Waking Up in a Busy World
Just writing about waking up to what is really important.
Friday, July 26, 2024
Evolving and Experiencing
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Happy Birthday to This Human I Call Me
All through Life your physical body will age. But your energy body need not age-you can keep it like it was just born.
Sadhguru.
Happy Birthday to this human I am experiencing Life through.
Does that sound a lil cra-cra or what?
But really, I have evolved enough to know that I am not this 61 year old body, this psyche, this personal mind with all its challenges and its limited perception of the world. I am not all the "happenings" going on inside it and outside it. Then who the heck am I?
I am the one, in here, observing this human move around through the 61 years it moved around. I am not this shell. I am that which gets to experience Life through this human I call me. It is amazing from this angle...much more amazing than it is from the worm's eye view I have when I get all caught up in being this human. Truly...a much better view.
So, I am grateful ...so grateful for this human with its wrinkling skin and its greying hair; its quick and creative brain function, its ability to laugh and cry, whisper or scream...for all the experiences it had so far...the painful and the joyful...its successes and its oh so many mistakes and failures. Man it is all so good.
What do I want this year as a birthday gift from Life? I just want a little more shakti flowing freely through me. That means a little more cleansing and a little more peace. That is what I want for both this "I am" and this human. Do I ever sound like a yogi, eh?
Go figure lol.
Happy Birthday Human...thanks for getting me to this point.
All is well
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Two Foundational Truths
two foundational truths....
you were born
and you are going to die
on this speck of dust
spinning around
in infinite space
It is no ordinary speck of dust
but one that sings to
the being blown into the
space between your first breath
and your last
with bird song and laughter
ocean wave and soothing breeze
that performs in front of you
a brilliant drama
of actors coming and going,
currtains opening
curtains closing
with a host of spell binding comedy
and tragedy
in between
that offers you amazing art
to see and touch and taste
around every corner
brilliant canvases
with flowering splashes
of the most amazing purple, reds and yellows
popping up on a background
of abundant green that doesnt seem to end
blues of every shade
reflect the light of
a brilliant star
93 million miles away
and well planned strokes
of contrasting whites and greys
soothe the over stimulated mind
as it tries to take it all in
Oh...the tastes you can taste
as you feed this body
that swirls and dances you around
ripples of salty and sweet
sour and bitter
offering your tongue
and your being
a tapestry of texture to explore
And the endless smells
that tantalize and taunt
stirring up sweet and
not so sweet memories
stored in the recesses
of your amazing brain
You can touch
you can hold
you can feel the essence of yourself
oozing from the pores
of all the other beings
that pass by
as you run your fingertips
over the miracles you encounter.
This speck of dust
you were breathed into
for a blink of an eye
on eternity's clock
is your Eden
You think you have fallen
from this garden
but you haven't
You just decided to focus instead
on your wrinkling skin
and what your neighbor
did or didn't do, said or didnt say
on how you appear
and what others might think
as you wring your hands
offering a litany of complaints
into the precious air
you claimed as your space
while you pace back and forth
in the mental cell you created
Eden has gone nowhere
the dirty veil of your resistance,
selecting and preferring
simply hides it from you
and now
in that tiny span
between your birth
and your death
instead of enjoying
and exploring,
loving and serving
giggling with delight
you are making
a bloody mess
of this gift
you have been given.
Wake up!
And see that this speck of dust
you are spinning on
is the Eden
you never left
two foundational truths
you were born and
you will die
Your last breath is coming
there is no way of preventing
the inevitable
Wake up and
live before you die.
©Dale-Lyn, July, 2024
Not great but this is how she came out lol. All is well
Inspired by:
Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( July 23, 2024) Exploring Foundational Truths. https://tou.org/talks/
Monday, July 22, 2024
Beholding the Glory
Sunday, July 21, 2024
No Readers?
No Readers
"Why do you write when
you have no readers? "
A writer with no readers
is better than
a breather with no breath,
a heart with no beat,
a being with no soul,
and a life with no joy.
For witing
is the breathing,
and the heart beat
of this form.
It is the song of this soul.
It is the joy in this Life
I have been given.
The reader, to this being, then
is no more than
a hand holding a mirror up
that reflects back what I am,
catching my breath
in foggy patches
to show me I am still alive.
If I already know what I am,
and that I am still alive,
do I really need a mirror?
No, it is not so much a question
of what this writer needs.
Maybe one should ask instead:
Does the reader need
the mirror
this awkward and shaky
writer's hand
holds up?
© Dale-Lyn, July, 2024
Ooops! On another poetry bender lol. Sometimes, it just keeps coming out of me lol. Anyway...not sure who I am apologizing to because as the poem above suggests I have "no readers"...well I know I have a few ...thank you!
All is well!
It is the All
You are not bound. No one was ever bound. [The Self] is beyond. It is the all. You are the One; there are no two. God was your own reflection cast upon the screen of Maya. ...As you unfold yourself, the refelction grows [clearer].
Vivekananda, The Complete Works, page 231, Kindle Edition.
Another One
Weeding by the root.
Fear and desire,
weeds overcrowding
your mental garden,
have one root.
Dig it up.
Don't bother mowing over them,
burying them deeper into the earth.
They will just come up again
and again
and again
strangulating the precious
harvest
of your mind.
You will not see through
this overgrowth
to the light that shines
upon everything
if your gaze is hidden
in the busy work
of your resistance.
You will not feel the rain
refreshing the soil
encouraging all
green things to grow;
you will not hear
the soothing song of breeze
nor will you feel the touch
of its gentle fingers
if you are busy
trampling down what is.
Don't bother.
Juust trace each prickly thing
back to its root
and pull.
Dig up the one root
of fear and desire
and set your garden free.
© Dale-Lyn, July 2024
Inspired by the line from the below video where Singer says, "Fear and desire have roots"...than out this came.
All is well.
Michael A. Singer ( July 21, 2024) Growing through Fear and Desire. https://tou.org/talks/
All is well
Friday, July 19, 2024
Fifth and Final Reworking of a Poem
Final Attempt. Not working this again lol. I do not know why I bothered with this one so much. It is far from what others might deem as great or even good...not worth th effort even...but I felt compelled to rework and revise. Crazy. Maybe its the message that needs to be heard?
The River and the Eddy,
While the Ocean calls the River home,
a prized trophy bobs up and
down,
carried high on the
shoulders of the returning hero.
Asleep, after hours of
splashing effort,
unaware of the strong
and steady waves
that carry it along,
the swimmer mindlessly
moves
toward its own demise.
Whirling, swirling, riveting in
tormented circles,
the Eddy up ahead
all treasures from the
River’s protective hold.
Set on tearing all the unsuspecting,
yet the endlessly anticipating
away from their unconscious
daydreams
it waits for its next victim
to arrive.
Like a bully hiding
in the corner of the River’s bend,
it sticks out a dirty foot from
below the sparkling waves.
And the surprised River, so intent
on getting to its destination,
heeding only the voice that calls it
forward,
stumbles over the boulder of
Samskara
and its lifetime collection
of debris.
Losing its momentum, its hold on self weakens.
The swimmer is torn from its clutches by
the Eddy’s force.
Both the river and its charge
are clumsily sucked into
the awkward barrier.
Tangled up in all the other captured
things,
torn from its original trajectory,
splashing about
to find something solid to
hang onto
the drowning treasure swallows
the waves of misguided
attempts
and begins to sink to the
depths below.
All the while the rush of these Holy
Waters,
the trough and crests of
these mighty waves,
are still being called
forward
by the Oceans’ powerful
but unseen Force.
The Voice of Source is
strong and unrelenting,
stirring up the waters that
collect
behind the impediment
of samskara.
The River is drawn like a magnet to all that
is.
Yet, the cries of its cargo,
the drowning swimmer,
pull its attention down and away from
nature’s intent.
When the watery focus repels
that which it is,
and is drawn instead
to the stuffed and stored debris of human
preferring,
to the boulders of human
resistance,
forming the current of
human selecting,
it spins in a whirlpool of human
suffering.
Down, down, down the swimmer sinks,
claimed by this
vortex of its own trapped energy,
into the mirky
depths that build up and break down
behind the boulder of
samskara.
The River …the powerful,
majestic river ...
drops its all- seeing eyes
from the skies
and follows this human down
to the watery death that awaits.
Howling with delight,
the Eddy triumphantly claims
another victory over the
natural flow of Life.
The undaunted Ocean sings
again,
calling out in compelling
whispers,
coaching the River to
leave the swimmer behind
and to come home where it
belongs.
Reluctant to detach from
that
which it carried with such
pride,
the waters continue to resist
They twirl and
swirl around and around,
making the Eddy stronger with
each downward plunge.
Still, that Force
calling the River forward is unflinching.
It is determined to
bring all its Ripples home.
Unknown to this tiny
disturbance of river,
trapped in one of many
Eddies,
Life is determined to
go on.
In the universal flow,
exists the Shakti, pure
and free,
moving in glorious
sparkling persistence,
back to the Source
from where it came.
The birds and winds above
cry out in joyous awakening
relaying a message in their song
for all who will listen:
Stop resisting, relax,
and
let the ocean pull you home.
Through the rushing noise of
human drama,
the soothing chorus is heard
and the River finally removes
its focus
from the drowning,
struggling form.
It lets go.
The flimsy carcass slips
lifelessly to
the muddy bottom,
while the waters return
to
the surface where they,
sparkling with millions
of twinkling diamonds,
embrace the sunlight once
again.
The boulders dissolve,
the debris disperses
and the Eddy is no
more.
Without the heaviness of
swimmer,
the barrier of Samskara,
the mighty River is set
free to continue
its joyful journey home.
© Dale-Lyn, July 2024
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Attempt Number Four
The
River and the Eddy,
The
Ocean calls the River home.
A
prized trophy, carried high on the shoulders of this returning hero
the
swimmer bobs up and down. Finally asleep,
after hours of
splashing effort, unaware of the strong and steady waves
that carry it
protectively along, it moves toward its own demise.
Whirling,
swirling, riveting in tormented circles, the Eddy up ahead
gets
ready to pull the swimmer from the River’s protective hold.
It,
without mercy, is set on tearing all the unsuspecting,
yet
the endlessly anticipating away from their unconscious daydreams.
Like
a bully hiding in the corner of the River’s bend,
it
sticks out a dirty foot from below the sparkling waves.
The
surprised River, so intent on joyfully getting to its destination,
heeding
only the voice that calls it forward,
stumbles
over the boulder of Samskara and its lifetime collection of debris.
Losing
its momentum, its grasp weakens.
The
swimmer is torn from its clutches. Both it and its charge
are
clumsily sucked into the awkward barrier.
Tangled
up in all the other floating things the Eddy pulls toward it,
torn
from its original trajectory, splashing about
in a desperate attempt to find something solid to hang
onto
the
drowning treasure swallows the
waves of misguided attempts
and
sinks to the depths below.
All
the while the rush of these Holy Waters,
the
trough and crests of these
mighty waves,
are
still being called forward by the Oceans’ powerful but unseen
Force.
This
Voice is strong and unrelenting, stirring up the waters
that
collect behind the impediment of samskara.
Yet,
the cries of the River’s cargo, the drowning swimmer,
pull
its attention down. When the watery focus is drawn
to
the stuffed and stored debris of human preferring,
to
the boulders of human resistance,
forming
the current of human selecting,
it
has no choice but to spin in a whirlpool of human suffering.
Down,
down, down the swimmer sinks,
claimed
by this vortex of its own trapped energy,
into
the mirky depths that build up and break down
behind
the boulder of samskara.
And
the River …the powerful, majestic river ...follows.
Howling
with delight, the Eddy triumphantly claims
this
that makes it stronger.
The
undaunted Ocean sings again, calling out in compelling whispers,
for
the River to leave the swimmer behind and come home.
Not
wanting to abandon that which it clung to for so long,
the
waters still resist and twirl and swirl around and around
making
the Eddy stronger and stronger and stronger.
Still,
that Force calling the River forward is determined
to
bring all its Ripples home.
Unknown
to this tiny disturbance of river
trapped
in one of many Eddies, Life goes on beyond it.
In
the flow of that universal Life beyond the barrier,
exists
the Shakti, pure and free,
moving in
glorious sparkling persistence,
back
to the Source from where it came.
The
birds and winds above cry out in joyous awakening
relaying
a message in their song for all who will listen:
Stop
resisting, relax, and let the ocean pull you home.
Through
the rush of human drama, the soothing chorus is heard
and the River removes its focus from the drowning form.
It lets go. As soon as it releases its hold allowing the flimsy,
lifeless carcass to fall to the muddy bottom,
its
waters return to the surface where they,
sparkling
with millions of twinkling diamonds,
embrace
the sunlight once again.
The
boulders dissolve, the debris disperses
and
the Eddy is no more.
Without
the heaviness of swimmer,
the
barrier of Samskara,
the
mighty River is set free to continue
its
joyful journey home.
© Dale-Lyn, July 2024 attempt
# 4
Are you in this dance?
This is the real secret of life-to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realizing it is play.
Alan Watts
It is all just play! Do you get that yet. It doesn't matter what we are doing actually (as long as it isn't harmful to other beings). It doesn't matter if we are working in a lab close to discovering the cure for cancer or writing the next Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It doesn't matter if we are sitting on a mountain cliff in the Himalayas chanting "Aum" into the air or kneeling for hours on a church pew praying. It doesn't matter if we are preparing to graduate from University with a PhD in Nuclear science or picking up the textbook that says "Get your GED in 30 days" . It doesn't matter if you are sitting on a park bench in your neighborhood or zooming by on a Fast Train as you travel through Spain. It doesn't matter if you are by yourself, unnoticed in a crowd, or delivering a speech to the United Nations. The point is..."you are". The question then, "Your Life is right here,, right now ; are you in it?"
Or are you like the majority of the human race waiting...waiting to get there. All the while saying to yourself, "It is coming...it is coming. It is almost here. I will get there...just have to work a little harder, do a little more, go a little farther, wait a little longer...but man, it is so close?"
What are we waiting for? What is that thing that is coming? What are we trying to achieve with all our effort?
Peace? Happiness? Joy? Love? That which will settle the mess inside?
Are you getting it or are you still waiting? I mean you probably get some semblance of peace and happiness and love every now and again...that keeps you waiting doesn't it, for more? But it never lasts does it?...What we get is just a tease. Just like when a gust of wind might blow the carrot so close to the donkey's mouth he can nibble on it, get a taste of it before it settles back into its position away from reach. After that nibble the donkey keeps going, keeps working, keeps trying, and keeps waiting for the day he can get more than a nibble.
More than a nibble?
What if you woke up every morning full of these feelings of happiness, peace, joy, bliss, and love...just full of it? Would it matter then if you graduated with honors from your PhD program,, if you made it to the finish line, if you got published, if you finally had enough money to buy that house or travel? Would it matter if you were a broke, destitute, uneducated human being sitting on a park bench doing absolutely nothing? No, if you felt good, clean, and pure inside all these things you are seeking or waiting for would not matter. Would they?
Imagine just feeling high and blissful...full of love for self and all beings...all the time no matter what you were doing or what you had. Imagine dancing simply for the joy of dancing.
I want to be in the dance, not waiting for the music to start or stop so I can get sonewhere? What about you?
The music of Life is playing here and now...and we can be in this dance 100 percent. It might be painful and exhausting at times, it might me a fun jig or a beautiful waltz...but the point is we just need to be in it...no matter what And it has nothing to do with what we are doing and everything to do with being here now.
Like, I realize that and I do find myself enjoying being where I am more and more and seeking less and less. I still get pulled away again and again into "the need to do and get somewhere " frenzy of our culture. Despite that, I am finding more peace in this doing that I am doing and in the not doing that I am not doing. Still writing a book I probably have no business writing and what others are calling " a boring endeavor". I have no idea why I am writing it. It is taking much more time than I thought it would but for some strange reason I hear the music behind me as I write. My fingers just go tapping along.
Though I have no idea where this book will go when it is finished...if it will ever get finished...I am enjoying the process of this "boring endeavor" . I am enjoying the learning and the "scholarship" for the sake of learning" as well...with everything I do. Alan Watts once shared that scholarship means "leisure devoted to learning". I want to study all "the charming irrevalences of life". Learning is my leisure. It truly, truly is. I enjoy and dance along with that too.
I want "more" of this peace and joy, I do. I am still not "settled" in the here and now all the time. I still want to control the music and lead the steps at times I do...but I do realize fully and wholly ...that it is all about being in the dance. I just want to be in the dance!
Anyway, I am rambling again.
Just be in the dance!
All is well.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
The River and the Eddy
You are not letting go of life; you are letting go of the reaction to life.
Michael A. Singer
After listening to Michael Singer today I worked the poem I put down yesterday a bit. It is certainly not perfect but it is a lot better than yesterday's version. Yesterday, what came out of me was the message in long awkward sentences. Today, with help from a little writer's ego, it became somewhat of a poem with a message. Still lacks a cadence that I am happy with...who knows maybe I will work it again...or...maybe I won't lol. Regardless, it is what it is.
I worked it again and I will work it some more lol. It really does not want to cooperate with my writer's sense of "good enough" and that is okay...it doesn't have to. The challenge is good.
The River and the Eddy,
A prized trophy,
carried high on the shoulders
of a returning hero
the swimmer bobs up and down
Finally asleep after hours of splashing effort,
unaware of the strong and steady
waves that carry it protectively along
it moves toward its own demise.
Whirling, swirling,
riveting in tormented circles,
the Eddy up ahead
is preparing to pull the swimmer
from the River’s protective hold.
It, without mercy,
tears all the
unsuspecting,
yet the endlessly anticipating,
from its once easy peaceful float.
Like a bully,
hiding in the corner of the River’s
bend,
it sticks out a dirty foot
from below the sparkling waves.
The surprised River,
so intent on joyfully getting to
its destination,
heeding only the voice that calls
it forward,
stumbles over the boulder of Samskara
and its lifetime collection of debris.
Losing its momentum, its grasp weakens.
The swimmer is torn from its clutches
and both are clumsily sucked into
the
awkward barrier.
Tangled up in all the other
floating things
the Eddy pulls toward it,
torn from its original trajectory,
splashing about in a desperate
attempt
to find something solid to hang
onto
the drowning treasure
swallows the waves of misguided
attempts
and sinks to the depths below.
All the while the rush of these
Holy Waters,
the trough and crests of these
mighty waves,
are still being called forward
by the Oceans’ powerful but unseen Force.
This Voice is strong and unrelenting,
stirring up the waters that collect behind
the impediment of samskara.
Yet, the cries of the River’s
cargo,
the drowning swimmer,
pull the river’s attention down.
When the River is drawn
to the stuffed and stored
debris of human preferring,
to the boulders of human
resistance,
forming the current of human selecting,
it has no choice but to spin
in a whirlpool of human
suffering.
Down, down, down
the swimmer sinks,
pulled by this vortex of trapped energy,
into the mirky depths
that build up and break down
behind the boulder of samskara.
And the River …
the powerful , majestic river ...
follows,
while the Eddy triumphantly claims
this that will make it stronger.
The Ocean sings again,
calling out in compelling
whispers,
for the River to leave the swimmer
behind
and come home.
Not wanting to abandon that which
it clung to for so long,
the River still resists
and twirls and swirls
around and around
making the Eddy stronger.
Still, that Force calling the River forward
is determined to bring all its Ripples
home.
Unknown to this tiny disturbance
of river
trapped in the ferocious Eddy
Life goes on beyond it.
In the flow of that universal
Life,
exists the free- flowing Shakti.
Pure and free,
moving in glorious sparkling persistence,
back to the Source from where it
came
the rest of undisturbed river
flows with a message for all who
will listen:
Stop resisting, relax,
and let the ocean pull you home.
The River finally hears the soothing chorus
over the rush of human drama.
It lets go.
As soon as it releases its
hold on the swimmer,
allowing the flimsy, lifeless carcass
to
fall to the muddy bottom,
its waters move back up to
the surface
where they sparkling like a million diamonds
embrace the sunlight
once again.
The boulders dissolve, the debris
disperses
and the Eddy is no more.
The River, then, without the heaviness of Swimmer,
the barrier of Samskara,
is set free to continue its joyful journey home.
© Dale-Lyn July 2024
All is well.