REMEMBERING INNOCENCE IN A HARDENED WORLD

In a world consumed by cynicism, it’s easy to believe our innocence is lost. This innocence isn’t naivety—it’s the purity of our true nature, a tenderness untouched by the corruption of life’s challenges. Though buried under layers of strategies and defenses, it remains within us, waiting to be rediscovered.

Remembering this innocence requires surrender—not to something external but to life itself. True surrender is a letting go of resistance, a falling into the unknown. It can feel like losing control, even grieving the familiar identities we’ve clung to. But this mourning is sacred, creating space for the purity of our being to emerge.

When we meet life from this innocence, our actions are no longer reactive or defensive. Instead, they arise from clarity and truth, carrying a quiet power and grace. Life may still bring challenges, but without resistance, we engage with it directly and tenderly.

Remembering innocence is a radical act. It restores our humanity and reminds us that, beneath the noise, we are already whole.

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Stay empty
Allow yourself
To be porous
And the world
And its delusion
Will flow through you
But it will not stick to you.

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With grace and great willingness
It all comes undone
And we discover 
The naked truth 
Of our innocence

Until then we are covered by layers and veils
And all that appears to be so real
Yet is no more than dense clouds
Of imagination.

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You must have great courage
And great opportunity 
To undo the scaffolding 
That holds up all
You have become

But if karma has called you
Don’t hold back 
Or fall into doubt
It calls you 
Because you are ready
Honor the calling.

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The profound acceptance 
Of my failure in the world as a someone
Opened the door to a rebirth and resurrection 
As an ecstatic no one doing nothing 
A complete let go of being defined
By anything anyone can imagine.

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It’s not positivity
That is called for
It’s honesty and depth
For every positive
There is a negative
But honesty and depth
Opens the door
To wholeness
And unity.

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We live in karmic times
Clean up your past
Live in presence
Practice forgiveness
Step off the wheel
And fall into love’s openness
That is all you can do
The rest is in God's hands.

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This relationship is two zeros meeting
I am the sun with flashes of light
Emanating from my emptiness
She is the sun at the center 
Of a universe that swirls around her
There is no relationship 
But this meeting in the absence of need
Nothing wanted
Everything given
No demand
But love’s kindness offered freely
A sacred union, always alive
Nothing left undone
Nothing to do up
A beautiful dance
Of two stars falling through eternity.

An image from a recent in person weekend retreat in California.

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