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THE BELOVED by Naomi Stone

I sometimes feel that I was born to love God, to write and sing of the indwelling Spirit that empowers my life…

I don't write for recognition, but to share the sacred invitation to every soul to open the heart to such an intimate relationship that bridges all the opposites connecting the human and divine within ourselves and in all Life.

I call God "the Beloved" in the tradition of the mystics who celebrate the Great Silence and the sweet Mystery beyond our certainty.

I have found great spiritual freedom in loving and discovering the Presence of divine light in the diversity of the flowing manifestation of creation energy in Nature, in wilderness, in the sharing of our hearts with each other, and in the sheltering love that sets us free to be!

The songs celebrate the lightness of being, the joy of relationship, and the belovedness I experience as I surrender to the Beloved.
Painting "Song of The Beloved" by Rassouli

The Beloved

The Beloved emerges and
arises from within
divinely created moments
to surprise and startle me awake
from my human slumbering

talks to me in rumbling thunderstorms
in whirling winds
washing away the heat
from parched surfaces
of wilting flowers and thirsty lips
rinsing the dust from the leaves
washing the windows of the world
with dancing raindrops of light

appearing in penetrating minds 
and insights
in discoveries of truth
arms of expanding love and open hands
that clasp my own

the waters of life clear away
whatever is confining brilliance
dissolving limitation
revealing flashing potential
beyond my knowing

The Beloved soothes my pain
drowns the empty noise
opens my hearing
and sings to me in a thousand songs
of birds and humming insects
blinking in a glowing firefly
catching the gleaming light from flying fish
leaping from the sea
to glimpse the sky

The Beloved plays with words
rearranges meaning
creates new language
enlightens and brightens
with a laugh that shakes the world

The Beloved sometimes hides in a child
who wants to be held
sometimes in a flower that delights my eyes
sometimes an owl outside my window
watching in the night

a soaring hawk
a clumping elephant
a sleek panther
a clumsy pelican with a beak
full of fish
a wild mustang
a clucking chicken showing her chicks
how to scratch for food
an unfolding story told around a fire
flowing in a whispering stream
roaring in a rushing river
circling in a spinning planet

crawling in an ant
slowly building a mound of dirt
to make a home
or peeking wonderfully
out of the soft petals
of the pinkness of a peony

The Beloved
flows in all that
is entertaining and stunning
beautiful and joyful
awkward and new
strange and familiar
compelling and thrilling

I am bewildered
perplexed
overwhelmed
excited
blood stirring
heart racing
in love with such
endearing diversity and range
ever changing
every encircling me with tenderness
humbling me with scarcity
exalting me with abundance
giving birth to a star
scattering seeds
across the universe
to give birth to more

I am enchanted by such infinite love
by revelation
by the gift of creation
by strong arms
flashing eyes
filled with tears
with love that ever amazes
and forever touches my heart
in disarming and charming ways

The storm that awakens me
quiets into gentle raindrops touching
and cradling me
to rest as every drop
becomes a waking dream
that pools and expands
until the dam breaks
flooding the valleys of my being
with endless beauty

The Beloved makes each moment new
sweeping me into feelings
I have never felt before
leaving me reeling
and feeling like a bride
of a forever life

laced with an enhancing
eternal dance
creating a new story
of all that love can be..
May it always be so…..
Pictured is the author, Naomi Stone and her sons.

(I find descriptions of myself challenging to write, since there is a blessed disappearance into this sacred energy of the flame of love. I found my freedom as a mystic, who surrenders to the Beloved, who is far greater than my words can express. I love the mystery and the cloud of unknowing in the classic sense, but I also love the sharing with so many women who are finding their own voice, living their lives, and the truth of the Word manifesting, and creating our moments. I am Naomi, living in the open spaces they call the heartland. I have raised two sons, and am thrilled to continue to experience their becoming. Here I share with you their sweetness as young boys, pictured with me as a young mother.)


Naomi Stone: "I am a contemplative, a mystic, a pilgrim, a seeker, a woman deeply in love with the God hidden in all of us, in all of His Creation, who comes shining out when we least expect it and takes my breath away and breathes me with His sublime Presence in everything. I have two sons and loved raising them. I was a teacher for years, taught at the university level, did some community work, helped start a hospice in our area, and worked with patients and families for years. I am consoled by Nature and the natural world and have embraced the life of a spiritual hermit." You may visit Naomi on her website here where she has shared over 700 of her poems over the last four years. You may contact her via Facebook here. 


~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~ 

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