The Soul's Rhythm - John O'Donohue

We should not force ourselves to change by hammering
our lives into any predetermined shape.  We do not need to
operate according to the idea of a predetermined program or
plan for our lives.  Rather we need to practice a new art of
attention to our inner rhythm...  This attention brings a new
awareness of our own human and divine presence.

It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness
than with the idea of will.  Too often people try to change
their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their
life into proper shape.  The intellect identifies the goal of the
program, and the will accordingly forces the life into shape.
This way of approaching the sacredness of one's own
presence is externalistic and violent.  It brings you falsely
outside of your own self and you can spend years lost in the
wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual programs.

You can perish in a famine of your own making.

If you work with a different rhythm, you will come easily and
naturally home to your self.  Your Soul knows the geography...
  Your Soul alone has a map..., therefore you can trust this
 indirect, oblique side of your self.  If you do, it will take you

  where you need to go, but more importantly, it will teach
you a kindness of rhythm in your journey. 
There are no general principles for this art of being.
Yet the signature of this unique journey is inscribed deeply in
each Soul. If you attend to your self and seek to come into
your own presence, you will find exactly the right rhythm
for your life.  The senses are generous pathways which can
bring you home.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

with thanks to The Beauty We Love

~

....belong first in your own interiority.  If you are in rhythm
with your self and connected to that deep, unique source
within, then you will never be vulnerable.
  You will be able to stand....on the ground of your
Soul, where you are at home.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

~

Art - Mystic Meandering
Craypas oils done with fingers
"Ocean Splash"
2012

 

Rhythm of Sadness...

A deep rhythm of sadness 
arises from my heart...
unexpectedly,
spontaneously...

It rises even though
I "know"
that before thought and feeling
"I" am Eternal Beingness...

The rhythm of sadness
is not assuaged
with the knowledge of
that "I am That"...

It will not be held back, suffocated, 
repressed by sand bags of knowledge of
"the teachings,"
from the caverns of the mind...

It matters not to
"The Eternal"
that sadness and grief
arise in this mechanism called
"me",

like the tides of the ocean
rising and falling
in a darkened harbor;
felt not seen...

It is held in the embrace of "The Eternal"
breathing me...

It just is - sadness,
rising and falling
through me...

I follow the rhythm of sadness
breathing into the Heart
where it meets
The Rhythm
of
"The Eternal"

and slowly
becomes
rivulets
of energy;
just energy,
decreasing in
intensity.

Only to rise again
on the next tide...

Mystic Meandering
Feb 3,2021

~

Sadness is not something you need to fix, cure or
transform.  It need not be "healed", but held.  You need
not shift the sadness into some "higher" state or apply
teachings so that it will yield into something else.  For
it is complete and pure on its own.

With the fire of awareness and the ally of your breath,
touch your heart...
Go on a journey into the core of the feeling, the sensation,
the images, and the raw, shaky life that is longing to be held.
And listen.

It is by way of this journey that sadness will be revealed to be
what it is, a bridge into the universal heart, a messenger
of power, mercy, and fierce compassion...

Matt Licata

 

For One Who Is Exhausted - John O'Donohue

When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.

The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken
And sadness takes over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

John O'Donohue
From - To Bless The Space Between Us

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

 

Lay Low - John O'Donohue

This is the time to be slow.
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain [low to the wall]
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning...

John O'Donohue
From: To Bless the Space Between Us

~

Art - Barbara Stone

"A Glimpse of the Larger Story"

The Radiance of the Inner Cosmos...

Give no regard to the voice of Fear that
divides you and conflicts you;
whether from within or without...

Walk as if the Divine were in your shoes,
walking you -
The Inner Cosmic Divine;
undivided by earthly "tribes"
of culture, religion, and politics,
earthly boundaries,
or the divided mentations of
mediocre minds;
yours and others.

Fall into the Inner Rhythm of
The Universal Eternal Being,
the ubiquitous Divine Presence
inherently everywhere at all times,
simultaneously,
 in and through life.

Do not listen to the 10,000 teachings
in your head that you have
accumulated over the years,
all trying to tell you what is true,
which way to go,
and how to be.

Just sit, be still, and listen...

Fall into the Silence and Radiance of

the Inner Cosmic Rhythm,
until you feel the
Inner Cosmos
move
you

Just Breathe...

Wait...

Then you will know what is true,
which way to go,
and
how to Be...

Mystic Meandering
Feb. 6, 2017

_/\_

The Soul's Rhythm - John O'Donohue

We should not force ourselves to change by hammering our
lives into any predetermined shape.  We do not need to operate
according to the idea of a predetermined program or plan for our
lives.  Rather, we need to practice a new art of attention to our
inner rhythm of our days and lives.  This attention brings a new
awareness of our own human and divine presence.

It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness than
with the idea of will. Too often people try to change their lives
by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their life into proper
shape.  The intellect identifies the goal of the program, and the
will accordingly forces the life into shape.  This way of approaching
the sacredness of one's own presence is externalistic and violent.
It brings you falsely outside of your own self and you can spend
years lost in the wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual
programs.  You can perish in a famine of your own making.

If you work with a different rhythm, you will come easily and
naturally home to your self.  Your soul knows the geography of
your destiny.  Your soul alone has a map of your future, therefore
you can trust this indirect, oblique side of your self.  If you do,
it will take you where you need to go, but more importantly it will
teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.  There are no
general principles for this art of being.  Yet the signature of this
unique journey is inscribed deeply in each soul.  If you attend to
your self and seek to come into your own presence, you will find
exactly the right rhythm for your life.  The senses are generous
pathways which can bring you home.

John O'Donohue
from Anam Cara

via The Beauty We Love

Seasons of the Soul - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

For our ancestors the rhythms of the seasons were their calendar,
the rising and setting of the sun their only clock.  Today our clocks
 seem to spin much faster and it is easy to ignore, or even forget
these more primal seasons and their meaning.  And yet as our world
appears to spin more and more out of balance.....there is a pressing
need to return to a deeper rhythm, to the cycles that belong to
healing and transformation, and the seasons of the soul. 
Returning we may find a balance resurfacing from deep within,
a balance that reconnects and restores us...

If we are to participate creatively in these toxic times, to bring
rain to a land where the inner and outer wells have run dry,
first we need to be present "in another country where things are
in order."  And this "other country"can be found in the space
between the in-breath and the out-breath, where the soul is present. 
But first we need to reconnect, to return to this place of balance. 
And the simplest way is through stillness and silence.

Silence draws us inward, away from the clutter and the distractions
of our outer life, to the deeper roots of our being.  Here our soul
nourishes us, here we can be replenished, and here we can help
replenish our world.....  In the silence we can drink deeply of the
waters of life that are still pure, we can commune with the primal
forces of nature, we can return to what is sacred and essential to our
life and to the life of the Earth.

Here in this "other country" the air is not toxic, and the miasma of
today's world in this post-truth era is not blurring our vision.  The
laughter of children still rings true.  Stillness is here, and the seasons
are in balance.  Every in-breath and out-breath is sacred.  The breath,
the soul, the Earth and its seasons, are linked together, nourished by
each other.  It is time to heal.....

LLewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi Mystic
2017

Excerpt from an article published by Garrison Institute

Happy Spring Everyone!
Or Fall, as the case may be :)

~

...your breath is a bridge between you.....and the universe.

The breath is also a bridge between you, and space and time.
Breath touches the body and the universe,
 it touches you and that which transcends the universe.

Osho
The Book of Secrets

The Rhythm behind the rhythm...

I've heard a deeper rhythm...
Composed of cello, viola and oboe, I think.
I heard it when I was in the kitchen
cooking dinner one night,
a few years ago,
and every other night after that,
for several weeks,
until it stopped...

when the noise of my life
became too loud - again,
and the weight of a weary heart
drowned it out...

There was no music playing on the stereo,
just the sound of the meal cooking,
and the sounds of daily living
outside the window:

children playing,
dogs barking,
lawn mowers,
power saws,
and birds -
chirping...

Underneath it all was a Rhythm
so melodious I could even hum it.
I just listened, and hummed, with wonder...
Where was this coming from -
this music -
this slow, deep, melodic rhythm,
drawing me into itself...

I didn't even have to try to listen,
it was just there
soft - in the distance,
barely audible,
as if in another room,
through another door,
maybe even in another realm;
a cosmic rhythm...

I knew then, somehow, that my own life rhythm
was hidden in this deeper Rhythm...
But I no longer hear it now;
drowned out by the
noise of living
other people's
rhythms -
and
the endless
rhythms
of daily
existence.

But I know it is there -
playing somewhere.
And I listen for it -
this deeper Rhythm,
that underlies
all other rhythms...

The Rhythm behind the rhythm...

Love mysteriously playing its song...

Mystic Meandering
Nov. 5, 2015

~

Photo - the inside of a sea shell

digitally altered

For One Who is Exhausted, A Blessing - John O'Donohue

When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.

The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.

Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

John O'Donohue
"A Blessing For One Who is Exhausted"
From - To Bless the Space Between Us

~

Thank you Michel !
No Mind's Land

On The Threshold of a "New" Journey...

Here we are again, at the turning of yet another wheel! J B started a new job in November - just 3 days before Thanksgiving!  Woo-Hoo!J  We were/are relieved and grateful, with a tinge of tentativeness; despite which I was doing my happy dance.  I *wanted* to share it here immediately, but felt it was too soon to announce it publicly, although I have already told some of you privately.  Of course we know that nothing is permanent, that life is always in flux, ebbing and flowing continually, but – he was hired as a “permanent” employee, not a “contract-to-hire” position.  So we breathe now with a little more “certainty” – knowing that even that is illusive.   And even though it still feels a little “new”, I felt that the Winter Solstice was an excellent time to bring it to Light… J  …the Solstice being symbolic of Light “returning” out of darkness, of new beginnings, and the turning of the wheel once again… 

As B embarks on this new stage in his career with confidence, passion and enthusiasm, we sense that we are on a threshold of a “new” journey…   After only 4 weeks he feels he has found his “dream job”, where he can shine and feel fulfilled.  Good thing at almost 62. J  And so we are settling into his work schedule, and I have been trying to use the last few weeks to find the internal Rhythm with Life once again, and gain some clarity on my life direction.  That is partly why such a deep need for solitude and silence – to get clear, to simplify internally, to become single-minded, although that is not quite working out as I intended, as there are still so many distractions pulling at me. But, I am managing each week to carve out blocks of time in silence and solitude, and beginning to feel The Rhythm of Silence within again, as I have been writing about recently.

I have known for a long time now that there is something innate within that compels me to explore and discover deeper layers of Truth, and Intimacy with the “Divine Nature” within - however one defines that for themselves.  And with that there is a sense of being at a threshold spiritually.  In many ways I feel like I am on the threshold of a “new” Light of Awareness, a “new” way of seeing and being; coming out of the *illusion* of separation *from* this “Infinite Nature” that we are.   These are only words, and they cannot accurately convey what I’m really experiencing.  All I can say is that it is profound.  And sometimes the less said the better - for the time being. J

I feel this new threshold calling me into even more solitude, and deeper layers of Silence, like the Christian “Desert Fathers”, or Buddhist Monks who went to live in the forests, and Hindu Sadhus who went to live in caves.  Except that I would need lots of windows in that cave! Lol…  It is in the metaphorical sense that I use these terms and images.  In reality it is more a turning inward, and entering the cave of the Spiritual Heart, withdrawing the mind from the world’s rhythms – not as an escape, but to become more deeply *Aware* of the Voice of “The Infinite” – that’s what Mystics do. J  I am neither a renunciate nor an ascetic.  I am still very much engaged in the requirements of daily living and family.  I simply want more time to sit in Infinite Silence – listening - finding the intuitive Rhythm of the Heart again – dropping the false veil of separation from the Ultimate Reality that we are.   It’s not really even about seeking “enlightenment” anymore, but a deep recognition that we are already lit from within.  Liberation…

At this new threshold, and after 4 1/2 years of blogging, I have no idea what direction this blog may take, or how often I will be blogging, as that too will be part of the new Flow.  The “blogging” experience has been an ever-evolving process reflecting my own spiritual unfolding.  I have lost some readers along the way, and gained some friends as well; the ebb and flow of relationships, touching each others lives – even momentarily.  For those who are still with me I have enjoyed your loving, supportive, and encouraging company on the road…  And if you are unknown to me out there reading this in cyberspace somewhere J I appreciate your silent Presence as well.  The invitation is always open to come along on this next phase of Life’s journey with me and see where I land.   I enjoy the company of Friends who help light the way… J

~♥~

“A baby pigeon on the edge of the nest hears the call
and begins her flight…

How can the soul/Heart
not fly
when a message arrives saying,
’…come, come back to me!’

What is the secret that opens the door?

The key is the flutter of the hearts wings
and its endless longing.

When the door opens,
walk on the path…
where everything old becomes new,
and never look back…”

Rumi

~

A warm and Light-filled Yuletide Season
to all…

~

Photo: Sunset from B’s building

Nature's Call

A difficult week here. Facing reality as it is has been intense.

Late Friday afternoon, needing to find a get-away, I drove to a place where I used to walk near an old agricultural canal. The path along the canal is rather wide, winding through open space, a wildlife refuge, huge cottonwoods and pines. Many people walk, jog and ride bikes here. From the parking lot there is a foot bridge to get over the canal to the pathway. When I used to walk here I would be about halfway over the bridge when I would feel myself take in a huge breath and relax – as if relieved by entering the gateway to nature. Due to health issues in the last several years I haven’t been able to take my usual walks here, and I have missed it. So Friday when I needed a respite, and didn’t have time to drive the 40 mins to my usual retreat place, I thought to take this quick drive to a familiar place and re-discover a familiar sanctuary.

Being late afternoon – after 3:30pm – the sun was far to the west leaving long shadows as it shone through the clouds. This long-shadowed light was comforting. I’m not usually out at this time of day, but I love the late afternoon sun. As I pulled into the dirt parking lot, classical music playing on the radio, I felt the familiar deep breath, and saw a hawk swooping in the sky. The tension began to subside. I found a space to park in the small lot at the end of the row, tucked away from the comings and goings in and out of the parking lot.

As I sat there taking in the scenery with my senses, I reflected that I needed to start seeing my situation with new eyes. I have to see it as a life *experience,* a new opportunity, as uncomfortable and intense as it is, and one that I would rather not be experiencing. I realized that life is just an experience, and we’re not guaranteed what experience we’re going to get, even if it’s due in part to our choices along the way. So I have to deal with what is - now – along with the discomfort, the frustration, the anger, sadness and grief. I have to *move* with the way life is moving.

I continued reflecting. Despite inner and outer life chaos I was beginning to feel the call of Nature – like a homing call. The still, yet fluid movement of Existence, in the scenery around me, was drawing me in from the outward experience of chaos. I watched as people walked their dogs on the path, and in the distant field near a frozen pond. It was quite pastoral and picturesque – and soothing. While sitting there it occurred to me that trees are just being trees, mountains are just being mountains (yes, there are mountains there), fields are just being fields, frozen ponds are just being frozen ponds, clouds just being clouds, hawks just being hawks. Everything is just being what it is. Life is just life – being lived, being experienced: people walking dogs, crossing foot bridges and fields – life falling apart and coming together. And of course it’s *all* Existence, all Consciousness, “The Mystery” disguised as trees, mountains, fields, frozen ponds, clouds, people, dogs, hawks. LIFE disguised as life.

I wrote in my journal that I know I need to open up to this particular experience of life, to the perfect brilliant experience of Life in all its expressions, all its experiences – including my present experience. This truth seems so obvious, and yet I find I need to keep seeing it – to be reminded of it again and again… And life is certainly providing those reminders in one form or another!

I just happened to look up from writing in my journal just as a flock of geese had taken off from out in the field. They were climbing into the sky, merging into the usual V formation, except for one. She went off in a totally different direction, all by herself – unfettered – following her own internal rhythm, her own nature – right over me. I couldn’t help but notice the metaphor and smiled. The Lone Goose – following her own path in flight…

I plan to return to my “new” sanctuary often. This time in nature, seeing the innate movement of nature, inspired me to want to experience life in a new way – more flexibly, more simply, as I also noticed this week that I seem to create a lot of complexity, and need to “decomplexify” – kind of like detoxifying I think. Life, it seems, is offering me/us this opportunity. I intend to go willingly, and see where this life experience goes… Who knows where I’ll/we’ll land…

Honk :)

The Turning of the Wheel...

My restless simmering continues. The pot of stew is on the back burner, steadily simmering its little bubbles, like a subtle background noise that you can’t quite identify. An aroma of unsettledness permeates the house. Despite this, I was determined to take the Christmas tree down today - finally. For some reason I wanted to leave it up this month – not for sentimental reasons, but mostly for the warm glow of light that it emitted in the living room in the evenings. There was something inviting about its presence lighting up the bay window that I just didn’t want to disturb. Earlier this week, however, both my husband and I said: It’s time to take the tree down. There was that internal ‘Yes’ again. It was time. The movement was there. Maybe that’s what I was waiting for. I kind of like living my life according to this internal ‘Yes’ – living according to an internal movement, which is not always possible in these times and circumstances with its demands and over stimulations. At one point on my “path” I was drawn to Native American Spirituality and paying attention to cycles and rhythms – not only of the seasons but my own. This is also true in the Celtic traditions – living by the cycles of the sun and moon, with the inner and outer cycles; a kind of indigenous way of living and moving through life – a connection with earthy rhythms. The excursion to the spice shop yesterday, and its smells, got me back in touch with that sense of earthiness and timing and rhythms and cycles. And I will have to say that it feels good. There’s a different kind of internal channel that I’m tuning into here…

I put on a Deva Premal CD and listened to her melodious chants as I took each ornament off its artificial branch, dusted it off, and placed it back in its resting box waiting for another year. Suddenly and unexplainably I began to feel a strange sense of “endings” rolling through me – triggered no doubt by the dismantling of the tree. It felt very visceral and very strange. What bubbled up from the bottom of the pot of stew was a sense of death, and a very deep feeling of sadness and grief. The intensity of the wave that moved through took me by surprise. It left a thick mist of heaviness around me that lasted all afternoon – like the odor of a pungent spice that sticks. Not to sound morbid here folks, just sharing my experience. When my husband returned from his afternoon networking meeting, I told him what happened. He had experienced a similar feeling as well on the way to the meeting – a deep sense of sadness and grief… Oo-do-do-do, Oo-do-do-do… Is there something in the air? Maybe it was in that packet of spices I brought home…

The sense that keeps coming to me is that of endings, change and transition. The Celtic traditions use the phrase “turning of the wheel” when one season transitions into another, like now with the coming of Imbolg – translated: “in the belly of the mother” – waiting for birth, for expression – for the turning of Winter into Spring. In dismantling the tree I unexpectedly connected with something deeper within beyond my thought processes, something I can’t explain – something “indigenous” to life Itself – the felt sense of change, endings – and uncertainty. Unfortunately this only fueled the flames under my pot of restlessness.

So now what? I don’t know exactly… And maybe the “now what” doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s just about being available to the movement, tuning into the turning of the Wheel. It feels like the same sense of waiting for the ‘Yes’ that I’ve been experiencing lately – waiting for an internal movement. It’s a sense of moving *with* something larger than my-self, allowing *that* to move me. Sitting on the back burner - patiently waiting for the movement and expression of Life…