At Last

In the Joy of this peaceful Wednesday morning,

a kaleidoscope of emotions and thoughts,

floods my soul like sunlight through the clouds.

It gives me just a glimpse of the crystal blue sky that lies beyond the gray.

A blue that waits patiently for me to notice it is there.

But when I do, my desire to hold onto that blue sky, that glimpse of joy,

becomes my downfall.

The sky-blue joy is not meant to be held or captured.

Holding it too close would be to smother it, diminish its power.

Instead, I learned to move with it, become part of it,

no longer wishing to become its conqueror or controller.

So now, over time, I have come to realize and understand that only by letting go

can I feel the crystal blue joy deep inside my heart,

welcoming me back home…

At last.  

Solitary Seclusion

In self-imposed solitary seclusion

the so-called facts are in doubt.

It appears the spells have been lifted and forgotten,

And life has become merely withstood,

Not lived.

But why?

Why just withstood?

Why just survived?

Let’s bring back the spells.

Believe not in other’s so-called facts

But in the universal truth.

Surrender to the beauty of solitary seclusion

And rejoice in the freedom it brings

to enjoy what is,

and not what only appears to be.

Friday Afternoon Sit

As I sit in darkness, a glimmer of light shines around the dark edges of my closed eyes,

growing until my field of vision is full of blinding white light.

It is here that hope and love float freely on waves of peace and

Krishna’s voice sings along with the song of my heart.

He flushes away the darkness and frees me from the pain it carries.

I feel sorry for the darkness.  It lacks the power to forget itself.

Do I have that power?

I continue to sit and wait for an answer.

As I wait, silence pervades the shrine room and my heart.

The others in the room disappear when I close my eyes,

their energy lost in the space between the cushions.

I feel neither their presence nor their absence,

until my eyes open and their collective energy floods over me intruding on my silence and peace.

The bell rings, three times and the session ends.

I must put away thoughts, cut off fear or bliss, end the waiting and

Reluctantly resume a presence in this material world.

A world of light, dark, hope, despair

love, loss, hate, and peace.

Silent sitting can isolate or open my heart.

The choice is mine to make.

A choice that can be good or evil,

warm or cold,

lasting or fleeting but really,

is there a difference?

Here and now or there and then?

The break is over and the sitting resumes.

Odd thoughts and feelings float out of the deep recesses of my mind

in the silence of the shrine room.

There are thoughts that come and go.

Some are gentle and kind,

others judgmental and cruel.

Shadows from the past sneak in disturbing my peace,

rekindling painful times.

I let them stay,

feel their pain and then let them pass.

They are not forgotten or forgiven but allowed to slip by, dismissed from my life.

Do the others I sit with feel my pain or know my thoughts?

Is my pain theirs too?

Are we really all the same?

But what if we believe in different things?

I, in my Lord Krishna,

they in themselves.

Their breath guides their thoughts.

His breath guides mine.

This retreat is a place of silence and peace.

A place to reflect on everything or nothing.

Their nothing is my everything.

My everything is none of their concern because to them, it’s not real.

So, what is real?

My thoughts, their nothingness, my love, their indifference,

My self their no self?

I don’t know…

I’m tired now.

I’ll start over later,

when the bell rings again.

 

Home Together

I hear cries in the darkness of the night.

They are sounds from my soul draped in velvet.

I hear songs sung in whispers

floating between the night trees as

silent, invisible swirls of chi

mingle with my thoughts and

illuminate my soul.

I lie down on the mossy forest floor and

feel myself seep into the earth to

become one with the trees and starry night sky.

All separation dissolves and everything exists together

at this singular point in time and space.

The forest and I have become one in spirit and soul,

both human and Divine.

We are all home together at last,

never to be alone again.

 

Never Let Go

Seashells and wave echoes

Swirl and laugh in the emptiness behind my eyes.

I have let it go, sent it away,

Opened the lock and set it free.

This open space is vast, quiet and soft.

Wave echoes roll around the edges of my inner space

And blend with the stillness that never stands still.

There is a flow and a wash to this interior space.

A space that holds it all and more.

More me, more us,

All together in the vastness of love and peace, so come,

Kick off your shoes and dance with me.

Listen to the song of the seashells and watch,

Watch the empty space fill with us and more.

Catch the wave echoes when they come around again but

This time, this one last time,

Never let go.

The Arms of Darkness

The woods are still and quiet tonight.

Exhausted from growing all day,

They rest in the softness of the dark.

No demands, no impatience to grow, produce, or succeed remains.

Nothing moves tonight.

The air is heavy with dew,

Leaves hang limp on relaxed branches,

And grasses lean on each other and sleep.

Dawn will come soon and

Growth will begin again.

The fast and noisy world will awaken and

Life will continue its mission to grow but for now,

For this silent night,

All is peaceful and still,

At rest in the arms of darkness.

My Mind

In the beginning, my beginning, my mind

Was my friend, my ally, my confidant, but no more.

My mind has become my enemy,

One that shares this space inside of me but cares not for my well-being.

Its thoughts turn night into day, lust into love, and want into envy.

It whispers its lies in my ear, distracting me from my truth.

I need to fight back and spend more time sitting and focusing on my

Return to that initial, eternal mind of being.

In time, when the process is complete,

My mind will return to its beginning state as my life navigator and soul companion.

Its taunting will stop, its search for drama will cease,

Its remembering of a hundred hurtful events a day will end,

And once again, as it was in the beginning,

It will be my friend.

Watcher of the Woods

From my bedroom window

I watch the woodland change with the seasons.

On the corner of the house, a maple branch hugs the windowsill

Its leaves framing my view of the forest.

How can I explain the secret life of leaves I observe from my window and the

Magical growth that takes place in silence unseen?

I can think of no words to use, so instead I just watch, I watch the breeze

ruffle the leaves and the branches move together in the wind like fans made of feathers.

And then the rain comes, and I watch the drops play the

Leaves like keys on a piano.

I am content with my role as watcher and marvel at the strength and skill the trees employ when they interlock their arms to form an impenetrable force of gentle power in silence.

These graceful tree spirits are woven together by the hand of God to create

The framework of the forest.

They surround my home and speak to my soul.

My heart hears their thoughts and hopes,

And I realize and know that they are

Not so different from me.

I understand and accept that we share this planet and are

Children of the One in all our varied forms.

All connected,

All equal in the eyes of our creator.

And the peace and stillness of the wood

pervades my soul and feeds my spirit and makes me one with those who stand outside looking in.

I Will Make You Soup

I will make you soup, my Lord and

Fill it with the spices of life so that you may taste the wonders you have given to me.

There will be salt for truth and

Pepper for hurt.

Sugar for love and

Bitters for sadness.

Potatoes will let you taste the flavor of the earth and

Beets, the warmth of the soil.

Carrots will spill out their liquid orange sunshine for your pleasure and

Savory herbs will add flavor to surprise your taste buds with every sip.

My delight in the life you have given me makes me what to give back to you so,

I will make you soup, my Lord

And I will stir it with love.