Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Ten Blessed Breaths - Discover the Practice of 10 Breaths … each a unique portal into NOW.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Be This, Love This, Share This!
How does it feel today?
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Realising the As-it-isness
“True Dharma is the Dharma of as-it-isness, where not even a thought of consciousness is working. It is ‘it’, or the truth that transcends space and time” – Zenkai Shibayama
The other day I came across a
powerful 4 step process created by Buddhist Teacher, Tara Brach, which I see as
a simple yet valuable form of self inquiry into any state or blockage we may be
journeying through, to come to clearly see what is true. Brach calls this
process - RAIN: An acronym for - Recognise, Allow, Investigate, Nurture.
Brach invited her students to first challenge the underlying
belief that's creating the tension ... and come to see that the belief or
pattern is "real" as it certainly does exist, but is it true? Funny
but in one of Joe Biden’s gaffes I noticed recently, he said “I don't follow
the truth, I follow the facts”. I laughed at it, but I remember thinking, wait
a minute - there's something in that ... facts are not necessarily truth. For
example, the fact that I sometimes feel limited, diminished or less than, doesn’
t
mean it’s the truth of who I am.
So, it all comes back to not believing our thoughts to be
truth ... they are certainly real enough as thoughts or ideas ... but are
they truth? Not necessarily!
***
Every moment offers its very own unique truth or reality. There is
nothing more thrilling, worthy or noble than seeing the moment for what it is,
as it is. As it vibrates into Presence, this moment has an offering … our purpose
is to recognise it. If I were to apply the RAIN Process to this, let’s see what
happens:
Right now … I RECOGNISE … OK … I feel an appreciation being
presented, an appreciation for the gift … this gift right now … how blessed I
am, alive, looking, listening, opening up … and immediately I am in the next
phase:
ALLOW … I
feel this radiant beauty, see it with all my senses, no wanting anything else,
just This, just as it is. As I “allow”
I gently slot into the vastness of it all … no efforting involved, simply “seeing”
this, as it is, for what it is.
A heartfelt sense of openness and
connectedness begins to happen … not “me” trying to be open and connected,
simply openness and connection taking
place, no separation, “me” as This …
allowing is not an action, I do not “do” the allowing, I simply relax into what
is … the traffic noise in the distance, the clothes dryer whirring, the rainbow
lorikeets in the back garden screeching, the crow in the distance cawing … all
is, as it is … how sweet, how perfect … allowing this allowing to happen all on
its own.
Immense freedom in this “just being”,
no impulse to become … just this.
Now there’s a natural curiosity
which leads to the next phase: INVESTIGATE,
which seamlessly happens as I stay in the moment, this natural curiosity gently
explores what is so evident, so available. It’s innate within awareness, when
our preoccupation with time and self diminishes, the world and all its radiance
flowers and opens up to all our senses. With it comes a sense of awe and a
sense of joy.
Right now, the clarified insight
is: It’s all a profound gift, and by simply being here, we become available to
it, the world is seen truly as our oyster. A clear unobstructed view of what is
deepens and broadens our perception in all directions … north, south, east,
west, up down, out and in … the final frontier.
Now we come to see that all and
everything “sits” within me … there is no “outside” as such … all this is here within me and a sweetness
keeps tugging at my heart leading to the very natural next phase: NURTURE.
Sitting here in this deep
appreciation for all life I simply breathe and love, ever more deeply. This
leads to soft landing into our heart where the One who sees resides…From this
vast and infinite Heart space only love remains. This precious nectar of the
gods, right here, right now, in this moment just as it is.
Nurturing this is a gentle letting go, a sweet continuous allowing for it to
be, just as it is, moment to moment.
As we sit in our hearts, the
nurturing happens of its own accord and unfolds into deeper, wider and richer
levels of awakenedness … and it’s all here … in this moment, as this moment!
Friday, September 18, 2020
The End of Seeking - Give It Your Love
There's an emptiness here.
Once I used to fear it, run from it, desperately try to fill it ... with something, anything. Now, the emptiness is somehow full and complete and resolved, and I am at peace with it. I now see it as a spaciousness, and in this spaciousness: Presence, God's Presence.
So much of our days are futilely filled with the struggle to fill the emptiness .. the gap, yet ... This gap is exactly what's required to finally come to the end of seeking. If we still seek, we are still waiting for that "missing" something or someone to be found to help fill the gap. Coming out of the struggle requires a new way of seeing, a willingness to rest in this placeless place, to be willing to not move from it and give our whole lives over to it ... when this is done, what once was feared will now be seen as nothing less than the Love of God.
Then life will simply be lived, one breath at a time, in deep devotion that which never dies ... from this, we are to do only one thing: Give It Your Love.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
The Final Instruction - In Ten Breaths
Don't go looking for,
Stay with looking at ...
Resist the temptation to seek more
Simply rest in what is directly before you.
Breath in ... see it, look and see it,
then, when seen ... no more.
Breath in ... new, fresh, clear ... This moment ...
Again, the only practice if we can call it such, is:
Look and see ... once seen, let the ripples of what has been seen dissipate ... then ... again:
Breath in .... see it, look and see it, nothing more, nothing else ...
simply This, just as it is, from this moment.
Be sure, if truly seen, it will radiate with brilliance, there's no mistaking the truth, the real ...
for the untruth, the unreal.
You will know when it's true, it will radiate authenticity ... So ...
Breath in ... what do you see?
A joy lies in each attempt at describing the indescribable.
Every attempt fails completely, yet .... undeniably, here it is, right before you ... how clear, how pure, how real, how true ... and once again:
Breath in ... Look and see ... a billion lifetimes embraced by this moment.
Every breath ever breathed, in this moment, breathed as this moment.
You have it all ... absolutely all of it!
It's yours ... see it, and you are free with every breath.
Breath in ... Look and see ... sweet surrender, that's all that's possible here ...
and this of course is not an act of doing, an act of will ...
Surrender is your true ground of Being - This you are!
So resist any temptation to take it further ...
You are here, you are awake, you are free ... Look and see.
Breath in ... Look and see ... the final instruction.
Breath in ... Look and see.
Breath in ... Look and see
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Hidden Right Here
You reached down
The branch moved, just a bit,
I did notice ...
I looked, and heard you whisper
Isn’t it always like this?
In the most unsuspecting moments
You pull me out of my reverie
And here You are before me
Right in the middle of it all.
And I’m always taken by surprise
Hidden right here, right before my eyes.
You reveal Yourself once again
As The most ordinary yet ...
The most beautiful
How extraordinary.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Water Falls
Rock climbs ...
Mind sits ...
Breath breathes ...
Pen moves ...
I think ...
Who
Am I ?
Emptiness stuns ...
Mirror calls ...
Water falls ...
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Sacro Monte ... In This Very Breath
There comes a moment when there's nothing left to do but to make oneself clear and available to what is already taking place, to let that which God sees, be that which we see.
There's a sweet joy in this that is absolute and incomparable ... it's the gift that is waiting to be received, with each breath. When seen through these eyes, God's eyes, everything is charged with a dynamic stillness filled with purpose. Nothing needs to be done necessarily yet, doing will naturally and effortlessly follow ... and all that we actually do, becomes God's work ... Suddenly the most menial task or supposedly insignificant event is witnessed in the expanded awakened awareness that always accompanies this sacred seeing, and the emptiness that may once have been experienced as nihilism when seen only through the limited lens of the human condition, becomes the emptiness that gives space to the rich fullness and completeness of the Divine, of God Itself.
When we suffer, we have forgotten how to look. The simple reminder, is the rediscovery in each breath that God is here ... in this very breath ... this one, right here.
For now, don't worry about any future breaths, simply come back in to this breath, for this breath is the only one that is real ... Slow down ... let the sanctity of this inhale be full and complete ... follow the breath right to the top of the inhale ... and at this point watch carefully and sit in this most
precious juncture ... and as if standing at the top of a mountain ... simply pause and take in the vast panoramic vista ... witness your surrounds in the depth and clarity being offered from this vantage point ... and watch as the emptiness gently transforms into what it truly is ... God's fullness, God's completeness.
Now ... gently follow the out breath right to the bottom of the mountain. Once back down, simply allow for the ascension of the in breath to take place .... watch carefully, and as you look through these eyes, God's eyes, for this breath only, allow for the glories of Heaven to come into view, for this breath only ... reach the summit, pause, look, listen ... and in deep gratitude: allow, simply allow this sacred immersion to be the encounter with the Divine that it truly is.
Every time you remember, let the ascent ... the pause ... and the descent be witnessed.
With each breath, you will deepen your appreciation for how very sacred this life truly is, lived and witnessed through these eyes, through God's eyes in this very breath.
Could Anything Be Sweeter Than This?
“This moment” loves to be loved ... life loves to be loved.
As I drink it all in I am reminded of the line from one of John Lennon’s more obscure songs, Intuition ... wonderful words of appreciation for the moment: “I confirm an old suspicion , it’s good to be alive.”
As the weeping willow sways gently to the breeze, eloquently arched over the lotus pond before me, that “sneaking old suspicion” seeps deeper and deeper into my heart.
Gobsmacked ... dumbfounded ... absolutely astonished ... God’s forever outpouring can never be touched by words, yet we keep forever trying ... and there’s such joy even in the trying ... these words are like shadows trying to frame the light ... fingers forever pointing at the moon ... none ever getting closer yet here it is ... in all its glory, in all its splendour, radiating suchness, isness and beingness ... always and forever.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
The Quail in the Fields of Spring
Thursday, May 28, 2015
It’s all Sacred
Friday, March 6, 2015
Everything is Music
then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood,
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.
The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things.
where everything is music.
The strumming and the flute notes
rise into the atmosphere,
and if the whole world's harp
should burn up,
there will still be hidden instruments
playing, playing
This singing art
is sea foam.
The graceful movements
come from a pearl
somewhere
on the ocean floor.
Poems reach up like spindrift
and the edge of driftwood
along the beach
wanting, wanting
They derive from a slow
and powerful root
that we cannot see.
Stop the words now.
Open the window
in the centre of your chest,
and let the spirits fly
in and out!
Friday, November 28, 2014
And so this is Christmas ...
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Only the Love is Real
No matter what story we carry, how good or bad everything feels ... Behind it, at the back of it all is this perfect love.
As we get older, the stories we harbour may become more ingrained but if we dare to step back from them for a moment ... We easily see that it's the love that allows them to be.
My mum has dementia. She cuts and pastes together memories of moments in her life that have made an impact on her. Every time the story is retold, it's a little different, she adds another piece from another place and time in her life, creating a "new" mind-loop to be caught up in. Then as soon as she's had her fill, of laughter and of tears ... She slows down and stills back into the emptiness ... And ... The love is there. The truth of her is this love ... The truth of us all is this love.
Watching my mother slowly lose her mind reveals to me how we all operate ... We too cut and paste the thoughts and feelings of our past and create a "memory" across the screen of the moment. It feels so very real, so very true ... But it's just as unreal as my mother's dementia fantasies ... The only difference being that we believe our "cut and paste" jobs are more sane or coherent somehow. But, it's all a story ... A creation that spellbinds us too.
...
If seen through we will be free to simply allow the love to shine through, as it always does anyway.
This is our purpose here, to dream our dreams, cut and paste our memories, then see clearly once and for all that's all we've ever been doing ... And catch a glimpse of the love that is left ... The only thing that is real and eternal. And if that glimpse is profound enough, it will continue to awaken our hearts, right through to the very last breath we take ... Where only the love will remain.
Only the love ...that's all there ever is, was , or will be.
Only the love ...
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Playing Inner Scrabble
PS Did you notice that I didn't pick the letter "N" above? Ah ... no matter, I didn't either until after I wrote this. Again, it just goes to show ... It's not about the letters or how many, but how we arrange them.