ring of the palm

enso
single brush stroke
zen circle
orb of mindfulness
embodying the unity
of all things -
the endless boundless
transformation of the all..
an inclusive sphere
marrying
hidden and visible
simple and profound
beginning and end
empty and full

one full and empty circle

often in the yoga practice..
we focus on the ring of the palm..
our very own
(if we own anything!)
enso
the circumference
of the palm..
the band that encircles
the heart of the palm -
our generosity.
the palm..
the hand
that gives
and receives..
our tool of reciprocity  ~

downward facing dog
full arm balance
crane
o so many
earth touch postures
brings us hand to heart to clay
o ye practitioners of yoga!
what a blessing we receive..
what a blessing we bestow..

* LIKE ROOTS
our hands imbibe like roots,
so i place them on what is beautiful
in this world.

and i fold them in prayer, 
and they
draw from the heavens
light.
         ~ st. francis
no one lives outside the walls of this sacred place, existence.


* THAT LIVES IN US
if you put your hands on this oar with me,
they will never harm another, and they will come to find
they hold everything you want.

if you put your hands on this oar with me, they would no longer
lift anything to your
mouth that might wound your precious land --
the sacred earth that is your body.....

exhuberant is existence, time a husk.
when the moment cracks open, ecstasy leaps out and devours space;
love goes mad with blessings...
              ~ rumi

* TENDERLY
tenderly, i now touch all
things,
knowing one day we will
part.
          ~ st, john of the cross


in my studies of late i have come across
the most sensual, tender and awake expression -

opening the hand of thought

- coined by kosho uchiyama
here is his meaning :
dwelling here and now in this reality,
letting go of all the accidental things
that arise in the mind opens the hand of thought.

and his practice poem -
like a sunbeam on a bright autumn morning, 
i would like to become completely one,
body and mind,
with transparent, wholehearted practice.


piggybacking thought
upon thought
upon thought
and holding it tight, tight, tight..
becomes mere storytelling which we claim as truth -
our truth and nothing but the truth so help me...

imagine! the clear sky of samadhi..
releasing our grasp on thought
opening the hand of thought
we practice thusly,
and the ring of the palm
becomes the
lotus basket of generosity ~
the full and empty circle of life


* poetry from 
love poems from god
daniel ladinsky