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So, You Want Enlightenment... Pt. 2

11/27/2012

No bottle and
not packing up for Colorado just yet?

Good!

And are you still thinking about enlightenment?

Even better!

So, what do you think: why aren't more spiritual seekers enlightened?

Close contact with Nature is enlightening... but it is not yet enlightenment: the simplification of life and thought is likewise enlightening... but not yet enlightenment... years and years of stirring soup and loving homeless folks is likewise enlightening... but it is not enlightenment... so what is it that I have to say?

Shhh... It took a whole-lotta hard, internal, knocks for me to realize that very nearly every aspect of my "spiritual life" was about "ME". My faith, my place in the community, my self-regard, my contentment, my service: my enlightenment! I entered upon the spiritual path with all the vigor of youthful intention -- also, of course, aware of all the promised by-products like personal fulfillment, peace of mind, lowered blood pressure, and a longer life. But every step of the path was always -- in its essence -- all about ME... and so transformation could not occur because I already had exactly what I was truthfully aiming for: more of ME! Based upon my experience, I want to quietly suggest that I / WE are not enlightened because we are all perfectly, satisfied, with US!

Yeshua the Poet of Nazareth, though, suggested to his followers a "different" ordering of relationship -- away from "Me" and into: Love the Holy One with your entire being, and love your sister and your brother with the same will as you love yourself. In other words: if you really want to live -- if you want enlightenment -- recognize that not the least iota of Life is about YOU! Everything is always about the OTHER! Enlightenment is exactly this and nothing more!

"Could you completely forget yourself, even for just an instant, you would be given everything."-- Meister Eckhart

"My soul then said, I have nothing, for I am utterly stripped and naked; I can do nothing for I have no manner of power, but am as water poured out; I am nothing, for all that I am is no more than an image of Being, and only God is my I AM." -- Jacob Boehme

"The ineffable sweetness of perfect union cannot be described with the tongue, which is a finite thing. Lovely beyond loveliness is the home of the soul in perfect union with Me. Nothing stands between us, because she has become one thing with Me." -- God speaking to Catherine of Sienna

"If Love kindles a fire in you, you will feel it burning up your self and devouring all ego -- all of that which you call 'I' and 'me'." -- Jacob Boehme

Duality is the great challenge confronting the struggling mystic-activist. God / creation... spirit / life... soul / body... light / dark... good / bad... beautiful / ugly... and on and on. Yet, the Holy One is One Love: That which unites (wraps) everyone - everything in an all-embracing "Hug" (the ultimate string theory?): into one indivisible whole. This, "Only One", is the only Reality: "we" are not enlightened because we are, all of us, clinging to our separate selves... Our spiritual practices then are meant to be the means to forgeting ourselves... together, they are meant to put us in the proximity of enlightenment: You! There is Nothing outside the One -- Only One exists: enlightenment is seeing only this truth, speaking only this truth, and serving only this truth.

"Know that when you learn to lose yourself, you will reach the Beloved. There is no other secret to be learnt, and more than that is not known to me." -- Al-Ansari

"When you know yourself, your 'I-ness' vanishes and you know that you and God are one and the same."
-- Ibn Arabi

"What you most want,
what you travel around wishing to find,
lose yourself as lovers lose themselves,
and you'll be that." -- Attar

"In the Unity there is no distinction, the Quest and the Way and the Seeker become one." -- Mahmud Shabistari

"From the beginning of eternity God lies on a maternity bed giving birth to the All." -- Meister Eckhart

Enlightenment is the will to fully engage in the struggles of life -- in love and service -- of the One in each and every sister and brother: to live as the lover in the arms of the Beloved -- moment-by-moment: adoration... service... adoration... transformation...YOU are worthy of perfect Love! Where dualism ends, enlightened consciousness begins... Ever-present in both the heart and the breath: isn't this the experience of the Lover and the Beloved? Love is the mirror of the Only One held up before the face of everyone and of all creation: grace is the willing glance, enlightenment is remembering the look! (So long as we dwell in our bodies, this "glance and remembering" is as near to union as we can get).

The love of the Lover and the Beloved is the essential illumination every human heart hungers for: to live everyday as a mirror-image of the Love Hunger of the Holy One. So draw close to your Beloved... heart to heart, face to face, surrender and adore... Now, as in a mirror, match movement-for-movement: pour yourself out for your Beloved, for every sister and every brother, for every creature and for all of creation: when someone says again to "pass the bottle" realize that you are the Cup... and when someone else says it's time to "light up" remember that you already are the Flame...

So, you want enlightenment do you? Close -- then open your eyes -- Become a Mother: Become the Food of the Universe. Be Love. Act Love. Now.

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So, You Want Enlightenment Do You?

11/26/2012

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Well, is it true? Do you really, really, really, want enlightenment? What if I said that to reach that exalted state of enlightenment: you would have to end up looking like one of these two guys? A lifetime of penance and ritual prayers could surely do the trick, right? But... you and I both know that neither of us actually wants to look like these dudes -- let alone live a life of penance and ritual prayers -- so do we just hope for the best -- or accept as "truth" a theology or a "God" that will "save" us (and exempt us from any effort too grand or too big)?

On the other hand, there are the sincere spiritual seekers who have dedicated years and years to a steady meditation practice and deepened their meditation with mindfulness trainings... mixing in a little hatha yoga, laughing yoga, tantric yoga, kirtan, vegetarianism, walking meditation, retreats - advances, nudist cruises, and spiritual video purchases by the hundreds -- and they are still looking at "incarnation-after-incarnation" before anything approaching enlightenment actually settles in... the temptation to "throw in the towel" begins to gnaw at the mind until a secret despair descends into the bones... and, while the "face" of practice is maintained, the haunting reality of depression, hopelessness, and alcohol (or whatever drug / diversion of choice) becomes the cold, hard, fact of one's existence...

Of course, these are not the only possibilities... and actually, they are probably not the thoughts, aspirations, or experiences of most folks. Most folks are content with "enough" -- even "enough" in the spiritual realm: a good minister, a welcoming fellowship, a sense of being "okay"... And so it goes... But for you and I, we are both convicted, right? In spiritual parlance, "convicted" simply means that we are aware on some level that the Holy One has got us by the scruff of our necks and won't let go -- no matter how much we might shake, shimmy, ignore, forget, respond, beg, howl, or set out once again to try again... holy, holy, holy...

But for each of us and for all, why is it just so impossible to "get somewhere" on the spiritual path? Why does enlightenment, why does Self Realization, why does holiness continue to elude us? Why do all of our efforts seemingly amount to just so much straw in the wind of life? ... and don't these questions boil down to the very real possibility that it is all an illusion anyway... that "God" is and always will be an unproven theory (for weak and shallow minds at that)...

One could respond to these ruminations with "Pass the bottle... or, maybe we should just move to Colorado and light up"... While neither of these two responses are especially good -- let alone, profound -- they are actually a turn in the right direction...

Come back tomorrow for the conclusion...

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Gandhi Wise

11/20/2012

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Sophia: Wisdom: the Feminine Face of the Only One: Love-In-Motion: the Divine Weaver stringing together atoms and Universes...

Sophia's Voices:
Yeshua, Lao-Tzu, Siddhartha, Rumi, Mirabai, Rabi'a, Hildegard, Francis, Theresa, Black Elk, Ramakrishna, Gandhi, Martin, Cesar, Dorothy, Wangari... (the known voices are greatly outnumbered by the unknown...)

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." -- Mark Twain

This openness to "magic", to the surprise of what might be possible, is the taproot of nonviolence and the vision of Paradise: that Green Sanctuary of Harmlessness that yet haunts the dreams of poets and mystics. Only faith in the genuine possibility of good dwelling within one's "enemy" -- within every "other" -- is cause for hope in Love. Nudging our religions, economics, politics, and cultures closer and closer to policies and practices of Justice, Kindness, and Harmlessness is the work of every 21st century mystic-activist: recognizing that the fate of this precious blue Planet also hangs in the balance should be incentive enough to fully activate one's mind and heart into the soulful life of deepest meaning and purpose.

Thus far, the 21st century is continuing down the perilous path charted by the 20th: the wanton exploitation and destruction of the Earth, the continued theological justifications for oppressing and marginalizing women, and the world-wide epidemic of poverty and violence. This only too obvious "reality" is but a mirror image of the negativity-plague infecting nearly every human mind. Every curse, every judgment, every self-condemnation, every expression of hate, are each and all like sledge-hammers pounding away at our brains: the impact of each "hit" are horrifically damaging and eventually soul-altering: we steadily become that which we hate and loath... But on the "other side" of this reality is Sophia: Wisdom: the Feminine Face of the Holy One: manifesting in the little poor man of India, Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi Wise
1. The world has enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed.
2. If we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later.
3. True love is boundless like the ocean and swelling with one, spreads itself out and crossing all boundaries and frontiers, envelops the whole world.
4. The golden rule of conduct is mutual toleration. Toleration gives us spiritual insight, which is far from fanaticism as the north pole from the south.
5. Whatever you do, ask yourself if this will help the poor.
6. As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves.
7. I know that God is neither in heaven nor down below, but in everyone.
8. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and nonviolence are as old as the hills.
9. We must be the change we wish to see.
10. Think of all the things that were thought impossible until they happened.

Gandhi Wise: a "map" for personal and Planetary Transformation, and a "talisman" for the possibilities inherent within every human person. A study of the life and message of Gandhi -- and a vigorous daily practice of nonviolence in thought, word, and deed -- steadily calms the "demon temptations" of fear and despair that work their "anti-magic" in our consciences and justify our words and works of darkness. But even more, when one begins to feast on active love, then the full splendor of both humanity and Earth become increasingly evident, and that evidence in turn cultivates imagination and passion for undiscovered possibilities: the nexus of the Divine is in the human heart awakening into Love-without-Limits...

So the Great Wheel of Truth completes its revolution by a return to Sophia: Wisdom: the Divine Mother re-birthing creation into God. The dominator paradigm successfully pushed the un-holy trinity of power, greed, and violence to the fore-front of human consciousness and community: to the point of threatening the extinction of both. Into that maelstrom came the voice of Gandhi who lived as "an experiment of Truth". He continues today to remind us: wisdom is the door to an alternative consciousness and community: and the only way into a future worthy of our children and this beautiful home we call Earth.

How do hear this call?

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An Awesome Life!

11/19/2012

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To live! To live free in a mind liberated from the illusion of separation -- to live free in a mind unfettered by "what is": intent upon discovering "what could be"! To live as a mystic -- deep in the exploration of connections, mystery, and possibilities... To live as a healer, as an artist-of-the-daily-moments: constructing beauty in the embrace of wonder... to live as an agent of an unfolding Planetary transformation...

To live on the infinite edge of Imagination! To choose the wild over the comfortable... the Red Rose of Revolution over the ease of selling-out to the lowest bidder... To give up "having more" for the bliss of "enough" for everyone... To silence the midnight voices of hopelessness and despair for the courage of commitment to action for Justice...

To live in the "dare" of a "quantum mysticism" that threads atoms together with the meaning of Love... to meet every "Other" on the plain of compassion... to honor the questions that fly in the face of "reality"... to replace the hammers of competiveness and dogma with the sails of Harmlessness and Wisdom... to understand that we are One Consciousness in the exploration of life possibilities: stepping into Being, into Radiant Delight...

To live an awesome life: now: not waiting for tomorrow: not waiting for the "right moment" or the "sure sign"... Your next breath is the only sign that you need! You were made for this! Take the leap!

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The Ascension Breath

11/17/2012

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Follow the ascension of your breath into the fullness of your Divine Secret!

Breath is the alchemical tool for transformation: through breath, soul takes form... through breath, soul encompasses body... through breath, souls can merge and delight in Union... through breath, souls can "remember" the path of descent / ascent... The Divine Breath that proceeds from the Consciousness of Origin (Only One / One Love) is the sacred feminine birthing every movement of Love (creation, evolution, destruction): therefore, the first step on the path of radiant transformation is surrender within the reverence of breath.

Imagine each breath a red rose that you receive and then return in adoration to your Beloved... surrender and adoration are primary mystical exercises: both should flow ceaselessly -- as your breath -- in an interior rhythm of prayer... the entire Universe is penetrated by the "One Love Consciousness": this very same Universe "bends" towards / within the one who adores as a "mirror" of sympathy: as the microcosm, so too the macrocosm... everything is an emanation of the One and returns to the One: like waves upon the ocean, or the flow of the breath...
Surrender, adoration, imagination: the mystic "Path of the Rose"... one could say that the entire Universe came into existence for you to return love-for-Love, and so to become transformed into Love (to remember your secret identity)...

Surrender, adoration, imagination are each and all meant to incite a riot of intimacy with the Beloved! Why did Yeshua give bread to his companions with the words, "Take this and eat: this is my body given up for you"? Lovers need to touch, grasp, cling, lick, taste, and "eat" their Beloved. The Holy Act of sexual union is a mirror of the Holy Act of contemplative union... both feed the impulse towards conscious evolution which is the full flowering of the human person and of humanity as a whole... Love is the "highest" (and only) Reality. The mystic is one who cultivates a daily "riot of intimacy" with every breath, glance, and action...

Invocation is the next "tool" meant for daily (constant) use. The "average person" has around 65,000 thoughts every day: invocation is the process of re-configuring the mind to its highest potential: which is the elimination of most of those wild (and oftentimes negative or destructive) thoughts, and replacing them with One Thought: the Beloved... The essential nature -- the very fibre -- of the Universe is evoked through the Conscious Breath of the Holy One: the One first imagined "What if?" and answered with the first "Holy Moly!" breath and spoke: not a "Word", but a Poem... and even that was not enough, so the Poem responded with the creation of the Universe and animated everything with Breath-Energy-Love... Invocation is the delight of this mystic-remembrance: the repetition of a sacred mantra, kirtan or singing the "Names" and attributes of the Holy One, and body movements or dance are the essential and primary means of invocation... a gathering of lovers, together engaged in these practices, offers the profound initiation of truly intentional community... A gathering of lovers offers, not "just" the beauty and gift of a red rose, but instead the cultivation of vast gardens to delight everyone and the Beloved!

Surrender, adoration, imagination, intimacy, and invocation are supported by a steady practice of meditation and contemplative prayer. To consciously rest in the subtle movement of breath: each an offering of Love, a being in Love, and a "tasting" or transformation into Love... is to rise with the "ascension" of your breath into the mystic union with the Beloved: and to remove the veil of time in which all things are created anew: and the grace of "Being Love Now" recreates every personal / historical suffering into the Bliss of Every Moment, Every One, and Every Thing: has always been, is now, and ever shall be Only One / One Love...

"Only One" is an expression of an awakening: for in truth, Only One exists. The ascension of your breath into Union must result in a corresponding union of your individual heart with all of humanity, every creature, and all of creation. "Union" requires the activation of compassion, the vigorous pursuit of justice, equality, simple living, and peace (towards harmlessness as one's active identity), and the reverence and serving of this precious blue Planet... And so the gathering of lovers is also the formation of a community of activists, informed by the "path of the rose" and mystic communion, infiltrating every level of society with radiance, passion, humor, service, resistance, and revolutionary ecstasy... And so another sacred circle is formed, and the Universe rejoices in its meaning and journey... The ascended breath makes a "Soup Kitchen" of the mind and heart: this breath, and food for the hungry... this breath, and resistance to injustice... this breath, and developing economic alternatives with the poor... this breath, and chanting the Holy Name... this breath, and delighting one's lover: Every Breath / One Love...

The Ascension Breath is, in its essence, a re-orientation (remembrance) of the sacred feminine, the Divine Mother. Every aspect of the path of the rose is a "birthing" of the Beloved within one's consciousness and daily life. As St. Francis said, "We become the Mothers of God" by every act of love: in other words, as the Mother gave birth to Creation, we may in turn give birth to the Divine within creation by the practice of both love and justice. There is no better (other) way of honoring the Divine Mother than by becoming the mothers of God in time! Holy Moly, what a way to live!

"Divine Mother of Radiant Delight!
I surrender my breath into Your Breath...
I adore the One behind and within the many...
I offer the sacred gift of my imagination that it might lead us all to Paradise...
I intend to live intimate in love with life and my companions...
I invoke Your remembrance in my heart and with every breath...
I will to activate my heart and life to compassion, service, justice, and harmlessness in thought, word, and deed...
In every moment, in all things, and with every breath I offer to You all the roses of my heart..."
Om Peace Amen

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Fisher King Economics

11/15/2012

Centuries ago, a Poet lifted a Chalice, blessed it, and shared the drink with his dear companions... some say that the same Chalice was placed in his burial cave... and as time passed, others said that it was taken from that cave by mystic-knights and hidden away in Europe -- perhaps near the secret grave of Mary of Magdala... And as time became lost in the mists of ancient memories, this Chalice, the most holy of all grails, disappeared... until...

A young King in a distant land was entrusted with the secret of the Grail: and he in his turn became its keeper. The young King built up his kingdom in the practice of justice: his people were pleasant to behold and the land flourished. After time though, the King relaxed into a life of ease and pleasure, and so began to forget to care for the well-being of all his people. Disputes roiled the commons and a darkness of soul slowly descended across the land. The King grew increasingly restless and then forlorn: all love and hope had abandoned him. Despair throttled the mind and heart of the King, until he cast himself out of his own castle to live as a Fisherman by the banks of a river. His heart was crushed within his own chest as he dropped the fishing line -- hookless -- into the river in the mad attempt to catch himself. His wounds became his identity: and everyone left the Fisher King alone...

Into this wasteland, a knight-errant came one day: a seeker like so many before of the Holy Grail... Perceval, the one in whom thought and action were one, perceived a moment of truth: and himself forgot both the perception and the truth: but in the surprise of grace, was given a second opportunity to ask of the Fisher King the Question of the Grail: "Whom does the grail serve?" And in the asking came the Great Remembering: the Grail exists for Every Other! The Holy Grail is an eternal symbol of "right relationship": of life lived in the service of Love and the pursuit of Justice. And as the story goes, this sacred remembrance healed the Fisher King, restored the land, freed the people, and enlightened Perceval...

Fisher King Economics is simply this sacred remembrance in our day and in our time, with all of the many inter-twined issues of politics, economics, and the well-being of all life on this precious blue Planet. The Sacred Chalice, the Holy Grail, is the primary symbol of Yeshua the Poet of Nazareth: he lived as the Chalice himself -- not to keep -- but to pour out upon all people and upon the Earth the very Being of Love: love without limits... to heal every broken life and heart with the sacred drink of compassion... to restore into a dynamic condition of well-being every relationship with the sacred gifts of justice, equality, forgiveness, and harmlessness... and to recover the lost unity of Paradise with the sacred exploration of infinite possibilities as the norm of everyone's daily life. Thus, Fisher King Economics is the enlightenment that accompanies the Chalice: whom does the economy serve? "Every Other in Justice and Equality!" Fisher King Economics is the sacred responsibility to follow policies that would ensure the full development and liberation of every person on this incredibly rich, blessed, and devastated Planet.

[One additional note: "enlightement" is this: You are, right now, the Holy Grail. Whom do you serve?]

Tune In, Rise Up, Be Love

11/13/2012

Everything is One. Everything is Holy... penetrated through and through with the Energy of Consciousness. From star-seed to life-seed, from the nothingness of sub-atomic potential to the evolutionary drive within human consciousness: everything is connected: everything is a manifestation of Only One / One Love... existing as waves upon the Divine Breath...

Everything is One. Meaning is secreted within myth... Everyday holds the possibility of awakening... Every cell in every human exists as a link to the mystic vision: conscious evolution... The transcendental and the immanent merge in the fullness of the human person: body, soul, and mind: One in awakening... The transformation of human culture is the fruit of One Awakening...

Everything is One. This precious blue Planet is One living inter-being. Every creature, every thing, exists in a living web of relationships... Everything is One, everything partakes of the One Source, the One Consciousness: nothing is separate from anything else... We can learn how to live within this ecology of grace: and give birth to Paradise...

Everything is One. How does an increasing awareness blossom into a deep awakening? Every person lives within a story; every culture lives within a myth. Conscious evolution is knowing that both persons and cultures can choose to write new stories and co-create new myths by which to live and grow. Our Planetary Dream-Keepers, like Yeshua the Poet and Rumi the Ecstatic, call to us from within our cells and our stories: our task is to listen, play, work, and love ourselves, every one, and this precious blue Planet into One Awakening... Tune in, Rise up, Be Love...

Take Off Your Clothes

11/12/2012

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Take Off Your Clothes

Take off your clothes.
Actually,
I didn't mean the fabrics you wear...
I meant your skin!
Strip down to particle and wave...
Then you can even leave that behind.
Become "what if?" before thought
Divided you into this and that,
Good and bad,
Beautiful and ugly,
And into you and I...
It is really possible to meet
Beyond every illusion of separation.

It is really possible to meet beyond every illusion of separation! This is both radically important and very good news, for it offers an entirely new view of reality and the human person, beginning with an alternate perspective on the Judeo-Christian creation myth: in its essence this myth has the act of creation a separation of God from all that "he" has created. This separation is then deepened in the story of the Fall and the disobedience of the first humans and their punishment: being driven out of Paradise, into a world manifesting in every way the pain of separation... and this "original sin" has been passed onto every human since. Not many people have gone, "Whoa! I'm not buying into that", at least not without looking over their shoulders...

It is time to acknowledge that, while the theory of original sin has been very profitable for a few, it has caused untold pain and suffering upon the many -- for thousands of years. It is the root philosophical justification for the very destruction of this precious blue Planet by the profiting exploiters... it is the root justification of every system that oppresses women... it is the root justification for virtually every form of abuse, exploitation, and violence perpetrated by the dominator paradigm. If, at its core, the human person / soul is corrupt then every following corruption is justifiable: especially if it is profitable to someone. But the great news is that there is a "but" to all of this: we can change our minds and walk away... just walk away... do you really want to keep paying for someone / anyone to tell you that you are anything other than perfectly beautiful, loveable, and worthy of the best: of Love?

"When you make the two one, and when you make the inner as the outer and the above as the below, and when you make the male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male and the female not be female... then you shall enter the kingdom." -- The Gospel of Thomas, Logion 22

"When you make the two one" is the key to the transformation that is truly possible! Shedding your clothes -- stripping off the painful garment of original sin -- and stepping freely into that which is beyond every illusion of separation is the action that results from your decision to cultivate your new mind / reality of radiance, delight, and boundless love. The Holy One is really not a Being of Domination: whew! The Holy One -- as Divine Mother -- has been patiently awaiting our remembrance and our awakening... thousands of years of oppression and repression has not eliminated our human hope for the return of One Love: the Mother's touch and faith expressions of kindness, harmony, and integration: One Earth for the serving and delight of all in Justice, Equality, Harmlessness, and Peace...

What if "original sin" is pondered and understood through the "new eyes" of "when you make the two one"? In other words: perhaps the choice to believe in a reality that is defined by separation is the actual original sin... the choice by the first humans to accept separation from Paradise: to separate into parts, into differences, into "others", has been multipled many times over and is the sin that must finally be confronted and overcome. What if the first humans had "disobeyed" and simply refused to leave Paradise? What if they had affirmed their beauty, worthiness, and loveability -- instead of accepting someone else's definition of them as "bad" and "unworthy"? (Don't forget, though, that this was a story written by men to obliterate the worship of the Divine Feminine... the Earth Mother).

The Divine Mother extends her invitation to enter the path of "One Love Blessing" and recreate your self-identity, communities, and heal our collective relationship with the Earth... radiance and delight are choices... And we can look to the living example of Yeshua the Poet of Nazareth as our "Bridge" from the here of separation into the there of Union... and Rumi and Hildegard and the other beautiful mystic-poet-guides shine their light upon the path... so why dilly-dally? Let's go!

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Make Room for Delight!

11/6/2012

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D
E
L
I
G
H
T
!

Are you ready? This is an extremely important question! It might even be true that the fate of this precious blue Planet and the life that it supports depends upon how you will answer!

It is a fact of science and mysticism both, that everything in the universe is mysteriously connected to everything else. A study of both quantum physics and the ancient Upanishads reveal this core truth. (That it does not inform and guide our politics, economics, religions, and cultures is more mysterious than the truth itself.) Our minds are, as it were, participants in the One Mind... One Consciousness supports, penetrates, and pervades Every Existent Thing and "No Thing"... Atoms come and go everywhere! Starlight to seaweed, now this now that: this is a very freewheeling Universe! The Question is whether or not you want to wake up and consciously join in the Dance -- or sleepwalk through the precios gift of your life?

What you think: the thoughts that fill your mind are the Holy Book you really need to read. If your thoughts are not sacred scripture, what good does it do to read a book someone tells you is sacred? Rumi would say to use your mind as a foot-stool: put your mind under your feet and rest awhile -- however long it takes to flush it out. Every negative thought, every judgment, every shred of hate, every division, every justification for injustice, inequality, and violence, every temptation to fear, every reverence to self-hatred or condemnation: all of your "stuff" has got to go! For most of us, there isn't much left! ... more and more empty space! ... now fill that emptiness with affirmations like "I am beautiful as the Holy One is Beauty"... fill that emptiness with blessings upon everyone who touches your life in any way -- even strangers you pass on the street... fill that emptiness now with an everyday access to Beauty: make art, cultivate a garden, visit art museums, listen to Mozart, learn to play an instrument, read and write poetry, fly kites, blow bubbles, adore nature, fall in love even if it hurts and then love some more and more, volunteer in a soup kitchen, paint your passions on a canvas, a fence, or a wall, meditate and be mindful: every moment is full of the richness of your breath: enter into a life of giving: become a Servant of the Universe: become a Lover: become One Love...

With your mind finally serving you -- instead of throwing you willy-nilly here, there, and everywhere -- you are FREE to enter into that for which you came into being: utter, total, radiant, DELIGHT! The rest of the Way is sharing the Bliss, building intentional communities of possibilities not yet imagined, and serving (always serving) to feed the Living Flame of Love: into Action for Compassion and Justice...

Or: you could just keep on the beaten path...
Still: I urge you to make room for delight!

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