It is truly no surprise that awakening seems so out of reach for so many, for there is a mountain of baggage to let go of.
You must remember there is no spiritual context for spiritual inquiry and dismantling of the fictitious self in the west. Most of us come from survivalist ancestry, and that doesn’t just disappear because we are suddenly seeking liberation.
The society we live in, our goldfish bowl, particularly here in the west, has no spiritual quality inherent to it at all. It has religion, morality, politics and civic responsibility, and family.
Society instils its values into us early in life…work, acquisition, think of yourself, follow desire, fear failure, be jealous as a motivating force, and breed.
We have survivalism built into us. The tribe is dead and replaced with nuclear family.
We are trained to be hard, to disavow weakness, to deride surrender, to scorn selfless love. We are materialist, science based believers.
And then we arrive at a spirituality that demands we let go of all that.
What I’m saying is that, when it seems so hard to let go of all that you are attached to, when the weight seems absolutely too much to hold onto, but letting go of it all feels like a death, realize how big this is, how heavily laden the investment in self is, and relax.
And read some poetry.
Soak, drench, drown yourself In beauty and wonder Jump in with your fullness Hold nothing back You must give yourself totally To what you love And then, with grace, You will become it. ------------------------ A tremendous peace arises A freedom unbounded And a profound acceptance Fills us up When we find a way To forgive life For being the way it is And we forgive God For allowing it to be this way. --------------------------- One day I will write my final poem I pray my last words Will be of love To ensure that will be true I will write of nothing but love From now until I go. ------------------------- Become the sensitive one You are truly meant to be Open up and listen The universe is talking to you End your distraction By getting very quiet And paying attention Hear it whisper its secrets To your quiet heart And still mind This is your grace. -------------------------- Listen, if you can’t sit in silence Just sit and listen to the noise Without moving towards it Or away from it And without any resistance to it From the self. --------------------------- Live from what you know in your deepest Be true only to that It is the path of the unknown. ----------------------------- Our lives are borrowed From some sacred source Our breath is the bridge Between the worlds Grace has bestowed Upon us this miracle Yet we turn away Distracted by phenomena Lost in the fear of losing What we hold dear Yet forgetting to say A simple thank you. --------------------------- MAY YOU RISE LIKE A PHOENIX. May you be as a phoenix And arise from the ashes Of all that is false in you As the flames consume The rage and the pain The righteousness And the fractured self The doubter and the defeated There, in that debris, That seems so destroyed Stirs something new Something fresh and free Naked and wild Whole and harmonious Mighty and ruthless Yet soft and tender May you become that And then live that truth. ----------------------------- It usually takes some kind of breakdown To break through to something new It may not be as polite or safe as you would like Transformation involves the whole organism And there is always a visceral, physical experience It takes you to the edge of your self And beyond Trust it. ---------------------------- There is a sacred place within A sanctuary of silence An inner temple A divine place Untouchable by form Or what happens On the human level You don’t have to search for it You can only rest deeply into it. ---------------------------
Thank you for reading these words over the last year. I wish you many blessings of the deepest acceptance for the upcoming year. I think we may need all our equanimity and inner authority as things unfold.
Thank you so much Kavi for your beautiful words. The first poem touched me deeply. Many blessings. xx
Thank you Kavi, I appreciate your eloquent poetry as a reminder of mySelf