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Showing posts from March, 2013

THE MEASURE OF A LIFE by Tadiya Dasi

" When we start defining ourselves by that which can be measured or weighed, something deep within us rebels."  ~Geneen Roth~ This quote inspired my poem. As something deep within us rebels because it knows that ultimately, it's an illusion to define ourselves, or others, and the world by the means of measuring. Like my teacher loves to say: "The most important things in life are not things."  When our approach to life is measuring, we limit ourselves, and our experience of the world, into the world of (dead) matter.  It's consciousness that animates life, and that consciousness is infinite and immeasurable, and so are we as parts of it.  We all know this deep down but we still love to use (measurable) things to define us: for some it may the number on the scale, for someone else the number on their bank account. The list of how we use numbers to define us is endless: it can be the number of achievements, degrees, cars, houses obt

FULL MOON SPIRIT RISING by Carolyn Riker

This first spring full moon is having a walloping dose of introspection as my shadow sides are being shaken to the core… It’s all about timing. I am riding a rough wave along the Milky Way into the moonlight. Feels like a surfboard hit me in the head but I keep swimming.  It’s a moonbeam of truth . Seeing some truths can feel a bit overwhelming. I feel like the small metal ball being sprung into a pinball machine. The bumpers are planets and the lights are the stars. I’m lighting up the lights and racking up the score. Sometimes, like now, it reads: tilt. Healing, wisdom, insight and growth are cyclical like the phases of the moon. Similarly we have an opportunity to embrace whatever feelings and emotions surface alongside these phases. Staying with these feelings is something I work on.  The moon has a harmonious partnership with the sun. There is equanimity as they dance in the sky. It is a perfect example of equilibrium in the

NIGHT CALLING by Linda Yael Schiller

It can be hard to find enough quiet to be able to hear when we  receive a soul-call (our internal hotline to the Divine)… Artistic Photography by Jo Rodriguez of Catalyst  It takes several steps to really hear: We first need to stop and hold still, then to pay attention, then to actually listen to the words we hear inside ourselves. This poem contrasts two types of callings: The loud trumpeting of a shofar (ram's horn) which is played on the holy day of Rosh Hashana; Tekiah is the name of one of the notes; and is meant as a stirring communal call that none who are present can miss hearing.   The other is the reference to the "still small Voice" that the prophet Elijah heard from God in Kings 19:12. Here God tells Elijah that: "It is not only in the noise of the thunder and the fire that we can hear God's voice, but also in the deep quiet of our own hearts and minds." "Shema" is the Hebrew word for "Listen"

PILGRIM OF LOVE by Madhava Lata Dasi

The first full moon of spring is about to rise, and I feel my heart turning into a wild pilgrim of love as I meditate on the Lord of Love himself! In the Bhakti Yoga tradition they call The Lord of Love Gaurasundara (The Golden Beauty). This is because his complexion matched that of the golden moon on which he first appeared, in the sixteenth century, in a little village in West Bengal called Mayapura, also known as Gaudadesh. The land of Gaudadesh is like a cone of light illuminating the night when all around is enveloped by deep darkness.   On that full moon night each year hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travel to this holy land to submerge their hearts in the sea of his divine love. They do so by chanting the Holy Names, just as occurred over 500 years ago, when Lord Gaurasundara was first born. This land is forever welcoming the whirling steps of the ecstatic dances of love pilgrims, who follow in his footsteps. Millions have come to this land to receive a

THE BRIDE by Aparna Khanolkar

Love is the greatest longing of every human heart… I wrote this poem for a deeper experience of the bride on her wedding day.  Amidst all the excitement, festivities and joy is the secret of love. If we listen carefully enough, we can hear it reaching out to us from all corners of the universe. Yes, this is what we all long to experience most: love that is always there for us.  The Bride A longing, an ache in my restless heart Love churns, spins like a whirling dervish in divine ecstasy Sublime sorrow, the heart yearns for a glimpse of innocence The candles flicker in the evening breeze Rose petals wait eagerly lest they wither if they give up hope Photograph by Braja Mandala The curls of incense smoke play with themselves I sit here adorned with my jewels, sandalwood and henna on my hands, heart open, ready body and spirit anticipating  --  your arrival, your acceptance, your love A culmination, an end to an eternal quest Li