The Jewel in the Heart - Pema Chodron

"Spiritual awakening" is frequently described as a journey to
the top of the mountain.  We [supposedly] leave our attachments
and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top.
We [supposedly] transcend all pain...

On the journey, however, the path goes down, not up...
Instead of transcending our suffering, or that of others, we
move toward our own turbulence and doubt, and that of others,
however we can.  We explore the reality and unpredictability of
insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away.  Even if it
takes years, we let it be what it is.

At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we  move down
and down and down.  With us move millions of others, our
companions in awakening from fear.  At the bottom we discover
water, the healing water of our heart - our wounded, softened heart.
Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that
will not die.  This love is called Bodichitta.  It is gentle and warm;
it is clear and sharp; it is open and spacious...

Healing can be found in the tenderness of pain itself.  Without
realizing it we continually shield ourselves from [emotional] pain
 because it scares us.  Based on a deep fear of being hurt, we erect
 protective walls made of our strategies, opinions, prejudices and
emotions. Yet, just as a jewel that has been buried in the earth
 for a million years is not discolored, the Heart of Bodchitta
is not affected by all the ways we try to protect ourselves from it. 
The jewel can be brought out into the light, and it will glow...

.....tenderness for life....awakens when we no longer shield ourselves
from the vulnerability of our condition, from the basic fragility of
existence.  It awakens through the kinship with the suffering of others.

Pema Chodron
Buddhist Teacher

Excerpts from:  Comfortable with Uncertainty
by Pema Chodron

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering
Jewel in the Heart

 

Fly With Me - Amata Goldie

Fly with me, to the horizon of eternity

Let us cast away our mortal suits

Let us fly into the divinity

Of who we truly are.

Come and fall into my embrace,

Only the Holy can reach us here

And the demands of tomorrow shall disappear

Into the continuum of time forgotten

Follow me into the light of your longing

The desert of your soul is parched Beloved

Turn away from it all,

In surrender to the Holy,

To the pulse of your immortality.

Do you hear your soul humming?

Come, unfurl your petals of purity.

Turn now, towards only the light.

Come and fall into my embrace,

Only the Holy can reach us here.

Fly with me to the horizon of eternity.

Let us taste once again

The jewel of Love that we are.

Amata Goldie

with thanks to No Mind's Land

Photo from the Internet

 

The Divine Spot...

Breathe into the bindu of the Heart,
The Divine Spot...

Let your whole body sink into
the quiet rhythm in the space
between the in-breath
and the out-breath,
the sacred point of the cosmos
where the Divine jewel dwells;
the Ineffable, the Unknowable,
the Unspeakable
Space of Pure Being...

If you are aware, you will feel
The Presence
pouring Its
exquisite vibration
through
the Heart -
a vibration so subtle
it is barely perceptible
by the gross senses.
Felt only through the nuance of
intuition and body instinct
and attentive noticing;
a faint tingling
a calm or stillness,
joy or bliss
tickling the Heart,
reverberating throughout
the body,
as if the Heart itself is
"waking up"
inside you;
the Deeper Heart
the Spiritual Heart
the abode of Illumination.

Experience the deep contentment of
Divine Ananda
as the burden of fear
that you have carried all your life
falls away;
if only for this moment.

Feel the pure, sweet "neutrality" of
deep contentment of Being
Just Being
Just Breathing
Just Living -
from the vibration of the Heart.

Keep your "inner eyes" ever on
the Divine Spot,
The Elixir of Life...

Mystic Meandering
April 8, 2017

Winter's Jewel - Mandala Art...

“The flame of Consciousness is the Essence of your Being…
Recognize that the flame of Truth is yourself…
Discover directly, for yourself, the jewel
that is alive within you.”

Gangaji
excerpts from:
 The Diamond In Your Pocket

~

“What if the task is simply to unfold,
to become who you are
in your essential nature….

which is not dependent upon
discovering a better method
of prayer,
or technique
of meditation;
not dependent upon
reading the right book
or attending the right seminar,
but upon really seeing
deeply…

…spiraling down into the ache
within the ache,
reaching inward and opening
outward
to feel
the kiss of the Mystery…

Dance with me in the
infinite pause
~
before the next
great inhale of
the breath
that is breathing
us all into being.”

Oriah Mountain Dreamer
excerpts from:
The Dance

~*~

The above mandala looks 3-dimensional
but it's all one flat surface and
was not digitally enhanced.
The design has the affect of
of rising out of the darkness
from using the black paper...

~*~

To see some of my other mandalas
click on the links below

Infinite Cosmic Waves

Meditating Monks

Windows Into Infinity

Medieval Mandala

Remembering the Heart...

Come,
walk
with me

as I pour out my heart
remembering
who “I” is,
listening to the whispers
of the Heart…

Come,
walk
with me

amongst the clutter of the mind,
between the chaos and confusion,
surfing the waters of life together,
navigating the eddies in the flow
of the Heart…


Come
walk
with me


in the Stillness that connects us
to all that is true in this life experience
beyond the disturbances of the mind,
the malfunctions of the body,
and the deep pain of life
that breaks the spirit,
then opens us to
the depths
of
the
H
e
a
r
t
.
.
.


Come
walk
with me

emptied out
poured out
opened up

Remembering

Recognizing

the whispers of the Heart calling:
Come… be with ME
Come... follow the path
of the Heart
Come... be still
in ME ~ the Heart...
Remember
why you are here:
to remember that
you are ME
~ the Jewel in the Heart

Come
walk
with ME

Remember ME

"I" is your Heart

~*~


Mystic Meandering

copyright

January 19. 2011

Enamored with The Buddha

I suddenly have become enamored with The Buddha… Like a poet finding their beloved…

Yesterday while meditating “The Buddha” showed up. I know this may sound a little woo-woo, but I’m just reporting on form here… Well, he didn’t show up “literally” of course. There was no vision, no image, but there was definitely a sense of “Buddha energy” in the room, and in me.

It’s been a while since I’ve had really “good” sitting meditation. And being a “mystic” on a meandering path I never really know who to “pray” to. Sometimes it’s “Spirit,” sometimes the “Divine Mother” (no, not the Christian version, more like the Goddess – the Mother Energy of all creation), sometimes it’s just “the Universe,” and sometimes it’s my sense of “Spacious Awareness” that just Is, or “Being-Self.” It’s usually something universal. But yesterday it became clear that I was sitting with “the Buddha.” Wow… It blew me away actually. And now I can’t get enough. I want more of The Buddha. I want all things Buddha. Is this a natural reaction… :) (I *still* feel “the presence” even today as I tend to my daily requirements, and assisting my sister.)

There was a *tangible* feeling of peace and equanimity in this presence! A sense of Divine Love – and Trust! It was as if his meditating face was right inside of mine, as if “I” had become the face of The Buddha – if that’s at all possible…. (I hope that doesn’t sound arrogant.) The sense was that I was *naturally* The Buddha… Isn’t that the essential teaching of Buddhism? I’m not a “Buddhist” so I’m really not sure. It was the sense of *naturally being* the Buddha – not as in the person, but in the universal energy that the Buddha represents – the Buddha Nature. It was like getting a feel for the True Heart: sweet, gentle, kind – as if embraced by an all encompassing Love – as if I was *abiding in* The Buddha. And so I surrendered into the Heart of “The Buddha…”

Now this doesn’t mean I’m going to run out and *become* a “Buddhist” – in the religious sense. I have no desire to do that. I have no desire for religious containers. (Been there, done that…) I simply want to sit – simply sit, in my own simple way and wait – open to this Divine Presence – however it’s named.

I have not spent years meditating and practicing in order to attain “Buddhahood” (not that I have with this experience either). I have not spent years “purifying” myself in order to be worthy. It was just “me” – sitting – and I was gifted with a Divine presence that *felt* like the Buddha. Maybe you have experienced this too … You sense an energy that feels deeply abiding, that knows your Heart – and you give it a name… And how would I have recognized this Buddha energy anyway, I wonder… Something inherent recognized it, something inherent in me knew it. Maybe it’s a Divine Knowing that just knows - Itself….

I spent the rest of the afternoon with a sense of delightful, giggly joy in my heart – as if I had finally found my beloved… There is a very deep love for The Buddha here that I really can’t explain, but I thought it would be interesting to share my experience… I humbly welcome your feedback!

“The Buddha is the jewel -

the light that shines in the Heart of everyone…

the light that shines in the Heart of the world…”