God, whose love and joy
are present everywhere,
can’t come to visit you
unless you aren’t there.

_________________________________

God is a pure no-thing,
concealed in now and here:
the less you reach for him,
the more he will appear.

Angelus Silesius (1624-1677)

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

– Neale Donald Walsch

The power of silence

“Growth takes place in a person by working at a deep inner level in a sustained atmosphere of silence.”

– Dr. Ira Progoff

“Only when one is connected to one’s own core is one connected to others… And, for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be refound through solitude.”

– Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It’s the place of reflection and contemplation, and it’s the place where we can connect with the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way.”

– Angeles Arrien

I accept reality and dare not question it.

Walt Whitman

Now is the Time

Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.

Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God.

Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child’s training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.

Hafiz is a divine envoy
Whom the Beloved
Has written a holy message upon.

My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?

What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time for you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.

Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.

- Hafiz

“I have found the paradox,

that if you love until it hurts,

there can be no more hurt,

only more love.”

Mother Teresa

There is a difference between somone

who is in your thoughts

and when you feel someone

from the heart.

From the heart love blossoms,

in your thoughts it’s only an Idea!

From: zeerakkhan on Twitter

(slightly revised from the cropped Twitter version for clarity)

Dancing ecstatic
with awakened consciousness
cosmic fireworks

ronrusso

Taste of Eternity

“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows.”

Nisargadatta

Amen.

i am so glad and very
merely my fourth will cure
the laziest self of weary
the hugest sea of shore

so far your nearness reaches
a lucky fifth of you
turns people into eachs
and cowards into grow

our can’ts were born to happen
our mosts have died in more
our twentieth will open
wide a wide open door

we are so both and oneful
night cannot be so sky
sky cannot be so sunful
i am through you so

e.e. cummings

ee cummings

None of us are completely present. So don’t feel guilty, but do know presence is still the great teacher, those enlightened moments that come now and then. When we are manipulating, changing, controlling, and fixing, we are not there yet. We cannot be present to something and trying to change it at the same time.

The calculating mind is the opposite of the contemplative mind. The first is taught by the systems of our world, the second by the Holy Spirit.

We might consider this prayer to try to draw ourselves into a contemplative frame of mind:

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Richard Rohr

Seeing

Look at the words on this page.

Observe your eyes picking up the light,

your mind making out the symbols and interpreting the words.

Observe your mind thinking about what these words mean.

Observe yourself thinking…

Understanding… 

Now step back from your mind

and observe the part of you that can observe your thoughts.

What is that that can observe thought

or no thought?

What is that? 

Take a moment and observe your consciousness.

You can’t see it physically, or feel it,

but you can be made aware of it.

You become aware of it

by observing it. 

As it is what you are

it behooves you to know it.

By realizing that which you are

you come to know why you were born.

There is a purpose to your existence, and it’s time to discover it.

Once you know the purpose for which you incarnated

you can begin fulfilling that purpose and you will be guided to.

Once you begin fulfilling your life purpose

your life will be more fulfilling,

more meaningful,

happier.

“The future, higher evolution will belong to those who live in joy, who share joy, and who spread joy.”

– Torkom Saraydarian

“Man loves because he is Love. He seeks Joy, for he is Joy. He thirsts for God for he is composed of God and he cannot exist without Him.”

– Sathya Sai Baba

When you discover the privilege
and the profound opportunity
inherent in being alive,
your life will become
a Sacred Blessing
for others.

Honor the Grace
that is Life
within this
moment.

Daily Guru

THE SHINING WORD
“AND”

teaches us to say yes

And…allows us to be both-and
And…keeps us from either-or
And…teaches us to be patient and long suffering
And…is willing to wait for insight and integration
And…keeps us from dualistic thinking
And…does not divide the field of the moment
And…helps us to live in the always imperfect now
And…keeps us inclusive and compassionate toward everything
And…demands that our contemplation become action
And…insists that our action is also contemplative
And…heals our racism, our sexism, heterosexism, and our classism
And…keeps us from the false choice of liberal or conservative
And…allows us to critique both sides of things
And…allows us to enjoy both sides of things
And…is far beyond any one political party
And…helps us face and accept our own dark side
And…allows us to ask for forgiveness and to apologize
And…is the mystery of paradox in all things
And…is the way of mercy
And…makes daily, practical love possible
And…does not trust love if it is not also justice
And…does not trust justice if it is not also love
And…is far beyond my religion versus your religion
And…allows us to be both distinct and yet united
And…is the very Mystery of Trinity
And…is why we are called the
Center for Action AND Contemplation