Rivers of Light

I hear bells ringing that no one has shaken,
inside "love" there is more joy than we know of,
rain pours down,
although the sky is clear of clouds,
there are whole rivers of light...
                                                       - Kabir

Why is it in winter, light is so much in my mind's eye. The mystics equate love and light and why not. This image of Kabir's "rivers of light" pouring through the sky to earth is majestic. It's so comforting to rest in this place of "bells ringing that on one has shaken."

The morning silence brings a deep sense of Presence and I let go of all the ways my mind keeps me small. I move inside love to find that joy ~ timeless, ageless, just being...

Thoughts are like actors

Thoughts of themselves have no substance; let them arise and pass away unheeded. Thoughts will not take form of themselves, unless they are grasped by the attention; if they are ignored, there will be no appearing and no disappearing.
                                                                            – Ashvaghosha

I remember when I first heard the Shakespeare quote about being actors on the stage of life. I was in high school English class and it really struck me in a way that not many things had previously. As a small child I did have several experiences of feeling so open and spacious, so filled with light and curious about what life is and what my place in it might be.

Often as we grow up, we lose that natural curiosity and fall into our roles on the stage of life without questioning why. We become quite expert at playing our part and the emotions we experience become so real as we attach to them.

In meditation, we detach from our thoughts and emotions and become the audience. To continue the analogy of life being a play, our thoughts and emotions are the actors. Like actors and actresses everywhere, they love a responsive audience. But if no one shows up to watch the play, they give up and close the show. If we can allow the emotions and thoughts to be there without responding to them, they will soon dissolve and the mind will grow stronger and more one-pointed.  The more we practice meditation, the easier it is to see emotions and thoughts for what they really are and to know who we are.

Gratitude

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing 

that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. 

And because all things have contributed to your advancement, 

you should include all things in your 

gratitude.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

This morning as i sit by the window, I am grateful. The moon is clearly winking at me as it sails slowing through the morning sky. The little dogwood is naked except for three thistle socks lovingly providing food for all the finches. Goldfinches, Purple finches, House Finches, all busy pecking at the seed and vying for a place on the feeders. 

In the quiet of the morning, I am grateful for each moment. I've not posted for a long time and it just feels like time to begin again. I welcome myself back.