a place to nest in the wild of the heart

‘it’ really is all about passion…our love of our life, the possibilities of renewal, & our physical aliveness within our five senses….this is passion & sensuality….big life….taking it all in…eating the world alive with voracious appetite….

the source of our inspiration… a fire which flames up from the deep vulnerability of letting go…a trance beyond will or imagination…

the question is…can we harness this power? can we channel it into art? do we dare reach for these limits of the human self?

Jung’s unconcsious….

Lorca’s dark & creative force…duende….

‘the constant baptism of newly created things’…the highest high which can drop to the lowest low…if not honored….so rare & so fine….this is soul work of the most daring kind…

A highly traditional work deepens immeasurably when one feels the primal murkiness threatening to swell up underneath the geometric clarity, the verbal concision, & the ironic wit. The ancient demons are never far from shore. The rational art is especially haunting when one feels the struggle in the thought, or even underneath the thought; when one senses something dark welling up from below, from the primordial mud; when one recognizes the powerful internal pressure of a mind defending itself against self…….Edward Hirsch

there’s more than a little soul in the textures of exquisite inspiration…

red & wild….

(this is a huge topic…..more later…..)

don't keep searching for the truth, just let go of your opinion...Seng-ts'an

The Holy Longing

Tell a wise person, or else keep silent,

because the massman will mock it right away.

I praise what is truly alive,

what longs to be burned to death.

In the calm water of the love-nights,

where you were begotten, where you have begotten,

a strange feeling comes over you

when you see the silent candle burning.

Now you are no longer caught

in the obsession with darkness,

and a desire for higher love-making

sweeps you upward.

Distance does not make you falter,

now, arriving in magic, flying,

and finally, insane for the light,

you are the butterfly and you are gone.

And so long as you haven’t experienced

this: to die and so to grow,

you are only a troubled guest

on the dark earth.

…Goethe…

nothing flushes out the soul-light like complacency & self-deceipt….

& when you think you’re humble, you catch yourself feeling proud about feeling humble…you begin again….

nothing makes the world so alive & smitten as embarrassing sentimentality or remission…

& when the tiptoeing around death brings light instead of struggle…there is renewal…

there will always be derision from the angels & devils…

listen to them….

Compassion requires the ability to recognize & appreciate the conflict of authenticity & defense within each person we encounter. This poignant counterpoint of reality & defense is the condition of human life…..Judith Blackstone

a vessel for emptiness

Back to square one is the starting point of any genuine expression. Genuine square one is when you realize the desolateness, the spaciousness for that which is completely devoid of any feedback. You have finally confronted your good old self. This type of square one is primordial, the genuine one. There is no reference point…..Chogyan Trungpa

this reminds me of our own innate knowing & the responsibility to not deplete its arsenal of awareness….those leaky places which empty our loving places, cause us to surrender our authority & limit our longings….

Things Considered when Filling the Well….

holding the moon tight

finding that perfect corner to watch the world in silence

gathering flowers

sometimes it’s Rilke…sometimes it’s Nietzsche…..

sometimes it’s Charlie Brown…

remembering you have a couch & using it to rest

regarding all as a dream

cookies & milk

sand & wave & shells

starting over, beginning again, & forgetting why…

glossing over naked reality for awhile…

yoga, yoga, yoga…

sitting with true purpose

writing lists

checking out holy places in everyone you know

looking for the bottomless wild

remembering that floating comes before growing

Most of us never received a wise & mature introduction to the immense challenges, privileges, & possibilities of the life we entered into. Developing discernment helps us learn life’s lessons more clearly & quickly, turn challenges into opportunities & avoid unnecessary obstacles. We can then say, I have lived a good life, that I have touched &

I have been touched by……life.

Mariana Caplan

icons & meaning

In all ten directions of the universe,

there is only one truth.

When we see clearly, the great teachings are the same.

What can ever be lost? What can be attained?

If we attain something, it was there from the beginning of time.

If we lose something, it is hiding somewhere near us….

…..Ryokan

what does it mean to be disconnected from the soul? how can it be a question which clearly connects to all spiritual faiths?

truth is not afraid of questions…

I see the iconic image as paradoxical….consolidating cultures..yet also an archetype of courage which then can leave us hanging, because we do not have the tools to transcend the pitfalls of self-development, spiritual growth, & fledgling faith….

it seems our sacred task is to integrate an alchemy of growth on many levels…….our individual selves…our traditons…our stories…

to draw out our wisdom…

deeper clarity as principle or passion?

it is undeniable…the authenticity of an iconic image….

veiled, bowed, ritualistic & stuporous in prayer….

regardless of the profound emotions created….

spiritual transformation or mythologizing?

 If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.

….Jesus Christ, The Gospel of Thomas…

offbeat

……it’s an off-kilter, swishy, cool, funky, free-wheelin’, mardi-gras dancin’, sweet moon, mess-in-the-studio, shake it up, belly laugh, wearin’ glitter…..

….kind of feelin’….

….it has something to do with love…& the fullness of life…

Love is the secret you unmask yourself to find, the destination where all roads of the journey lead. Dig up the acorn that holds the indestructible seeds of your genius & your joy. Rewrite your victim story. String the beads of your life necklace with care & compassion, faith & fearlessness. Cultivate a sense of wonder…..Elizabeth Lesser

write your own story….

charm your way into your own dance,

your own nuance, your own magic….

gather your beads, write your own story…..

while gathering soul,

I prefer a cool mask with feathers, lots of glitter, & a boa….

.

calling the fairies.....

nature love & the visceral calm

of a nuanced moment…

plaintive cries of the hero’s journey. I’ve been watching a heron for endless time. she’s seeking too……it’s as if she draws with her feet…simple, clean lines…contemplative. I try to mimic her, but I’m clumsy & not in the moment. she knows. she knows, but she doesn’t mind…it’s as if she’s teaching me. the light shifts, streaming. the sweet smell of grass shifts my journey into a moment of sensual grace. a reverie. I can feel the mist off the water. a calling to notice. simply notice. the heron notices the new scents….fairies peeking ’round corners. she is kissing the clouds & beckoning the silly fairies into the sun’s warmth. her mesmerized stance may be the most beauteous image I have ever felt. there they were…and gone…a wing, a flutter, a whisper, a remembrance. that contentment of suchness as is…& I hear the singing in my head of gifts & gratitude. a gentle opening of the heart. the heron, the fairies, me, the green, the only day there is, today. we simply breathe… together, one.

can you sense the wind shift?

…..In Blue……

But fairies haven’t fled, my dear…

They’ve been here all the while.

….Becky Kelly….

kiss the fragrance in static beauty...

What is at the heart of aesthetics? My thesis ranted about the poetics of aesthetics, the understanding of communication needed about ’what is art?,’ the philosophical codes used to navigate ethics, mataphysics, perceptions & sentimentality…..wow….but it’s much more intuitive…..the ethereal, aura of beauty….

…..as it is said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder…..

The beautiful, one way or another, always shakes us. Seeing the world through new eyes, leaving behind conceptual habits & narrow-mindedness makes life seem anew. Beauty takes us out of a ghost world, opens us to an unmeasurable, unpredictable abundance of sounds, perfumes, lines, textures, colors that amaze & renew us. Beauty brings a fresh wind to our minds. It does not attack with logic the stronghold of our beliefs, rather it introduces a new dimension that amazingly changes our viewpoint. The experience of natural beauty forces us to leave behind the empty boxes of our cliches & to perceive the world around us in all its complexity & richness. Just a few moments’ attention is all that is needed……

………Piero Ferrucci….Beauty & the Soul

me in life...

 a giddy-kind-of-silly-lighter-than-clouds-kind-of-pithy-dawdle-daydream-kind-of-day…

Your days pass like rainbows, like a flash of lightening, like a star at dawn. Your life is short. How can you quarrel?

….The Buddha….

nothing is getting put off today….it’s all right here in the palm of my hand…sweetness….

I am reminded that joy & passion are here, not elsewhere….

this is a dreamy & yet stark awakening…..

allusive & yet mine to choose….

a nuanced riddle & yet simple common sense…

     it’s time to play….

 I would not paint-a picture-

I would not paint-a picture-

I’d rather be the One

Its bright impossibility

To dwell-delicious-on-

And wonder how the fingers feel

Whose rare-celestial-stir-

Evokes so sweet a Torment-

Such sumptuous-Despair-

I would not talk, like Cornets-

I’d rather be the One

Raised softly to the Ceilings-

And out, and easy on-

Through Villages of Ether-

Myself endued Balloon

By but a lip of Metal-

The pier to my Pontoon-

Nor would I be a Poet-

It’s finer-own the Ear-

Enamored-impotent-content-

The License to revere,

A privilege so awful

What would the Dower be,

Had I the Art to stun myself

With Bolts of Melody!

……Emily Dickinson…..

Another nomination for the Liebster Award! This award is a wonderful little nudge to help navigate the blog world. A Big Thank You to lostupabove for the warm nomination. Her blog is a must see…..full of unique ideas, poetry & I especially like to peruse the books/music pages. This is a thoughtful & connected blog.

As we gather connections, I’d like to give a little extra attention to these nominees….

They are definitely worth peeking into….

 The Embodiment Chronicle

Yoga Care Challenge

bahrainisufi

J. Ruth Kelly

Seek the Sacred Amidst the Ordinary

Redifining Reality

ermiliablog

susserative aspirations

ranujanu

caterpillarwithonewing

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sanctuary in the heart

Ever feel reborn in your own life? A clarity & a calling born of harmony.

No inertia in this space.

This path is the process of fearlessly peering into the mysterious nature of life & relaxing our mental & emotional grip on our own place within it…..Elizabeth Lesser

feeling roots, feeling knots, feeling sky,

feeling green, feeling wind, feeling breath….

this is the tangible place where we can see our heart….can envision our place…can connect to those roots & knots & sky & green & wind & breath….make it real….

Imagining Mystery

There is something

that contains everything.

Before heaven & earth

it is.

Oh, it is still, unbodied,

all on its own, unchanging,

all-pervading,

ever-moving.

So it can act as the mother

of all things.

Not knowing its real name,

we only call it the Way.

If it must be named,

let its name be Great.

Greatness means going on,

going on means going far,

and going far means turning back.

So they say, ‘The Way is great,

heaven is great,

earth is great,

and humankind is great;

four greatnesses in the world,

and humanity is one of them.’

People follow earth,

earth follows heaven,

heaven follows the Way,

the Way follows what is.

…….Lao Tzu……

…..the Way is the Heart…..

engrave your own yearning

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