"Sanctuary" - a meandering...

The word "Sanctuary" arose in answer to a question I asked
"The Universe": what is needed now? - with all the emotional
chaos I've been experiencing in life lately - especially the last
6 weeks.  And since I won't be packing up and moving to a
monastery any time soon, I wondered how I could "create"
this "sanctuary" that is required for my well-being - not as an
escape, but as respite for the Soul...

I ended up creating a "Sanctuary" of sorts in our bedroom
several months ago in anticipation of our current "visitor"...

Laying in the "sanctuary" on the bed creates a wonderful
space for rest and silence and solitude, when I can get there,
usually not until late at night.  Laying there I also notice
body sensations - the residual effects of daily engagement
with the "visitor", heaviness and tightness of the gut, chest
and throat; muddled mind, and aching muscles from left
over resistance, and tightness of the jaw; vestiges of the
mental and emotional gymnastics to keep one step ahead
of the "visitor's" manipulations to get her latest "fix": faking
a toothache, and other assorted games, to get what she wants...
Endless wanting...  Endless games...

In the "Sanctuary" however, everything is allowed and 
embraced, seen and acknowledged: the fear, the anxiety,
the anger, the sadness, and even the "visitor" - as the
Presence of Silence envelopes them all.  In "Sanctuary"
they are only waves upon the deeper Ocean of Life

In the "Sanctuary" of inner Stillness I asked:
What is the deeper need?

I listened deeply for the Voice of Silence that always
whispers the Truth...

"Sanctuary" was the reply once again.
"Rest in the inner Sanctuary,
aware of everything: thoughts, feelings, sensations,
body; the pulse of Silence, and the Rhythm of Life
running  through them all."

I relaxed a bit, held in the Infinite that consumes the
past, present and future; experiencing the felt sense
of Presence once again - at least in that moment...

"Sanctuary"

"Sanctuary" is a place of deep nourishment for me and has
been difficult to access lately.  It is a place to incubate, to open
to the depths of the Soul and explore the Ineffable. It offers me
an invitation to turn around, to return to the inner cosmos of
Being; to rest from the thinking mind, and experience the
Primordial Rest and Solace of Silence and Solitude - 

simply Being.  In tune to  some extent with the Inner Cosmos
of deep Silence and Stillness.

Photo - Mystic Meandering
Meditating Monk,
Mandala Art - Cathedral Windows
and OM painting

Come to Sit...

Come

to

sit,

to remember

the Silence within;

the vast Emptiness,

that is still and aware ~

just Be-ing…

Come

to

sit,

amongst the clutter of the mind,

between the chaos and confusion

on the waters of life,

amidst the disturbances in the flow

that are hard to navigate…

Come

to

sit,

in Stillness.

In the respite

that connects us to all that is true

in this life experience

and the vast Spaciousness

that is beyond

the disturbances of the mind;

the malfunctions of this body;

and the less than benevolent

intentions of others…

Come

to

sit,

emptied out in the space of

awake, aware Emptiness.

Remembering…

Recognizing the Self ~ again.

Receding into the Great Unknown,

like a wave back into the Ocean,

feeling the fullness of the Embrace…

Come,

Sit…

~*~

Mystic Meandering
copyright

May 30, 2010

photo – my May calendar page

Life as it is...

Come bathe in the pool of Pure Awareness everyday.

No seeking, no questioning, no agenda.

Just lay back into the Vastness of Beingness that just IS.

Feel the Spaciousness holding you, breathing you, living you…

Relax into this Vastness that holds

all experience of all that is, all that you *think* you know…

Just let it all be held here,

suspended in Knowing Awake Awareness.

Be still here and listen…

What are you aware of?

Awareness aware of itSelf, as you~

as your experience…

Allow yourself to *be* Awareness itSelf…

What do you see?

What to you experience?

Just ‘This’

Life as it presently IS,

being lived…

being experienced…

just Life living itSelf…

With awareness…

With acceptance…

With compassion…

~*~

Christine

May 21, 2010

Photo - christine

Simply Sit

In order to *know* the Buddha,

you have to *sit* with the Buddha…

In order to *know* Wisdom,

you have to *sit* with Wisdom…

In order to *know* the Truth,

you have to *sit* with the Truth…

In order to *know* the Heart,

you have to *sit* with the Heart…

Sit down, sink down into the depths,

beyond the stimulations of words, ideas,

thoughts, emotions, distractions,

and the quakings of the Heart…

Sink into the Ocean of Stillness,

into the Rhythm of Quiet – until you *know.*

…just sit…

open and receptive

unbounded,

untethered,

unfettered.

Simply sit…

~*~

Mystic Meandering
copyright
May 2, 2010

Serenity's Sanctuary - Winter

I am a winter being...

I love winter's hush of Quiet,

hibernating in Stillness...

I love the magic of new fallen snow.

I don't mind that we continue to get snow

in the "Southwest" into April ~

So I wanted to post these last expressions of winter
as a kind of farewell...

Actually - it's not always this way here.

This has been an unusual year.

Previous years have been drought-stricken
with virtually no Spring snow - or rain for that matter -
leaving a dry, brown, arid looking winter/spring transition.

So when snow comes to visit in April

I tend to delight in its magic...

I marvel at the way the snow embraces all life
with its beingness,
melting and infusing everything,
morphing itself into different forms on its way to
returning to its natural state of Being...

My heart smiles at the tiny snow crystals playfully dancing
and sparkling in the glint of morning sunlight.
I feel melancholy with the long-reaching branch shadows
that form against the crystalline white,
like the shadows that we are against the backdrop of Life.

I feel a parting of an old friend,
knowing the season has passed for another year,
and the wheel is turning into a new cycle
requiring new energy,
new perspective,
new transitions...

Winter is my favorite season...
It gives me permission to just Be...

Sweet Serenity...

~*~

Photos - Christine

The Reflecting Pool

Look deeply into the well…

Look into the reflecting pool within.

Who is the face looking back at you?

Look deeply into the reflecting pool,

the well of Being within, and see Being itSelf.

You are the reflection of Being,

playing in the reflecting pool.

Being delights in your reflection – seeing it as its own,

reflecting the Primordial Being within you…

reflecting its Truth ~

Your True Nature…

Look deeply within…

Sweet Serenity…

Photo - Christine

The Face of the 'Self'

What is this “I” – this *sense* of me,

that rises up with thought and emotion?

What is this “I” – this *sense* of me,

that engages in the surface chaos,

with the suffering, and gets entangled?

What is this”I” – this *sense* of me

that will not rest…

What is this “I” – this *sense* of me

that resists recognizing its own

Beingness, its Presence,

its own reflection…

When will this “I” – this sense of me

no longer arise as a separate sense of me,

imagined to be real…

Thought comes back in and

creates the idea of this sense of me…

Contraction occurs.

And a sense of “me” emerges…

What is this “I” – this sense of “me”?

It is Consciousness itSelf…

It is Being itSelf...

manifested as the “me,”

playing *as* the “me.”

”I” (me) is also IT (Consciousness)

having a thought, a dream

that is called “me.”

Being/Consciousness *appears* as “me”

being “me”

being itSelf…

The “self” is the face of the ‘Self ‘-

interfacing with life…

We *are* the ‘Self’ being the “self” –

simultaneously itSelf…

Like the Ocean rising up

and curling back on itSelf - seeing itSelf.

We are ripples of the water of Existence.

We are Existence itSelf.

*Knowing* this is ~ Sweet Serenity…

excerpts from my journals

2008-2010

photo – Christine

Can you see the shadow faces?!

Awareness Moments

Every new experience becomes a new awareness moment,

and every awareness moment opens a portal to a new level of awareness…

Like walking through a field of tall grass, having to part the grass

as you go, to make your way - with each step

the path is made evident by the awareness.

When you part the grass, you open up the path to

a new experience - a new awareness.

Each parting of the grass, each step through life,

*is* the present moment.

Each new experience *is* the present moment.

You have to be receptive to what is revealed

in the parting of the grass,

what the new portal of awareness offers…

You can’t control what’s there.

You can’t control what is revealed.

But you can be receptive to what the moment offers…

Every moment is the present moment.

Every step *through* life is an opening

to the present moment.

It’s a chain of awarenesses that allows greater awareness

of the whole…

Wisdom from my husband in conversation today…

Photo – Christine

view through skylight

Serenity's Sanctuary - The Movement

Life is the movement of Aware Still Consciousness.

Life is the manifestation of this “Mystery” ~

the movement of this vast Stillness.

Life itself is “The Mystery” in endless, subtle movement

with Itself ~

*as* Itself ~

in form…

There is a rhythm to this movement

a rhythmic fluid movement

that intimately “interacts” with form,

like the Ocean lapping up on shore ~

The gentle, rhythmic movement of Consciousness ~

aware of Itself…

”The Movement” is Awareness Itself in the space of Quietude,

where everything falls back into

the Rhythm of Awareness ~ Awareing.

There is an invitation from this Still Aware Presence to

rest in this movement of “The Mystery” within you.

Be the Rhythm ~

Live the Rhythm ~

Aware…

Sweet Serenity…

Notes from my journal – 2009

Photo ~ Christine Kennedy

Serenity's Sanctuary - The Heart

What we look for in another is what our Being is:

unconditional Love – Acceptance – Compassion.

Everything that we long for is just an *expression*

of that longing of the Heart ~

For Being – For Love

which gets substituted with longing

for objects, things, people, experiences.

What’s behind it is an innocent longing for “Home”

~ Oneness with the Divine ~

Freedom.

Let your innocent longing carry you to

the still Heart of Being.

Be at Home in the Heart of Being

within you.

Come into deep communion with

the Heart of Being.

Recognize IT in you.

Being is like a lover who knows you intimately -

an intimate knowing that holds who you are

in deep acceptance.

You are embraced,

you are touched,

like smooth ripples on a pond

that gently caress everything in their path -

and kiss everything in their unfolding.

You are deeply Loved…

Sweet Serenity…

Notes from my journals 2005

Fun-Qi Art™ :) - Christine

Serenity's Sanctuary - Nature

The Common Land

The common land – the land that belongs to Nature -

spreads out before me straw brown and velveteen,

carpeting the earth, plush and soft.

The colossal cottonwoods line the edges of the

common land and fill out the in-between spaces.

Like skeletal silhouettes, they reach up into the

cloud whisked sky, embracing the late afternoon sun.

The pond lies frozen at the distant end of the common land

like an opaque mirror unable to reflect.

Yet – adds its frosted image to the lullaby of the landscape.

There’s something comforting about the common land

in Winter that draws my soul and captures my spirit;

a soothing presence that plays its own mystical rhythm

around and through me.

The land in its dormancy provides solace;

allows me to hear the Stillness that surrounds me.

In this deep connection everything else loses its importance,

its priority, its urgency.

Perspective returns like a long lost, yet familiar friend,

and my spirit is released…

Nature ~ Sweet Serenity

Christine Kennedy

January 1999

Serenity's Sanctuary - Rest

Rest, just rest ~

deep rest

in the Rhythm ~

the internal, intuitive

fluid movement of Life

~ rest there ~

sense its fluidity

taste its scent

smell its color

feel its music

touch its texture

hear its whisper

see its sound

move with its Flow

its natural cycles

~ rest sweet rest ~

Sweet Serenity

Christine Kennedy

January 31, 2010

Fun-Qi Art™ - :) Christine

Unwinding the Wound

The “original wound” of humanity is a

*perceived separation* from the Essence of all Life,

from Source, from God-Consciousness.

Healing this universal wound is a

healing of the consciousness of separation –

the “split” in consciousness of the Heart

that became the shadow.

This wound of separation is just a consciousness

spawned from the *belief* in separation.

A *belief* in separation creates a consciousness

of fear and darkness – a shadow.

It is only a *belief.*

It is not real.

You are caught in the net of separation,

*thinking* it is real.

Emerge through this layer of darkness

by *recognizing* the Consciousness of Presence –

the Beingness that you are…

See life through the eyes of this Presence.

Find your internal “Home” in the sense of this Beingness.

Recognize the Presence of Being within you

~ the place of un-wounding ~

unwinding the wound

in the Flow of communion with the Infinite…

Notes from my journal – 2004

Photo – Bill Kennedy

The picture is patterns created

by a “visualizer” while music was playing.

Serenity's Sanctuary - The Flow of Being

Allow the Flow of Being Itself to move through you – to move you,

and do what comes naturally from this Flow within.

~

Allow yourself to be carried by the tides of Being.

Relax into the ripples of Divine Flow and let go…

~

Immerse in the Rhythm of the Flow that carries you,

like the rhythm of a river running through you.

The Flow of Life runs its course the way it needs to.

The Flow of Being keeps going, keeps flowing,

no matter what the obstacles.

~

Be at peace in the flow and fluidity of Love’s Presence.

Just live in the Flow…

Just live It…

Just Trust ~ Just Love ~ Just Be…

Sweet Serenity…

Notes from my journals

Fun-Qi Art - :) Christine

Serenity's Sanctuary - Stillness

Reside in Stillness. Sink into Stillness.

Entrain deeply with Stillness, the flow and fluidity of Stillness.

Go deep and suspend in Stillness till an entrainment occurs.

Keep coming back to Stillness and let it “imprint” you,

groove you into a new groove.

Allow Stillness, the depths of Being, to infuse your mind,

body, chi ~ a deep communing with Stillness.

~

Fall into Stillness.

Be at peace with your life

And do not wish for anything to be different.

Find the Stillness in everything you experience.

Find the still corners of your experience and wait.

~

Listen deeply… Hear Stillness. Receive Stillness.

Rejuvenation is found by resting in Stillness ~

The Primordial Space of Life.

Rest there.

Sink deeply ~ listen ~ and delight

in the communion...

Sweet Serenity…

Notes from my journals 2004-2006

Fun-Qi Art™ - :) Christine

Note – the word Awareness can be substituted for Stillness,

the Awareness that is aware…

Serenity's Sanctuary - Awareness

Come and bathe in the pool of Awareness everyday.

No seeking, no questioning, no agenda.

Just lay back into the Vastness of Beingness that just Is.

Feel the Spaciousness holding you, breathing you, living you.

Relax into this vast “Container” that holds

all experiences of all that is, all that you think you know.

Just let it all be held here,

suspended in Knowing Awareness.

Be still here and listen…

What are you aware of?

Awareness aware of Itself ~ as you ~

as your experience…

Allow yourself to be Awareness.

What do you see?

What do you experience?

Serenity…

Sweet Serenity…

Christine Kennedy

Originally written as “Serenity”

Copyright May 2, 2009

Photo – picture of clouds cropped from original

Bill Kennedy