As Each Moment Arises

Both past and future moments
Are distractions,
Illusions of life.
Reliving past events
Anticipating future results
Are the design and intention
Of the egoic mind.
Directing energy in illusion.
Fall into the flow of
Each moment as it arises
Be present,
Absent of ego and personality
Conscious in the now
Past and future will disappear
You will discover
The magical mystery
The quiet stillness
The kingdom of heaven
That is within you.
This is your destiny
To find the forgiveness
To find the joy
To find the love
To find the peacefulnessIn each and every day

The Search

It was Plotinus who found
The search is
“A matter of stillness,
Rather than movement.
Of silence,
Rather than speech.
Of being,
Rather than becoming.
Of inner essence,
Rather than outer substance.” 1
1800 years ago.
Has anything changed?
Still a matter of awareness,
With great determination,
But without effort.
With loving direction,
But no material act.
A personal decision,
Beyond faith and belief.
To merge the many
To become the one.
Coming together in
Silence and stillness
The search for completeness
A return to reunification.
Allowing the illusion to depart
Creating an emptiness
So that the truth can return
Free at last, home once again.

1Quotes from Brian Hines in “Return to the One” , page 301.

Yearning

There is a voice I often hear
Purposeful, crystal clear
A yearning,
Not in words, but in emotions
I have tried to ignore it
But it only becomes
More strident in its call
When I release the mind’s
Resistance
All is quiet, peace ensues
The yearning strengthened,
Perhaps. And so, I wonder
From whence, whither
Does this come?
A mystery to me
A product of my generation?
A product of my upbringing?
Maybe.
A sign of my discontent?
But, I am not discontented.
I remember, it doesn’t matter
What I have in this world
Only, that I am in this world
And yet still, the voice returns.
Do you hear it too?

Destiny

Some say preordained
Others say not
Both more right? Than not?
So, actions taken
Create the potential
That destiny becomes.
But only in this moment.
Energy applied determines
Destiny, in this moment, now.
This moment is the only one
That can lead us
To our destiny.
Preordained and not.
At the same time.
Determined by actions
In this moment.
Now.

Life’s True Adventure

A trip to a far away place?
A mountain climb?
A profession fulfilled?
Or a search for the fountain of
Absolute truth?
A choice to be made,
To look deep within
Right here, right now
To drink from the well of
Inner knowing.
To be more real
To live a life in wisdom.
A philosopher on a
Search for grace,
A journey for truth.

The Witness

If we could just listen
To the simple truth
That resides within us
And avoid all the rest.
How often are we awake
But not aware?
Listen for the next thought
Actively wait for the next idea
Patiently wait, and in so doing
The egoic mind stops
And then suddenly
An awakening, an awareness
A quieting of the racing mind
Peacefulness reigns
And all is right once again.
The witness has reappeared
You as you once were.
Without malice
Without jealousy,
Without intent,
Other than to be
Just to be. And witness
The magnificence of being.

The Body

It is your temple
A place of great hope,
Harmony, love and joy
A magical kingdom
Of great mystery
A mind of its own
Breathing, beating
Constantly in repair
A miracle entrusted
To only you.
You choose its nourishment
Its fluids and air
Choose carefully
As this is a temple
Of vigorous health or despair.

Another Kind of Miracle

There are those who promote
The miracles of history
The parting of the waters
The healing of the sick
The raising from the dead
And yet there is another
That which is within.
The miracle of seeing life
In a different way.
Seeing the connectedness
Instead of the separateness
Seeing the love and kindness
Instead of dark intent
Assuming the best
Instead of the worst
Seeing the beauty
Instead of the beast
Another kind of miracle
The change of heart.

Picture: Miracle by *Lost-Emotion via deviantart.com

The Songbird In My Heart

It was in the early sunshine,
That the dogs and I
Walking in quiet stillness
Listening from deep within
To the sounds close by, heard
First the crickets and the frogs,
Then the songbirds calls,
Then the rustling of the leaves
All singing their songs
Not in any sequence, but all
At once, in each moment
An orchestra without conductor
It seemed, these songs
Had arisen from our heart.
We smiled, together as one
Awestruck by the magnificence
In wordless appreciation
Of the aliveness we felt
In that single, perfect moment.

Only

Deep within your heart
There is no hate or spite
There is no evil or desire
There is no prejudice or envy
There is no pain or suffering
There is only peace
In your heart.

What is Not Said

The words not said may
Reveal more than what is.
An act of omission, perhaps
Better to say nothing, than
Something unpleasant.
But remember,
Hear the words not spoken
Listen quietly for their
Voiceless silence, as
Theirs is the other warning.
The illusion begins when
The first words are spoken,
And not.

You and Your Words

Precious in their intent
Limited in their delivery
Mistaken in their receipt
Your words may become you.
In the world of illusion
The world of the many
The world of slumber
Your words are you.
The truth is
You are not your words.
You are that without words.
The magic is you
Not the words.
You are that
Which finds the words.
But, the truth is not required
In the world of illusion.
So be careful,
Be true with your words.
For they may misrepresent
The truth of you.

Picture: Words by With Accusing Eyes via deviantart.com

Being Alone

There exists an irrational fear
Of being alone.
Some will tolerate
Unbelievable circumstances
In order to avoid being alone.
Being alone starts with being.
A simple question
How to be? Just be?
Master that and
You may master being alone.
Being starts with
Becoming more real, then
Becoming more real, then
Becoming more real.
Finding the truth that is inside.
Leaving behind that which
Isn’t true, the illusion, the lies.
To listen, with your very being
To the quiet stillness, between
Each beat of your heart.
It is found beneath the quiet
That is beneath the quiet,
That is beneath the quiet.
Not a physical act,
But a surrender,
A leaving behind of that
Which has never been real.
The layers, upon layers,
Upon layers of illusion.
Listening for the sounds,
Beneath the sounds, that are
Beneath the sounds.
This is the magnificence
The quiet stillness of being,
Of being alone.
Love, forgiveness, kindness
Because nothing else ever
Really mattered.
You are one with it all
You have never been alone
Alone is an illusion
Being is the truth
Being is the promise
The kingdom of heaven
Is within your very being.

The Breath of Life

We breathe in
We breathe out
We invite the outside in
To exchange greetings with
Our inside self
And then back out again
In our minds eye, through
Each and every
Cell, bone, organ, and pore
Refreshment, restoration
Draw the outside in
Release the inside out
Until the outside and inside
Are one in this given instant
Receiving and giving
Nothing missing
And without desire,
Without intent
Without time
All is one, one is all
And so it goes
The purpose of it all
One mind, one taste, one world
Not knowing, only appreciating
That we are one
In love, in complete intimacy
In cosmic oneness
No problems, No issues
Rightness, simplicity,
Timelessness
No mind
Just purity of mind
And purity of spirit.
Nothing special,
Simply magnificent.

The Path of the Warrior

It is a sacred path
For thousands of years,
Maybe more
One of giving, sacrifice, love
He or she, both together
On the field, at home
Unified in purpose
Each together
Bold, brave, courageous
In spite of all odds
In life, in death
All the same
Equal in purpose
No matter the stake
Whether it’s honor or life.
It is a sacred path
In a whisper
From the ancestors
From their lips to our ears
We are told, that we are all
On this sacred path
The path of the warrior
All the courage needed
Is available from within
Go outside into the open air
Listen for the gentle message
There will be no words
There will be only courage
That will flow through you
From the ancestors
From a time long past
Listen, feel the strength
That is blowing in the wind
Feel the power build, and then
When the question comes
Say yes, to it all
As a warrior in life

The Mountain

Standing strong,
Immovable in its intent,
Apparently changeless.
Wordless in its ways.
Except on its face
With each seasons conversion.
Against a spectacular sky,
A fleeting rainbow crosses
The stout landscape.
Oh, let us be like the mountain
Immovable in our intent
Changeless in our values
Supporting all who depend on
Our strength and conviction.
Oh, to be as strong
As the mountain.
As we move beyond
The lower stages,
The view becomes
Broader in its objective.
All it takes is to stand strong,
Leave behind the illusion
Come out of the shadows
Face into the sun
Stand strong against the wind
Like the mountain
Immutable, changeless
In the now, in the world
In the moment, this moment
Without words, without illusion
Feel the warmth of the light
Stand strong like the mountain
Now, and forever more.

The Songbird in My Heart Video Trailer - I Am Spirit

We Are All One Together

This is the story of how
We are part and whole
At the same time.
Co-dependent in co-existence.
Part of the universal one
The one taste, the one love
The one light, the one universe
The wholeness of it all.
And so it goes, like this
The seer perceives clearly that
A cloud is in the paper.
For without the cloud
There will be no rain,
No rain, the trees can’t grow
And without trees, no paper.
We see the sun in the paper,
For if the sun is not there
The forest cannot grow
The logger cannot cut the tree
To be brought to the mill
To be made into paper.
We can see wheat
Knowing that the logger cannot
Exist without his sustenance
Therefore the wheat that is in
His bread is also in the paper
As are the logger’s mom and dad
And his dog and cat.
Without all of these things
This sheet of paper can’t exist.
As we look at this paper
It is part of our perception
Your mind and my mind too.
Everything is here
In this sheet of paper!

Adapted as a poem from a story told

by Thich Nhat Hanh in his book Peace is Every Step

Awaken and Roar!

Once upon a time
A washer man was at the river
His donkeys laden with wash
When a pregnant lioness came to drink.
A hunter shot the lioness,
Took the hide
The washer man took the cub
Raising him as a donkey.
Some time later
When the cub had grown
The washer man, his herd
Were at the river washing
When along came a hunting lion
Who could not believe his eyes
A tame lion eating grass
Just like a donkey!
So the hunter lion charged
The washer mans’ herd
And then jumped the tame one
Please Mr. Lion do not kill me!
Cried the terrified tame one
You are a lion said the hunter
No I’m a donkey said the other
The hunter took the tame one
To the river to show him
See, you are a lion.
We are alike! Now roar!
And the tame lion roared
Realizing his true nature
In that very instant.
It is as simple as that
No ritual is necessary
No program is required.
Decide in this moment to
Awaken and Roar!
Wake up to your true nature. Now!

Adapted as a poem from a story told
by H.W.L. Poonja, in his book Wake Up and Roar

It is so Close by, It cannot be Seen

It is so Close by, It cannot be Seen

Once upon a time, a young fish
Asked an older, larger fish,
What is the water?
I hear about it,
But don’t know where or what it is.
The water is everywhere in our world, little one,
Replied the older fish.
Then why can’t I see it? asked the little fellow.
Because it surrounds you. It is in you.
You were born in the water and you will die there too.
When you swim, you disclose its presence.
It is hard to see because it is so close.
Don’t worry, it is here, it is there, it is everywhere.
Said the older, wiser fish.

Adapted as a poem from a Zen story told
by Rafe Martin and Manuela Soares in One Hand Clapping.

The Treasure is in Your Pocket

The Treasure is in Your Pocket

This is the story of a thief
A pickpocket of some note
In search of a precious gem
One he desired for all his life.
Following the owner of such a gem
He tried for days
To pluck this prize
Frustrated beyond belief
Unable to steal the rare jewel.
Only to find his prey
Had hidden the gem
In the thief’s own pocket!
The last place he might look.
The search for delight
Sought outside of ourselves
Will not result.
For this reward is found much nearer by
Inside, within
The pocket of your own true nature.
Peace, love and happiness
Not in some far away place,
But close by, inside your very soul.
The treasure is in your pocket!

Adapted as a poem from a story told
by H.W.L. Poonja in his book Wake Up and Roar
and by Gangaji in her book The Diamond in Your Pocket.

Did you know?

Research shows that at any moment up to 90% of our thoughts are negative. That’s right 90%. And we are completely unaware of this. Part of the problem is the constant drumbeat of negative messages that surround us. I stopped watching the local news long ago because of this.

Is this an indicator of our level of spirituality? I have found that as my own spirituality has progressed my thoughts have become more and more positive. Part of this is that I have fewer and fewer thoughts. As the surrender to spirit occurs the racing mind of illusion slows.

There are those who say that in time the egoic mind will completely stop for the spiritual seeker. While this is appealing, it may also have its downside. Without the ego, is it possible to operate in a world full of ego and personality? Would we even be able to communicate? Aren’t our words learned and acquired full of the meaning assigned by the ego?

Maybe our response to negativity should be to bring our full attention to it. Can we look for the things that we like instead of the things we dislike? Can we focus on what we will do instead of what we won’t?

Just think of how our relationships might change. Who doesn’t like to be around the person who can see the good in things, who focuses on what can be done, who sees the light instead of the shadow. Think about how much better we might do at work, to be known as the person who gets it done with joy and happiness.

I was listening to a radio show recently and a relationship expert said that the secret to better relationships was converting our negative propensities into saying at least five nice things each day. When was the last time someone said five nice things to you in a week, let alone a day? How nice would that be? Dare to be that person if you can. It all starts with our full attention.