FIND PEACE THROUGH PRESENCE

Simply put, see what stands in the way of what is already here. In many ways, this is the fast track to peace. Assume that peace and presence are already present, and rather than activating the self to seek it, attend only to what seems to be in the way.

It may be a fixed belief, a sense that certain emotions are ‘stuck’ somewhere, or perhaps fear, anger, or a deep mistrust in life or yourself.

Whatever it is, don’t view it as a problem. Instead, see it as an invitation to become more intimate with it. No fixing, no mending, no trying, no method—just an intimacy with what appears to block presence. That’s true inquiry.

We often think inquiry is a mental activity, but on the spiritual path, it goes deeper. It’s not linear, pragmatic, or logical. It involves heart and soul. Drop the expectation of finding an answer—there is no answer in intimacy, and none in presence. Presence and intimacy ARE the answer. They are the living truth, not a mental one.

This means becoming an observer in your own life—not a detached, cold observer, but a warm, attentive witness to what stands in the way of what is already here. Then, be intimate and present with that. Over time, something dissolves. It takes patience, resilience, and a determination to stop seeing what is inside as a problem that needs to be solved or fixed.

Yet, the ongoing softening that emerges is beautiful.

Thanks for reading.

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Learn to walk lightly
There is nothing heavy about you
Except you are weighed down
By the burdens of emotion
And an expectation
It should be different
Than the way it is.

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We are starved 
Of living in the soul’s beauty
So we seek it in the superficial
But it’s not to be found there
And only by diving into the deep
Will we know it.

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There is nothing
As beautiful as openness 
It is like watching the rain arrive
And soak the parched and arid land
Surely this is love's finest display 
The divine exalts in millions of ways
But to see the hardness of the human
Soften into tenderness and surrender 
Is grace.

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Sometimes you have to fall into the swamp
Get down in the darkness
Dive into the soup
That’s the grit
The base metal

Go into that denseness with awareness
Know it, feel it, touch it
It may hurt, there may be suffering
Old wounds re-emerge
Old sorrows, memories, struggles
Still just stay present in that dark place

And maybe, just maybe
You catch a glimpse of the light
Shining through those shadows
And if not, don’t worry
You are being held by a love
Greater than you
And to become whole again
The darkness and the light
Must become one.
No mud, no lotus.

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Why not let go
and see your life
as a glorious
masterpiece
of darkness 
and light,
of joy and sorrow,
a dance of form
in emptiness.

this is freedom.

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When you fall into yourself
And drop all resistance 
To how you feel
When you clear up the body temple
And end beating yourself or the world
With the stick of the past
The healing you generate
Will bring you to vibrational authenticity
And your intuition will come back on line.

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Enter your darkness
And become the light
It's not what you discover
But the very act of willingness
That transforms you.

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After all else has been tried
On the spiritual path
Surrender of the self
Is discovered
To be the final door.

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The tenderness to hold life gently
The kindness to allow things to be
The grace to see I and life are one
And the wisdom to know
There is a secret intelligence
To which we all bow down.

From our East Coast Retreat earlier this year. A little early evening entertainment and joy, with Bert (a fabulous musician)

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