Hold onto this now as if yesterday was just a dream and tomorrow, a construct, built by the quality of this embrace.
The medium of the art of living is a spectacular substance depending fully on your artful hand and heart to realize its most sacred space
whatever I’ve done
whatever I may do
I will always come back to what’s true
and when the battle within me is won
I will return and make it up to you
even though it seems that my heart forgets the song I must remember that it is always humming with the love in the air and on the lips of those with whom I speak and in the eyes of those that pass. Even though it seems that my ears can not hear it, the song is always playing, it is the tree that mistakenly believes it is alone, not making a sound as it falls. We hear you sweet tree, your crash landing reverberates so bitter-sweetly creating many beautiful, multifaceted stories witnessed and experienced by all. The journey to rock bottom is not necessary to the song but helps those of us lost to find it. The only definite in the music is the destination, a pure singular tone that washes away all of the tiny details of up down tree and rock. A tone that returns us to each other and boils it all down to perfection. close your eyes and allow yourself to embrace the anchor of you to all, the song to which we may not always remember but can never really forget Ommmmmmm………
Love as you breathe, bliss pervades.
Breathe as you love and all is saved.
whirling
dervish hands up
praise up
imitation is such flattery
spiralling riding the all high
golden mean
skyscraper in progress
to the top of
this perceived
roof raised
sky’s the limit
kind of feeling!
Stillness is a well
Refill your bucket frequently
Draw on the water liberally
Use it in any way,
you feel so compelled
Confetti, balloons, candles
But not too many
Unless we’re talking about lovely afternoons
Or walks on the beach in our sandals
Your quality introspection,
communions with the stillness
And your journey of discovery and investigation are another year older today
I bless your pursuit of wellness
And I say many, too much, and all of your energy
To this and all following years of your endeavor
As we feel the sand on our feet on this side of forever
And we lose the US and and become the ocean, the sun, the water and the heat In a celebration of wisdom and peace
That is another tempered year
Together
I’m proud to behold your unique
And beautiful rendition
Of the limitless you project
So gracefully
As we step courageously
Ever vigilant in this grand expedition
Happy Birthday Lovely Melita!
Empower your eyes to take in the richly decorated skies
filled with the flowers that bloom for the bees, and the powerful trees
that gift us with beautiful vision and profound insights
into the peace and achievement possible when we embrace the stillness
at the center of the ups, downs, and indecision,
dancing around these flashing lights
In one of our last postings there was a beautiful poem, from Chad, which noted the importance of nutrition– as it relates to sadhana. The way we approach eating, furthermore our perception of food, is integral to our spiritual development. Naturally, this creates space for a lot of debate; including: morality, the karmic energy of the food we eat, and meeting our nutritional requirements.
In this tradition we subscribe to the idea that we are not merely a body (I use the word “merely” because it is not that the body is unreal– it is simply not who you are at the deepest level). In this tradition, and many other mystical philosophies, the body is the outward, gross, and transient projection of an eternal and perfect source. The body is an instrument in which to experience this world. If one’s goal is enlightenment, like a virtuoso, one must tune, clean, and treat their instrument with respect.
I work in health and wellness as my profession, although I am not a nutritionist, and I have a strong understanding of the purpose of food. As my teacher says, “food is for the cells“; ironically, a baby knows this– they do not come into the world wanting chocolate or candy. However, somehow along the way– we lose sight of this and we begin to look to our food to fulfill a longing in ourselves.
In the Yoga Tradition, the desire to eat is considered to be one of the four primitive fountains: sleep, sex, self-preservation, and food– these are the primal urges from which all other desires “spring forth”. These impulses are inherent to the souls incarnation in a human body.
The problem is that we are so deluded, so entrenched in our body identification that we let these urges, which help to keep the body functioning, run amok. We say things like, “I want sweets, I want alcohol, and I want to lie on the couch”. Truthfully, the urges are imbalance and unchecked– “I” never wants for anything because “I” is a manifestation of the ego. “We” are perfect and whole; the body needs sustenance to function optimally. But, we are looking outside and finding disastisfaction. Then we indulge these cravings and we are sad and disappointed– they do not bring us true joy.
If we are seekers, then we begin to revere the body as a great gift and we want it to assist us in pursuing our spiritual endeavors. In order for the body to facilitate the pursuit of transcendence, we must consider the significance of the foods we ingest. Ann Wigmore aptly said, “The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
Yet, it’s more than the nutritional content of the food that must be considered. Most of us are intelligent enough to know if our food promotes health or harm. However, it is also the sensory experience we are trying to derive from our fuel. We want food to be exotic and fascinating. Since we are all one, we must consider the impact, environmentally, on the quest to have a mango in December. Consider eating in a monastary, food is simple and often taken in silence. When we eat slowly, mindfully, and with gratitude we may discover untapped joy in taking in the energy of God to reconnect us with that which we are.
From the Gross to the Subtle 