Knock-Knock...

What if I quit knocking at the door of
The Beloved - address unknown...
Would The Beloved still come?

Why do I keep trying so hard?
Doesn't The Beloved already know that I'm here?

So why do I need to keep coming to the door,
begging, like a beggar in the night,
whispering outside the door;
like throwing stones at a window,
trying to entice my "lover" to notice that
I am standing outside - waiting -
unseen, unheard...

knock-knock

What if I quit knocking at the door?
Would The Beloved not hear the longing of my Heart?

Would The Beloved still come?

~

...a door within my Heart opens as if by its own accord...
The Beloved is here - waiting for me
in the deeper Silence at the Core of my Being,
at the Inner Door,
where only a whisper is heard...

Maybe I was knocking at the wrong door...

knock-knock

Mystic Meandering
Sept. 5, 2022

~

Photo - yes that's me :)

 

The Felt Sense of Silence - Devaji

When we speak of silence here, it has nothing to do with the
perceptive quality of your ears.  It is a feeling; the feeling
of stillness.  It is a feeling in the heart of what is silent.
What is unchanging, which has always been with you.
It is just that the habit of attention is always falling into
perceptive sense...  But amongst the ever changing
phenomenon of the body - thoughts always changing,
sensations always changing, emotions always changing,
situations always changing, there is something that is
constant.  Something that lays witness to all that is
changing, but itself is changeless.

The feeling of silence is felt equally everywhere.  It is
not found in a particular location. It unifies what the
perceptive senses experience as separate.  In other words,
when you are feeling what is still, when you are feeling
silence [within], there are no boundaries in it.  And all of a
sudden, perceptive awareness is experienced to all be
occurring within the boundaryless space of what is felt
as silence.  There is no distance in it because there is
nowhere it is not.  It is the ground in fact of your Being.
It is the depth of peace and wholeness.  And it feels itself
everywhere, in everything.

It is through the silence that all wisdom arises.  It is the
language of the Heart.  The more the habit of following
mental movement is released, the deeper you fall into this
beauty that is always present...

In the beginning it feels like space, a sense of stillness.  But
as the falling into it deepens, there begins to be the flavor
of this unspeakable love.  It is not because of something.  It
has always been.  It has just been bypassed because of
conditioned thinking, busyness, preoccupation with sense
perception.  And out of this stillness infused with this love,
flowers joy,  Pure joy.  Eternal joy.  It is felt in the silence.
You can feel it in everything.  It is the natural state.  It is
not temporary, it is not in a particular place, it is not
dependent on the ever-changing phenomena arising in the
body that the mind has hypnotically conditioned you to
believe is 'me.'

[It's] like a wave in the ocean.  And this ocean is pure silence,
out of which arises the bliss of your natural state.

Devaji

via No Mind's Land

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

Symphony of Silence...

Photo - David Peters on unsplash

The Cosmos plays a continuous Symphony of Silence
that only Inner Stillness can hear...

We have forgotten the music of the 

Celestial Songs
that sound the stellar light language of
Love

Our remembrance lies hidden deep in
the cave of the Heart - untouched...
The unspoken language of the Heart
longs to be opened - awakened...
The dormant vibration calls to us,
to resonate with the tones of Creation
in the Space of Silence ~

in unified expression with
All that Is...

Listen deeply and hear the
Celestial Symphony

Follow the pulsing sound
into the Vastness
of Silence...

Find your resonance
with the Rhythm
in your Heart

~ and know ~

We are all a tone of Love
playing our uniqueness in the
Chord of Life,
reverberating with
the Sound of Source...

Mystic Meandering
Aug. 1, 2001

"The Silence" Calls

"The Great Silence" calls to me again,
pulling me out of the mental chaos of the world trance.
The familiar Presence of the Unamable wafts over
my Heart like a gentle breeze -
opening the space,
unlocking the doorway to deeper Stillness of Being,
pulling me inward to a deeper Silence...

A strange peace overtakes me.  Ananda?

I settle within, floating
through the day, unperturbed;
acutely aware of the Presence of "The Silence"
within my Heart; the healing balm for a troubled soul.

I have not "chosen" this,
this "pulling" into the Great Silence.
It came unbidden...

pulling me into Its pure Stillness of Being,
wrapping Its invisible, gentle, loving hand
around my Heart...

I merely followed the pull...

listening to "the call" more intently...

hearing the clear sound of Silence,
feeling the Purity of Peace,
and the gentle breath of The Beloved...

Mystic Meandering
Nov. 1, 2018

~

If we can hear Life,
we can hear Silence
because the intensity
of this pure energy
manifests itself through
the sound of existence.

Yolande Duran

~

picture of a Blue Castle

the Interior Castle :)

Silence of Love - Rumi Revealed

Art by Rassouli

Rumi embodied the expression of love in a way that brought
heaven to earth.  He became part of the great mystery, the unity,
and the oneness that awakens the heart from a deep sleep to reveal
the divine truth of who we are...

The greatest of human achievements have not evolved from the
words expressed by a person manifesting greatness, but from the
depth of the Silence...

Silence is the ultimate presence of God.
The essence of love and creativity exists in Silence and not in the
words that are derived from the rational mind.  Every word evolves
from Silence, every sound proceeds from Silence, and every thing
that is created has originated from Silence.  All become the living
word of life itself.

Life is illuminated when the lips are closed, and the heart begins
to speak.

Rumi has given more value to "silence" for those on the path of
enlightenment than other mystics.  Many of the poems in the
Divan of Shams end with the words "Be silent", or some other
descriptive phrase about being silent.  His most mystical poems
and those with deeper meanings often reflect the importance of
Silence.  Perhaps some of the best advice in his poetry is when he
tells himself to be silent as he feels the emergence of the rational
mind interfering with his ecstatic state.  He usually stops the poetry
and goes into Silence when that happens.

.....poetry to him is conversation with love.  It is in
Silence that love most easily finds the way to the heart.  It is in
Silence that love is given the freest passage.  The expression of the
message then has the perfect clarity of truth. If we open our mouths
to speak, and our words do not come from love, then we should
say nothing.

Silence is pure essence, while talking is like a cover surrounding
the essence.  The deep ecstasy of the spiritual journey harbors the
beauty hidden inside.  Silence has many concealed advantages,
and the simplest one is that it relieves apprehension and doubt
and frees a person to embrace an inner peace.

There is sacred Silence inside everyone where a divine conversation
can be heard.  Be silent and listen to the whispers of love within
the heart that long to be expressed and feel the tranquility and
freedom love can bring.

What matters in life is what is true and the moments that are real,
moments when love is felt and experienced, when a connection
is made through love, whether it is another person, or when
feeling the presence of Divine Love.  Pure love is everything,
and it flows from a deep and sacred Silence...

Excerpts from: Rumi Revealed
from the chapter: Silence of Love
direct translations and mystical expressions
by Rassouli

Rassouli is also an exceptional artist

Rumi's Silence - Michael Shepherd

Rumi wrote much about silence.
Does that seem strange?

Poets live with silence:
the silence before the poem;
the silence whence the poem comes;

the silence in between the words, as you
drink the words, watch them glide through your mind,
feel them slide down your throat
towards your heart;

the silence which you share with the poet
when the poem ends, sitting side by side,
feeling one another being one heart;

the silence after the poem,
when you are a different person
from the person who started reading the poem,
think differently, move differently,
act differently; know Rumi a little better
as a friend; know yourself a little more
as a friend.

Rumi was asked, why do you
talk, talk, talk, so much
about silence?

He said, the radiant one inside me
has said nothing.

And that's the silence which we listen to
and hear in Rumi's heart,
here, sitting in the cool shade
which the scent of roses seems to love,

while the fountain gently plays like a poet
with sound and silence.

Michael Shepherd

via: No Mind's Land

~

Photo - actually a picture of a cloud formation.
Color was digitally "inverted" and created a totally
different affect, which now looks like the ocean
coming up on shore... magic :)

The Whisper...

The Rhythm of Sacred Silence calls me
back into ItSelf again and again...
It waits patiently while I move
through my stories ~ through my illusions;
my contractions of fear;
my brokenness...

The Rhythm invites me to dance ~

to sway to its movement ~

to hear its pulse, its silent language,
like a whisper in the background of noise
trying to get my attention.

I have to be quiet to hear The Whisper
speaking silently:
Come, be with Me,
Come, and be still,
Come, listen, hear Me,
Come, dance with Me,
Come, and be still...

 I turn my attention to listen curiously,
as if someone has spoken just over my shoulder ~
barely audible.
I wait and listen ~ aware of a subtle presence,
like butterfly wings.
The Rhythm rises ~ palpable.
It draws me to it.

I bow inwardly to The Whisper...
We embrace and dance in Stillness,
the sweet Rhythm of Love...

Mystic Meandering
March 2009

Listen for the Silence - Fred LaMotte

In the white noise
of many opinions
I long to hear the silence
creatures make
when they are listening.

There is no thought,
only the mysterious harmony
of trees and raindrops.

Invisible things appear.

The deer step gently
out of the mist.

When we listen,
the heart opens
fearlessly.

[.....]

Fred LaMotte

Uradiance

Interfaith Chaplain
Instructor of World Religions
Shaman

~

For those who celebrate the Solstice/Yule
may you hear the Silence of Life
singing in your Heart...

_/\_

Rest Your Heart In Love - Fred LaMotte

The purest meditation is just to rest in Love...

Our love is often toward what we know to be God.
The "toward" of love is like an in-coming or out-going breath.
Its flow may proceed from my heart toward the Divine,
or from the Divine toward my heart,
until the two tides equalize in one serenity;
the silence between breaths... inhalation kisses exhalation.

Words cease.
  Prayer becomes deep meditation,
 and there is no more "toward"...
It is effortless repose through love, as love...
Just be with the formless feeling.
The little thread of formless love expands to fill the cosmos,
because it has no boundary, no image.
In a moment, you have captured the ocean of love
in the cup of your heart.

The tiniest thread, the faintest impulse of love,
is a breath of the Cosmic Mother,
felt as a sense of the heart.
Surrender to that subtle intuitive sensation,
without attaching any picture or face.
This ripple of affection will lead you to the sea.
Depth calleth unto depth.
In the formless abyss of love, one depth touches another.
The depth of God merges with the depth of You.

If images of an Avatar or a Master appear, let them.
They are delightful bubbles playing on the surface of
love's formless ocean.
They are all facets of one diamond,
 the brilliance of your divine heart.
Your heart is a little hologram that contains the cosmos,
the forms of every Avatar, every God or Goddess.

Whatever sadhana we practice, just rest in the heart,
filling the empty silence where thought used to be.
This silent glory [of Love] is the substance of creation itself,
suffusing every cell of the body.
Then it pours out through our eyes, our words, and our hands
in blessing...


Fred LaMotte
Uradiance

Excerpts from a blog post.
Fred's words, my format.

Heart Summons - Rumi

In the silence between your heartbeat
bides a summons.
Do you hear it?

Name it if you must,
or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?

Leave that which is not,
but appears to be.
Seek that which is,
but is not apparent.

Rumi

What in your life is calling you,
when all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned...
the lists laid aside,
and the Wild Iris blooms
by itself
in the dark forest...

What still pulls on your soul?

Rumi

Still Point of the Heart...

Empty your self out
until all that is left is Silence,
the still hush
of

S
i
l
e
n
c
e

in
the
deep
Stillness
of the Heart…

Lay it all down ~ and let the Silence breathe you.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve been taught,
what words you have heard,
what beliefs you have believed…

Lay it all down ~ and just listen to the
Sound of Sacred Silence,
the deep Rhythm in the Heart.

Unconcern yourself with words,
beliefs, concepts of the dreaming mind.
Fill yourself with the Rhythm of the Stillness;

the living atmosphere of Love…

Live from the silent Flame
that burns in your Heart;
brighter than any words,
any teachings, any beliefs,
revealing everything…

Lay it all down ~
and Live!

Unencumbered…

 Resting in the still-point of the Heart

*

Mystic Meandering
Dec. 2010

The Hush of "The Mystery..."

The Hush of “The Mystery”
silently moves through time and form…

Can you feel it? -
this silent hush
that embraces you
that communes with you
even when you don’t know it!?

It waits for you to stop and listen -
to sense Its Hush
surrounding you,
infusing you -
beyond hearing,
beyond seeing,
beyond knowing

It comes in sudden,
unexpected
breezes of awareness
wafting through your being -
in and out of your noticing,
but never really
gone ~

It invites you to enter
the cosmic seduction of
Its Love,

to

follow Its Silence
more deeply,
into the inner cavern
of Its Heart
that awaits you

 in the depths
of Its repose

Succumb
to what awaits you
in
the Heart of “The Mystery”

Love’s Illumination

~*~

Mystic Meandering
based on a poem written in 2013

Revised Version May 29, 2015

~

I use the term “The Mystery” here, but one can call it:

The Infinite, the Unknown, the Ineffable,

The Unamable, the Ultimate Reality, The Beloved,

and, of course,

God.

~

Photo: A glass sphere sitting in glass floral pebbles

back lit from underneath.

~

“The Mystery”, like Life ItSelf, is ever unfolding,
 ever revealing ITself.
We are always in a state of discovering “The Mystery”
and what IT is revealing to us - ongoingly.
What IT offers each of us is unique, yet universal:

Speaking directly to our Hearts…

When I speak of “The Mystery”, as in this poem
 or the previous one,
 it is always from my own *experience* of it,
 for I am acutely aware
that I *know* nothing *about* “The Mystery”,
only how “The Mystery” reveals ItSelf to and in
 my Heart…

Namaste…

Inward Turning...

Turn
inward
towards ME,
”The Beloved;”
the Face of your Self;
the Light in your Heart;
the space of Pure Awareness…

Turn from the voices of the unconscious,
- the land of the living dead -
the voices of confusion, hatred, violence;
the ones who distract
you from *knowing*
the Truth…

~ Turn ~

~

~ Turn ~

Turn and Listen

in
deep
Silence,

in
the
Chalice
of the Heart

until you hear
what needs
to be heard
in your
Heart.

~

Turn inward from the stimulation
of life being “sold” to the masses;
with its false delusions of the Real;
including the “spirituality” vendors,
who sell you their “frameworks”
to keep you seeking, striving,
believing you need more,
leaving you empty…

Come – sit with ME.

Sit in solitude
with ME…
Hearing,
Seeing,
Aware-ing,
Knowing ME.

Silently
Listening
within

where
“I”
thrive
in
the

S
i
l
e
n
c
e


~ Turn ~


“I” (The Beloved) am Here…

~

Mystic Meandering
Oct. 16, 2011

~

Photo ~

In looking for a photo for this post, I found this one in my files.
It is a picture of the September Full Moon (2011)
through the skylight.
What captured my attention when I saw the photo
was the reflection of what appears to be an “inner window” 
or door.  You can see a square like image to the right of the
ball of light. 
I did not notice this when I took the photo,
but only saw this afterward, and after turning the photo :)
In a sense it is what this poem is about –
 turning and going inward,
metaphorically through the inner window/door.
Just sitting, turning inward to the Sanctuary of Silence,
and meeting that spacious Awareness
that is always there…

Be Where Love Is...

"My heart, sit only with those

who know and understand you.

Sit only under a tree

that is full of blossoms.

In the bazaar of herbs and potions

don't wander aimlessly,

find the shop with a potion that is sweet.

If you don't have a measure

people will rob you in no time.

You will take counterfeit coins

thinking they are real.

Don't fill your bowl with food from

every boiling pot you see.

Not every joke is humorous, so don't search

for meaning where there isn't one.

Not every eye can see,

not every sea is full of pearls.

My heart, sing the song of longing

like nightingale.

The sound of your voice casts a spell

on every stone, on every thorn.

First, lay down your head,

then one by one

let go of all distractions.

Embrace the light and let it guide you

beyond the winds of desire.

There you will find a spring and

nourished by its sweet waters

like a tree you will bear fruit forever."

 –Rumi

Via: Love Is A Place

I was lamenting to a friend recently about the dynamics of my family of origin and how challenging it is to be around an angry alcoholic who hates the world and acts with disgust toward everyone, making faces at both my mother and me...  TMI?  J  Maybe, but this is the reality of facing into life as it is…  I sometimes want to recoil, and find my heart contracting in the face of such disdain - not wanting to be wounded again, vowing that *I* do *not* have to endure this behavior - clearly failing in the "unconditional love" department. :)  And yet, I return and try to keep the Heart open once again...  But I also made this comment to my friend: “I need to be where Love is…” – as Rumi points to in his poem – to be in the unprotected ease and openness of people who *know* LOVE.  But do any of us really *know* Love - the pure Essence of Love…  Sometimes our families of origin are not where we find Love – the unconditional kind of Love that nurtures, and allows us to flourish.  I'm sure some of you have already experienced this…   And so, where do I find this Heart of Love, how do I come to know this Love more deeply myself, so that I may be present in and to a family who doesn’t *know* real Love, but is caught up in the matrix of their madness?   

It is in the deep Silence during meditative times that I experience this expansive Love the most.  We are immersed in this vast open *space* of Love that holds us and embraces us without condition - from within...  The Heart of Love is within. 

“And so the journey continues…  Your Heart takes you…..to an endless landscape of love that knows no boundaries.  And the wind is real and the snow continues to fall and the love continues, and will always continue.  So you can leave behind those old worn clothes that you called your existence, those ways you used to walk when you thought you were alive.  Because here in this place that is like no other there is the freedom you always knew, a freedom that belongs to love.

Do not be discouraged…..when the wheels of existence carry you always along roads you would rather not travel.  There is this other land, this landscape that belongs to love.  This is the place where the two seas meet [meaning where human and Divine meet], where existence reveals its secrets, where time uncovers what always was, even if you have never seen it before.

 You *are* the place where the two seas meet, where love is uncovered…  There is always this place, the vastness [of love] that calls to us.  Remember, it is always here.  It cannot be anywhere else."

 Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Sufi Mystic

From: Fragments of a Love Story


You might also be interested in reading the post:
Prickly Personalities 
about how I met this prickly situation two years ago...

Photo:  My new Amaryllis in full bloom!

Evoking Love J

Perfect Pulsing Silence...

This piece below was written during a practice I call
 “Window Sitting”
 when I sat at an open window late at night in silence,
 experiencing the "Rhythm of Silence"
that permeates all Nature; just being aware, just noticing -
just listening to the sounds of Silence,
experiencing the smells and feel of Nature
 out the open window -
 writing in the dark of night, or sometimes in moonlight,
at the window sill…

May we all find The Rhythm of Silence
in these hectic times ~ ~ ~

Perfect Pulsing Silence

Perfect pulsing Silence
Utter Stillness
Breath-giving Life.

This is what I come to the window for ~
to sit in utter and complete Silence – the pulse of Life;
to smell, feel and sense Silence;
to feel its Aliveness,
to hear Its Song…


Sitting in the silence of
not “knowing” puts one in a place of really listening,
with no agenda or expectation,
leaving the space open for Silence to speak,
to calm the mind and
sing Its song to the heart…

I listen deeply for the song of Silence…

A breeze touches my arm gently,
feels cool,
smells refreshing,
inviting me to be aware…

I gaze inward
to the Silence within,
that is mirrored out the window,
in the silence of the night.
It’s all the same Silence…

The Rhythm of Silence begins ~

I sit back in the chair
listening to the pulsing Silence
within and without,
feeling Its familiar Rhythm
feeling the dance of intimacy begin again…

Nothing disturbs IT
Nothing disturbs the depth of IT
Nothing prevents Its song
from being sung ~

In this intimate Silence I am reminded that
everything occurs within The Silence;
all life, all breath, all death, all movement
occurs within this vast space of Silent Awareness
that we are…

In The Silence of awareness
I know that everything is living according to ITs
natural order ~ is following ITs natural order,
including this life I call mine…

All life is being lived
by the hush of the Mystery…

All is the pulse of Silence ~
The pulse of Life ~

Mystic Meandering
Meditative Writings
May 2011

~♥~

The Silent Flame...

Empty out everything except Silence,
the
still
hush
of

S
i
l
e
n
c
e

the
deep
Stillness
of the Heart…


Lay it all down – just breath the Silence,
the Stillness of Being.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve been taught,
what words you have heard,
what beliefs you have believed…

Lay it all down – just listen to the Silence,
the deep Rhythm of the Heart.

Unconcern yourself with words,
beliefs - concepts of the dreaming mind.
Fill yourself with the Rhythm of the Stillness…

Lay it all down – just *live* from the Silence;
the still space within the Heart.

Live from the Silent Flame
that burns in your Heart;
brighter than any words,
any teachings, any beliefs,
revealing everything.

…

Live
in
the
Still
Point
of

S
i
l
e
n
c
e
.
.
.



©Mystic Meandering
December 19, 2010

The Silence of which I speak is a
meditative Silence, a sacred Silence
in which we are aware of what is Aware
within us; where we are in communion with
that Eternal Being – that which is
our Essence…

Remembering...

“The greatest illness is forgetting what we are.
Life is about remembering who we are
through the space of our innermost Being.
Turn toward the essential stillness within…”

Michael Harrington
From Illness to Stillness
(read an excerpt here)

“At the edge of restful darkness
the sacred life force calls to us,
asking us to remember…

We feel the longing to go home
to what we are…

It is the impulse of the life force
within us…

Surrender…

You will see this inner essence,
this innocence,
like a bright thread woven throughout
the center of your life…

Living it consciously is why we are here…

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

“Experience directly the invisible,
ever-present current of Being
that underlies and gives rise
to the world.”

Joan Ruvinsky

“We must let ourselves be led
by the inner thread of Silence
and intuitive Awareness,
beyond where all paths end,

to that place of sacredness
where we go innocently -
not once but continually…”

and discover

“There is only Being ItSelf
through you,
as you,
and as all that exists…

echoing through eternity…”

Adyashanti

“A mystic is content with nothing less
than to touch the Truth [of who we are] in its most
universal purity.”

Ivan Granger
Poetry Chaikhana

~*~

May we all “touch the Truth”
and remember…

Blessings of Love and Light
in the eternal Now…