Walk Softly Live Gently

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

Everything you are seeking –
insight, understanding, fulfillment
and completeness –
is inherent within the present moment.

None depends upon external circumstance.

Find the still, clear, undisturbed
field of Awareness
within which your identity resides,
and everything will be revealed
as a dynamic manifestation
and reflection
of THIS.

It is not about becoming spiritual beings nearly as much as about becoming human beings.

The biblical revelation is saying that we are already spiritual beings;

we just don’t know it yet.

The Bible tries to let you in on the secret, by revealing God in the ordinary.

That’s why so much of the text seems so mundane, practical, specific and, frankly, unspiritual!

We have created a terrible kind of dualism between the spiritual and the so-called non-spiritual.

This dualism precisely is what Jesus came to reveal as a lie.

The principle of Incarnation proclaims that matter and spirit have never been separate.

Jesus came to tell us that these two seemingly different worlds are and always have been one.

We just couldn’t see it until God put them together in his one body (see Ephesians 2:11-20).

from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality p 17

Okay. Here’s another brain teaser for you:

When you are confused by the people around you,

and frustrated by the circumstances

within which you find yourself,

remember thateveryone and everything within your experience

is a product of the circumstances out of which they have arisen.

Freedom lies in recognizing this nested pattern of relationships –

and in allowing your identification to shift

from the web of interdependent causality

to your Awareness of it.

Let your life be what it is.

Do not expect individuals,
events, objects and circumstance
to provide the satisfaction
you are seeking.

They will not.
Indeed, they cannot.

In fact,
only the Whole
will satisfy.

With this understanding
you will begin to recognize that
within all the separate aspects
of your life,
this larger Wholeness
is constantly manifesting.

And, when you trust this larger movement,
nothing more will ever be needed.

Instead, you will find yourself
immersed in the Fullness of what is,
and Satisfaction will be
the inevitable fruit.

The Daily Guru

Nothing is ever lost.
Not time;
for what seems to have passed,
lives on in the wisdom
of future decisions.
Not money;
for what seems to have been spent,
was only invested.
And not love;
for what seems to have vanished,
has only moved so close
you must look within your heart to see it.

Trust you own innate knowing.

Between mind and heart,
intellect and emotion
lies an intuitive insight
and a silent wisdom
that is guiding
each and every
step.

Seeking occurs in time,

and follows a path

out of the present moment

into an imagined future.

Discovery is grounded

in the present moment,

centered here and now.

Seeking focuses on a distant goal.

Discovery focuses on immediate Reality.

Seeking is fueled by restlessness and longing.

Discovery is delighted, fulfilled and satisfied.

Seeking is predicated on lack and grasping,

– and a sense of something missing.

Discovery is completely open and receptive

– accepting and embracing Reality,

exactly as it is.

from: The Daily Guru

With Clear Seeing,
Reality does not
suddenly change.

All that shifts
is our perspective –
and we eventually rediscover
the familiar Reality
we have been seeing
all along.

The moment of awakening may be marked by an
outburst of laughter, but this is not the
laughter of someone who has won the lottery
or some kind of victory. It is the laughter
of one who, after searching for something
for a long time, suddenly finds it in the
pocket of his coat.

When you question your own self-worth,
and doubt the inherent value of your life,
you are actually second-guessing
the wisdom of your Creator.

Be wary of presuming to know
more than God!

It is far better simply to trust
there is a reason you are here,
and to act with an assurance
there is a purpose
your life will fulfill.

Your openness, acceptance and confidence
in the Hand that put you here
will enable others to see that Hand
working in and through your life
– even when you cannot.