God's Presence

Prayer is not the moment when 

God and humans are in relationship, 

for that is always.

Prayer is taking initiative 

to intentionally respond to God's presence.

Give Light...

Give light, 

and the darkness will disappear of itself.

Cast All Your Votes for Dancing

I know the voice of depression
Still calls to you.
I know those habits that can ruin your life
Still send their invitations.

But you are with the Friend now
And look so much stronger.
You can stay that way
And even bloom!

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter.

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From the sacred hands and glance of your Beloved
And, my dear, from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.

Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins
That may buy you just a moment of pleasure,
But then drag you for days
Like a broken man
Behind a farting camel.

You are with the Friend now.
Learn what actions of yours delight Him,
What actions of yours bring freedom and Love.

Whenever you say God's name, dear pilgrim,
My ears wish my head was missing
So they could finally kiss each other
And applaud all your nourishing wisdom!

O keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter

And from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.
Now, sweet one, be wise.
Cast all your votes for Dancing!

Hafiz

I don't know the name of the photographer of this image. If it is yours, please contact me and I'll give you credit.

Thanks to Kelly Morrison for passing along this poem to us.

The Task of Humanity

A human being is part of the whole, called by us “universe,”
limited in time and space. He experiences himself,
his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest
– a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a prison,
restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons close to us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from our prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all humanity
and the whole of nature in its beauty.

– Albert Einstein -

“You are not accidental. Existence needs you. Without you something will be missing in existence and nobody can replace it. That’s what gives you dignity, that the whole existence will miss you. The stars and sun and moon, the trees and birds and earth—everything in the universe will feel a small place is vacant which cannot be filled by anybody except you. This gives you a tremendous joy, a fulfillment that you are related to existence, and existence cares for you. Once you are clean and clear, you can see tremendous love falling on you from all directions.”

Osho “God is Dead: Now Zen is the Only Living Truth, Ch. 1

Painting by Christina Acosta
"Mother Earth and Her Moon -- Meditation on a Star"
http://www.cristinaacosta.com/.docs/pg/10105

Honest Living

You don't have to work for a living. You can create for a life. We have gotten our notion of livelihood terribly crosswired. Many of us believe that an honest living is one in which we struggle and toil at something we hate, and the reward for our hardship is money. This is not so. It is but a sick belief system that we have reinforced by agreement. There is another way.

Buckminster Fuller noted that "human beings are the only creatures on the planet who tell time and believe they have to earn a living." Jesus taught the same truth in a metaphor: "Behold the lilies of the field. They do not toil and neither do the sow. Yet I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The Master went on, "will your heavenly Father not take even better care of you, who are his Children?"

From Alan Cohen, "I Had it All the Time" p. 250

Image entitled "Lilies of the Field #3"
by Jane Halliwell Green who can be contacted at
www.paintpencil.com

When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden...