COOKED BY POETRY
In the mid 1990’s I spent about two years immersed in the wild shamanic camp doing sweat lodge, sacred ceremonies, men’s lodge and all kinds of transformational wildness. I cannot begin to describe what it did to me except to say it was utterly life changing.
But one major part of it was that the head of the ‘tribe’ was a storyteller who threw a book at me called, ‘The Essential Rumi.’ I had never heard of this poet and was not much interested in poetry having lost that interest at University. However I was fascinated by what I read, even though I had no idea what this Rumi was talking about!
So I bought a cassette of someone called Coleman Barks reading Rumi and other ecstatic poets. Well I played that cassette all the time, non stop. Over and over and over. I played it whether I was listening or not. I played it on long journeys and short journeys. There was no walkman so I played it at home or in the car, particularly when I was going to or leaving the shamanic camp.
And then I stopped as things in my life began radically transforming. But when I look back I see some of the reason I have become this poet. It was inevitable after so much cooking by poetry.
Thanks for reading!
When I encountered this love It shook me to the core And everything I was not Fell out. --------------------------- There is beauty everywhere For those willing to see But first the dust must be cleaned From the eyes. -------------------------- There is a stream of cosmic intelligence Pouring into and through us in every moment But the temple is cluttered and full of stuff Pick up your broom and get sweeping There is divine work to do And a great service to perform But you must get yourself out of the way first. ---------------------------- If spreading love And reminding us Of the beauty of the inner life And our ecstatic nature, And opening the door To the majesty of existence Is a purpose Then I have a purpose. ---------------------------- Wake up early Be in the silence Don’t rush into life Breathe into the emptiness As you move quietly through your house Let this be your meditation. ----------------------------- Let love’s fire take up residence in your heart And surrender to what starts to burn. ---------------------------- Awakening is really just seeing with the eyes of grace No longer looking at the world from the fixated self But seeing everything from the wide open space of unconditional love. ----------------------------- Do whatever you must To see without judgment Yet without losing Your inner authority That simple journey Will take you to your depths. ------------------------------- Empty your mind It is full of stuff That has nothing to do With who you are Hold on only To what is essential Empty your heart It is full of grievances That have nothing to do With who you are Hold on only To the essence of love. -------------------------------- Eternity is the bowl we swim in Look everywhere with awareness The vast is all there is And us, swimming here, Loving, fighting, struggling, Dancing, weaving patterns That dissolve Back into that vastness.
Please watch my latest video: The Deepest Acceptance.
….but you must get yourself out of the way first. Excellent 😍