new frontiers

birds that live on a golden mountain 
reflect the color of the gold
                                        tibetan proverb

it is always a challenge..maybe even a struggle..
marrying the two..spiritual practice and the practical spirit..
perhaps not an easy task for many..
if one has the inclination toward contemplative practice..
if one has the passion for life and art and action..


what else are our lives 
but diminishing tapers of wax, 
sputtering already in long flame?

art and activism shadow one another;
they destroy one another:
but they share the same inescapable, 
irreducible bedrock fuel - passion.

love or fury.
love and fury...
i would rather fail at both
than be disloyal to one..
i would rather be 
ragged-thin and weary 
than brittle.
                rick bass

how to splice the ropes of life?
braid the dark and light
activity and stillness..
mundane and sublime entwine

thomas merton  -
leading an active life
yet immensly desiring a contemplative one -

i feel in my bones that i will never have any peace
until i kiss everything good-bye,
even my highest ideals and aspirations ..
this thing will die hard.
if i make a little less fuss about it,
i will be satisfied in the future..

holy spirit,
fill me with your simplicity -
teach me to avoid getting myself into useless works
by my own blind and impetuous will..
love will be my beatitude..
my heart burns within me with joy!

love passion gold

be the bird. be the mountain. be the gold.
fly, fly away ~

conflict arises when we want things to be other than they are.
                                                            j. krishnamurti

winter solstice - dogen zenji

heaven has a singular clarity.
earth has a renewed peacefulness.
each person attains ease.
the season moves into light.
this is the time when days become longer.

this is the timeless moment to attain buddha ancestors' infinite life.
all of you aspire and practice within this timelessness.
endeavoring to follow the way, you must actualize one phrase.
when timelessness is realized, you are powerful.
when timelessness is realized, you are alive.

bring forth the three hundred sixty days
with beads made of buddha ancestor body.
what do you achieve day by day?
the buddha ancestor body and mind.
what do you achieve day by day?

the buddha ancestors' body and mind are timelessness.
your true face is a great jewel forming in heaven.
how long have you awaited timelessness?
this auspicious day knows the increasing light of opportunity.


SOLSTICE DECEMBER 21 @ 8:49 PM pst
the sun reaches the southernmost declination!
the north pole tilted furthest away from the sun -
o my o!


the heart of yule is evergreen
the old year gone, the new pristine
the wheel again will turn to spring
this blessed time much joy to bring
                   ~ cari ferraro

mystic travelers cheques

yesterday i was wandering in wonder around asilomar..
the great outdoors of dunes and sea..
of cypress and pine ~
i slipped into the lodge to the ladies room..
in the waste receptacle i discovered an envelope ...
the words : mystic travelers cheques within printed on it..
!!
!!
!!

the envelope was empty..
shucks!
i did retrieve it ..however..
and plan to use it to call in the above  ...


this is the time..of the mystic heart..
wayne teasdale speaks of it :

the mystic heart in its maturity
reflects the essential elements, gifts and genius 
of the tradition of spiritual wisdom:
an actual moral capacity, 
solidarity with all living beings,
deep nonviolence, humility,
spiritual practice, ripened self-knowledge,
simplicity of life, selfless service
compassionate action and the prophetic voice.

these are further refined through a series of capacities
that result from our inner journey:
openness, presence, listening, 
being, seeing, spontaneity and joy..
all.. a part of the universal mystical tradition
that undergirds the cultures of the world..

a universal spirituality as transformation
from self-interest to other-centeredness,
compassion, mercy and loving-kindness.
this is the work of the contemplative in all of us -
we, then, cultivate our own mystic character..
the mystic being grows out of humilty of heart,
simplicity of spirit and a radical openness to what is real.


although the mystic travelers cheques have yet to appear..
i  do have the envelope..
no doubt it will be filled to the brim ~
it will come from my own giving..
the alchemy of generosity and gratitude brings the gifts,
fills the baskets, loads the envelopes ..

what would i spend the cheques on, anyway?
i'll let you know...

churning the big nectar

wave action..
hanuman has been busy this morning..
his churning rod has not been still..
the ocean floor has been tumbled and pummeled..
the ruckus, hubbub and commotion of the deep vast
rock tumbling at its most magnificent..
rearranging the earth beneath the  swells..
ancient colossals playing marbles ~
boulder tosses of the giants..

surfers look longingly at the waves they live for..
knowing not a one will venture out..
those same waves - the death of them -

walking along the shore's edge..
wet with NaCl spray..
crashing open the moist heart of compassion
soaking up the morning's tonglen practice..
saturating the parched anguished desert ..
the dusty roads of refugees ..

how does one live a life of grace
when others swoon too soon to their demise..?

i dunno..
just breathe them in..breathe them out..
i am the world, the world is me..
you are the world, the world is you..
*salt of the earth..be this..

overcome your uncertainties.
free yourself from dwelling on sorrow.
if you delight in existence -
you will be a guide.   
reveal the path.
               ~ buddha

keep churning the nectar, hannuman..
i am following your lead ~

* salt of the earth
- a person or group of people
of great kindness, reliability
and honesty -

here, there & everywhere ~

long seeking it through others
i was far from reaching it
now - i go by myself
i meet it everywhere
             ~ dongshan

the long and winding road..
grace and clear skies were traveling companions
south..by southwest..

the mountains outfitted in snowpetticoats ..
thick and riffled..
even shasta had her kirtle..

lake was low..
sky bent down deep to meet the moist..
radiant and glimmering..
trees were frost bitten and seemed glad for it..
roadways clear and moving with the light..

mila rubie..red prius pony..
saddled to the brim
a bit of vanity tingeing her cheerfulness..
she, too, is at her best free-wheelin'..


thanks giving 2015
'tis a gift to be simple...

we had a mighty basket full
from our thanksgiving yoga class..
a cheque to the stanwood nuns
went out that very day
for $339 !
thank you for stretching the offering
and for those who presented a gift
even though not on your mat..

take a peek @ quiet light candles website
to see what's up..
their gift shoppe hours are posted..
quietlightcandles.com
the best! holiday cookies ever..


the ocean's edge was welcoming..
the redpinkmaroonpurpleorange
painted skyscape sunrise
rose to meet the barefoot surfer and board
running  to the waves to beat the crowds ~

this was my home for many a moon
when i was young and wily..
i like coming back to the wildebeest
the young heart that beats the reach

now - i go by myself
i meet it everywhere

thank full

thanksgiving
i'll
be
heading south on the very day..
after the benefit yoga class
8 am  ~ come!

mila rubie..the red prius of excellent wheels
will be loaded and then loaded again..
where did all the stuff that i can't seem to do without ~
come from?

we are hunters and gatherers in a new way..
shoes and more shoes..
coats of every flavor..
warm gloves and hats
how many hands? how many heads?
tea, cups, dates, chocolate for the road..
phones and cords and candles and sox
bed roll and pillow..elephant..babar..
the stuffed heffalump that i have had for 37 years..
he's been to india and panama..
hawaii and the netherlands
paper stamps toothpicks
reading glasses sun glasses
binoculars
car chains
ghee and rice crackers
yoga mat blankets block bolster strap
books..though i am leaving shelves of them behind
face creme toothbrushes
pencils and pens
the singing bell from japan-
the bell my mama gave me after she died
towels and paper towels
coveted soup pot
ghee pan cinnamon
jizo travel buddha
prayer shawls


Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railing
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
looking up from tables we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in the doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on the stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with the crooks in the office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like the cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is
                             ~ w. s. merwin

step, step, step

earth's crammed with heaven
and every common bush afire with god
but only he who sees takes off his shoes ...
                                       e.b. browning

take off your sandals ..
for everywhere you stand is holy ground...
                             exodus 3:5

i had the blues cuz i had no shoes
'til on the street..
i met a man who had no feet..
                   ~ punjab poet


vigorous feet -
not a single thing have i closely observed
my feet on life's way are too vigorous -


if you are making your journey in a hurry,
you are making it poorly..

it's your head that does all the moving.
when it stands still,
you will be still anywhere and everywhere..
you will run like a hare in god's wind..

i have waited so long to be where i am going


in a field
i am the absence
of field.
this is
always the case.
wherever i am
i am what is missing.

when i walk
i part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body's been.

we all have reasons
for moving.
i move
to keep things whole.

 ~ mark strand