If we want to know the nature of the world, we have to know the nature of that with which the world is known. The ultimate science is not the science of physics; it is the science of Consciousness.
---Rupert Spira
“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.”
---Rainer Maria Rilke
“In the Beginning”
․
“Sometimes simplicity rises
like a blossom of fire
from the white silk of your own skin.
You were there in the beginning
you heard the story, you heard the merciless
and tender words telling you where you had to go.
Exile is never easy and the journey
itself leaves a bitter taste. But then,
when you heard that voice, you had to go.
You couldn’t sit by the fire, you couldn’t live
so close to the live flame of that compassion
you had to go out in the world and make it your own
so you could come back with
that flame in your voice, saying listen…
this warmth, this unbearable light, this fearful love…
It is all here, it is all here.”
---David Whyte
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
---David Whyte
The Doorway to Simplicity:
The doorway to a radical, numinous, simplicity, seems to be reached by the long and difficult path of generosity. Firstly, we are invited, against our will, to unfold our grip and give away what was never ours in the first place: secondly, we are then asked, or at times forced, to let go, of what was once ours, but which we have held to far too long and far too tightly, long beyond its proper season. Thirdly, and lastly, and with great difficulty, we hear the unwanted call to give away those things that have always been ours, but which we somehow managed to love in the wrong way: we are asked to give away people or things we were close to, but people or things we named in the wrong way.
At the end, we are left with is what is actually ours, a living, robust, but hardly identifiable thing, that is a flowing, everyday representation of our essential spirit; a wave form passing through us, a way we hold the everyday conversation of life: in the silence of a room, in the city street, in the office or at an ocean’s edge, but still, an essence we are asked to give away again and again; in the right way, to the right person, or the right place, at the right time; time after time.
In the midst of that last giving we seem to take a step into the numinous doorway of permeability, and are suddenly found ourselves by the world and seemingly, by the light, we become a strange new receiver of the world’s own generosity; we find ourselves being given back to, in the right way, at the right time by the right source; we stand in the living, breathing doorway where giving and taking become one thing.
---David Whyte...Thoughts from Avignon: © David Whyte 2013
The You Pronoun
Someone asked once, What is love?
Be lost in me, I said. You will know love when that happens.
Love has no calculating in it. That is why it is said to be a quality of God and not of human beings.
God loves you is the only possible sentence. The subject becomes the object so totally that it can't be turned around. Who will the you pronoun stand for if you say, You love God?
---Rumi (Persian Poet)
SONNET 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
---Shakespeare
Charles Coon
What is it about morning..?
It must be the freshness and freedom
an issuing forth from night's rest..
It is flow from a real self
before the veiling of day's concerns..
There is a springing of words
seemingly from the morning sun
or from the silence of the new day
not yet stained by separation's illusions..
It is a portrait of ourself
as we always have been...
---Charles Coon
an Arrival
a forgotten Departure
from simplicity..
discoveries of living
accomplishment and shade..
then suddenly
after so many years
a remembering but
only a glimpse
of that Departure
covered in mist..
finding simplicity now
containing
our voyage treasures..
an Arrival of knowing...
---Charles Coon
"And the end of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
--TS Eliot
T. S. EliotLittle Gidding V
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, remembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half heard, in the stillness
Between the two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always--
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of things shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.
Hello Poetry
I searched
the deepest depths
of the vastest oceans,
I searched way up high,
past the clouds,
in the bluest of blue skies,
I searched
deep in the hearts
of nature's greenest forests...
It turns out,
that I was carrying it within me
all along - only now, do I realise.
By Lady R.F ©2016 (posted on Hello Poetry)
When we look with the ‘I’
We dream.
When we look for the ‘I’
We awaken.
I am not a speaker nor a preacher. I have no mission to change the world. I have no original words or teaching to give anyone. I reflect only what I’ve seen and heard – most ordinary, very common. I have no fascination for fresh ideas and activity. All enthusiasm for worldly endeavours and strivings have all but gone. For me, thoughts, words and deeds- the activities of life, are merely the utensils for serving out the ‘prasad’ of the Being-ness.
Every thought and every breath is a breath
and a thought occurring in awareness;
And we are that awareness,
That thought-less and breath-less awareness.
All the mind-streams eventually flow into the
One ocean Beingness. There are many pathways
for the mind; there are no paths for the Heart,
for the Heart is infinite and fills everything.
While you are so busy you are kissed by grace, but you are not thankful for it because it strips you bare, and all your intentions fall away, leaving you as this indescribable ‘here now’ quality-less presence. This is the state of the Unborn.
When the mind adjusts to simply staying here, then that mind is not called mind any more. It’s just Self. It’s only ever Self.
Being here really is just the invitation to rest as Being. There is nothing you have to do. It is not an invitation to become. You will not be scrutinized, your actions compared with those of others. That’s just unicorn food. Let your river flow as it pleases. Simply observe and recognise that all is unfolding spontaneously when that inner journalist- the ego, is exposed as a myth.
First sort yourself out by understanding what you truly are, through recognising what you are not and your world, a projection of your psyche, will become increasingly beautiful and peaceful, for the world is nothing but the reflection of your inner state.
Trust your Heart. Value its intuition.
Choose to let go of fear, and to open to the True and you will awaken to the freedom, clarity and joy of Being.
A thought may arise: ‘It’s okay now,
but it’s going to be different when I step out the door’.
Already you are anticipating your downfall.
Recognise these as just thoughts.
You can just watch them, feel their pull yet observe them as a movement in consciousness. Stay put as formless awareness.
The operation of consciousness
has created the ‘apparition’ called ‘me’.
The mind in the form of the ‘I’ concept
has hidden your original peace, Joy and Love
and is now promising to show you how to find them.
That principle that manifest as the master, is ever Here Now. The true master never dies. It is the mister that dies. The true master, that Sat-Guru within, alone is the Real.
(Mooji speaking of the passsing away of his master, Papaji)
My love, leave behind all this fruitless thinking
And come lay down here in the silence of Being.
Water has no shape, its nature is to flow. If you put it into a vase it will take the shape of the vase. In this cup, it has assumed the shape of the cup. If poured into my cupped hands it will take the shape of the hands. But water has no shape. It is the same with the consciousness, which is subtler than water. It similarly has no form, but it assumes the form of whatever concept it is poured into or identifies with, but it will never be the form.
It remains ever its formless nature.
Go beyond everything. Don’t collect anything. A king does not need to go shopping in his own kingdom. Nor does he beg. Remember, you are the Inner reality~pure awareness only. All that arises are appearances in consciousness. Don’t bother with all that. Rest only as the awareness. This is the secret.
Be still and cool in your own
Mind and spirit.
Ripeness is an idea. If you cling to it as an idea it will choke you. It will keep you seeking for more ripeness. You are beyond ripe and beyond ready. What I am really pointing to is what you already are, not what you should become.
Beingness is not an achievement.
You need not do, undo or change anything in order to be.
The true Being is inscrutable and beyond Knowledge.
It cannot be found in the objective or phenomenal sense,
for beingness is the formless field
within which the very urge to seek arises.
YOU ALREADY ARE THAT.
There is no particular quality to THIS THAT IS,
so don’t join anything to it.
The full grasping of this ever present fact shines as joy, compassion, peace and contentment.
Your life is unfolding naturally.
Leave it be! It does not need any help.
Stay as neutral awareness.
Look! I’m not inviting you to learn this, but to actually recognise this in your seeing, here now, directly. Otherwise you may leave here with what you may call ‘a better understanding’ but it will not last. There’s no one there to understand, there’s just understanding, which flourishes in you as peace, joy and contentment.
Just feel that ‘stuff’, allow it to be expressed,
it flows within the human expression of consciousness, let it be.
Because when it has been given the room to express itself, then the space behind, which is joyful, steady and tranquil will come to the front, only don’t name this enlightenment and then feel that you’ve gained something; instead recognise and pay full attention to the unchanging silence which is the substratum of all
that is appearing in the mind.
Just see, nothing is actually touching you when you just observe, when you don’t say ‘this should not be’.
Pay attention to this wonderful power in you.
Just witness without judgement, interference or attachment. Give it a chance.
Thank the great Spirit within for all
That life brings. All is a gift; the sweet
As well as the bitter. All is for your
Growth, freedom and celebration.
Be happy. This is blessedness.
When you affirm your own rightness in the universe,
then you co-operate and communicate with others easily
and spontaneously as part of your own nature.
You, being yourself, unknowingly inspire others to be themselves.
Because you recognize and are confirmed in your real nature,
you will not need to dominate others, nor cringe before them.
This is compassion.
As an old pot is not polished without scrubbing, so is the mind
not purified without trials; but the pure Self is ever perfect.
Day by day become more and more intimate
with the inner stillness, joy and love which
is the fragrance your own pure heart. Keep quiet.
Joy and peace are not found without.
They are discovered within, as your own inherent nature.
When the various rivers flow into the great Ocean
They lose their individual names and become Ocean only.
When the raindrop is falling towards the Ocean,
It may experience some fear.
But when it touches the Ocean, can it tell the story
Of this meeting?
…Focus your mind on ‘I am’,
which is pure and simple being.
You are Here and Now only.
Contemplate what it is to be fully ‘Here’ and fully ‘Now’.
For this you must leave all else; stay only as here-now
Conscious presence. This is Heart. This is Self.
Mind is the ‘Opium’ of the beingness.
The mind is restless with the urge to accomplish or become. You cannot reach or become beingness, for beingness is already what you are. Rest in that as that. Enjoy and be fullfilled in this knowing. This is real knowledge, satisfaction and contentment.
A starving man is not ‘interested’ in food,
nor is a drowning man ‘interested’ in air.
For one longing for Liberation,
Self-knowledge is not an interest, it’s vital.
That, within which even silence is heard;
before perception arose. Which, itself,
perceives perceiving. That concept-less
and Immutable Being-ness. That alone Is.
-That we are.
We need the mirror
to see that the personal is not.
Self-enquiry is the mirror.
When you are curious – you learn.
When you are desperate – you discover.
We feel we sometimes lose or leave this.
But this ‘I who leaves’ is the mind only – a thought.
How can we Leave our Self? Can the wave (the mind)
exist apart from the ocean? (the Self)
‘Losing and gaining’ are simply notions
arising in the Unchanging presence we already are.
Only now Is, and you are that. Stay as that.
There cannot be any memory in now; for memory is past- not now.
There cannot be a history of now- for now is fresh;
it has no fragrance, and no ‘one’ to smell it. Stay as now beyond any concept of now, and any concept of staying.
If you want to make God laugh
Just tell Him about your plans!
My love, stay here.
Going in search of Self (as a goal) is illusion;
You are already the One Self.
You will purchase the map,
Only to find you are already Here.
Each contact is an opportunity for your own unique satsang
with your Self; not in some strained or contrived way,
but by keeping your mind inside your heart; by trusting
the Inner Guru and by recognizing each moment as perfect
in itself; and by simply being your Self. This is the true
and natural responsibility or rather ‘Response-ability ‘,
the ability to respond effortlessly to the needs of the moment.
My God, my God,
Why have I forsaken Thee?
Develop the habit of thinking of yourself as consciousness,
Not as the body or a person.
Do not associate yourself with any object or concept,
however appealing, and the personal,
the cause of all miseries will dissolve.
Remain in the state of space-like awareness,
free from all notions.
This is the path-less path to timeless Awareness.
All is perfection only.
Perfection is everywhere to behold;
But first you must have the eyes to see it.
Only the one with perfect eyes can see Perfection.
Think of yourself,
And a subtle image is formed
Inside the mind.
You are not this nor any image or thought.
You are the Silent and formless Awareness
Within which innumerable impressions appear
And disappear without trace.
Forgiveness, openness and understanding
Flow naturally where there is compassion.
Stop right here! Don’t think more – it is quite enough.
Don’t say more – it is quite enough.
Don’t strive more – it is quite enough.
Now, don’t touch any idea of moving forward,
-simply rest as This, as it is,
Without that, as it could be.
Now drop the idea of being This.
Detached observing
leaves no footprints in the Beingness.
Drop the belief that you need more
time and experience to get this;
for that is merely another idea arising
in the time-less Being.
You know that you are. In order to negate or affirm anything, you must already be there prior to whatever you will negate or affirm. You cannot be that which you perceive.
You are the perceiving core. Rest as that.
To grasp this is instant freedom,
to miss this is bondage.
You are total unicity beyond duality. That you are. You are so one with yourself that you cannot perceive yourself. You can only imagine that you are other than that. It is like a knife that can cut so many vegetables but cannot cut itself because it is one with itself, or the scale which can weigh so many objects but cannot weigh itself. It is the same with the one supreme Self- the sole Reality, being ever One with itself, it cannot perceive that which it Is; it can only perceive what it is not.
Don’t fix anything I’m saying here for the moment. Don’t make tatoos out of these utterances, Just stay open, silent and receptive and the work of grace will unfold naturally.
You don’t need any symbols here. No support.
That self-knowingness which arises within this form
as ‘I AM’ is enough. Only don’t associate any concepts with that. Stay as That. It is self-fulfilling.
Oh my Lord,
Today
Remove whatever remains.
Now, after all is said and done, What remains? Only that which is not conveyed by any words nor revealed through any activity. Nothing gained and nothing lost- Simply that unspoilt and unspoilable awareness we are.
Attempting to identify with the source
is an idea. You are already that.
Something brought you here.
Something inside is delighted
to be reminded – you are nobody.
