In Aryaloka’s sacred forest space,
The presence of the Stupa and Shrine
Change the energy of the landscape.
Trees and stones become softer and energized,
They feel our reverence and respond in kind.
Category: courage
A Valuable Part of Two
The heat of a summer day softens and slips silently
Into evening twilight.
The shifting shadows and cooling breezes of evening chill my being and
Bring an acute awareness of sorrow and emptiness to my state of mind.
This subtle, soft twilight is lonely and empty now
But was beautiful at other times and under other circumstances in my life.
Twilight holds tenderness and acceptance of love in times of loving but
When love is missing or withheld, twilight is punishing in its loneliness.
A solitary stroll through the garden is a waste;
There is no joy in relaxing in the rocking hammock alone.
Light sadly leaves the landscape and drains the world of color
Just as this lost love drains my soul and heart of color.
The trees along the edge of the clearing blend into a fortress wall,
Locking me out in my loneliness.
Fireflies blink on and off but evade my eyes behind the fortress of trees
and the stark cold moon light accentuates my solitude by throwing only one shadow behind me.
In better times, when I was not alone, the deepiening twilight was a magical time,
Full of love and acceptance.
We walked the garden paths together, basking in the glow of the moon
And soaking in the softness of star-shine.
Our shadows moved willingly behind us, hand in hand,
And fireflies lit our way home.
I want to go back to that time, back to being a valuable part of two,
Back to the times of softened days that faded into loving nights of passion and acceptance.
I need you take me back there, please…
Rain
The sound of rain takes me to a place of inner peace as the
Rain falls in sheets and slides down the roof over its edge in a curtain of water.
Tree leaves dance with the weight of the rain and
Flowers wash their faces in its freshness.
The sky is lower on rainy days and
Holds us close and grounded.
Sounds are muted and muffled and
Light is defused in grayness.
But it is not a sad and depressing grayness,
But a soothing and peaceful shade
Full of the necessity of sorrow.
A rainy day is soft and dark. It begs us to stop, rest and be mindful of our surrounds and loves.
It reminds us to take the time to be lulled by the patter of rain on the windows
Into a place of inner stillness,
And there remain, content to just be and accept what is.
I Must Wait
I have to wait, just wait,
There is nothing left to do.
Tonight is cold and dark,
I must wait for the sun.
My love is intense and passionate,
I must wait for its object.
My mind is confused and alone,
I must wait for a friend.
My heart aches and pines,
I must wait for a song.
My life is a series of waits,
But my soul is tired of waiting.
Time must slow down,
So I can catch up.
And when I do, all of the waiting will have been for nothing,
Because I will find that it is all already here.
Freedom?
In 4.5 months I will retire, it is a time to keep and mark.
The days numbered waiting for freedom but really, will it be such a change?
Now has its own freedom and always has and
I have the freedom to be here now.
The now holds nothing but is everything.
This space, this elegant space is here with me now. Always is and always has been.
But in 4.5 months I will breathe a sigh of relief anyway as my perceived waiting for time will have ended and time will fill my time and I its.
It is telling me to put away the other stuff and come and be part of it with my whole self. It is not something I will do for the I of the surface but for the I of my true being.
I need to be able to participate fully in the now, in the glory of being, with all of my being.
Will it be easier in 4.5 months? I don’t know.
Probably not, unless I chose it to be. Waiting for things never makes them so.
For everything happens in the now, there is no past to look back on, no future to look ahead to
It is always only now… So I guess I should stop waiting for the time to pass, it doesn’t,
There is but One moment fading into now, into now, into now…
The Glory of Love
Don’t stop letting the ordinary
Amaze you.
Savor the taste of an apple.
Drink in the sound and sight of a waterfall.
Marvel at the cycle of the seasons and
Rest in their dependability.
Look for confirmation of the miracle of life in
Each and every second of being.
Become one with all that is sacred and holy and
Be astounded at the face of a flower, a new born baby, a summer thunderstorm.
Feel the positive energy and vibration of the universe
That holds you in its arms.
And sleep in the peace of knowing
That morning will always follow the darkness of night.
Enjoy this life you have been blessed with.
To suffer is your choice and yours alone to make.
Move away from the negative.
Reject the downward pull of the unknowing and let your positive light shine.
Share in the bounty of life and choose your own path.
No one can make these choices for you.
Add your positive energy to the world wide awakening,
bask in the glory of love,
And the ordinary will never cease to amaze you.
Illusion
Light, moving at a speed certain, or at all, is an odd concept. It travels into what and from where?
What is in front of it and what is behind? Does it leave a trail or just disappear as it goes?
When I see a star, I see it as it was light-years ago,
A fact that adds to the illusion of everything.
We, you and me, are so close our light reflection is instant, but what if it wasn’t?
What if it slowed down? What if it took more time for my eyes to see yours?
If sound traveled faster than light, then I would hear you
Before I saw you, before I saw the look in your eyes, and maybe the meaning of your words.
Light moves at a constant speed but can be bent by the pull of gravity.
Is my gravity enough to pull your light off course, to lure you in, to change your path?
If light slowed down would you feel my touch before you saw my hand? And if so, would it matter?
Maybe God travels faster than light, maybe that is why we feel his presence and touch long, long before we can see him, maybe it’s all just a matter of spacetime and not our lack after all.
And at what speed do thoughts travel?
They possess no mass so can they travel faster than light? Can you feel my thoughts before
You see the look in my eyes?
I can feel your touch before I see you. I can smell the scent of your skin before I touch you. Thoughts form my reality of you before you walk in the door.
Your soul-thought and touch travel faster than either light or sound into my heart where they remain even after you have left me behind.
The space we occupy for this human existence is basically an illusion.
A beautiful, magnificent illusion, dependent more on our thoughts and feelings than on the laws of matter and space.
An illusion of God’s making with our permission and participation. I believe that light and love at their very core travel at the same speed, they travel
From my heart to yours and everywhere and everyone in-between – instantly. A concentric circle of waves, emanating from the One, fanning out to the ends of time, through and around us all. A time for all time, a time of love and light for all eternity.
Our place in this physical universe is in a perpetual state of flux and illusion,
But the love and peace, light and grace we feel in the arms of God that underlies all of creation
Are not.
It Is All I Have
I need to write.
I need to say what I feel.
But I’m afraid,
Afraid of my pen, of my words.
Afraid I will not be able to stop.
Afraid that they will take over my being and
Bring out all my hidden truths and fears,
Even the ones I’m not aware of and I will have nowhere left to hide.
It will be a flood of words,
A torrent of emotions.
Some familiar in their pain, and
Others new in their hope.
Can I be brave and strong enough to hold onto my belief in love
In spite of all those truths and fears?
The wind-chimes on my porch say yes,
The trees, in their silent way, nod in agreement
And in hope the earth turns ever towards the sun
Always believing in and following its light and love.
So I must be brave and follow the earth’s example and
Turn to the Son too with faith and hope and
Never stop believing in love for in this moment, this now,
It is all I have and nothing else matters.
Love’s Lessons
Life’s lessons come softly in the
Darkness before dawn.
Like leaves emerge in silence,
Unfold in trust.
A trust that the world’s love
Is real and the unfolding worth the risk.
Although risk is sometimes all there is,
The risk of loving is pain but the risk of not loving is also pain.
My belief in love, trust and tenderness is strong in my soul.
It is the tenderness that lingers in the last kiss goodnight,
In the full moon’s sliver puddles on the bed sheets at midnight,
In the early morning’s sweet touching and
In the smile that wears the knowing of that early morning touch
All day long.
I have come to know and understand that life’s lessons are love’s lessons,
Sometimes harsh in their honesty but always right in their truth.
A Glimpse of Joy
Wednesday morning musings,
A kaleidoscope of emotions and thoughts.
They flood in like sunlight
Through the clouds,
A glimpse of the crystal blue beyond the gray,
Fleeting but beautiful.
My desire to hold onto that spark, that glimpse of joy,
Is my downfall.
It is not meant to be held,
Not meant to be captured.
To hold it close would be to smother it and
Deplete its joy.
Instead I need to learn to move with it, become part of it
Not as an observer but as a participant,
Only then will I feel the joy inside
Where it was meant to reside.
Hallelujah
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