Tuesday, May 31, 2011
For the Beloved
For the Beloved
Do not think
that because I say words
to another,
that I have forsaken you
love like ours
does not begin
or end
never fades
or disappears
it is ours forever,
bound in the net
of eternal longing
no matter whose face
it may wear.
Dorothy Walters
May 28, 2011
This morning I was unexpectedly graced with a "bliss out." Perhaps it was related to the fact that this is the anniversary time of my original awakening into bliss consciousness, and each year at this time, the energies become more intense. This year makes some thirty years of having such experiences--now less frequent and more subtle, yet extremely delightful.
After I did the "Tandava" movements for half hour or so (as ecstatic feelings flowed in arms, chest, and down my legs), I sat down and continued to move my hands and arms (major centers of feeling). Then I did something I seldom do--I recited mantra out loud (the famous Om Nava Shivaya). This chanting made the sweet energy flows even stronger. Each time I repeated the mantra, I emphasized the syllable "Shi" in Shiva's name, and each time I felt a strong "thrill" throughout my body, especially the chest.
Again, I am amazed that these experiences continue to recur. I know very few others who also receive such beautiful energetic blessings in their lives--thus I feel very grateful each time the Beloved returns in such a graceful manner--for me the most sacred experience of union I can imagine.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fun in Boulder
Although I said earlier I would no longer publish on the weekend, I could not resist putting up these photos I took earlier today at the "Bolder Boulder" run-- a world famous annual event. (Every once in a while I like to put up these more personal and "off topic" posts.) Some 54,000 people registered for this event. Fortunately for me, the race took place almost directly in front of my apartment.
First came the "real runners," the experts, the elites. They ran so early I missed them. Next were the less qualified (but still outstanding) runners, then the joggers, then the walkers. Mostly I saw the joggers and walkers. The course itself was fairly short, maybe 3 or 4 miles. The best runners finished in about 30-40 minutes, the rest two or three hours (my estimate).
I found the energy quite lovely. Everyone was having a great time--some in silly costumes, some parents with their offspring running or walking beside them, some with their kids on their shoulders. The music was loud and electrifying. The singer sounded just like Janet Joplin, one of my favorites. I went up to her at one point and asked what era the music was from--it was the eighties--so I have been playing eighties music on my internet, but so far have not located these pieces.
From the top down, the pictures are of:
Three expert stilt walkers standing on the sidelines and dancing
The singer I mentioned above--just great!--and a member of her backup ensemble.
Guy in funny hat
Sign for clean energy (this is Boulder, after all--one of the major centers of ecoconsciousness)
Funny costumes
About 99% of the runners and walkers were in great shape. Diet companies would not make much money in Boulder. Most, however, were (or appeared to be) under age 40, until you got to the walkers and strollers--these were under 50, with a few more elderly puffing to keep up.
I heard on the T. V.(later) that the elite women's competition was won by--I believe--Kenya in first place, followed by Ethiopia in second and third. Next came the U. S. and then the U. K. The T. V. camera took shots from above, and you could see that the first two women's elite to finish seemed to glide along effortlessly on tall thin bodies made for running. The ones from the U. S. and U. K. were good runners, but they seemed to be "forcing" their bodies more, rather than allowing their bodies to lead them. (Note: my ranking may be flawed, but it is approximately correct.)
The weather station had predicted wind for later today, and already the trees outside my window are tossing and turning. I won't walk to the grocery store after all, since the wind stirs up a lot of dust and pollen, and these affect my eyes. Oh, well, as always I have lots to eat in the house and need not worry.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Richard Moss workshops
From:
"Valerie Stuart"
Add sender to Contactsyou can read more about him at richardmoss.com I've been reading his books and love them.
On Sunday from 10 am to noon, Dr. Moss will be speaking at SpritiKeepers at the West Boulder Senior Center at 909 Arapaho. This gathering has a few dances of universal peace and then Dr. Moss will speak. I believe it is just a basket out to receive donations, no specific fee.
A description of what happens at spirit keepers can be found here:
Valerie
I received this emailed from: ivan@ionsky.com to a list I am on. I don't know Ivan, but imagine he would be fine to receive inquires about the event since he posted it to a public list.
Our spiritual teacher and healer, Richard Moss will be at the Boulder Integral, 2805 Broadway at 7PM Friday evening to talk about Inside-Out healing, the subject of his latest book. It will be an exploration of healing mind and body through the transformative power of present-moment awareness. My wife and I have been so impressed with his humanity, caring and genuineness and feel he is the "real deal" and is unique in bringing spirituality down to earth! On Saturday, he will delve more deeply in what will be an experiential day where you will be supplied with practical tools and deep inspiration to address the challenges in your life. Please be at the Star House by 8:30AM. Workshop ends at 5:45 and Lunch is provided.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Poem by Rilke
Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII
Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.
What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.
Pour yourself out like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.
Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming
a laurel,
dares you to become the wind.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
(In Praise of Mortality, translated and edited by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Poem by Ellen Bass
If You Knew
What if you knew you’d be the last
to touch someone?
If you were taking tickets, for example,
at the theater, tearing them,
giving back the ragged stubs,
you might take care to touch that palm,
brush your fingertips
along the life line’s crease.
When a man pulls his wheeled suitcase
too slowly through the airport, when
the car in front of me doesn’t signal,
when the clerk at the pharmacy
won’t say Thank you, I don’t remember
they’re going to die.
A friend told me she’d been with her aunt.
They’d just had lunch and the waiter,
a young gay man with plum black eyes,
joked as he served the coffee, kissed
her aunt’s powdered cheek when they left.
Then they walked half a block and her aunt
dropped dead on the sidewalk.
How close does the dragon’s spume
have to come? How wide does the crack
in heaven have to split?
What would people look like
if we could see them as they are,
soaked in honey, stung and swollen,
reckless, pinned against time?
- Ellen Bass
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Are the Human Energy Fields Real?
Recently, I watched a segment on PBS on the question of human energy fields. A young high school student devised an experiment for her science class to test this theory. She had a practitioners of Therapeutic Touch each to place each hand through a hole in a cardboard barrier. She then placed her own hand a short distance above one of these hands (left or right). The TT practitioner was then asked to state which hand was receiving energy from the young woman. The results were no better than chance.
This experiment attracted a lot of attention as evidence that Therapeutic Touch was not a reliable healing tool, and that human energy fields were a myth. A major scientific journal even reported the experiment.
I find such "scientific" research and conclusions deplorable. I believe the experiment proved nothing at all--and there are various reasons why.
First, the therapeutic touch practitioners may not themselves have been sensitive to human energies. I know of at least one who says that she does not feel the energies of her patients, but feels the technique is nonetheless helpful.
Second, the young student may have had a weak energy field, one very difficult to detect.
Third, the "healer" may have been having an "off day." As with any talent, feeling the energy fields happens more easily on some days than others.
I personally often clearly feel the "energy fields" of various persons and even (sometimes) objects. Recently I attended a workshop in which we stood face to face with our partners. On the first day, I was very "up" and felt lovely energies emanating from the many partners I worked with. Next day, I did not feel well, and felt nothing similar. More than once I have felt the energy field of inanimate objects--particularly paintings or certain art objects (but not all by any means.) And I frequently have felt the energies of strangers on the street, or when waiting for a bus or standing in line somewhere. So, for me, the little experiment is irrelevant, since I know from first hand experience that the energies are quite real. To try to prove or disprove their existence through such crude experiments is absurd and even outside of standard scientific protocol. It is like asking someone who is blind whether or not rainbows have color.
One last thought--haven't I read that today scientific instruments have been created which fo indeed pick up on the subtle energy fields and hence have "proved" their existence?
Monday, May 23, 2011
We Have Come to Be Danced
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
But the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shaking ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity: the body, breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take ten giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.
We have come to be danced Where the kingdoms collide In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced! We have come.
- Jewel Mathieson
Friday, May 20, 2011
Upcoming Poetry Reading in Boulder
“Evolutionary Revolutionaries: The Pregnant Moment”
Original Poetry & Reflections for Our Times by Four Women Writers
with opening & closing music by Chaitanya Mahmud Kabir
Sunday, May 22 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. at Boulder Integral Broadway & Balsam, Boulder
Reception following with light refreshments (Donations welcome - all profits go to Japanese Earthquake relief)
We are four women of Boulder who meet to share our poetry and reflective writings. Each of us feels that humanity is now in a profound global shift of consciousness, and each of us approaches that shift from a personal spiritual perspective, including astrology, Sufism, mystical Kundalini, ecological awareness, psychotherapy and deep social commitment. We all serve as mentors and counselors to others on the path.
Habiba Kabir is a Sufi elder whose face shines like a thousand lifetimes, whose heart speaks with the stillness of a mountain. She is the moon mother; her piercing blue round eyes accented with crows feet laugh wrinkles. She is also the sun’s radiance when she prays and sings praises to Allah. Habiba radiates love and raises the group’s energy into pure ecstasy.
Debra Silverman is a gifted astrologer/psychologist, a detective who sniffs out emotions and hidden wounds with amazing accuracy, efficiency and humor. She sees who you are, lets you know it’s f’d up and assures you that it’s normal. She has the body of a dancer, the voice of a Native American grandmother singing to her own drumbeat, the discipline of a soldier and a heart of pure gold. She has done readings for thousands of people, including celebrities, for more than 30 years.
Dorothy Walters, former professor of English, women's studies, and contemporary women writers, now devotes herself to writing mystical poetry and helping others in spiritual transformation, with a special emphasis on spontaneous Kundalini awakening. Her experiences have led her to believe that Kundalini itself is the driving force behind the evolution of human consciousness we are now witnessing.
Peggy Wrenn is a writer, poet and editor with a long history of activism in renewable energy,
affordable housing evolutionary spiritual awakening. Always willing to lend a hand or a hug,
she smiles from her heart. An Earth mother who loves the whole world, she prays and works
for peace and justice every day.
Opening & closing music by Chaitanya Mahmud Kabir
Chaitanya Mahmud Kabir brings together a powerful synthesis of Indian devotional and raga singing with modern natural music theory. He speaks fluent Hindi and Urdu and has translated books of spiritual discourse and poetry. He sings and plays Turkish Sufi Music weekly at Zikr. He is a devotee of mother goddess Saraswati and has taught raga and devotional singing, flutes and Hindi and Urdu in Boulder for many years. He teaches Indian Devotional and Raga Singing at Naropa University.
For more information email dorothywalters72@yahoo.com or call Peggy Wrenn 303-443-7092
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Afraid of the Light
Recently, I caught a brief statement on the T. V. news from a highly renowned scientist, who pooh-poohed the notion of "heaven" and proclaimed that this idea was the fantasy of those who were afraid of darkness. I wondered what gave him the experience and authority to make such a statement, since neither he nor any of us (except for those who have experienced death and returned) is qualified by first hand knowledge to make statements about what life might be like "on the other side."
Many scientists rely almost entirely on the left brain, or rational thought. They, by definition, do not believe ideas which arrive through intuition or mystical experience. Often the entire world of subjective experience--including artistic inspiration, nature mysticism, and--especially--such awakenings as Kundalini offers--are ruled out of consideration as inconsequential. They like things that can be measured and weighed, since for many of them, the "real world" consists merely of material objects, and they are reassured by their comfortable notions of the physical universe as the totality of the "real."
All of this is changing somewhat through the new discoveries coming through contemporary physics, but for some, the old perspectives still take precedence. I say that such folk are "domed against heaven." That is, it is as if they wear helmets to protect their awareness against any knowledge of the divine realms above, for that would threaten their preferred world view and their overall system of thought.
I wonder if these people are, in fact, "afraid of the light," rather than the other way around.
(I am not saying that there is or is not a "heaven," or what it might be--only that the world and our existence in it is an abiding mystery, and to make proclamations about human consciousness after the body expires is, I think, as futile as for an ant to try to unriddle Einstein's Theory of Relativity.)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
poem by Rumi
People of the Path
People of the Path
who know
the secret of meaning
are hidden from the eyes
of the narrow-minded.
Ironically, though,
everyone who comes to know
the divine Reality
possesses the purest faith--
but is labeled an "unbeliever"
by the pious.
Rumi
This simple little poem by Rumi contains a fundamental truth. Those who are "awakened" (including those who experience deep spiritual union through Kundalini) are often seen as "outside the pale" by traditional religious folk. Somehow, certain people seem to be afraid to venture into holy presence on their own, preferring the familiar conventions of church, pastor, and text. Yet it is often the very ones seen as "outsiders" who are closest to holy truth.
This state of quasi "ostracism" and feeling of isolation have marked mystics of all times and ages. The same is true today. Those who undergo Kundalini awakening often experience a great sense of isolation from the rest of the world--family and former friends sometimes show little understanding or tolerance for the new presence (literally, one "born again") who has taken the place of their familiar friend or relative.
(Image found on Google)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Kundalini, Discontinuity, and God
Kundalini, Discontinuity, and Quantum Leaps
"Man can never know truth--only experience it." (W. B. Yeats)
One of the major elements of discussion in current evolutionary theory is the idea of discontinuity. Proponents of a strictly materialistic picture of evolution posit that each new stage of species development arises from previously existent forms, responding to external pressures, and that these stages of transformation can be traced through the fossil record.
However, there are many "gaps" in the record--evidence of a new species often arises with no prior evidence of "preliminary" stages. These gaps lead to a contrasting theory of evolution that includes the implications of such "discontinuities," that appear to lead to quantum leaps (major transitions from one biological stage to the next with no intervening states). At this point, some point to possible divine intervention, a seemingly intentional directing of more elementary biological forms into higher states of expression--progress toward what Teilhard de Chardin called the “Omega point”--where human and divine become one.
If such gaps in evolution do indeed occur, it behooves us to consider what the implications may be for the evolution of all biological forms, with special attention to the development of our own species--the Ultimate Human.
Gopi Krishna (and others) have posited that Kundalini itself is the next stage of evolution of human consciousness. Anyone who undergoes profound transformation through Kundalini awakening is inclined to agree with this notion, since the nervous system itself is vastly changed, and often (at times of altered states) feels as though a new organism has emerged. It literally feels different, brings new capacities, lets us experience energies in a totally novel way in which bliss plays a prominent role. And yes, there is a kind of discontinuity involved here, both for the individual subject and the race as a whole, for there is indeed a marked difference between the "new self" and the "old self." Above all, Kundalini bliss convinces of the reality of the divine essence, and allows us to swim in the great ocean of delight which is God.
Today, the vast majority of humans have not yet undergone “Kundalini awakening.” They trudge along in the same familiar paths, trusting the same accustomed societally imposed ways of seeing and acting, bewitched by the “cultural trance.” They reject notions of radical transformation, for this phenomenon is well outside their own experience. The result is the chaos of our modern world.
Some of us follow a different mode. Our experience is well outside the “norm,” yet--even when it offers challenges-- we trust it because our inner guide assures us that we are on the right trajectory. What we feel is (I believe) an indicator of how the race itself may function once critical mass is achieved and the great “shift” to a new state of consciousness occurs.
Monday, May 16, 2011
New Physics and Ancient Wisdom
I am very interested in the many parallels between Modern Physics and Ancient Wisdom. Among other similarities we might think of the ancient Hindu doctrine of Maya (the "veil" that obscures reality and presents instead a continuing phantasm of "things" that seem real but are false) and the contemporary discovery that in truth what we see around us and take as "material reality" (that which can be measured and weighed) is also a mirage, for all that exists is a whirling dance of atoms, composed of invisible protons and electrons and even smaller units, but consisting mainly of the empty space between these various components.
A second parallel has to do with current theories of the nature of space. Today, we are told that space is formed by a slight bend in the overall fabric of the universe. Likewise, in the ancient theory of spanda (vibration) we learn that in the beginnings, there was a slight modification of the pulsation that was the origin of our vibrating universe.
Today, I happened to catch a bit of a T. V. science program that suggested yet another possible parallel. Two scientists (whose names I did not catch) developed a very complex mathematical formula that would explain the big bang. They posited the notion that two (or possibly three) "branes" (short for "membranes" that represent separate universes) collided, and our universe was the consequence of this cosmic cataclysm (the "big bang") which released huge amounts of energy. However, there was a hitch. According to the implications of the big bang theory, dark energy (still not fully understood) occupies a great deal of the cosmos. The universe expands constantly, and dark energy causes this process to accelerate even faster. At some point, it expands to the point that nothing exists but the void which swallows all matter.
However, this theory leads to the conclusion that our universe is a unique creation, which will in time disappear.
The scientists then developed a further notion--that the universe does not appear and disappear in a single, unique process, but that the cycle of creation and destruction is repeated often, each half of the dyad occupying a vast expanse of time. Other "branes" collide and beget other universes in an infinite process.
Now, again if we turn to ancient Hindu philosophy we find the notion that Brahma (or Brahmas) constantly make and unmake the universe, in infinite cycles of creation and dissolution. Sometimes it is expressed as Brahma's breath--each out breath brings into being a new universe (lasting for an unimaginably long period of time) and each in breath dissolves that particular creation. The time in which the created universe exists is known as "Brahma's day" and the time of eclipse is known as "Brahma's night." They are of equal duration.
This phenomenon of cyclic creation and destruction events is also explained by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita:
Those who understand the cosmic laws know that the Day of Brahma ends after a thousand yugas and the Night of Brahma ends after a thousand yugas. When the day of Brahma dawns, forms are brought forth from the Unmanifest; when the night of Brahma comes, these forms merge in the Formless again. This multitude of beings is created and destroyed again and again in the succeeding days and nights of Brahma."
-- Chapter 8: Imperishable and Eternal Brahma: from "Day and Night of Brahma: The Evidence from Fossil Records"
By Bibhu Dev Misra (found on Google)
In addition to the ancient Hindus, there are many other early cultures that posit a similar cyclic nature of time. I am neither a cosmological physicist nor a deep scholar of early Hindu thought, so it is possible my notions are full of flaws of various kinds. So please do not assume they are without error. But it does seem that modern science aligns itself more more with ancient revealed truth. Such speculation is fascinating, and I would love to see more research into the field of "New Physics and Ancient Wisdom."
P. S. After I wrote the above entry, I discovered more information on the internet: "The “cyclic model,” (was) developed by Princeton University’s Paul Steinhardt and Cambridge University’s Neil Turok. . ."
"The revised theory still thinks of our universe as one of two multidimensional surfaces, or “branes,” separated by an extra dimension. Over the course of trillions of years, the surfaces bounce off each other, sparking a Big Bang. But in the cyclic scenario, dark energy plays an essential role.
At first, matter and radiation are dominant in a newly spawned cosmos. However, the accelerating dark energy gradually drives the expansion of the universe to such an extent that the cosmos is virtually cleared out. Then a weak force starts bringing the branes back together in the extra dimension, setting the stage for another bounce, or “Big Crunch,” that touches off the next Big Bang."
(Note: I was unable to copy and paste the internet site where I found the above information but I will try to write it in: Questioning the Big Bang -Technology and Science - Science - Mysteries of the Universe - msnbc.com
I also learned that these theorists give at least passing acknowledgment to the fact that ancient Hindus and other early societies also posited a cyclic theory of time, but they did not elaborate on the similarities.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Poem by 'Attar
The Beloved's Desire
The Beloved wants no lord, no master--
She wants astonishment and devastation!
I'm like a monk, safe in my cloister--
She wants me to give up everything
and roam the world like a dervish!
by 'Attar
(tr.by David and Sabrineh Fideler)
(Image from Google)
Thursday, May 12, 2011
If Your Heart (poem by Dorothy)
If Your Heart
If your heart has not been
burnt to cinders,
how can you know
the taste of the flame?
If you have not drowned
in the ocean of love,
how can you measure
the embrace of the abyss?
If you have not felt
god’s kiss on your mouth,
how can you find
the death which is life?
Dorothy Walters
May 10, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
"City Fox," poem by Ivan Granger
City Fox
By Ivan M. Granger
(1969 - )
true native
his land has grown
strange about him
lean with life
on silent steps
through twilight
he glides
glanced
by chance
or by patience
perhaps
he stops
in the alley
way
waiting
for you
to pass
Ane here is Ivan's own personal reflection on the poem:
When I was a teenager, something about the world around me began to feel alien, unnatural, even threatening. And these feelings mixed with the normal teenage angst to create an explosive and desperate spiritual instinct. I came to the grim conclusion that the world has as its primary purpose making us unknown to ourselves, that it steals something fundamental from us in order to create conformity and a shared, but bland reality. Everything began to feel false, artificial; I wanted to know what was true and real.
I became reclusive. I was determined to not be hemmed in by the common assumptions of how the world works, what is real, and what is spirit. I turned inward. I sought solitary places. I sought nature. I sought quiet.
While this period forged my spiritual will, it was also a difficult time. I was depressed, isolated, and lost. But, amidst that struggle, hard, hidden parts of myself began to open. As I learned to trust my own spiritual unfolding, I became less severe in my judgment of the world around me. I slowly lost the need to hold myself in stern separation. I began to recognize myself in others. I discovered in myself a growing compassion, not only for people, but for the world. I came down from the mountain. Ever since, I've been learning what it means to really inhabit the world, and share it, and hopefully nudge the boundaries of those common assumptions.
These ruminations reminded me of this poem...
I view the fox in this poem is the Real Self, our inherent, free, divine nature.
The "strange" land that has grown about him, the city of the title, is the construction of thoughts, projections, concepts, and artificial divisions imagined by the busy mind. It is the human world of convention and consensus.
Yet, even in this unwelcoming environment, the fox, the Self, remains. He is the "true native," present before the mind's constructions. He belongs right where he is. He knows all that has grown about him is transitory, that it cannot endure.
In this city, genuine sustenance is often limited, so the fox is lean. From the viewpoint of the city dweller, the restless mind, the Self seems to hardly have any substance at all. Yet its very leanness is the proof of its authenticity, its uncompromised, untamed life. Through its leanness, life radiates fiercely!
The Self is silent, and known in silence. Without a sound it moves through the artificial world, true to its essential nature.
It is active in the realm of twilight, the stalking ground between the conscious world of daylight and the unconscious world of nighttime. If you wish to catch sight of this one, you must keep watch in twilight, at the meeting point between the two worlds.
If by chance, or through determined, patient spiritual practice, we catch a glimpse of the Self, the hidden fox stops in plain sight, revealing himself in his full, living, wild glory. Actually, it is not so much the Self that stops; it is we ourselves who stop, the ego, the false self. The sight of such essential life, the realization that it has been secretly sharing the same world with us all along, brings us to a complete halt.
The fox is spied in an alleyway. This alley is the path ignored in the world of the city; it is there, but forgotten, overgrown, avoided, and this is where the fox dwells and hunts. We have finally learned to look into the hidden places we'd trained ourselves not to see.
Once seen, the Self waits. It waits for us to "pass," to drop the ego sense of self as no longer useful. It waits for us to recognize that we are not ourselves at all but That. We find we are the fox, the real Self, and none other.
Now that's an encounter worth some strange turns down unknown alleyways...
(Photo from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
If You Are a Mystic (poem by Dorothy)
If you are a mystic
If you are a mystic,
then you are a kinsman/kinswoman
of my heart.
Whether you danced
alone
in your garden,
or speculated
on the ancient moon,
whether you wrote verses,
of just felt the pulse
of the infinite
in your chest,
you are who I am now,
your child,
your begetter,
we are all from the
same place,
we dance
the same steps,
listen to the same music.
Dorothy Walters
May 9, 2011
Monday, May 09, 2011
After All
After All
Every year she got more like herself and less like other people.
Flannery O’Connor
After all,
it could have been different.
You could have been
the woman
whose seams
were always straight,
who looked through eyes
with 20/20 vision
and saw exactly
what the others saw,
no more, no less,
who never had thoughtful wrinkles,
or asked questions
of the oh so certain
workshop leader.
at the front of the room.
You could have been
the Sunday school teacher
with the quiet voice
who followed the lesson plan
line by line,
or the ashram follower
arranging the flowers
and convinced that Baba
was God.
You could have opened wide
and swallowed
whatever it was
they offered
that day as truth,
or knelt down before
an image
that promised salvation.
But you would have
none of that.
Even if you had children,
a mate,
your questioning
didn’t stop there.
You kept on looking,
searching,
keeping a secret diary.
Then one day it happened.
After that you knew
that rumors
of the heavens shuddering open,
of Light arriving in vast profusion,
that all the myths and fables
of mating with the unknown
were real after all.
Dorothy Walters
May 8, 2011
Sunday, May 08, 2011
poem by Alice Walker
We Have A Beautiful Mother
We have a beautiful
Mother
Her hills
Are buffaloes
Her buffaloes
Hills.
We have a beautiful
Mother
Her oceans
Are wombs
Her wombs
Oceans.
We have a beautiful
Mother
Her teeth
The white stones
At the edge
Of the water
The summer
Grasses
Her plentiful
Hair.
We have a beautiful
Mother
Her green lap
Immense
Her brown embrace
Eternal
Her blue body
Everything we know.
Alice Walker
Saturday, May 07, 2011
New Schedule
DEAR FRIENDS:
I HAVE DECIDED THAT I WILL NO LONGER POST ON SATURDAYS OR SUNDAYS. SEE YOU NEXT MONDAY!
Dorothy
Friday, May 06, 2011
"April" --poem by Peggy Wrenn
April 2011
spring rains should fall now
and what should be
rich and juicy is dry
crisp tinder
wild fires
already
burning
bears awakening should
find food berries and
salmon but dry
hot conditions
force them
desperate to
eat people
news reports on television
talk of those who don’t believe
in global climate change
don’t think that we all
live on one
planet
words lie like we do
afraid of revealing
who we really are
ancient stories
are re-run like
bad movies
we’ve forgotten how
we were formed in the
moist belly of the mother
yet she receives us back
with worms and microbes
with no judgment
no heaven
no hell
Peggy Wrenn
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Brian Swimme on PBS
Here is a message that was forwarded to me. I have heard Brian speak several times, and I recommend this film:
om: "Anne Hillman"
Date: May 5, 2011 10:37:31 AM MDT
To:
Subject: PBS SCREENING OF BRIAN SWIMME'S JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE
Dear Family and Friends, Brian Swimme is an philosopher of evolution who, with Thomas Berry, has made a major impact on my life. His new 55-minute film, “The Journey of the Universe” is such an important and stunning experience! I just saw it last weekend and it is being presented to the UN on June 2. It will also be broadcast on KQED PBS channel 9 on Saturday, June 11 at 5:30 pm. If you live out of the KQED (Denver) area, you can find the listing for your own region in the Calendar section on the PBS website. There is also a book that accompanies it which KQED is giving away for its fundraiser this summer. Seehttp://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/ and look for the trailer. But don’t miss the show! It’s filmed in Greece and is very, very beautiful.
(Picture from Hubble site)
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Bodhidharma and Awakening
Recently, I read an announcement of a new internet series in which several woman of fame and success will present their prescriptions for "awakening to truth of self" and attaining personal goals, most of which seemed to have to do with acquiring wealth and status. Again, I was puzzled at this seeming co-opting of spiritual aims for less than spiritual purposes, especially in series that purported to focus on major change in our society. Somehow, this project reminded me of the ancient story of the Bodhidharma, one of the early patriarchs of Buddhism.
The Emperor asked Bodhidharma, first, "How much karmic merit have I gained for ordaining Buddhist monks, building monasteries, having sutras copied, and commissioning Buddha images?" Bodhidharma answered, "None, good deeds done with selfish intent bring no merit." The emperor then asked,"So what is the highest meaning of noble truth?" Bodhidharma answered, "There is no noble truth, there is only the void." The emperor then asked,"Then, who is standing before me?" Bodhidharma answered, "I know not."
From then on, the emperor refused to hear more of what Bodhidharma might say, and the latter went into his cave, there to meditate for nine years.
It is often unwelcome news that spiritual awakening does not refer to accumulation of material wealth, nor does it derive necessarily from ancient texts or greater realization of "selfhood" as the world may define it. In fact, enlightenment refers to the dissolution of the sense of separate self and the realization that one is merely a tiny particle in the great stream of creative energy that is the source and ongoing dynamism of this world. I do not think that programs such as those described in the beginning are going to bring us closer to what is often called the "Awakening" experience.
However, I do not believe that the point of Bodhidarma's experience is that we should shun the world and go live in caves. I think, rather, it is an example of how one dedicated soul was willing to sacrifice a great deal to defend his ideals, the truth he was meant to spread in the world.
(Image of Bodhidharma from Google--not authentic, of course, since he lived many hundreds of years ago.)
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Who You Are (poem by Dorothy)
Who You Are
How the body is put together,
with its tender fastenings,
its mysterious openings,
its muscles working in
smooth coordination
to convey it
where it wishes to go,
how it changes
from year to year,
from day to day,
its cells working in collusion
to lift it always
into a new formulation,
how the face communicates
its signals
endlessly,
whether it is
happy or sad
or puzzled
or plotting,
how the inner and outer,
organs and coverings
are part
of the same being,
the same oneness
that is bound together
to make the unique creation,
the one combination
that is you,
present here,
now,
spirit’s abode,
soul’s habitation,
never to be encountered
again
here or elsewhere
in time’s endless
cycles.
Dorothy Walters
May 3, 2011
