side of the equipment shed last year. While they winter to the South, I see them frequently in the warmer months as they are constantly entering my barn and require assistance to exit safely.



The Phoebe, a type of flycatcher, is named after its song fee-be.

Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Today - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Carolina Chickadee
Dressed in what appears to be formal attire, these small, curious birds are among the most inquisitive. They are in constant movement as small flocks, seemingly in well-oiled coordination. They winter in this area and appear to be fearless in snow storms. They are named after their song chick-a-dee-dee-dee. A common visitor to most bird feeders, they move in concert with the Tufted Titmouse and Junco.



I admire their courage and enterprise. There is a lot of energy in this small package.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
This distinctly colored bird is related to the Cardinal. It appears around here at my bird feeders in the early spring for a few weeks before moving on to somewhere else. While more of a temporary visitor, I wish he would stay around a little longer.

Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Today - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Indigo Bunting
It has been reported that the Indigo Bunting is the Magellen of the bird world as it navigates by the stars at night. From my observation this is amongst the shyest of birds, as I only get brief glimpses of it as I travel the farm and surprise them around a corner. Someday, I would love to take his picture as proof of my stealthy approach. The Indigo Bunting is a member of the Cardinal family, yet leaves every winter early, returning to the same three areas on my farm each year.



This diminutive bird appears to be a deep purplish to deep blue color because of light diffusion, but has no blue pigments in its feathers and is actually black. I have planted large areas of wildflowers where they nest, which they seem to really like.

Scarlet Tanager
This strikingly colored bird is equally as shy as the Bunting. Staying deeper in the forest, this black-winged red bird winters in South America. He makes a chip-bang song.



I saw my first Scarlet Tanager late last summer, alighting within 15 feet of me on a dawn Redwood I planted several years ago. I will never forget how amazed I was at his remarkable coloring. I don’t think he saw me as he stayed there for several minutes. I barely breathed for the entire time. Perhaps he did see me and was not threatened.

Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Today – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Tuesday - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Eastern Bluebird
True to its name, the bluebird is mostly royal blue, the breast a reddish brown, the belly a creamy white. Their song can be described as a melodious warble. Part of the thrush family, the bluebird is related to the American Robin and Wood Thrush (all plentiful around here).



The bluebird is a peaceful, almost passive bird, susceptible to more aggressive species. Back in the early 1900’s a few pairs of English House Sparrows were released in Central Park (New York). These aggressive birds took over many of the natural cavity nesting areas of the bluebird, threatening the bluebird’s future. A popular groundswell of support for the bluebird resulted in large numbers of wooden bluebird nesting boxes being installed, coming to the bluebird’s rescue.

In 2006, I installed 27 bluebird boxes and tracked them that year on a weekly basis. Over 137 bluebird eggs were laid in 40 sets of nests. We had 49 bluebird fledglings make it out of the nests. In addition, there were 11 Tree Swallow eggs laid with 4 Tree Swallow fledglings.

The other part of the story is that many of the eggs and at least some of the hatchlings were eaten or killed by other birds or snakes. At least two of the nests were abandoned by the parents after bad rain/wind storms. A 7 egg Tree Swallow nest was attacked by other birds, killing the babies leaving one of the parents on top of the nest, headless. There is a cruel reality in nature that we forget when we are separated from it.

The good news is that we are blessed with many bluebirds and tree swallows. You cannot go anywhere on this farm without seeing the bluebirds, all four seasons of the year. I have installed winter community-nesting boxes for their use.

Tree Swallow
This dark bluish-purple-backed and white-chested bird is known for its graceful swooping flight in chase of insects. As fierce protectors of their nests they differ dramatically from the bluebird. Their song is described as a cheerful twitter. They travel away from here in the winter and gather in the south in large flocks.



The tree swallow is related to the Barn Swallow a rainbow-colored swallow which nests in open shelf type nests and the Purple Martin which is similar in color, but prefers community bird houses.

Time and Place

Each day this week I will discuss the evidence for our interconnection in the world. Our feelings of separateness can lead us to feelings of dissatisfaction because we have lost our connection to the universe, to who we really are.

Monday – Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
Tuesday - Holarchy
Wednesday - Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life
Thursday - Synchrony
Today - Time and Place

As contemplation of time deepens, a new understanding emerges. There is quiet stillness in each moment. There is also simultaneous change, movement, activity as the universe pivots into the next moment. This realization is quite stunning. There is both stillness and motion in each moment of time.

The stillness emphasizes the interconnection of everything, while the motion emphasizes its separateness. The stillness emphasizes the eternal nature of time, while the motion emphasizes the passage of time. Stillness and motion are not separate but simultaneous.

When we are in the quiet stillness it is as if we have fallen out of time into eternal time, a feeling of no-time. We are witness to timelessness and interconnection within each moment. Yet we know that time marches on.

If we can carry this understanding with us into the pivot of each moment of change, our lives become fuller, more connected to everything. We are now one, interconnected and interdependent in each moment of time.

And then finally as to place; here we are all gathered on our beautiful planet Earth. Of all the billions and billions of stars and their planets, we just happened to end up here, together. Wow, now take that for shared connection!

Synchrony

Each day this week I will discuss the evidence for our interconnection in the world. Our feelings of separateness can lead us to feelings of dissatisfaction because we have lost our connection to the universe, to who we really are.

Monday – Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
Tuesday - Holarchy
Wednesday - Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life
Today - Synchrony
Friday - Time and Place

In the simplest of nature’s creatures we find valuable lessons. In some parts of the world, as the sun goes down, and darkness descends, fireflies appear and slowly begin to blink in unison. Witnesses to these events know deep inside that this is not by chance.

Scientists have studied the firefly and now better understand these and other similar events like crickets chirping in rhythm. Apparently there are biological oscillators within us that seek connection with others around us; a natural rhythm within the beat of change, the beat of time, the beat of life.

The human heart has specialized pacemaker cells that are responsible for the rhythmic beating and subsequent movement of the blood through the body. This is an integrated complex of thousands of cells all working together to maximize heart muscle efficiency.

Studies of people clapping in an audience, human sleep cycles, and the nature of traffic jams have found patterns of hidden order. On college campuses, females who live together in close daily contact tend to experience their menstrual cycles together.

Consider for a moment your ability to read and comprehend this material. Ponder your capacity to solve problems, think creatively, and consciously change the world around you. After all you are only a bag of chemicals made up mostly of water. The neural network we call consciousness is truly a miracle of connectedness and interdependency.

Duncan Watts’s “Six Degrees” found strong evidence for his hypothesis that every person on the planet is socially connected to within six degrees of separation. A successful play and movie were produced around this idea.

In nature’s ecosystems, thousands of interdependent connections exist in what at first appear to be otherwise simple relationships. As we have found the hard way, any intervention has unpredictable, even unintended results.

Do you see it? Do you see the connectedness that surrounds us?

There are some really great books on these and other examples of synchrony that I can recommend:

Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo. Linked, How Everything is Connected to Everything Else and What it Means for Business, Science and Everyday Life. New York: Flume Books, 2003.

Buchanan, Mark. Nexus, Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks. New York: WW Norton, 2003.

Holland, John H. Hidden Order. New York: Perseus Books, 1995.

Sole, Ricard, and Brian Goodwin. Signs of Life, How Complexity Pervades Biology. New York: Perseus, 2000.

Strogatz, Steven. Synch, The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order. New York: Hyperion Books, 2003.

Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life

Each day this week I will discuss the evidence for our interconnection in the world. Our feelings of separateness can lead us to feelings of dissatisfaction because we have lost our connection to the universe, to who we really are.

Monday – Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
Tuesday - Holarchy
Today - Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life
Thursday - Synchrony
Friday - Time and Place

There was a time, when the complexity of nature and even life in general looked to be a series of random events. As time has progressed our perspective has broadened and now there are many reasons to see order, connection and interdependence in the apparent chaos.

When computers first became available, scientists started using them to solve mathematically intensive problems. What they found were complex hidden attractors behind their observations and calculations. These attractors organized the apparent chaos into patterns not previously understood.

One of first of these was in the study of weather and the “butterfly effect”. The naming of the “butterfly effect” came from the idea that a butterfly beating its wings in one area will cause a weather storm in another. So began the study of nonlinear dynamics also known as Chaos Theory.

The nonlinear nature of the weather makes the measurements difficult. Any small mistakes are dramatically amplified in the subsequent calculations, reducing the accuracy of the longer term prediction. This key finding is generally true in all nonlinear situations. Considering life’s nonlinear nature, could this give us any insight into our personal destiny in the near term versus the longer term? Does this help confirm that as each moment arises, an infinite set of possibilities appear?

So, beginning with the idea that the natural condition was chaos, a hidden order has been found. Now with the discovery of fractals, repeating patterns from the smallest sub segments throughout the Holonic hierarchy, hidden order and connection is found where chaos was expected. As this can be a highly technical subject, I suggest further reading in James Gleick’s “Chaos, Making a New Science”, or Gary Flake’s “The Computational Beauty of Nature.”

Picture by: the-square-root-of-3 via deviantart.com

Holarchy

Each day this week I will discuss the evidence for our interconnection in the world. Our feelings of separateness can lead us to feelings of dissatisfaction because we have lost our connection to the universe, to who we really are.

Monday – Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
Today - Holarchy
Wednesday - Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life
Thursday - Synchrony
Friday - Time and Place

A few years ago, I became intrigued by the concept of the Holon in Ken Wilber’s book “A Brief History of Everything” and then my subsequent reading of Arthur Koestler’s book “The Ghost in the Machine”. The Holon frequently refers to philosophical hierarchies, but has relevance on a broader basis. It suggests that everything coexists as both a whole and a part of a greater whole at the same time. This is such a simple concept, it is pure genius. Our ability to understand this concept informs our view of the interrelatedness of the world.

A hierarchical example of Holons goes something like this: an atom is made up of smaller particles, and is part of a molecule which is part of a cell which is part of an organ which is part of a living organism. The hierarchy continues on in both directions. A Holonic hierarchy is known as a Holarchy.

The concept of the Holon is important for every decision that we make, exposing a greater responsibility past the part to the whole. If we take the Holon to its natural conclusion, we may find the roots of kharma. If everything is both part and whole, every act affects everything else, as everything is part of everything.

The Holarchies in Wilber’s work suggest that we are connected to a greater, shared, universal consciousness. Some of us may feel we are islands unto ourselves, alone. The concept of Holon suggests otherwise.

Most would agree that if we once had easy access to this shared consciousness, we have lost it. Maybe we still tap into it when we solve problems during sleep, day dreaming or meditation. It is said that Einstein came up with many of his theorems while “day dreaming”, not proving them until years later. I wonder if we lost access because of the insanity of our egoic mind, or, perhaps we have just forgotten how. Is finding our true nature the key to let us back inside?

Interconnection and Interdependence

Each day this week I will discuss the evidence for our interconnection in the world. Our feelings of separateness can lead us to feelings of dissatisfaction because we have lost our connection to the universe, to who we really are.

Most spiritual traditions attempt to teach us how to realize a unity of mind, body and spirit; to expand beyond our societal traditions of individuality and disconnectedness. My purpose here is not to deny your individuality, but to expand your vision of yourself with the evidence of your connection to the universe.

Today – Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
Tuesday - Holarchy
Wednesday - Chaos and the Hidden Order of Life
Thursday - Synchrony
Friday - Time and Place

Origins - A Moment in Singularity (a.k.a. The Big Bang)
According to the theory of general relativity, the initial state of the universe just prior to the Big Bang, was a gravitational singularity. Imagine all the matter and energy of the universe condensed into a single focused point. And then, BANG!!!!

In that moment before the Big Bang all matter and energy was in close proximity, including the tiny amount that would become us. Let me say that again, to our best understanding, all matter and energy arose at the same time and in the same moment, leading to us as beings.

The materials that we are made of are the same materials that the oceans, and land, all the animals and plants are made. The air that we breathe, the water that we drink is shared with all living things, now, in the past and for ever more. As far as scientists know, no matter or energy is destroyed or created, only converted into a different form of matter or energy. Forms may change, the materials and energy stay the same (e=mc2).

In the pursuit of superconductors, scientists have developed new understandings of atoms and how they act. Starting with theories by Einstein and Bose in the 1920’s, scientists recently reported making atoms work in unison at very low temperatures. This has demonstrated interconnectedness at the atomic level. As this is the very substrate of life, our connection to the universe actually starts here.

With the advent of genetic research we find that the average two unrelated humans share 99.9% of the same genetic material. Humans share 98% with chimpanzees, 79% with whales, dolphins, hippos and camels. Clearly, we are more genetically and physiologically related to other animals than not.

So, from the beginning to now, and into the foreseeable future, the physical connections between us and everything else can be found everywhere we look.


Photo by laura_world_wide via deviantart.com

The Quiet Whisper

As we make that
Crucial judgment
Yet again,
Mother Earth whispers
Her wisest intervention,
“Find another way.”
She warns of
The mysterious performer
Crafting a new act
For your thinking mind
An illusion providing escape
Within a false reality.
The gift of divine mind
Has another way.
Reach deep
To find what’s there.
A muted message
Is carried
On the wind.
May the circle of love
Heal with its
Magnificent song,
Completing its flawless miracle.
May the power of kindness bind you
To each precious moment
May peace and grace flow through you
So when you fall,
You land softly
In the quiet stillness
Of life’s loving embrace.

Photo by: jyoujo via deviantart.com

What is Gnosticism?

How much do you know about Gnosticism? This question is a little more difficult than what it first appears. While many would say Gnosticism goes back to the beginning of the current era (first century), its roots probably go back much further. There are different groups of Gnostics, each of which contain diverse subgroups.

I first became interested in Gnosticism when I learned its basic definition as “inner knowing”. As I strove to better understand its foundations, I found great diversity of tradition and belief. Some may be aware that in the early days of Christianity, the Council of Nicea excluded and even destroyed many of the early Christian Gnostic ideas and texts.

Carl Jung was one of the modern students of the Gnostics with the finding of the Nag Hammadi texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls. His studies along with modern scholars such as Elaine Pagels and Karen King have brought this early development of Christianity back into focus.

For those who would like to learn more, I recommend Stephan Hoeller’s Gnosticism, New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing, as well as Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Paul, Beyond Belief and Reading Judas, The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity written with Karen King.

Here is my personal list of books on Gnosticism:
Hoeller, Stephan A. Carl Jung and the Lost Gospels, Insights into The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library. Illinois: Quest Books, 1990.
Hoeller, Stephan A. Gnosticism, New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing. Illinois: Quest Books, 2002.
Meyer, Marvin W. The Secret Teachings of Jesus, Four Gnostic Gospels. New York: Vintage Books, 1986.
Meyer, Marvin W. The Gospel of Thomas, The Hidden Sayings of Jesus. New York: Harper, 1986.
Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Paul. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1992.
Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief, The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York: Random House, 2003.
Pagels, Elaine and Karen L. King. Reading Judas, The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity. New York: Viking, 2007.
Patterson, Stephen J., Robinson, James M., and Hans-Gebhard Bethge. The Fifth Gospel, The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998.
Randolph, Kurt. Gnosis, The Nature and History of Gnosticism. California: Harper and Row Publishing, 1987.
Robinson, James M. general editor. The Nag Hammadi Library in English. California: Harper, 1988.

A Simpler Life?

Imagine what your life might be if you could remove all the unimportant, peripheral things. Oh, but you can, one layer at a time.

A couple of books I recommend to get started are “Simply Rich” by Dante Monique Pirouz and “The Simple Living Guide” by Janet Luhrs. Ms. Pirouz’s short work was inspired by the loss of a successful business after September 11. Reading her story and ideas for living richly in a more simple way are a true treasure. Ms. Luhr’s work at almost 450 pages is both broad and deep with a significant number of further references. If the thought of simplifying your life has ever appealed to you, try these books on for size.

“I”, “I am”, “I am that” and “You are that”.

Have you ever been confused by the use of these words? I was reading a noted mystic the other day that in one part of his book dismissed the “that”, only to recommend it a few pages later.

Let me say this first. Any translation of one’s work into another language is fraught with the possibility of error. Even when we are interpreting one’s words with no translation necessary, there are misperceptions. The “voice” of the author may be intended in concrete terms or alternatively, intended to be metaphorical in nature, creating confusion. All we have to do is check Webster’s to find that most words have multiple meanings. The calculus of meaning can become almost insurmountable.

Back to the issue at hand, I have been confused with the “am” and the “that”. I can understand that the “I am” is supposed to convey being, however, the “am” reintroduces the body back into the discussion. The “that” points in a direction, so I am fine with its use, but isn’t it better to just say I, or mind’s eye or the eye of the I? Better yet, how about simple silence? But somehow that doesn’t satisfy, now does it? I guess we could add a smile to the silence, there we go – silence with a smile! Don’t the words just get in the way?

Nine Things I Wish had been Taught in School

1. The interconnected structure of the local ecosystems.
2. Identification of the local plant, tree and animal species.
3. Respectful interaction with nature.
4. How to recognize the tracks and signs of animals in nature.
5. Basic survival techniques.
6. How to design, plant and harvest an edible garden.
7. Basic construction techniques.
8. Introduction to philosophy as a path to wisdom.
9. Respectful introduction to the world’s religions as a path to spirituality.

A Singularity of Focus

What could we accomplish if we could become singular in our focus? According to the theory of general relativity, the initial state of the universe just prior to the Big Bang, was a gravitational singularity. Imagine all the matter and energy of the universe condensed into a single focused point. And then, BANG!!!!

Imagine if you could achieve even a small fraction of that focus?

Photo: Eivind31 via http://deviantart.com

The Story of Plotinus

The story of Plotinus was for me a genuine surprise. As the leading philosopher of the Neo-Platonists, the wisdom of this man from almost 1,800 years ago is amazing. While his philosophy, as captured in the Enneads, requires a patient and ardent earnestness to penetrate, I found relief in Brian Hines “Return to the One”. Check it out; I think you will like it!

The Story of Meister Eckhart

Many of you may know his story. For those who don’t, it is a story worth knowing. Meister Eckhart was a German Catholic monk (Dominican order) and mystic lived who lived between 1260 – 1328, some 700 years ago. I think he might be most famous for his sermon entitled “This is Meister Eckhart from whom God hid nothing”. Tried for heresy during the Inquisition, Meister Eckhart is a compelling figure who held to his convictions; all from an earlier time. Check him out for yourself in the available translations.

Reading the words or falling into a flow of loving intent?

Have you ever thought about how you read? Are you a trained speed reader? Do you prefer to read from the back forward? I first read as I was taught, each sentence for comprehension in the common vernacular.

There is another way I have found to be very rewarding, especially with spiritually oriented work. Try to look beneath the words, around the words and then beyond the words. Walk past the words, float amongst the words, watch the words fly by, until the words are no longer there and you are now only experiencing the true nature and intentions of the author. It is you and the author together sharing the actual ideas, not the translation by the mind anymore. The objective is for the words to come off the page directly into the consciousness without the ego’s reply. In its purest sense it is absorption, not translation.

At first it is somewhat difficult as there are vocabulary issues; some words are more commonly used in spiritual works. Each author may intend different meanings for words like mind, ego, duality, spirit, soul as well as God, devil, angels, demons. One author’s voice is metaphorical other’s may be concrete. But once past these obstacles, a rewarding experience is close at hand.

The Truth

Is a hallowed ground
Absolute in its power, rooted
In universal consciousness
A special place
Rare in its telling
The Truth is
Not what you think
Because thinking
Has nothing to do with it
For the truth we often tell
Is our perspective.
Coming from a different place
The ego, the personality
An opinion, an observation
But not, the Truth.

Does the Flower Know?

Have you ever wondered?
If the flower knows?
Just how beautiful she is?
Is this perhaps
Some small part of
Her beauty?
Innocence, naïveté
Like the beauty of
The small child.
That who
We all once were.
Do you remember?
What has really changed?
So anxious to grow up
Only to find
The wisdom is
Found right
Where we started.
Not lost, just left behind.