Free What Waits Within Me...

I believe in all that has never yet been spoken.
I want to free what waits within me
so that what no one has dared to wish for
may for once spring clear
without my contriving.

If this is arrogant, God forgive me,
but this is what I need to say.
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.

Then in these swelling and ebbing currents,
these deepening tides moving out, returning,
I will sing you as no one ever has,
streaming through widening channels
into the open sea.

- Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Joanna Macy

Rilke is one of my favorite poets. He is a master at taking the ordinary and creating something that transforms the reader bringing awareness into everyday moments. His ability to enchant us is his honesty, clarity and depth of seeing.

I'm not sure if everyone has this feeling, but I think many writers and artists do have a kind of yearning to express what is inside of them. It is what birthed this blog for me. The secret may be authenticity. To allow what is inside to flow without forcing or holding back. When I am able to rest in the moment, I feel the song riding on the deepening tides, "freeing what waits within me."

Breathe before it's gone...

The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.

We must get up and take that in,

that wind that lets us live.

Breathe before it's gone.

                                            ~ Rumi

Rumi reminds us to experience each moment of life without trying to hold on. Life moves quickly with no promises of the next moment. Everything happens in the "Now." When we remain present, in the now, we are truly alive.


This morning I'm going to the beach for Yoga. There the sun will gently kiss my cheek and the wind will awaken every fiber of my being. Gratitude, such gratitude, my heart smiles and softly sighs.

Something in us...

There is something in us

That has nothing to do with night and day,

Diamonds which come from no earthly mine.

                                                ~ Rumi

The sun is shining and the air is warm. It's March in Florida and truly, all is right in my world. When I saw this quote from Rumi, I wondered how could he know so deeply and express so clearly all that I experience. 

Consider what is real. Let go of the body and the mind and move deeply into that diamond mine. Find that which is changeless. This might be such a small, rough, uncut stone that it is easy to pass it by. But there is something that strikes a chord and resonates in a way that there is no doubt.

Grace and joy appear to polish and shine the something within us that comes from no earthly mine. Quite amazing actually...

Moving Onward

The deep parts of my life pour onward,
as if the river shores were opening out.
It seems that things are more like me now,
That I can see farther into paintings.
I feel closer to what language can't reach.
With my senses, as with birds, I climb
into the windy heaven, out of the oak,
in the ponds broken off from the sky
my falling sinks, as if standing on fishes.
                    ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Sometimes when I read a poem like this the mind is at once confused and clear. No words come to explain what I see. But the deep pristine part of me is crystalline. Its multidimensional pattern reflects light in all directions. My senses climb into a vast spaciousness and it's a bit like standing on fishes or water or clouds. The non-separation, the oneness is visceral. Boundaries melting...

Out of the Stars

Out of the stars in their flight, out of the dust of eternity,
here have we come,
Stardust and sunlight,
mingling through time and through space.

Out of the stars have we come,
up from time.
Out of the stars have we come.

Time out of time before time
in the vastness of space,
earth spun to orbit the sun,
Earth with the thunder of mountains newborn,
the boiling of seas.

Earth warmed by sun, lit by sunlight;
This is our home;
Out of the stars have we come.

Mystery hidden in mystery,
back through all time;
Mystery rising from rocks
in the storm and the sea.

Out of the stars, rising from rocks
and the sea,
kindled by sunlight on earth,
arose life.

Ponder this thing in your heart,
ponder with awe;
Out of the sea to the land,
out of the shallows came ferns.

Out of the sea to the land,
up from darkness to light.
Rising to walk and to fly,
out of the sea trembled life.

Ponder this thing in your heart,
life up from sea:
Eyes to behold, throats to sing,
mates to love.

Life from the sea, warmed by sun,
washed by rain,
life from within, giving birth,
rose to love.

This is the wonder of time;
this is the marvel of space;
out of the stars swung the earth;
life upon earth rose to love.

This is the marvel of life,
rising to see and to know;
Out of your heart, cry wonder:
sing that we live.
                                 ~ Robert Weston

The night sky has been magnificent these last few evenings with extraordinarily bright stars sharing the deep blue velvet of the night with the moon. It is easy to believe we are beings of lights, born of the stars as I feel the light breeze wash through me. I feel somehow connected to those little bright shining lights. Gratitude and the vastness of the universe fills me with peace.

It is said that the Buddha's last words were "Make of yourself a light." In the Christian tradition, there is a verse in Luke 11, that says in part, "If you are filled with light... then your whole life will be radiant..."

Hmm, I wonder...

Don't Complain...

Don't complain of affliction,
for it's a smooth-paced horse
carrying you towards non-existence.
                               ~ Rumi



Often life brings unwanted afflictions: sickness, personal problems, career issues, family disagreements, chronic conditions, whatever. It can be so overwhelming to feel that all is lost or the pain will never leave. But the reality is that everything in life changes. Nothing lasts forever. 


Recognizing that who you are is so much more than all of the things that happen to you brings a deep sense of peace. Understand that, beyond all doubt, you are the changeless awareness within which all happens. Dissolve into who you are and let "a smooth-paced horse" carry "you towards non-existence."

The Background of Awareness

The mind must learn that beyond the moving mind there is a background of awareness which does not change. The mind must come to know the true self and respect it and cease covering it up, like the moon which obscures the sun during a solar eclipse.
                                                      - Nisargadatta Maharaj


This morning as I rested in the place between sleep and waking, the thought arose "the ease of being." In an instant I knew what that meant. I've heard teachers say it; I read it; I agreed with it; I thought I understood it. But this morning in instant, I KNEW it.

We are traveling to Florida for the last of a very mild winter. As we drive south, the world seems to be waking up. Trees just barely beginning to bud, then redbuds opening their tiny blossoms. Today we'll see palm trees and sand and the mysterious ocean. I wonder what will this moment bring... Staying present, filled with gratitude and deep respect for the changeless background of awareness.