Reaching

Reaching

to reassure himself..

 his new snow venture

such exhilaration yet 

needs grounding.. 

 a path to warmth

his hand knows

will be retraced..

But for now

let's make a

few new tracks...

Stillness

What is this self Who am I?

Your real nature is stillness, light, expansion without center or periphery. It is unconditioned being, love. But you do not see it for you are a prisoner of your imagination and of second-hand information. You have enclosed yourself in a universe of concepts and beliefs. The ego is only a function, and to identify with it is a lack of true vision. Thoughts, feelings and actions appear in succession before the witness, leaving their imprint in your brain. Recalling them makes you believe in a continuity which is actually non-existent. But memory is a present thought, thoughts of the past occur in the present. In reality there is only presence, non-dual consciousness. We mistakenly take ourselves to be this or that, but there is only the true "I am" beyond time and space.

What is the real nature of the mistake I have made?

Desiring something which is nothing but an illusion, which has no foundation whatsoever; being afraid of truth, which is pure awareness free of thought.

Why would I be afraid of truth?

Because truth is life and you are afraid of living. You take yourself for an object which is born and dies, and you fear dying because you do not know life. It is only an object which is afraid and this object tries by all means to free itself. See that the effort to become free belongs to the belief in an object. The moment you see it turn your head and look behind.

~ Jean Klein

Nada

Nada

All seemed Nada

even his prayer..

Nada pursued 

in shadows of leaves

in insomnia

in the night..

But in Nada

there appears light:

a well-lighted place

light reflected from

a soldier's brass

 a bar with a shining

 coffee machine 

 polished and clean..

Order and dignity

claimed their light..

For us to discover:

Nada is light..

See Hemingway's

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"

Beatitudes in a Nutshell

Beatitudes in a Nutshell

Happiness finds those

who lament

and discover

in their lamenting

an experiencing

 a knowing

a new awareness..

this transforming

of consciousness...

Astonishing Notice

Astonishing Notice

the simplicity

of the discovery 

of our true nature:

Not a reward

for diligence..

Not a rational

problem solution..

Not a teaching for

fact revelation..

Silent Awareness

seemingly

drops by

for astonishing

notice

as it will...

Non-dual Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“An inner attitude of receptivity and openness...Thomas Merton once wrote, ‘At the center point of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and illusion, a point of pure truth, a point of spark which belongs entirely to God.”

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“vulnerability and flow...mourning is a brutal form of emptiness...if we can stay open, we discover that a mysterious ‘something’ does indeed reach back to comfort us...”

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are the gentled...spiritually ‘domesticated”

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Righteousness:  visualize it as a force field: an energy-charged sphere of holy presence. To be ‘in the righteousness of God’ means to be directly connected to this vibrational field, to be anchored within God’s own aliveness.”

  

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Jesus again returns to the idea of flow. Notice that there is an exchange going on here: we give mercy and we receive mercy...Mercy is not something God has; it’s something that God is...Jesus...invites us into a deeper trust of that flow.”

  

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“...in wisdom teaching, purity means singleness, and the proper translation of this beatitude is, really, ‘Blessed are those whose heart is not divided’ or ‘whose heart is a unified whole.”

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

“When our hearts are gentled and single, when we’ve tamed the animal instincts, we become peacemakers...when the field of vision has been unified, the inner being comes to rest, and that inner peaceableness flows into the outer world as harmony and compassion.”

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Jesus is not talking about martyrdom here, but about freedom. The Gospel of Thomas records this beatitude...’Blessed are you in the midst of persecution who, when they hate and pursue you even to the core of your being, cannot find ‘you’ anywhere.”

(quotes from Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Jesus , 2008)

“Recent scholarship has found that previous translations of the eight beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew are in error inasmuch as they imply a kind of passive consolation in the face of tribulations. They are instead an invitation to stand up, to arise and walk forth, no matter what pain and trouble may lie on the road ahead. When we return to the original Semitic terms underlying the Greek version of Jesus’ words in this gospel, we find that blessed should be replaced by walk forth, which restores the text’s original dynamic quality.” 

“Walk forth, you gentle and humble ones, for your gentleness is your strength. “Walk forth, you who weep, for you shall be consoled!

“Walk forth, those who starve and thirst for justice! Yes, they shall be satisfied! “Walk forth, the pure of heart! Yes, you shall see Elohim!

“Walk forth, merciful ones! You shall receive mercy!

“Walk forth, peacemakers! Yes, you shall be acclaimed sons of Elohim!

“Walk forth, those persecuted for justice’s sake! Yes, the kingdom of heaven is theirs!” 

(Jean-Yves Leloup, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, 2002)

Saturday Haiku

Saturday Haiku

gratifying

circling we planted stocking feet

haiku bloomed

Anticipation rising

Haiku writing anxiety

But not yet

Warm brick place

Winter cold respite

haiku fires

an infinite point

explosions of color and life

iterated beauty

a white screen

animals and trees and colors

made of white screen

tree of symmetry

all at once

leafing

A stroll

Sweet paths

Mountain joy

Sweet

That mountain 

My stroll

My friend, Robin Izer's

Haiku gathering

Saturday

February 28

2015