Journey of the Heart

This poem was inspired by my love for the women in my life… I don't know where I would be without the love and support of my sisters. These women have been there for me when I am laughing and they have cradled me during those cries that make your body shudder and heave with sadness. They've helped me put my life in perspective over and over again. Reminding me that we've been in that dark place before and we might be there again.... but we made it through. These women have carried me and I have carried them. They have kept my deepest secrets and stayed humble in the process. They have accompanied me on my Spiritual Journeys and encouraged me to recite my Intentions under the glow of a Full Moon. In another time and place we have dance naked and sang the songs whispered by Earth Mother. I know these women and I have walked, run and crawled with them.  My sisters are my soul-mates and the loves of my life! The other day I was wondering what my life would be withou...

Valentine’s Day is a mixed day for me…   Almost always has been. I find the glam rather disheartening. The long waits for a dinner out. The overly priced roses stuffed in black plastic bins. Chocolate in heart-shapes. (All chocolate is the shape of a heart.)  So I rewrote an old poem and made it a love letter for you as well as me:  Dear Sweet Beautiful Spirit, Happy Valentine’s Day! I embrace you. You capture the magic of self-love in your velvety tenderness. I will hold you dearly and respect who you are.  You are love and in this love your heart blooms!  I know it’s been a voyage of challenges. I’ve listened to your saline mist.  Let’s wear a new ribbon of blushing pink and ravishing red. Let’s emblaze self-love as a personal gift. Gift of Love You are loved. Look inward and believe it. Dance to the rhythm of your heart. Feel your breath rise and fall. It wraps a sensuous melody. You are more than okay. Sing joyfully...

  So many of us long to be held steady in the heart of the Divine…   And serve in the world as a beacon of light. We ask and ask for direction; what is my purpose, who am I, how can I serve? All the while knowing where our heart guides us. Yet the truth of it doesn’t fully integrate into our beingness somehow: we hold back, we doubt, we don’t fully understand… This poem is about a moment of reflection when it suddenly does, and in that moment we are free to be all that we are. "Reflection" painted by Kiernan Antares Reflection I gaze into the waters of life in the morning after the darkest night and there the flame ignites The Divine Spark filling the dark caverns of my soul Burning away the questions of a lifetime pondering and suddenly I knew I understood with certainty Why my feet walk upon the Earth why my Spirit beckons With an elusive surety now secure I am she ...

My body responded with unexplained tears… …when introduced to a man teaching non-violent communication skills in local prisons. For 6 months I prayed about what that very "physical" response was and the message my soul was relaying to me.  I had no obvious gifts to share with men behind bars. I was teaching yoga in my basement at the time and was told the warden would not allow a woman to teach yoga.   I began a centering prayer meditation practice because of my concern for my memory, focus and attention issues. Very quickly I realized THIS I could share and the benefits are realized very quickly! (Improved sleep, communication, compassion, forgiveness and overall kindness.)   I liked 'me' more after meditating and felt this was another healthy practice to add daily. Another pleasant surprise was that a creative channel was opened and my poetry began pouring out!! This poem is the story of my calling to work with the incarcerated, teaching them me...

I wrote this reflection on the endless loop of life… I wrote it as an alternative to putting our existence into categories called “birth” and “death.” With eternal life, there is only metamorphosis in the manifestations of our Eternal Sacred Spirit energy. I have been left several times, alone with those who are ill and about to leave their physical selves because others were afraid to face the person’s pain. This has caused my grief to be doubled and tripled, as I became the receptacle for all the unexpressed pain of those who could not love one who they saw as abandoning them. I have assisted several people at their “deaths,” honoring their requests to do so with humor. I believe that when we learn to laugh in the face of pain, we will have more people unafraid to attend to each other in times of illness and exhalation of the final physical breath of those we love. I am invested in injecting some silly into the sacred. Eternal Energy Our energy is like pollen that ...

After a near-death experience in my early 20s I began to think about “how to die consciously.”   And of course, I had no idea what that even meant. Over the years, my training in the Sufi tradition introduced me to a teaching from the Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him: “Die before you die” (mutu qabl an tamutu).  He is reminding us of the death of our limited states of awareness, until, insh’allah, we realize this verse from the Qur’an, “But unto the righteous God will say, "O thou human being that hast attained to inner peace.” [Qur’an 89:27] When my children were little I wanted to plant a seed of death that wasn’t unpleasant. The kids knew I loved lipstick so I said when I die I want them to send me on my way with a brand new tube of lipstick. We would then laugh as we imagined tubes of lipstick piling up on me as people came to say good-bye.  I intentionally think about death every day for when it comes, I want to be ready. Photography by Catherine Ghosh O...