Journey of the Heart

The Call (to Presence) My body is a temple My garden is your playground My mountains offer solace, sweet - And in my heart is where you will meet God-ness. Your lips, Beloved, are a poem I have yet to write, I am your holy ecstasy.  Drink me in, with your gaze, lovingly, your mind, your heart, your soul intertwined -  the Holy Trinity of self-mastery combined. My body is a temple Calling you to worship Offer what you can give at the rose-petaled altar, And lay down what you cannot. Empty into the vast, eternal space of the Unknowing The sacred 'in-between' of in-breath and out-breath, Embodied Presence. My body is the Temple You've waited aeons for to pray to Your craving is insatiable  Your appetite longing for this homecoming. Drop all illusion of existence and melt into Be-ingness. Your body is a temple Your garden is a playground Your mountains offer armistice  Beyond valleys round and salient hills. Empty, empty, empty,  For your body is the Temple The open space for

The Mother of Wisdom ''No thing anywhere is ever born from itself, from something else, from both or without a cause." Nagarjuna - ' Root Verses on the Wisdom of the Middle Way ' For there to be a Birth-day there must be a 'mother' and 'child' but who causes who to arise? For something to be 'born' there must be a 'cause' but when does the 'seed' become the 'tree' ? For the 'seed' to 'grow' there must be 'conditions' but when do the sun, earth and air become 'growing'? For something to 'die' there must be 'change' but when does the 'change' become the 'death'? For there to be 'objects' there must be 'words' but when did the 'words' become the 'objects''? All I know is, when I watch you sleep, even the words 'love' and 'compassion' fall away; like countless tears from a billion mothers

In honor of Earth Day: Today and every day may we remember to treasure the Earth and recognize our  Oneness with Her and with all Life.  Divine Nature I am the fallen tree rotting on the forest floor. And I am the new growth  nourished by the death that came before. I am the trees and the saplings that grow.  I am the mushrooms, the moss,  and the breeze that blows.  I am the sky above. I am the light. I am the branches that stretch up with all their might. I am the butterfly, the caterpillar,  and the chrysalis. I am the gloriousness of all there is. I am the bud and the blossom.  I am the green leaf of Spring.  I am One with everything. I am also the withered leaves of Fall. I am expansive enough to encompass it all. I am love and heartbreak,  disappointment and beauty. Loss, grief and joy all exist within me. At Peace with it all, life, death and rebirth, I am certain of my connection with Mother Earth.

This poem was written during the first weeks of the coronavirus 'lockdown'. There is a lot of fear and isolation around at the moment. But it also feels like a powerful, potent time to imagine a better future: to plant the seeds. Wishing you wild hope wherever you are.    “If a world is dreamable,  maybe it can be dreamed into being.”  ~Ursula K. Le Guin~ Planting Seeds It is the seed moon,  the time of sowing. The roads and skies have grown quiet. Sometimes in the stillness I can feel the earth dreaming. There are many things I can't do  in these strange times. But I can plant seeds. I hold them like prayers in the palm of my hand, I notice their shape and size, the way they catch the light. Their impossible promise. I teach my children  to make wishes on them - and I make wishes too. I breathe my brightest,  most golden dreams  into these seeds, dreams wild as sweet violets on hidden forest floors. P

As the  Coronavirus pandemic grips the world and we find ourselves “stuck” at home, I hope that these words I’ve written will soothe people’s fears and plant the seeds for a new normal when this is over.  The Road Ahead We are not stuck, friends We are moving forward But more slowly now  Carefully  Cautiously  Thoughtfully  Pausing at times  To rest  And consider  The best way forward  Being mindful  Of our direction  And of the others  On the journey  With us We are no longer  Racing  Recklessly  Striving  Ruthlessly  Grasping  There is stillness now  There is even peace  Beneath the fear  Calm  Equanimity  A knowing born of faith  That a season has ended  And a new one  Begun  It’s the beginning Of a new day  We’re on a  New path  There’s no turning back  To where we were  Before  Our map unfolds  A little more Each day  We’re in this together  Hand in hand  Each step  Guided by grace