"Window Sitting" - a meandering...

I used to have a "practice" that I called "window sitting" many
years ago, where I would sit in a chair at an open window late
at night, in the dark, leaning on the windowsill, pressing as
close to the screen as possible, breathing in the night air and
the silence.  Gazing out the window into the night was calming
and soothing, heightening my awareness of the Stillness, the
Silence that permeates everything.  It is tangible - almost
mystical.  It was a wonderful experience - basking in the silence
of the night, listening deeply to the sounds of the quiet, smelling
the night air; experiencing the soft aliveness of Nature;
opening into the Silence at the Core of my Being; feeling the
Rhythm of Existence.  It is a space where I became more *aware*
of the Inner Landscape as well.  I scribbled notes on scratch
paper in near darkness when Silence sang to my heart.  Every
fiber of my being swooned for this delicious nightly rendezvous
with The Silence of Being.  I long to hear that melody again.

Here's a "scribble" from my first night of "window sitting" back
in May 2010.

~

Nothing in nature is struggling...
Everything is at peace...

Everything in nature is the peace of the Silent Stream -
the Eternal Stillness...

The trees are peaceful.
The plants in the neighbor's garden are at peace.
The grass sleeps.

Everything is exquisitely - peaceful...

I feel myself returning to what I know to be true -
to the authentic Stillness of Being within,
allowing myself to be touched by this bliss of Stillness...
Befriending the Silence...
Recognizing this deep space of Silence as Home...

There is a feeling of intimacy,
as this still Silence wraps itself around me,
embraces everything that is,
infusing everything that lives...
It is so palpable, so Real...

Basking in the Pure Silence of the Night -
just listening,

just experiencing,
just Be-ing - Stillness.

Mystic Meandering
May 2010

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering
Cat window sitting :)

 

Rediscovering Sacred Silence - Jean Klein

Silence is our real nature.
What we are fundamentally,

is only Silence...

It was before the beginning of all things.
It is causeless.
Its greatness lies in the fact that it simply is.

Silence has no opposite in noise.
It is beyond positive and negative.
Silence dissolves all objects.
It is not related to any counterpart
which belongs to the mind.
Silence has nothing to do with mind.
It cannot be defined but it can be felt directly...

Silence is freedom without restriction or center.
It is our wholeness,

neither inside or outside the body.

Silence is joyful, no pleasurable.

It is not psychological...

Silence is holy.
Silence needs no intermediary.
It is healing.
There is no fear in Silence.
Silence is autonomous like love and beauty.
It is untouched by time.
Silence is meditation, free from any intention...

Silence is the absence of one's self...

Sound, which comes from Silence, is music.
All activity is creative when it comes from Silence.
It is constantly a new beginning.
Silence precedes speech and poetry
and music and all art.

Silence is the home ground of all creative activity.
What is truly creative is the word, is Truth.

Silence is the word.
Silence is Truth

Jean Klein

with thanks to Being Silently Drawn

(Jean Klein's words, my format)

~

Photo - Vortex Art
2011

 

There is Music in Us - Jack Gilbert

Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods.
Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt.
But there's music in us.  Hope is pushed down
but the angel flies up again taking us with her.

The summer mornings begin inch by inch
while we sleep, and walk with us later
as long-legged beauty through
the dirty streets.  It is no surprise
that danger and suffering surround us.

What astonishes is the singing.
We know the horses are there in the dark
meadow because we can smell them,

can hear them breathing.

Our spirit persists like a man struggling
through the frozen valley
who suddenly smells the flowers
and realizes the snow is melting
out of sight on top of the mountain,
knows that spring has begun.

Jack Gilbert, 1925-2012
Horses at Midnight Without a Moon

with thanks to Love Is A Place

~

Photo - Me on path into the woods

 

The Song is Still Here - Fred LaMotte

Spend a little time today
getting lost.
Find your way
without rudder or sail
across the mud puddle
in your back yard.

Meet me on the shore.
We will find shelter
in each other's breath.
There is a mountain
of silence inside you,
and inside the mountain
a cave of silence
where you'll find the bones
you left here
before you were conceived.
We've had other bodies, friend,
but no other song.

Listen.
The song is still here

inside the bones
inside the cave
inside the mountain of silence
inside you.

Spend a little time today
getting lost.
Find your way
without rudder or sail
across the mud puddle
in your back yard.
Meet me on the shore.
We will find shelter
in each other's breath.
There is a mountain
of silence inside you,
and inside the mountain
a cave of silence
where you'll find the bones
you left here
before you were conceived.
We've had other bodies, friend,
but no other song.
Listen.
The song is still here
inside the bones
inside the cave
inside the mountain of silence
inside you.

Fred LaMotte
Uradiance

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

 

Gratitude - Marge Ackley

We [I] offer gratitude to and for all friends

Who create, remake and refine one another;

Who point to stars and keep us from the dark;

Who help us hear the music in the silent spaces...

Who hold us and will not let us go.

Marge Ackely

with thanks to Love is a Place

~

Photo - I believe this was taken by Cate Kerr
at Beyond the Fields We Know

 

"Window Sitting"...

I used to have a "practice" that I called "window sitting", where
I would sit in a chair at an open window late at night, leaning on
the windowsill, pressing as close to the screen as possible, breathing
in the night air and the silence.  Gazing out the window into the
night was calming and soothing, heightening my awareness of
the Stillness, the Silence that permeates everything.  It is tangible -
almost magical.  It was a wonderful experience - basking in the 
silence of the night, listening deeply to the sounds of the quiet, smelling
the night air; experiencing the soft aliveness of Nature; opening
into the Silence at the Core of my Being; feeling the Rhythm of
Existence.  I don't remember why I stopped, and may revive it
again.  It is a space where I become more *aware* of the Inner
Landscape as well.  I scribbled notes on scratch paper in near
darkness when Silence sang to my heart.  Every fiber of my
being swooned for this delicious nightly rendezvous with The
Silence of Being.  I am ready to hear that melody once again.

Here's a "scribble" from my first night of "window sitting"
back in May 2010.  The window calls to me again.

Nothing in nature is struggling...
Everything is at peace...
Everything in nature is the peace of the Silent Stream -
the Eternal Stillness...

The trees are peaceful.
The plants in the neighbor's garden are at peace.
The grass sleeps.

Everything is exquisitely - peaceful...

I feel myself returning to what I know to be true -
to the authentic Stillness of Being within,
allowing myself to be touched by this Stillness...
Befriending the Silence...

Recognizing this deep space of Silence as Home...

There is a feeling of intimacy,
as this still Silence wraps itself around me,
embraces everything that is,
infusing everything that lives...
It is so palpable, so Real...

Basking in the Pure Silence of the Night -
just listening,
just experiencing,
just Be-ing - Stillness

Mystic Meandering
May 2010

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

 

The Music of Silence - LaMotte & Diamond

 [.....]

We clearly hear the thoughts of God as the
music of Silence.  Then we understand without
believing...

Clever people search for lovers here and there, but
all they find are lonely faces in a crowded mirror.
Friend, why not dance to the [Silence] inside, and
meet the crazy lover in your chest?  When you open
your eyes, the world will be a kiss.

Fred LaMotte

Uradiance

~

[.....]

And we dance
To a whispered voice
Overheard by the soul
Undertook by the heart
You may know it
If you may know it

While the sand
Would become the stone
Which begat the spark
Turned to living bone
Holy, holy
Sanctus, sanctus

Be...

Neil Diamond
Excerpt from "Be"
from the Jonathan Livingston Seagull album

~

Photo - MM
from the Jonathan Livingston Seagull album

color digitally altered