Somewhere in the heart of experience

there is an order and a coherence

which might surprise us,

if we were attentive enough, loving enough,

or patient enough. Will there be time?

…..Lawrence Durrell

and in the dim mystery of time, we hold ourselves keenly and quietly in the deep cold night, icy stars melting all around…….soul light twinkling within and around the prayers hung low and the ancient drumming swoons…..

When tripping into the heart of things, it is a full and bottomless attention with no intent or expectation of result that brings us there. For me, it is often the experience of light, or music, or the authentic stories of others that trips me out of myself. These unexpected and repeatable gifts always bring me into a state of naked attention in which I am opened to the sheer fact of being here. Somehow, anything beautiful or true- anything real- brings us in touch with that surprising coherence which defies ordinary logic. Now I understand this moment of naked attention as the tuning fork of being that lets me know that I am still alive and able to be touched. Quite simply, it is through the beauty of what is real that I trip from time to time into the well of being. And in so doing, I experience a sensation of aliveness that defies all words…..Mark Nepo

protecting our hearts

You must venture out by yourself, must trudge slowly, careful not to disturb the things that beckon you. You must remain quiet and listen till your ears, and eyes strain as one. And then you must wait. Till there seems no life but the air you thought was wind. Must wait till the breath coming through you seems so longer yours. You must hold still, inside, must still your mind, for stillness outlasts loneliness and great things that fly in the night will not stop for the lonely. You must venture out till it seems in, alone, in silence, careful not to fall prey to your want for company or audience. You must venture beyond your hope to be thought of at all. And there, just as everything seems nothing, as the night can’t grow any colder, as the dark can’t isolate you further, there the sudden mass of feathers might appear above you, and you must hold very still, despite the cold heart clouding your heart. You must hold that breath and stare directly in its eyes and it will spread its wings and stare back, so thoroughly, you will believe it sees all of what is hidden. And it may stare through you longer than you can stand. And when it lifts its deep stamina, you might feel the know in you soften and rise as if about to leave the world while the rest of you settles and roots a little further. And then you will stay silent longer than you need to, not really wanting to return, unsure of what to say……old farmer’s teaching on waiting in the mystery