The Hardest Work In The World

This spontaneous prayer jumped into my head this morning while walking:

Lord, let all that I do, and say, and think, be in the service of harmony. 

It seems simple enough on the surface but as I meditated on the phrase I began to see how deeply it touches the core human desire for joy which is by extension the diminishment of dissonance. It seems to me that everything I do to increase harmony, both interior and exterior harmony, enables me to touch joy.  The more I act in the service of harmony, the more I touch joy.

The biblical admonition to "magnify the Lord" is to "magnify Harmony" and diminish dissonance wherever it is found. In the Buddhist sense this is to come into resonance with the present moment, recognizing that it is only in the present moment that this is possible.   

Our human condition keeps us perpetually balanced on the knife edge of the present. That edge is so sharp there is the constant danger of falling off into the past or into the future. The past and future exist only as shadowy phantoms in our mind. Though they are seductive, beckoning us like a mirage,  they can not quench our thirst for joy. And this causes suffering. 

To be in the present means to be in resonance with "what is" . To be unified with "what is" forces a rejection of "what isn't" which in this case is the past or the future. It is also fundamentally a rejection of the illusion of duality in favor of the acceptance of our own divine nature. Indeed, even modern physics has begun to pierce the illusion of duality in its quest for a unified theory and everywhere boundaries fall away. This is expressed elegantly in Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing which encourages followers to remember their true nature as the true nature of the universe; light. 

Of course this is heresy to the ego. Dissolving into divine light, even momentarily, is decidedly unpalatable to an ego hellbent on preserving its individual identity, an identity barricaded behind a wall of bricks made of past experiences or future dreams. The fear this generates creates much dissonance which in turn creates endless suffering. This is the human existential dilemma.  

Becoming comfortable on the knife edge of the present means learning to let go of ideas of the past and future, at least momentarily. Only then is harmony available. Only then can joy be touched. This requires an extinction of thinking, or at least a continuous redirection of thoughts away from the past or future. The tool for this is abundantly available in the breath. We need a north star and this is it! A tightrope walker needs a steadying pole and the spiritual pilgrim needs the breath to help him or her return to the present moment.

"Breathing in, I have arrived. Breathing out I am home."

The deepest human desire is for love and love is felt strongest when we resonate not only with each other but with all that is. This gives birth to profound liberation of the soul. When  all our faculties are brought together in the service of harmony we become like Saint Theresa of Avila whose only prayer was "All for God." Though we physically appear alone, like the strings of the lute we quiver with the same music. That is joy. 

Just sit there right now

Don’t do a thing

Just rest.

For your separation from God,

From love,

Is the hardest work

In this

World.

Let me bring you trays of food

And something

That you like to

Drink.

You can use my soft words

As a cushion

For your

Head.

~Hafiz~

The Gift: Poems by Hafiz

Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

Bowl of light

The thought came to me this morning walking on the Biltmore Estate: Our experience of the world is largely dependent on our intention. If we intend to live in a world that is filled with beauty, love, and peace then we will experience the world as being filled with those qualities.  In large and small ways through our consciousness we create the universe we inhabit. In these times we are confronted with images and information that seem to suggest that the world is anything but filled with love, beauty, and peace! Indeed the world is filled with both light and dark forces. We can not change that dynamic and quite possibly beauty, love, and peace may arise from their opposites. All we can hope to do is choose the way we react to the constantly changing circumstance we experience. If we choose to find beauty in our surroundings, we will! In- deed that choice may even create beauty where none was before. If we choose to find and increase love in all our relationships, we will! If we choose to live in a world filled with peace we will find that path! The universe is not separate from our perception of it: both arise co-dependently. Mind and object of mind equally participate in universal manifestation.

What if Money Didn't Matter? The Wisdom of Alan Watts

St. Lars Labyrinth, Sweden

A Solitary Existance in the Taiga

Fascinating story of Agafia, a 70 year old woman who has lived in the Siberian wilderness her entire life. Her family fled Stalin and religious persecution. Her parents hiked more than 160 miles into the wilderness to live apart from civilization and persecution. They were unaware of the second world war. She lived for 40 years with hardly and outside contact.The resilience of the human spirit is in full view as she struggles to maintain her solitary life in light of the increased difficulties brought on by aging.  https://youtu.be/tt2AYafET68dFCC

Space Oddity Ground Control

There is something so amazing hearing this and seeing the earth spinning below. It's almost like having a foot in 2 dimensions. I can really feel how we are on a bridge spanning two worlds of knowing; one veiled, the other more clear. Can we manage to cross the bridge of knowing and leave behind our ignorant ways?

The Misguided Monk

The Black Dog Learns New Tricks

This is a wonderful and important video for everyone to watch. We can all relate to the Black Dog in our lives.

An Experience of Surpassing Preciousness

                                                                                   I came across this passage recently taken from Eugene O'Neill's novel Long Day's Journey Into Night that I find perfectly describes the experience of losing oneself on the journey of self discovery. The imagery is sublime. Enjoy.

 I was on the Squarehead square rigger, bound for Buenos Aires. Full moon in the Trades. The old hooker driving 14 knots. I lay on the bowsprit, facing astern, with the water foaming into spume under me, the masts with every sail white in the moonlight towering high above me. I became drunk with the beauty and singing rhythm of it, and for a moment I lost myself—actually lost my life. I was set free! I dissolved into the sea, became white sails and flying spray, became beauty and rhythm, became moonlight and the ship and the high dim-starred sky! I belonged, without past or future, within peace and unity and a wild joy, within something greater than my own life, or the life of Man, to Life itself! To God, if you want to put it that way. 

Another seminal experience that Shukman had which ultimately became the opening chapter of The Lost City is described below.

It was on the last afternoon of a boat tour in the islands that I found myself alone on a beach. The sun was low enough to shed a broad, scintillating path of light on the ocean. I stared at it, fascinated. I had recently finished writing what would become my first book and was inordinately happy. I had not only found my metier but had begun to put it into effect. I was also happy to be alone. It felt like I had put down a great weight I didn’t realize I’d been carrying. I hadn’t known until then to what extent I normally trammeled my mind, steering it in channels that enabled communication with others. Suddenly a great liberation opened, blissful. I forgot all plans for the future; all hope, all fear vanished. The joy somehow carried a promise of eternity, as if I were nose-up against the beginning and end of time.

I was staring at the shifting, dazzling scales of light on the surface of the sea. Water was transparent, as was air, and come to think of it, so was light. The three substances were in effect invisible. The surface of the sea was nothing but the sheet, infinitesimally thin, where they met. How come I could see anything at all?

As I stared in amazement, it felt as if I—the center of my consciousness—were not where I thought I dwelt, in my body, but had been swallowed by the world. An extraordinary feeling of belonging arose. I belonged utterly, right where I was, and everywhere, and always had.

Then I looked at my hand. It too was no different from everything else. It was one and the same as the sand, the sea, the rocks. It felt like everything, hand included, was engaged in one single declaration of love. The whole world was the single hand. There was nothing else. And somehow, I could hear not only it, but everything. It was the only sound in the universe.

Moonwalk at Cathedrale Peak

SOU 630

Yesterday, November 16, 2013, I had the good luck to be stopped at the Biltmore Village rail crossing as the steam locomotive SOU630 made its scheduled stop in Asheville during its final autumn excursion from Knoxville, TN. What a unique opportunity to view up close this marvelous 19c technology at once impressive, dramatic, and strangely captivating. These machines seems to resonate with something human, indeed almost possess a human quality as they huff and puff, groan and creek. There is a kind of connection, almost affection which is quite different to the relationship we have with "modern" technology which I find incomprehensible. If you want to see a steam locomotive in action the following clip has excellent footage of the locomotive I saw. Especiall7 from 7:37 where you have about 3 minutes of a working locomotive at speed. Fascinating! Enjoy the following

Cabin Inspiration

I came across this lovely little story on Houzz.com. I especially like the little personal touches that make the space so organic and human. Touches like the collected bird's nests above the door and the inverted bed frame as canopy. above the bed! When you let the human spirit dictate the way forward and pay attention to the language of the heart the result is always beautiful. The end result may not conform to accepted ideas of what is practical, but that does not matter. The language of the heart does not always have a practical translation.

Saints Among Us

The holiest among us have no need to shout their connection to God. They simply allow love and spirit to flow through them and out into the world. Here is one such Saint.

A Different Drum

JACK from Grace Jackson on Vimeo.

Woodland Magic

The clip explains it all.

Living Each Moment with Gratitude.

My Last Days by Zach Sobiech
Spending 20 minutes with Zach makes you feel the awesome power of LOVE.