Simply Silence...

In the midst of chaos there is always Silence...
In the midst of complexity there is simplicity...
Being in the Rhythm of Silence unwinds the mind -
unwinds the fears.
It unwinds the contracted body, thoughts, emotions, and feelings
that have become an habituated response to life.

Silence is the medicine that brings us back to the current of Life
again; into the Infinite Presence that lives us...

It is not "mother earth" pulsing through us,
but That which also pulses through "mother earth" -
the Cosmic pulse of Life that infuses all things...

Reach deeply into the Stillness of Silence
within you - the Primordial Space of Silence
and thrive there...

In this stillness is the congruancy of Life...

Feel the Stillness,
the Sacred Silence...
Awaken to its Rhythm...

It is not thought...
Go behind the mind,
to the Essence of Existence -
Silence...

Sweet, Sweet, Silence...

Mystic Meandering
Meditative Writings from the Silence
2006

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering
Leaves on a branch
color inverted digitally giving
this wonderful oriental, zen-like affect
of simplicity...

 

Simple Life - J. Krishnamurti

Simple life does not consist in the mere possession of a few
things but in the freedom from possession and non-possession,
in the indifference to things that comes with deep understanding.
Merely to renounce things in order to reach greater happiness,
greater joy that is promised, is to seek reward which limits it
and prevents it from flowering...

Simplicity of life comes with inner richness, with inward
freedom from craving, with freedom from acquisitiveness,
from addiction, from distraction.  

Simple life is not the result of outward circumstances...
If you depend on circumstances to make you satisfied
with life then you will create misery and chaos [for yourself
and others], for then you are a plaything of the environment, and
it is only when circumstances are transcended through understanding
that there is order and clarity.  To be constantly aware of the process
of acquisitiveness, of addiction, of distraction, brings freedom from
them and so there is a true and simple life.

J. Krishnamurti
from The Collected Works Volume III Ojai
8th Public Talk 2nd July, 1944

With thanks to The Beauty We Love

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

 

Quality of Life - Rod MacIver

The tendency is to trade our time, our lives, on unnecessary
distractions...

Simplicity... - allows us the freedom to say no to activities and
projects [or to people].  Simplicity contributes to independence
from the dominant culture and its preoccupation with the extreme,
the ridiculous, the trivial.  Simplicity enhances our ability to
create a work of beauty, to be independent, to deal in truth.

In that way, simplicity contributes to the courage of conviction.

The spiritual life has always been the simple life, the reflective
life.  Simplicity enhances your relationship with your inner
world.  Reducing clutter and focusing on the essential [the Essence]
is an important aspect of slowing down.

The soul is simple; it doesn't relate to complicated.  It needs
simple pleasures.  Wisdom asks for simplicity -- the elimination
of unnecessary distraction...  What is the essence here?  What
can be removed without detracting from the whole?  Where's the
juice?

...

What can you cut out that you wouldn't miss?  What can you give
away without impacting the quality of your life?  Where's the juice
of your life? What can be removed to allow you to focus on that?

...

The thoughts offered above were originally written to myself in
my journal.

Rod MacIver - Heron Dance

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

 

"Spiritual Practice" - Frank Ostaseski

Authentic "spiritual practice" is not about maintaining high
altered states, transcending the body, bypassing difficult emotions,
or healing all that remains unresolved within us.  "Spiritual
practice" helps us settle into the utter simplicity of being ourselves...
The healing happens when we bring awareness to the places
that have been hardened in us through the conditioned habits
of grasping, resistance and avoidance.

Mindfulness [awareness] is the deconditioning [of those habits].
Then things are free to be as they are.  We allow the difficult,
dark and dense.  We become more intimate with our full humanity
and discover an ever-deeper, vast sense of wholeness.

Being who you are can only arise from
accepting where you are.

Frank Ostaseski
The Five Invitations

~

Photo from the internet

 

Simple Life - J.Krishnamurti

 Simple life does not consist in the mere possession of a few
things but in the freedom from possession and non-possession,
in the indifference to things that comes with deep understanding.
Merely to renounce things in order to reach greater happiness,
greater joy that is promised, is to seek reward which limits it
and prevents it from flowering...

To control thought-feeling for a greater reward, for a greater
result, is to make it petty, ignorant and sorrowful.  Simplicity
of life comes with inner richness, with inward freedom from
craving, with freedom from acquisitiveness, from addiction,
from distraction.  From this simple life there comes that
necessary one-pointedness which is not the outcome of
self-enclosing concentration, but of extensional awareness
and meditative understanding.

Simple life is not the result of outward circumstances;
contentment with little comes with the riches of inward
understanding.  If you depend on circumstances to make
you satisfied with life then you will create misery and
chaos [for yourself and for others], for then you are a
plaything of environment, and it is only when
circumstances  are transcended through understanding
 that there is order and clarity. To be constantly aware of
the process of acquisitiveness, of addiction,
of distraction, brings freedom from them

and so there is a true and simple life.

J. Krishnamurti
from The Collected Works Volume III Ojai
8th Public Talk 2nd July, 1944

With thanks to The Beauty We Love

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

Peace...

 Even in the midst of chaos there is Peace...
Even in the midst of complexity there is Simplicity...
Even in the midst of confusion there is Stability...

Stay rooted in your Eternal Nature at the 
Core of your Being...

MM

Radical Honesty - Jeff Foster

You don't have to be okay with anything.  It's not about the
me-person being okay.  It's that everything is already embraced
by Life ItSelf.  It is a cosmic okayness that goes beyond "I'm okay"
and "I'm not okay."  We are totally free to respond to life experiences
in authentic, honest, human ways.  We are free not to like our
experiences, and on a deeper level to experience a total, all-
encompassing okayness with the entire situation.  Underneath
everything is a cosmic okayness.  It's not about telling yourself
that you're okay when you are not.  It's not about pretending to be
okay, trying to be spiritual, trying to be peaceful.
You don't have to be anything other than you are in the moment.
It's about radical honesty. It's about seeing reality as it is,
acknowledging it, and discovering that the situation is fully
admitted into life - already.  There is simply life, in all its
mystery, wonder, and timeless simplicity.  And in this
recognition the illusion of separation between us and life
falls away, and we are no longer at odds with life
as it is...

Jeff Foster

From - The Deepest Acceptance

~

This moment in time and space is an eggshell,
personal identity is a sheath.
The breath of God is breathing through it...

Remember the deep root of your being.
Give yourself to the one who already owns
your breath and your moments.

Rumi

~

Photo from the Internet

Mind Games...

Tired of noisy words,
the "spiritual abstractions"
cleverly strung together
by word-crafters espousing
their mind games - not
from the simplicity of their Heart,
but the complexities of their minds;
having been absorbed by too many
conceptual ideas: "there is only here
and Now"; "there is no other"; "there
is no me"; "'i' does not exist -
creating a phantom reality from those concepts
and ideas on which to hang your mind;
plying their paradoxes into 'non-dual' jargon.

Once a player in "The Mind Games",
I now seek refuge in the simplicity of the Heart,
and a more "direct experience" of what cannot be
defined by words and abstractions; not philosophical,
existential conundrums that boggle and confuse, but
a simple truth,
untethered and unencumbered...

I'd rather step into the unknown
and be free, than be tethered to the
certainties of noisy words and abstract
mind games that parade as truth.

Without those, I am free to BE - who I am,
as I am;
a unique expression of "The Ineffable Mystery" of Life
that animates my being -
living from the simplicity of the Heart...

_/\_

Namaste

Mystic Meandering
Dec. 14, 2019

~

Photo from the Internet
digitally altered

The Meaning of it all? - Unmani

Since I was a child I asked myself this question:
"What is the meaning of it all?  Why am I here?
What the hell is going on here?"

I was surrounded by facades and people pretending to know
a lot of apparently very important stuff.  There were so
many rules and so much mental information that must prove
that there is a secret meaning that they all know.  And this
meaning must be very grown-up, important and serious...

That knowing that I knew wasn't intellectual or any kind of
belief.  It wasn't some kind of special experience or state of
mind.  It was beyond all that.  It was, and is, a simple knowing
that whatever is happening.....is part of the movie of life.

Recognizing this and letting go of the usual chase for meaning
can leave you feeling very lost.....empty of anything that means
anything.....

What is left is simply the experience itself.....without needing
a meaning.....  This gives space to really experience Life fully.
Everything is experienced in an open and raw way, without any
overlay of meaning.  None of it needs meaning.  It is enough
as it is.  It is overflowing with Life expression, with Life playing
itself in this way or that.  This is the expression of Love.

Life is Love loving itself in this particular way, now, exactly as
it is in this experience.  This is the true meaning of Life.  The
raw experience without any need of any filter or overlay.
Nothing means anything, and yet, everything means so much
that is beyond all words.

There is no need for any extra meaning or mental labeling
or interpretation to Life because it is enough unto itself.
The only thing the mind can do now is bow down in
absolute reverence to the simplicity of Life as it is.

Our limited minds cannot know the true meaning of Life.....
It is only when you give up trying to know something
that will give you a special 'me' identity, that you see
how simple and obvious the true meaning really is.
Life doesn't care about the meaning you think you know.
It is simply living itself as it is.

Within the movie of a person's life, the only purpose or
meaning is to acknowledge this simplicity and live in
alignment with that.  It is all around you, in you, and
as you.  Just stop for a moment and see the mysterious
love song of Life to ItSelf.

Unmani

excerpt from a larger article
via No Mind's Land

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering

Beyond "Spirituality" - MM & A.H. Almaas

Beyond the "cloak of spirituality" that we wear,
in its many guises, is the unconditioned Nature
of our own Being - the "Genuine Self",
the "Authentic Self", the "Precious Pearl"
at the depths of Beingness;
not the super-imposed conditioning of belief systems,
but the pure state of Being from deep within the
Quietness of Consciousness
that has no "belief", no conditioned *idea* of
"spirituality" - just pure Being,
living as we are...

Mystic Meandering
May 27, 2019

~

The non-dual realization is only a step toward
greater mysteries and forms of freedom
leading to the deepening realization
of the fullness of being human,
expressing the totality of the
cosmos in all its physical and
spiritual dimensions -
living the simplicity
of
ordinary life.

A.H. Almaas

~

Photo - Pikes Peak
taken from Greenland, CO

Come to Peace

Even in the midst of chaos there is Peace...

Even in the midst of complexity there is Simplicity...

Even in the midst of confusion there is Stability...

In everything there is still the presence of Love...

MM

2006

~

The further I wake into this life, the more I realize
that the extraordinary is waiting quietly beneath the skin
of all that is ordinary.  Light is in both the broken bottle
and the diamond, and the music is both the flowing violin
and the water dripping from the drainage pipe...

Mark Nepo

From: The Book of Awakening

~

With gratitude for the little things...

_/\_

All We Are, We Are

I realized a few years back, and again while experiencing a
recent relapse of a chronic illness, that I was resisting;
resisting the condition, and its related symptoms, as well as
life itself.  The mind was fixating on the bodily symptoms and
resisting what was happening, forgetting its True Essence
and the simplicity of just Being - just living as life presents itself.
When I finally woke up to this, I felt bad that I had fallen into
resistance again...  After all, Life moves the way it moves - right?
But, even so, I resisted the resistance  :) - in subtle ways
resisting what is...

So - I asked to be shown what I needed to see here.

The "answer" came, not through meditation, or sitting in the Silence,
or practicing a "practice", but while at the grocery store...

Several years ago, while waiting in line at the check-out, I heard
the words of a song being played on the PA system.  The words
were: "All we are we are..." lyrically repeated over and over
again.  I couldn't make out the other words in the other verses,
only the chorus: "All we are we are..."  The rhythm of the words
drew me in:  "All we are we are..."

Of course!
How could we be anything else?  As I stood waiting in line,
 listening to the words, I looked around, in a relaxed state of
awareness, my eyes unexpectedly landing on a word over in
the far corner from where I was standing that was printed on the
side of the display shelf.  It said:

"Inclusive"

My mind just stopped - eyes glued to the word - in awe.
I realized - there it was: my "answer."
And it all came together...

All we are, we are...

Inclusive...

Nothing is excluded - no thought, no feeling, no emotion,
not even resistance.  We can't be anything other than we are.
We are who we are...  All of it - not just the parts we like,
but even our hidden parts, the "darker" parts; the depression,
the discouragement, the anger, the anxiety, the restlessness,
the doubts, the uncertainties,the insecurities, the resistance...

I could feel the tears welling up with this recognition - with
the acceptance that everything is included - life as it is -
me exactly as I am.  There is nothing "wrong" with any of it!
It's all embraced as an experience of Being.  It is all expressions
of the Essential Self, in all it's many forms - the waves of the
Ocean rising and falling back into ItSelf - over and over again.
It's inclusive of the hard times and the easy times, not separating
out the good and bad experiences, as I tend to do - still believing
 the distinction in my mind, "complexifying" (I love this word!)
my life.  Pure Beingness embraces everything inclusively as
ItSelf - expressing this "me" as ItSelf - all of me; not the
perfection of me.  Our Beingness embraces it all -
enfolds every part back to ItSelf - our pain, our circumstances,
our life - as we are, as it is - without hesitation - without resistance.
Everything is ALLOWED.

I know this and forget this.
Everything unfolds the way it does, including the "resistance."
And so I once again whisper softly in its ear, as if to a
frightened child:
"You're included, all is well..."

All we are, we are...

Inclusive...

~

Originally written 2010

The song "All We Are" is by Matt Nathanson

~

Photo - light through a blue glass

The Uncarved Block - Cara Lumen

In Taoism, the uncarved block is who we are at our core,
the Essence of our being.  It is our Pure Self, our original state
of Being before it is shaped by various life processes.
Returning to the simplicity of the uncarved block means
returning to a wholeness.....at the center of our Being.

"The essence of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original
simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily
spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed..."
The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff

What are we like at the core?  What is our Essence?  What were
we before we layered our lives with experience?

Our life experience gradually shapes our original uncarved block
of Self.  Our beliefs dictate the shape, our responses and choices
become our carving tools.

When we come from a place of our uncarved block.....we allow
our life to unfold and simply shape things as they come.

What if we learn to stop where we are in our lives, go back to
the Essence of our uncarved block...?

We can let go of form and become whole and uncarved again.

If we go back to pure innocence, what is there?

It is our "spiritual Essence."  It is the Qi energy moving through
the body...

Learn to return to an awareness of the uncarved, untouched, unformed
Self [Being] and use the simplicity of that to fully experience your
present life.

Simply live...  Question perceptions...  Examine thoughts...
Learn to remain rooted in the wholeness of simplicity
of your uncarved block.

Choose only what nurtures you.

Cara Lumen
Excerpts from: Return To The Simplicity Of The Uncarved Block

In Turbulent Times...

In these turbulent times of upheaval
on the surface of life,
dive deep...
into the Stillness of Being within,
where nothing is disturbed, nothing is harmed...

Externally it's all "The Mystery" playing
itself out in the construct of time - the Unmanifest in form.

In the Greater Context in which life takes place,
everything is allowed...
The world will go the way it goes -
life will continue to unfold the way it unfolds -
the light and the dark will continue to dance together -
in time-bound reality.

Do not focus only on the chaos;
mind-created contractions of fear and ignorance.

Instead...  Turn within...

Experience the depths of True Stillness,
the Stillness of the Everlasting Deep,
experience what's beyond the chaos and fear
- what holds the Cosmos together -
the enduring hum of Aliveness within all form...

Held in The Rhythm of Stillness that sustains Existence,
that IS Existence, Rest...
in the Embrace of That which animates all Life...

_/\_

Namaste

Mystic Meandering
Meditative Writings
Nov. 2016

~

Come into Peace...

Even in the midst of chaos there is Peace...
Even in the midst of complexity there is Simplicity...
Even in the midst of confusion there is Stability...

In everything there is Love...

Mystic Meandering
2006

Simply Seeing - Meister Eckhart

The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which
God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye,
one seeing, one knowing and one love...

Meister Eckhart

~

Photo - picture of an Amaryllis bloom radially blurred
forming the eye in the center...

Simply - Silence...

In the midst of chaos there is always Silence...
In the midst of complexity there is the simplicity of Awareness...
Being in the Rhythm of Silence unwinds the mind - unwinds the fears.
It unwinds the contracted body, thoughts, emotions, and feelings
that have become an habituated response to life.

Silence is the medicine that brings us back into the current of Life
again; into the Infinite Presence that lives us...

It is not "mother earth" pulsing through us,
but That which also pulses through "mother earth" -
the cosmic pulse of Life that infuses all things...

Reach deeply into the Stillness of Silence
within you - the Primordial Space of Silence
and thrive there...

In this Stillness is the congruency of Life...

Feel the Stillness,
the Sacred Silence...
Awaken to its Rhythm...

Go behind the mind,
to the Essence of Existence -
Silence...

Sweet, Sweet, Silence...


Mystic Meandering
Meditative Writings
2006

*

Photo - Fall leaves remaining on a branch
color inverted digitally giving this wonderful
oriental, zen-like affect of simplicity...

Journey of Discovery...

"Discovery is a place that doesn’t know,
doesn’t evaluate,
and is willing to see what is.

Discovery sees beyond conflict
to an open realm of possibilities.

Discovery enables us to let go
of the filters of our past
and the blinders
of our expectations.

Discovery perceives
no right or wrong.
only inquiry
and
creativity.

Discovery turns
frustration
into
fascination
and work
into
play."

Thomas Crum
The Magic of Conflict

"Your soul knows the geography of your destiny…
It will take you where you need to go,
but more important
it will teach you a
kindness of rhythm
in your journey.”

John O’Donohue

"It is a journey towards simplicity,

towards quietness,
towards a kind of joy
that is not in time.
It’s a journey that
takes us from primary
identification
with body and psyche [mind],
to an identification with God,
and ultimately beyond
any identification."

Ram Dass

The Simplicity of Silence...

~

The Rhythm of Silence within is simply found through sitting in meditative silence and listening for the Inner Flow, the Inner Rhythm of Silence, and bringing our awareness to That…  Being in the Rhythm within unwinds “you” – the little me with its stresses and worries and fears.  It unwinds the body, and the thoughts, emotions and feelings that have become our habitual response to life.  It is the medicine that brings us back into the current of Life again – the Inner Life of Spirit…

In the midst of chaos there is always Silence.  In the midst of complexity there is the simplicity of Awareness – if we just notice.  If we just get Quiet and listen…  Each of us has our own way of experiencing this deep Silence within, that brings us to a greater awareness of our “Divine” Nature within.  Simply be open and It will find you…

Reach deeply into the Stillness
within you…
The Primordial Space
of Silence
and thrive there…

In the Stillness is
the congruency of Life…

Be with this Stillness,
with Sacred Silence
and awaken to Its Rhythm…

Mystic Meandering

Meditative Writings

2006

~

Photo of Fall leaves remaining on a branch
 color inverted digitally

Simplicity...

Trusting in the simplicity of Life,
let what comes, come to you…

Resting in simplicity,
all things will find you…

Trusting Life ~
The Heart will open…


journal notes 2004


Photo ~ glass lid in the morning light ~ 2010

Simply Sit

In order to *know* the Buddha,

you have to *sit* with the Buddha…

In order to *know* Wisdom,

you have to *sit* with Wisdom…

In order to *know* the Truth,

you have to *sit* with the Truth…

In order to *know* the Heart,

you have to *sit* with the Heart…

Sit down, sink down into the depths,

beyond the stimulations of words, ideas,

thoughts, emotions, distractions,

and the quakings of the Heart…

Sink into the Ocean of Stillness,

into the Rhythm of Quiet – until you *know.*

…just sit…

open and receptive

unbounded,

untethered,

unfettered.

Simply sit…

~*~

Mystic Meandering
copyright
May 2, 2010