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