Indwelling - Fred LaMotte

 As you fall asleep tonight,
do not take this Breath
for granted.  Honor Her
as a royal guest, making
a spacious tent of your flesh.

For she who contains the galaxies
has come to dwell in you,
pouring her gift of starlight
down your backbone.

...Your exhalation
will lead you to a crystal door.
The key is silence.
Step through.

Follow her dark rainbow
into the golden void.
Let the wings of astonishment
carry your from death to death
until you gaze into your own
original face, floating
in a vastness with no name.

A scent of blossoms
from the garden of the unborn
will guide you home...
Just make the pilgrimage, friend,
the journey of one breath
from the mind to the Heart.

Fred LaMotte
Uradiance

~

Photo - a note card I've had for years
credit on back: Francene Hart

...Lalla - Ivan Granger - Rupert Spira

I have traveled a long way seeking God
but when I finally gave up and turned back
there He [She] was within me!

Lalla
14th Century Mystic
of the Kashmir Shaivism tradition

For so many mystics it is this way.  After intense searching
without "success",  what can be done but give up or collapse?
Yet a special thing happens at that very moment.  We drop
our expectations, our hopes, our projections about this
external thing called "God" [Self/Enlightenment].  For the
first time we have truly let go of the story we've been telling
ourselves about what "God" is...  It is only then that the
scales fall way from our eyes.

We stop straining to look, and finally see.
And we see the Eternal already here, within.

Ivan Granger
Poetry Chaikhana

~

After the current of seeking gives up and sinks back down
into the depths of the Ocean of which it is itself a
modulation, it finds the peace for which it was in search...

Rupert Spira

~

Photo - Colored in Mandala
digitally blurred
Mystic Meandering

~

Nothing is more important in these polarizing, unsettled
 times than directly experiencing the Presence of our
Eternal Being within, and knowing that we *are*
that...  That's what will get us through... 
I endeavor to *feel* this Presence daily...
Try to find a quiet space to be in each day
and enter the Quietness within
and just breathe

Namaste

_/\_

Infinite Unfolding - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

The Mystical Path
takes one into the depths of the Heart.
It leads you from the known to the unknown,
and then further into
the unknowable,
into a darkness brighter than
any light.

Nothing can prepare you for the Heart's journey,
for the places it can take you,
the depths and the heights
that are within you.
So many times  you think you are crazy,
bewildered and lost.
There are few signposts,
often little sense of direction.
It is our own unique journey.

It takes us to places where there are no
books or stories, no words to comfort us,
except the story of our own Heart,
our own confusion, longing and love.

We awaken to the simple and fundamental truth
that there is nothing other than 'God.'
Even the idea of a path is an illusion...

~

So what is this love story that unfolds within
the Heart of a Mystic?

How much of "our story" is [really] "God's story"?

...all one story,
One Light
split into many fragments,
yet always remaining
One Light...

This one story
is lived in millions of ways,
each story a unique fragrance of Love.
Every cell in creation lives its own love story -
its longing for the Source.
Human beings have the capacity
to make this story conscious,
to know the nature of their
hidden longing.

There can only ever be
one story,
because
there is only one Beloved,
and yet
we are part of this story;
our little "i"
must also be
a part of
The Beloved...

Infinitely Unfolding

Excerpts from:
Fragments of a Love Story
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Sufi Mystic

~

Please  note: I have taken excerpts from  the book
and arranged them in the form of a prose poem.

~

Photo: Mystic Meandering
Lotus Heart Stained Glass piece digitally zoom blurred

Listening Within the Heart - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

...listening within the Heart attunes us to The Beloved.
By listening within the Heart we develop the ear of the Heart,
the inner listening of the soul that can perceive at this higher
frequency.  Still, such listening requires both attentiveness and
discrimination, as it is not always easy to discriminate between
the voice of the ego and the voice of The Beloved.  But there is
a distinct difference.  The words of the ego and mind belong to
duality; the words of the Heart carry the imprint of oneness
 [wholeness]. In the Heart there is no argument, no you and me,
 just an unfolding [attitude of] oneness [unity].  The Heart
embraces a difficulty, the ego takes sides...

Listening, waiting for Love's words, turns us away from our
own needs to being attentive to the higher need. [the need of the soul]
In our need we call to The Beloved, and then wait at the doorway
of the Heart, listening for an answer.  But gradually, imperceptibly,
this inner listening becomes more important than our own need.
Our questions become fewer, our inner attention grows.
The Beloved begins to nourish us [the soul's need] with the response...

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi Mystic

from: Prayer of the Heart

[brackets mine]

Via: No Mind's Land

~

Photo - light through Venetian Blinds
taken by my husband...

"Devotion"...

An unexpected visceral longing arises -
again...
A primal Love and Longing for what cannot be named;
like a lover pining away for their "Beloved."
Its intensity nearly snuffs my heart out
and will only be revived by the Silence of "The Presence."

The Heart only wants to touch and be touched
by, "The Divine",
however defined, or undefined.
It only wants to dissolve into
the Sacred Silence of the Inner Room.
Nothing else matters...

Even when "spiritual seeking" ends,
this inexplicable Longing remains
deep within the Heart -
not heeding the dissuasive voices of
the minds of acquired knowledge,
or those who claim "enlightenment"
who would dismiss it,
discredit it,
and say there is no need for it;
as if I were a fool for longing.

It just is...

It is beyond words...

I allow the Longing to be...
following its irresistible pull -
drawing me more deeply inward
to Itself...

Letting go of external "spiritual" constructs
and the conceptual maps of what I assumed to be reality...

Instead

I listen - to The Heart of my heart that Longs for
the undeniable fragrance of "Her" Presence...
the warm touch of "Her" Invisible Hand
upon the Heart,
opening its "gates" to the rush of Love...

The Fire of Love's Longing will not be quelled until it is
quenched with the Golden Elixir of
The Ineffable Living Presence...

Even after seeking ends,
this Heart aches, at times,
to Remember;
to feel the felt sense of "Her";
to hear the whisper of "her" Voice;
to experience the indescribable perfusion
of this Immutable Reality
breathing in and out
through this body...

This Primal Love and Longing IS Devotion...

Unashamedly, I embrace it,
this Love, this Longing,
which at times immerses me in the
Illumined Glow of Love's Furnace...

It is an Invisible Path -
deepening into
the Mysteries of the Heart;
not an outward journey of seeking and arriving,
or finding,
but diving deep
into the
"Mystical Heart"
whose only language is
Love...

Mystic Meandering
Oct. 2016

Note: "The Divine", as I use it here, is not an entity as such with a name "God" or "Goddess."  It is neither male nor female.  It is an Ineffable Presence, an "energetic signature", if you will, of "The Mystery."  When I use the term "Her", it refers to this "energy" that has a felt sense of being "feminine" - which is of course completely subjective, but experienced by many.

_/\_

Photo: Burning Fire Vortex
Craypas Oils
2011

The Ocean of Love - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

The place where the two seas meet,
is the place where there is a simple meeting
of Divine and human:
the Divine purpose coming into form…
Here there is a light
that is held within the Heart.
It is the locus of the mystical journey.

Something comes alive within
our Heart and Soul;
we become nourished,
not by spiritual texts or teachings,
but by direct transmission.

The place where the two seas meet
is where one lives in the currents
of divine consciousness
and yet
is also held in the sea
of human experience.

There is a mystery present
in the real nature of a human being -
as a part of this limited world of forms,
of thoughts, emotions, and sensations…

…Once you have tasted the
Ocean of Love it is in your blood.
It is always calling to you,
sometime from afar,
and sometimes so close
you can feel its Presence.

We are surrounded by Love
in all of its intensity and wonder.
This is the Love that draws us
into the depths.

Through inner alchemy
is the promise of the Heart:
that Love will reveal its secrets…

Excerpts from: Fragments of a Love Story
by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
put into prose poem form.

~*~

Photo: Vortex Art
Mystic Meandering
2010

Infinite Unfolding - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

The Mystical Path
takes one into the depths of the Heart.

It leads you from the known to the unknown,
and then further into
the unknowable,
into a darkness brighter than
any light.

Nothing can prepare you for the Heart’s journey,
for the places it can take you,
the depths and the heights
that are within you.
So many times you think you are crazy,
bewildered and lost.
There are few signposts,
often little sense of direction.

It is our own unique journey.

It takes us to places where there are no
books or stories, no words to comfort us,
except the story of our own Heart,
our own confusion, longing and love.

We discover the illusory nature of the ego.

The “I” is just an illusion, a veil of separation.

We awaken to the simple and fundamental truth
that there is nothing other than God.

Even the idea of a path is an illusion…

~

So what is this love story that unfolds within
the Heart of a Mystic?

How much of “our story” is [really] “God’s story”?

…all one story,
One Light
split into many fragments,
yet always remaining
One Light…

This one story
is lived in millions of ways,
each story a unique fragrance of Love.
Every cell in creation lives its own love story,
its longing for the Source.

Human beings have the capacity
to make this story conscious,
to know the nature of their
hidden longing.

There can only ever be
one story,
because
there is only one Beloved,
and yet
we are part of this story;
our little “i”
must also be
a part of
The Beloved…

Infinitely Unfolding

Excerpts from:
Fragments of a Love Story

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi Mystic

Please note: I have taken excerpts from various pages
in the book and arranged them in the form of a prose poem.

~

Photo: Lotus Heart Stained Glass Zoom Blurred

Buddha Light...

I am not a Buddhist, but I LOVE sitting with the Cosmic Buddha in meditation; experiencing the Buddha energy, which for me is a tangible, felt sense of the Loving Joy of the Buddha Heart that makes my Heart smile with Bliss. Some might call me a “Buddha Mystic. ”J  I feel the energy as I write here after spending time in meditation this morning.   It is an energy that is deeply abiding, that knows your Heart, and is recognized as Pure Love and Joy – even making your Heart laugh.

Today is Wesak – the celebration of the historical Buddha’s birth and “enlightenment” (and some say his death as well) when The Buddha’s Presence is more tangibly felt, according to legend.  I feel it…

May you bask in the Presence of the ‘Buddha’s Heart” today – feeling the Joy and Love in your Heart of Hearts that makes your Heart a little Lighter…   _/\_

Sunrise!

Yesterday I commented on a fellow blogger's blog – Beyond the Fields We Know – on her series, SayYes to Life! – that I was never up at dawn, because I am a night owl, and an insomniac, so I don’t normally see the sunrise…  And that I wished I could see it…  Well, as Life would have it, I awoke this morning at 5:30 am, for what reason I don’t know.  My husband was up at 6:01, as usual.  I peeked at the clock… J  I tried to turn over and continue sleeping, but I could hear noises – that I don’t usually hear of course.  It was hubby puttering around in his office and down in the kitchen…  So I thought what the heck and clamored out of bed and went down to see if the sun was coming up.  Low and behold there it was!  The sunrise this morning was at 6:04 am.  I was probably up at 6:11, grabbed the camera and quickly took these photos through our dirty windows. And was back in bed by 6:30 am….  Still unable to sleep, I am back up posting this…    This was not the most colorful sunrise, but one I actually got to see! LOL    Be careful what you wish for. :)  The words below the photos are from John O’Donohue…

"May you awaken to the mystery of being here,
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence."

"May you experience each day as a sacred gift
woven around the heart of wonder."

A Mystical Spirituality...

Being a “mystic”, for me anyway, means experiencing the living Presence of Life that animates all life.  Some call that God, The Divine, Pure Consciousness, Infinite Beingness, Spirit, Brahman, the Tao, etc.  It has many names and forms. It is being able to see the Sacred in the every-day-ness of life – something I admittedly am still “working” on – meaning - I am trying to be more *aware* of the “Sacred” in the mundane affairs of life, in the requirements of daily living; in the must do’s and have-to’s that always find their way to the top of my list, and drive my life...  Learning to actually *see* that it's all “The Mystery” living ItSelf here - as I believe it is; that it is the play of the Infinite Cosmos.

A Mystical Spirituality pertains to direct communion with this Ultimate Reality.  We are always in communion with Ultimate Reality, whether we recognize it or not.  Some may assume this means that a “mystic” doesn’t experience the darker emotions, or frustrations with life.  Some feel that a “mystic” has special insights or powers, or visions, or is only interested in seeking “mystical experiences.”  But for me it is not in *seeking* experiences, but being open to the movement of “the Mystery” and its expressions, *living* in a sense of mystery, and at times experiencing an intimate encounter with what I know to be “The Divine”, like my “Epiphany” back in November, or through “meditative writings” many years ago, and poetry that sometimes just spills out onto the page.  Mystical spirituality acknowledges the Universality of God/Christ Consciousness, or Buddha Nature within, which is not associated with any particular faith, religion, or practice, but is a transcendent spirituality – realizing that humans are both “Divine” and human, both form and formless, spirit and matter.

Wayne Teasdale, a 20^th century Christian Mystic, and author of A Mystic Heart, says:

 ‘Mystical spirituality draws us into the depths of our Being, where we come face to face with ourselves, our weakness, AND with the Ultimate Mystery.  Spirituality is not external religiosity, not confined to ritual and liturgy.  It is a way of life that affects and includes every moment of existence…  It is a disposition to a life of depth…  Mystical spirituality is profoundly transformative when it inspires in us the attitude of surrender to “The Mystery,” to the spiritual awakening of mankind…” 

“How we make the journey is what spirituality is really about – finding our own path.  This means finding a way to the vast unlimited consciousness of The Divine, to The Mystery, (or Buddha Nature) within.  We are created for this ‘spiritual journey’ – the direct and immediate experience of Ultimate Reality, which knows everything as ItSelf. Being infinitely aware, it knows in a unitive and universal fashion through awareness of non-duality and non-separation, of no distance between ourselves, the Ultimate Mystery, and all other beings…  The spiritual journey is essentially one of discovering the roots of our true identity.  It is a process of returning to the totality of Consciousness, from which we have arisen.” 

 “Everything is part of an undivided wholeness where each being reflects this totality.  Non-duality means ‘not-two’, and yet, ‘not-one.’  That is, in the relationship between Divine Reality and human being there is a subtle distinction, but not a separation.  And so the relationship is said to be non-dual.  Human beings are *essentially* Divine.” [or Buddha Nature, or Pure Consciousness, etc.].

In a sense then, Easter points us, not to “redemption”, but to the “revelation” of our “Divinity”, or True Identity – discovering again what is already here, that which we were never separated from, but have not always recognized:  the Infinite that continually shines in the depths of our being - as our origin. 

~

“We cannot live in a world that is interpreted for us by others.
[We must] take back our own listening,
use our own voice,
see our own Light.”

Hildegard of Bingen.

12^th Century Christian Mystic

~

Photo: a "mistake" :)

Have no clue what this was.
Digitally colored.

Mystic Heart...

"Mystical experience is the awakening
to the Mystery within and without
and beyond us;
happening in the pesent moment
of the eternal now.

Mystical experience is always here,
inviting us on a journey of
ultimate discovery.
How we make the journey
is what spirituality
is all about.

Existence is a
summons
to the
eternal
journey
of the sage...
the sage we all are,
if only we could see.
It is our spiritual nature…”

Wayne Teasdale

Christian Mystic
From: The Mystic Heart

“If you could [look beyond] yourself just once,
the secret of secrets would open to you.

The face of the unknown,
hidden beyond the universe
would appear
 on the mirror
of your
  perception.”

Rumi

”The Mystic’s path takes one into
the
 depths
 of
 the
 Heart…

It leads from the known to
the unknown,
and
 then
 further
into
 the
 unknowable…

Nothing can prepare you for
the Heart’s journey…
It is a mystery
 of the
Heart’s
 awakening…”

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi Mystic
From:
 Fragments of a Love Story

~



Photos:
#1 - Raindrops on Screen
#2 - Shadow on Wall
zoom blurred
#3 - Shadow on Wall