LOVER SIT STILL AND WAIT

Lover sit still and wait;
Whom thou desirest will come.
Being alone is not lonely
And how wilt thou receive Truth
If thou are not alone?
Waiting is for preparing,
Watching with longing is sweet;
And when the Self is seen,
This will end,
And thou thyself will be lost in Love...

PICK A SPOT, ANY SPOT

Pick a spot, any spot

SAYINGS FROM THE ANCIENT MASTERS

THE FOLLOWER OF TAO

Wei-shan Ling-yu

Like the clear stillness of autumn water

Pure and without activity

In its tranquil depths are no obstructions.

Such a one is called a follower of Tao

A soul that has nothing more to accomplish

譬如秋水澄渟清浄無爲澹泞無礙。喚他作道人亦名無事人。

溈山靈祐

GUEST POET

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

By Dejan Ristic

The road I did not take

Is far from the blue sea,

It is far from Shakespeare’s dilemma

To be or not to be.

I am proud of my being blind,

I have not said it twice or thrice,

My blindness is my road to the Heaven,

The road similar to Milton’s Paradise!

The road I did not take

Goes neither to the South nor to the North pole,

The road not taken is far from my friends,

My professors and dictations from Adrian Mole.

I am an earthly creature

Aware of mistakes that I make,

But, I will not be mistaken if I refuse,

The road far from books, the road far from The namesake!

Although my life is hard on me,

My road is as bright as the sun,

And on that road, please listen to me,

I will do as I have always done.

I will be as sweet as an apple,

I will sing and read and write,

I will never take the road

Full of misery, woe and fight.

This message to you is to take your own roads,

And everything will be all right,

Leave behind all the things,

Leading to antagonism, idleness and blight!

Never forget to say your prayers,

Never forget to act in your play,

Please, do  take the roads belonging to you,

That will help you to find your own way. 

A Note About the Poet:

One of the sites that I produce is ThoughtAudio.com. It is a site of classic literature in MP3 format and has over 2 million hits a month for the last 10 years. It is a global audience, and as you can imagine I receive  interesting inputs of all forms from all points in the globe. I received this poem from Dejan Ristic at the same time I was working on the details for my input into this wonderful blog. We decided to produce Dejan's poem. One of the most compelling aspects of the poem is the fact that he is blind. I will send an email to Dejan for a more in-depth bio, but until then I believe that listening to his poem in this context will provide even greater appreciation for the work. 

BELL

The sound of the bell in the morning tolls

No sound is heard from the meditative monk

The sound of the mid-day bell makes the people progress

The mountain stands firm in the sound of no sound

Talking to Yourself

Talking to Yourself

NOISE

The Noise calls itself Noise

It claims for itself the CROWN
Yet, the Noise cannot be noise
Without the Silent Way guiding its path

Producer Note:

One of the most excruciating aspects of our lives in the modern world is the level of disruptions that occur all around us. In other words, we live in a conundrum of Noise. We can call Noise anything we want but it always reverts to being Noise. Inputs want to take over our lives, influence the way we value things and guide us through lifestyle choices. Noise feels it is the King of our lives and the ultimate control mechanism of the way we live. We forget that in the hierarchy of thought, the highest level of being is the Silent Way / The Tao / The Essence of Life. Noise always lives underneath the bridge of the Tao and must always follow its path to survive. It ultimately becomes our choice which path to follow.

The Ocean and the Sun

Look at the pretty girl dancing- her hair is so shiny.

I want my hair to be shiny. 

Look at the man with chiseled features;

use the razor he is using. 

It will give you the kind of charm that woman crave.

Women will want you. 

Men will adore you. 

You will be happy. 

You will be empty.

Because it is not about the product, but the feeling they try to convey.

And it is not for your benefit, it is for the benefit of the holders of the company.

We must burn our little boxes. 

We must create dialogue.

We must realize the importance of every moment.

We must turn our boredom to gratitude.

Use your hands, your thoughts, your hunger.

These things are yours and yours alone.

The Sounds of Animals Fighting
Lyrics from their track entitled Uzbekistan

GETTING TO NOTHING ... over coming mind chatter

GETTING TO NOTHING ... over coming mind chatter

Story of Honor - Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport

Edward O'Hare or better known as "Easy Eddie" was apart of the mob in the late twenties and was most famous for being Al Capone's lawyer. He was trusted by Capone and knew about his tax evasion and ties to the different mafia families. Eddie loved his own family and wanted to set an example for his son; one of truth and honor. To show his son that all you had was your honor and that it was worth everything, including your own life, he testified against Capone and the mob in court. This was a death sentence for him and he was later assassinated.
 
His son, Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare, grew up knowing his father's sacrifice and the honor he demonstrated in the face of inevitable death. He joined the Navy during WWII and became a pilot in memory of his father's bravery. One night while he was on his aircraft carrier, he noticed a group of Japanese bombers coming towards the carrier armed with torpedoes. The carrier was completely unprepared for the attack and he was one of the only two fighter pilots on the ship. He remembered his father demonstrating to him as a child that his honor was worth the ultimate price. He flew into the array of bombers and proved such skill and bravery that after shooting down a few Japanese fighters, they finally abandoned their attack. He was awarded the Congressional Metal of Honor for his valor.
 
Today, Chicago O'Hare International Airport stands as proof to what can be achieved when you follow your own beliefs and demonstrate honor in the face of ultimate sacrifice.

Poem by Yahia Lababidi

What is to give light must endure burning, a man once said
Another man became the matchstick that set a nation aflame

But fire, and its appetite, cannot be calculated, like freedom

Injustice and desperation make men combustible, like dry wood

When words lose their meaning
and an entire people their voice –
so they can neither laugh nor scream –
death and life begin to taste the same

From Tunis, to Egypt, to Libya to Yemen
the light from a burning man proved catching
 And those with nothing to lose, or offer, but bodies

fanned the embers of their hopes into a blazing dream.


"What is to Give Light" by Yahia Lababidi

Sun Lite

The first stream of light begins to wash away the shadows of the night,
producing images of movement previously unseen;
waking images of a lucid dream.

Good morning. 

Wendell E. Berry - delivers 41st Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

Wendell E. Berry, noted poet, essayist, novelist, farmer, and conservationist, delivers the 41st Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, entitled “It All Turns on Affection,” from the Concert Hall of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on April 23rd, 2012. Mr. Berry is introduced by Jim Leach, Chairman of The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and preceded by a reading by novelist, short story writer, and fellow Kentuckian Bobbie Anne Mason of Berry’s poem “VI” from his collection Leavings. Please go to http://www.neh.gov/news/2012-jefferson-lecture-wendell-berry for more details and complete video of his Jefferson Lecture. 

The Lion King - Simba's Return

Quick Context:
Simba, the lion in the clip, has ran away from his past and rightful place as king due to the evil tricks of his uncle Scar. Rafiki, the wise elder, wants him to step into his own power and return to save the kingdom from Scar and his destruction. Wisdom in a simple yet effective way; a beautiful cartoon.

James Joyce, "...We walk through ourselves"

'If Socrates leaves his house today he will find the sage seated on his doorstep. If Judas go forth tonight it is to Judas his steps will tend.' Every life is many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.

-James Joyce from his novel Ulysses

Daily

Pollock

Life becomes a splatter painting. Colors just sprayed across a canvas. It's been building layers and colors all our life. Drops of blue for the sadness due to the death of a cherished family pet. Sprays of green for the freedom of days spent playing in the river and lying in the sun. Each color is unique to the individual. Stepping back, I look at the art I have created. So many colors, so many emotions. Each day is a new piece. Put them side by side; do they look any different? It's both how you live your life and how you are affected by the splatters of others. So, in the end, we're all just creating a giant painting. I wonder what it looks like.

Monster in the Closet

It's frightening to feel the full extent of a negative emotion. There is uncertainty about what will happen once we choose to feel again. Instead of facing it though, we close ourselves off from the emotion to avoid the pain.  Remember when you were young and terrified of the dark? It's uncertainty frightened us; the fear of the unknown. It would paralyze us; even getting up to turn on the light seemed like an unconquerable task. If we got out of bed, what we feared would inevitably get us as we walked the fifteen feet from our bed to the nightlight. So, we'd lay in bed, hoping that we would either be able to muster up the bravery to turn on the light or fall asleep quicker. This same dance would happen again and again, night after night. One night, my mom forgot to turn on my nightlight and I was trapped in the dark. As I lay in bed hoping it would magically turn on again, I did something which I had been so terrified to do; I got up and tiptoed towards the switch and turned it on. A few months later, after repeating this process, I didn't need the light anymore to feel safe. I knew that while there were still things that might be unknown, I would be able to face them. Everyone turns and keeps the light on at some point in their life; it keeps us feeling safe from emotional harm. But, by turning off the light and being brave, you will finally be able to conquer the dark.

Primary Miracles

That the universe exits.

That there is consciousness.

That there is self-reflective consciousness.

That there is cosmic or transcendental consciousness.

Lullaby

Some days you wake up and stay awake. Some days you wake up and fall back to sleep. It's easy to fall asleep. What's difficult is waking up; staying awake when you're so tired.