Living in Timelessness

There is the timelessness of the eternal Moment which is the coexistence of all things, places, and possibilities narrowed to a single point.

And there is the timelessness of living without a personal past - relating to life's flow in the present as that which is most real.

The first penetrates the fabric of time, creating the experience of the Eternal as a living reality.

The second penetrates the illusion of a personal self shaped by history and bound to it.

To live timelessly in time is a gift to the experiencing self and to humanity as well, for it embodies the sacred within human form. It does not do away with relationship or connection with others, but rather enfolds these in the ultimate perspective of Divine Love. It does not do away with the self as a point of consciousness, but rather transforms this into part of the Oneness.

Timelessness and time are not opposites but two parts of the same thing. Time is the vessel. The timeless is what is poured into it.

Water

I sat beside the reservoir today and listened to the gentle waves lapping against the shore. There was scarcely a breeze, but the waves came anyway, one after another, in the arms of the slight wind that blew.

As I watched, I felt the life of water - not just this water, but all water, and the remarkable gift of it. Before there was water there was the idea of water in the Mind of God - the idea of a substance that would represent fluidity - indeed, that would teach fluidity to emerging consciousness. I felt in this the entire thrust of Creation, manifesting those ideas that would give meaning and structure to physical existence.

Human beings often view nature as a thing, composed of physical objects, landscapes, and elements. But before it became a thing, it was part of a Divine movement - the light that moved over the face of the deep - the 'Lila' that is the Divine play of God.

All of this spoke to me in the waves lapping on the shore. Nothing is accidental, they said. All is holy.

Hunger for Spirit

Each soul comes into life with certain things of the spirit that they hunger for. These things may not conform to the outer shape of any particular religion or spiritual discipline. Yet, the heart knows what it waits for as the gift of life and of spirit.

Whether love, friendship, or entrance into the great Mystery, the heart's goals are essentially spiritual for they represent an ideal of ultimate value that the soul strives to realize in life. Such an aspiration, no matter how it is framed by the mind, derives from the source of all ideals which is God.

Whithin God, all ideals come together as One which is why the experience of that One is bliss or Nirvana. Nirvana is the experience of the oneness of all ideals within the single Source that they emanate from.

In human experience this is quite different. Here, ideals can be aspired to with partial commitment or with a full heart, and one ideal can seem to conflict with another. In the place of ultimate truth, however, each pure ideal exists in harmony with all others as the many faces of the exalted Divine.

What is Intimacy?

  Do you feel the wind..?
Do you feel the light within..?
Let me help you to see..
Take my hand and dance with me...
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It is a lifelong journey to discover what intimacy truly is, and beyond a single lifetime, it is also the journey of the soul through time. For the soul is continually learning about the nature of love, until it merges with the universal which is the perfection of limitless love.

Within the human sphere and beyond, intimacy has to do with the way of feeling 'met' and of 'meeting' others. It relates not only to one's partner or spouse, but to all beings with whom one is in relationship, both human and non-human. Intimacy asks us to be fully present to the sacred nature of our relationship with them, to see and to know them in the fullness of who they are. The greatest intimacy is between God and the inner being or self. Within this intimacy, one feels fully known and knowing, fully loved and loving. In a word - completely 'met.'

Meeting others can also become a spiritual practice - a call to bring the fullest measure of attention, openness, listening, and honoring to the occasion of meeting another. The great beauty and potential of relationship lies in this meeting between the depth of another and the depth of our own self. Those moments of meeting often mark the highpoints of an entire life.


Photo and Poem: Festblues ~ Nina

A New Kind of Pencil

A wise man once said:

If you want to know who is a truly creative person, an inventor in whatever field they are in, ask a group of people to create a new kind of pencil. Most of them will visualize what a pencil looks like and will imagine, on that basis, what it could become.

The truly creative person will visualize a blank space, and in that space will exist the question: What is a pencil? From that empty space, a whole new concept can be born.

So it is with invention and with life. To release the past, to become perpetually new, to be present in the present, visualize an empty space and enter it. Here, you can become anything, here you can become who you truly are, here something new can be born.

How to See With Inner Eyes

Outer eyes and ears register vibration in terms of color, sound, movement, and touch.

Inner eyes and ears register vibration in terms of emotion, motivation, meaning, and higher purpose or identity.

To see with inner eyes and to hear with inner ears is to feel, in each moment, the inner being of another that is trying to express. It is to see with the eyes of love beyond limitation, distortion, like, dislike, or any other characteristic one might think of as less attractive, to the pure essence of the soul. This soul is expressing on the physical plane at all times.

Such an expression can be a radiant outpouring or it can be a small trickle. Often, it can be perceived as an energy - the life-force of this uniquely created being who is manifesting with the fullest measure of integrity and beauty they are capable of. This inner being can be seen through the outer.

Its worth is immeasurable, for it is part of the Divine One.

Its goal is the freedom to be, and it is achieving that goal to the best of its ability at every moment.

Its path is beauty, not because it does not, on an outer level, carry limitation or distortion, but because its inner being is pure and is striving for beauty in all things.

To see with inner eyes and to hear with inner ears is to know the ascending movement of an individual consciousness. Such a consciousness may rise out of a darkened past, but is always seeking the light of day.

Even criminals carry this desire within themselves. Even those who, in their misguided attempts to set themselves free, have interrupted the life and freedom of others. Just because one has given up or become disillusioned with certain things, does not mean that the deeper part of the self is not still seeking them.

Life-force and the desire to exist as oneself are two aspects of the same thing. Each being has an intrinsic desire to come into being, to manifest itself. This is why souls have undertaken the Earth journey in the first place. Their goal, to manifest themselves within time and space.

All of this is words, however, if one cannot forgive limitation and see with the eyes of love. Until that time, the outer will seem more important than the inner, and the darkened aspects of personal expression more important than the light within.

Orienting toward the beauty of the soul, however, is like watching a newborn awakening to itself. It is the same with all beings. Every single consciousness is awakening to itself and is, in effect, being born in each moment.

May it be so. Amen.

Gratitude

The natural response to the sacred is gratitude,
for what is sacred confers blessing,
and what is blessed produces joy and gladness.

Where gratitude is absent, one is not fully experiencing
the sacredness of the sacred.
There may be words that are used
or practices that are undertaken,
but only a grateful heart is witness to blessing.

Photo: Claude Renault - Prayer - Varanasi - Uttar Pradesh

Speaking to Trees

I walked behind the house this morning, trying to see what trees were overshading the yard, and what might be removed without harm in order to let more sunlight penetrate. This is always a delicate matter, since trees are living beings, and one must have their understanding and permission in order to remove them for any purpose, even a good one.

I placed my hand on the tree whose canopy was overshading the yard, and put my forehead against its trunk. I asked what it thought and how it felt about my removing it in order to make more space and light.

The tree spirit answered:

"You don't have to feel guilty about this, beloved One. We are all connected through the root system, and the life-force that rises through this expression will rise again through a different expression elsewhere. You are not harming life by removing this one manifestation. This one is connected to all others and will manifest its life-force elsewhere. Do what you feel is needed, beloved One, and thank you for being so respectful in your asking."

I am still not certain about moving ahead with this removal plan. However, the promise of renewal of life gives permission and grace to whatever decision shall be made.

For those who wish to speak to trees, an open mind and an open heart are the keys. As both heart and mind learn to tune to the Oneness, communication in different forms can take place.


See also: The Spiritual Nature of Trees

Confinement

His eyes were soft,
his voice small and weak,
the desire to communicate diminished over time
by the feeling of not being heard.

Nevertheless, inside a fire raged.
It sought to burst the confines
that locked him within himself.
It sought to create visibility.

Rage is sometimes like that,
a burning flame of protest that
desires above all to be known -
to break free of the bonds of imprisonment.

Do you know how you can set others free?
Listen to them. Such a force can heal the world.

How to See in Color

Two friends walk down a street together.

One sees people passing by in a blur,
only remembering the face of the one he is talking to.

The other remembers the smell of a bakery's sweet buns,
the pale Spring green of a young tree planted on a corner,
the blonde and pink streaked hair of a young girl
gliding by on roller skates,
a mother rocking her baby and talking to her.

What we pay attention to determines how we live.

There are times when intimate focus is needed,
when our whole concentration needs to be on
the one thing we are doing or feeling.
This may be another person, or it may be
an idea, prayer, or thought we wish to keep in mind.

There are other times when our attention needs to be
open and unfocused - moments when concentrated awareness
gets in the way of experiencing what is.

Divinity lies in both places, for both can be alive with the sacred.

When we can let the sensory impressions of life
come to us as a gift,
we receive the blessings of living in a body.
For this gift is not only about perceiving
the physical reality in which we live.
It is about perceiving what lies behind the physical -
the soul nature of all things and the Source from which they come.

We can walk down the street as a person
feeling only the measure of time and space we occupy,
or we can walk down the street as a soul
feeling the sweet spiritual air
of a sacred world unfolding.

Moving Water

The sound of moving water,
a bubbling stream,
a small waterfall over rock.
These are the sacred sounds of life
given by the Creator.
Listen. Feel. Be present.
All is holy.

The Carpenter's Knee

He came to measure and replace something, hobbling painfully up the stairs with a wounded knee - a crusty New Englander who looked older than his years. He chewed gum loudly and threw his clipboard upon the bed as if it were his own personal possession, dropping things here and there of pencils, paper, a supplier's brochure. None of this was done but with an air of innocence, of long practiced work that had developed certain habits of the trade, certain ways of relating.

He surveyed the work to be done quickly, having his own way of summing up the measure of what was needed, and almost as soon as he had begun, he was finished. He then hobbled painfully down the stairs, clearly uncomfortable though stoic, speaking of the surgery that he hoped would fix his knee. This was to take place in a number of days - surgery he should have had two years ago, he said, but he had had other things on his mind. Now, he was hoping for the best. He told me this as he sat on the two lowest steps, relacing the boots I had asked him to remove when he came in.

"May I take your hand?" I asked. He put his hand out gently without asking for an explanation. "I'm a healer," I told him," and I'd like to help make your surgery easier." His hand rested in mine while he talked once again about his surgery. His hand felt soft and gentle between my palms despite the callouses, and I felt his trust, and I felt his innocence. He took his hat off then and said to me that he should remember not to wear a hat in the house. A subtle remembrance - a sign of respect and honoring that was taking place as I held his hand.

"Oh, well. Gotta go," he said. "I'll get back to you in a couple of days about the work." And he was gone in an instant, on to his next job.

Wisdom

The Earth is alive,
The trees can speak.
One can feel wisdom everywhere
when the heart is open.

How to Have a Conversation - Letting Go of Defenses

Where defensiveness is, there listening stops. Then one's consciousness is attuned not to what is taking place in reality, but to what the ego-self believes it needs in order to protect itself.

To listen, defensiveness must be let go of. To speak, the heart must be clear. Only in this way can one have a real conversation.

There is a path of healing involved in speaking. Listen to your own voice. Let your breath fill your voice and carry it.

If you find that you are not breathing, notice that, and begin to breathe more deeply.

If you find that you are not listening, notice that, and practice detaching from your defenses.

"I am safe. I am protected. I am not my fear." These are the ways of aligning with God's truth and your own truth.

Speak. Listen. Become one with the moment.

How to Have a Conversation - Being Vulnerable
How to Have a Conversation

Essence

God's presence infuses the present
like aroma in incense, or like
hardness in a piece of wood.
It is not an added feature,
but rather part of the essence itself.