Journey of the Heart

Slow Down, Mind          by Vidya Chetan   We drift faraway from old ideals:  Have we lost our core values? This world runs behind wealth virtuous qualities seem obsolete.  Searching for  something , we tread unknown paths, sans concern for others.   With our gadgets, day & night: Connecting with far ones,  while snubbing those close by. Engrossed in this materialistic world we forget our own caretakers. Respecting elders—obeying them— has become a rare scene. Inconsideration and apathy empower us, our thoughts machine-driven, overindulgence in sense gratification slowing turning us into zombies and slaves.   We can’t live without our gadgets  but could manage without parents. Time spent with parents, siblings, friends: nothing but mere dreams now. We hurriedly meet and leave them.   Smart phones dumbing us down: having forgotten to play, read a book, chit chat with neighbors. Endlessly tied do...

Life’s Breath   The humid night air breathes life Wraps you in his black velvet That warms you by the crackling fire pit And Promises you a yellow sunny tomorrow.   If you listen, you will hear his song Of crickets chirping and frogs croaking by the pond. Animals moving in the Brush-A mother deer and her fawn Peering out safe one more night from man’s harm.   Still in the silence we all sit in unity Around The orange flames dancing Tell stories and recite poetry with open mike. Each one Creative-Each tell their stories   Of Dreams-Hopes-Love But together in union we join Spiritually As one heartbeat throbbing into the night. And in this moment, we are all of one spirit- one heart.   As we join with the black soil of the earth We feel the peace-the serenity And thank God for this moment shared Now frozen within time   We will later tell stories of it The funny things that were said And the not so funny as well How we captured it on the painted canvas   ...

She Chose the Path of Beauty     She chose to stay close to nature  and walk the path of beauty every day.  She finds her power walking  through the trees in quiet solitude  and has a big smile every time  she encounters wild animals.  She stops at the big fir tree  and connects with its ancient energy.  She wraps her arms around its wide trunk  and breathes in the clean air the plants release.  She bows her head to salute the trees  and dances along with the wind  sweeping through the lush forest.  She stops when she hears footsteps  and slows her breath down  to minimize the noise she makes.  To her delight mother deer appeared  with a baby wearing Bambi’s colors.  They chew fervently on fresh leaves  as she is standing quiet and still  like a statue until they pass by her.  She remembers on every walk  how wonderful it is to live here where she can have these magic ...

  Bellis Perennis   While she sleeps Under the watchful eyes of the sky.   A push of daisies under her pillow Chains of dreams wrap her heart While they float so high Her face, so peaceful Her eyes, sleepy shut.   Splashes of crystal-clear waterfall Splash down her cheeks Crashing on the structure of her face.   A dream of warmth Of Mother Nature A woman she truly loves.   A spring of life in her heart Blossom so fresh She looks so happy So peaceful As she enjoys her rest.   While she sleeps Under the watchful eyes of the sky. Amanda Jane (West Yorkshire, England) is a woman of nature she enjoys getting lost in the world and admiring its beauty, she loves listening to the birds tweet their song and listening to the buzz of the bee. Her true love is the major oak. She likes to imagine its visitors of the past and often wonders about the wrinkles of its bark. she loves admiring their offering to the planet. She believes that we should all be as wild...

Slow Even Breath Walking along a wooded path In soft evening light Breathing in the rich scent of Mother Earth Space for the Sacred begins to open within The slow even breath of forest life spiralling into body and memory Calling to my ancient wise one who patiently tends the fires of Spirit Connected with this deeper fullness With light streaming in soft rays through the trees With the rise and fall of Mother Earth’s breath Purpose falls away and I am graced with The simple beauty of Being Danielle Kreps  is a Plant Spirit Healing Practitioner, Flower Essence Maker, and Teacher in the Kingston, Ontario region. Writing, wild crafting Flower Essences, and connecting with and singing the spirit songs of the Divine Feminine, Mother Earth, and her Plant  Allies are just a few of her passions. You can learn more about Danielle at her website  www.wysdomtree.com . *For submission guidelines,  click here. *

SPRING RAIN by Tammy Takahashi When the rain burst forth From the stormy sky, And I threw my arms out wide And arched my back deeply, As far as it would go, It wasn’t for the heavens, Or the sorrows we all know. There was only this moment, Clouds gathered dark, Now ready to explode, And I, out alone on a walk, Ready to meet the offering Washing over my skin, Tricking down to my toes. I imagined all my questions Seeping into the ground, And gingerly entered the space Newly opened in my mind To discover that it, too, was sky, And that I could embrace it With every dream I could find. I ran on the sopping leaves, Danced from tree to tree, As each of them taught me How to stand proud and pure Between the giddy conversations Flowing from ground and sky, How to be me, to find the free . Tammy Takahashi  is a Canadian writer, photographer and chronicler of life as it passes through us.Always a wanderer, she's ...

Trees and I have had a love affair from the time I was a kid... They are my friends. And when a friend is decimated while you remain a mute spectator, no torrents of tears can wash off the guilt-stricken grief. But, after two days of fuming anguish, healing came in an unexpected mizzle of grace!! The Green Woman* by Shernaz Wadia sharp cracks as they tore your limbs asunder thwack, thwack, thwack as you were mutilated axed bits and pieces of you visual shrieks, as they became the jerry-rigged shroud vainly cloaking your naked vulnerability   each assault on you a hammer blow on my heart petrified with pain and anger I chose silence and became   the more sinful partner in the crime that brought about   your excruciating end. Woe is me! Would that I were not so cowardly!   Though the aftermath was a macabre hush I now feel your spirit floating with feathery non-chalance in a spiral of love it wafts in with the tinglin...

I live in a region of the United States which is prone to rather intense storms in the spring and summer... Some of the storms can be very frightening due to the potential for tornadoes. Most of the time I "duck and cover" like everyone else, but sometimes I feel a gentle presence deep in the seeming ferocity of the elements, and against all logic, I feel safe and held in that presence; the Essential Benevolence of Life. This little song rose up in me as I purposely (perhaps foolishly) braved those powerful elements in the midst of an early summer storm. I could not resist the beauty of the invitation, and so I opened my arms, lifted my face to the rain, and sang.  Storm Song by Cheryl Anne  Maybe it’s a storm Will take me away Just as today I seek no shelter The storm itself Is my shelter Making no room For sorrow or fear The birds, they scurry As my worry Flees at the rumbling That I hear And there is nothing Frightening in the lightning Just the flas...

Nature always inspires me in my search for my inner self... My spirituality is closely linked with nature. I especially sense this when I take a stroll into nature, amid the giant trees. I feel the wind soothing my inner soul, in ways that rest beyond what words can elucidate. This poem is inspired by the beauty of nature: its greenery and colorfully vivid treasures. I get myself lost in its lush forests surrounded by trees and gushing rivers.  Trees: The Soul of Nature by Vidya Chetan Trees getting cut day by day, yet we busy extinguishing our soul, breaking the habitat of birds. Where will our birds abide as we hurt our Mother Nature? Blindfolded to the blood oozing, from the trunks of ancestral trees, ignoring the pain of deep routed stalks for our self-centred advances!! Wild creatures are being displaced, as we enlarge our castles. Weather is getting more and more intense, while we easily adapt wit...