Beholding the Glory

"[The] Self -existent [One] has [created] the [senses as turned]...to the outer world.Those therefore who [seek] outside will never find that [which is within]. There are the few who,wanting to know the truth, turn their eyes inward and in their own souls behold the glory [of the Self]." (Katha Upanishads, II.i.1.)

Vivekananda, Complete Works, page 231, Kindle

Are you one of the few wanting to know the truth?

Michael A. Singer basically opened his podcast from yesterday (I am a day behind in my listening) with what I read before going to bed and what I heard Alan Watts speak about in my meditation this morning. This  reminded me of the teachings of Uell S. Anderson and it was like...Wow! All these teachers are coming together to point to this one truth. There is one truth in one mind and we are all that mind! 

I could see how all these teachings echoed what Vivekananda taught and his teaching came from the ancient Vedas of the East. Introducing these teachings to the close-minded West and the Christian mindset that still believed/believes the insurrection and the Holy Wars were justified, must have been such a challenge for Vivekananda and Yogananda and others.  Yet, there was such a simple truth in these teachings, as the above quote alludes to....that when one is willing to truly listen they cannot help but turn their eyes inward. 

Singer started by saying how all teachings are some how related and then he talked about how our perceptions are illusions in a sense ...only there because of our sense organs.  As part of the guided meditation I listened to today, Watts too explained how the outside world is actually inside. What we are perceiving and experiencing is just a result of sensory neurons and the interpretation made by the brain.  It is an inside game. Non-duality, what Vivekananda and Vedic teachers taught, is all about this internalization of the cosmos...the creation of all in the mind. 

I am the soul, the ever free; [I] never was bound. Time is in me, not I in time. God [as a concept...my input] was born in my mind. 

Page 231

Everything else, is not a delusion, but an illusion. We are so busy focusing on matter, we do not see Spirit. We are seeing a snake where there is only rope and reacting as such. 

We are never deluded. We always know truth, only our reading of truth is mistaken at times. You can perceive only one thing at a time. When I see the snake, the rope has vanished entirely. And when I see the rope, the mistake has vanished. It must be one thing

Both Singer and Watts shared today that consciousness, the One universal mind, gives meaning to everything. Focus on seeing the snake and you live in fear. Fovus on seeing spirit and what is beyond all matter, including all mind stuff and you see reality.  Focus on seeing the rope (or the lines on the road) and you live in peaceful neutrality. 

We need to remember that there is something very powerful within us...interpreting all this sensory information we are taking in. It is not the brain or the body doing the actual observing and experiencing. As Singer says, the mind is much higher than the brain. We are that Universal Mind.  We are not the body, the personal mind, or what it perceives. We are much greater than that and we are untouched by what is happening to "this human" out here  with its forever firing neurons. ...

Just as my soul is [to] my body, we, as it were are the bodies of God. God-souls-nature-it is one...Mind is something [which is] neither force nor matter, yet begetting force and matter all the time.  In the long run, mind is begetting all force, and that is what is meant by the universal mind, the sum total of all minds.

page 231

As if reading the book along with me, page by page, Singer goes onto say how pranayama ( breath work) is one means of anchoring us to that Universal Mind so we don't keep leaving it. This chapter I am reading in Vivekananda's great works is about pranyama. Ironically, breath was also the focus in today's meditation, again with the purpose of keeping us anchored to Universal Mind.

So we as part of the universal mind are souls here to evolve. We are going to make a lot of mistakes as we do.  We are constantly going to get pulled away from universal mind and get lost in the dramas of personal mind again and again. Instead of trampling down the self with self when we do that, we can honor and appreciate each learning opportunity that comes with our mistakes. 

Be thankful that the dumb part of your mind[personal mind] made you smarter [brought you back in a round about way to Universal Mind].

Michael Singer

Use every opportunity in life you can, to turn the eyes inward to behold the glory that is there. 

All is well! 

Uell S. Anderson (1977) Three Magic Words. Wilshire Book Company.

Michael A. Singer ( July 21, 2024) Learning to Handle Reality. https://tou.org/talks/

Swami Vivekananda ( ) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1.4.3-1.4.21. Kindle

(I have been reading this book for years now and I am only halfway through volume one.  Can you imagine how big this book would be if it was in hardcopy? lol)

oops...just noticed I left my notes up lol

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 reflection 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

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 gets ready to pull 

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 in a desperate attempt 

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

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.

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.

The Eddy in Shakti Flow

 All feelings are beautiful. Enjoy everything including the pain...

Michael A. Singer

As you know by now if you have read any of my entries before this one...the release of Samskara is' my thing' as a yogi and as a human being.  I want nothing more in my life than to be free of all these blockages. I see that as the ultimate healing...the ultimate freedom. I truly know in some part of me that I do not quite understand that I have blocked the flow of something magnificent when I created this neurotic psyche I call "me". To protect this "me",  I have stored and stuffed a lifetime of stuff within me that I did not want to experience. I also stored and clung to  all that stuff  whose nature I demanded  would be all I experienced in this Life. All the while this Life goes on doing what it is doing and it does not even recognize this "me" and what it 'prefers', only who I really am. So man is  there ever a lot of the unpreferred showing up, a lot of triggering of the stuff I stored inside, a lot of disturbance.  Sigh! 

So...my journey these days involves freeing the flow of energy inside me.  Not so much because I want to feel the ultimate bliss of Sat Chit Ananda, but because I want to stop drowning in this eddy of swirling energy on the otherside of my blockages.  It isn't fun smashing up against those rocks again and again and again. It isn't fun swallowing so much water and going down into the dark depths of this trapped energy again and again. I would just like to be floating serenely on the top of a gently flowing river, enjoying the sunshine on my face and teh feel of the breeze on my skin as I listen to he magic of bird song all around me.  That is what I long for in my Life. .. to be able to enjoy it all , even the pain, without being pulled down by it.

What about you?

The Eddy

In the middle of the magnificent river

flowing forward

on its predetermined journey,

back to the infinite Source

from which it came,

the Eddy forms.

It swirls and twirls, riveting in

 energetic, tormented circles 

around and around,

its waves smashing up against

 the boulders of Samskara 

that impede the mighty River's flow.  

All the while the rush of these Holy Waters,

the trough and crests of these mighty waves,

are being pulled by the Oceans’ powerful  

but unseen force, forward.

This Force is strong and unrelenting,

stirring up the waters

collecting behind the impediment of samskara.

 

When the stuffed and stored

debris of human preferring,

the boulders of human resistance,

form the current of human selecting,

the water has no choice but to spin

in a whirlpool of human suffering.

 

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 on to, 

the drowning soul 

swallows the waves of misguided attempts

and sinks.

 

‘I’, the swimmer, gets pulled down 

by this vortex of trapped energy, 

down into the mirky depths

that build up and break down

behind the boulder of samskara,

while this Eddy claims all that it can

to make it stronger.

 

Still, that force which moves the river forward

is determined.

Beyond this Eddy…this tiny disturbance

in the flow of universal Life,

exists the free- flowing Shakti.

Moving, in glorious sparkling persistence,

back to the Source from where it came,

the undisturbed River

flows with a message for all who will listen:

Remove the debris, the boulders of samskara,

and the Eddy will be no more.

The river and its swimmer will be set free

and will, before long,  be united with the Source

of everlasting peace.

© Dale-Lyn. July, 2024

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( July 14, 2024) Understanding Consciousness and Your Energy Flow. https://tou.org/talks/

Stop Running and Resting on Wings

 If you do not know how to stop running the healing can not take place..

Thich Nhat Hanh

Vipassana, according to Thich Nhat Hanh in the below video, is the process of looking deeply to get insight. Yet, we are reminded that we can not  look deeply if we are running away from what is. Most of us, whether we know it or not, are running from our brokenness into the busy world. If we are so caught up in our busy work that takes us out of the here and now...there is no insight and if there is no insight, there is no healing. 

We all want to heal...whether we know it or not. The first step to that healing is stopping.  When you feel that urge to run...counter it.  Stop!  Breathe. 

Your in-breath is an expresson of arrival: "I have arrived"

Shamatha is stopping...stillness...not running. It is being home.

Vipassana is not possible without shamatha and shamatha is not possible without vipassana. 

I have to work on this, still. :)

Reminded of a poem I wrote many years ago when I first heard of Shamatha and Vipassana. In fact, it was this very same teaching and teacher below that inspired the poem.

Wings

Oh beautiful bird with expanded wing,
carry me away,
to the kingdom my Self longs for,
a place where I can stay.
I put away my running shoes,
my need to hide, to  grasp, to seek  
and close my eyes and wait for you
 to clasp me in your  beak.
Lift me up with gentle ease,
 and save me from my fear.
Take me to that special place
 that exists nowhere but here.

 Place me on  the graceful wing
where time is hushed and stilled
 and where mind and body stop to breathe
as nature surely wills.
Upon your feathery pinion,
I will stretch out in passive form
giving up my struggles and my fight
to resist each passing storm.
I will surrender graciously,
as we glide through spacious sky,
and I will notice just how blue it is
while the grey clouds pass us by.

I will have faith in you my friend
to shelter and protect,
as I let go  into the sureness of your strength,
my view you will correct.
As you hold me on your wing,
and we skillfully swoop and glide,
I will know that where you're taking me
is nowhere but inside.
And as I breathe in each precious breath,
I will observe  each internal knot release
from  the twisted  pain of wounded cells
to settle into peace.

Then when there is no longer in me
a place for fear and grief to hide,
I will crawl so gratefully over you
to the wing on the other side.
There, I will lie and look about;
the wonders of the world, I will see
and understand so perfectly
the way it was and the way it's meant to be.
And without a noise of flapping wing,
you will gently set me down
in the home of Self where I never left
and where peace always can be found.

©Dale-Lyn  May 2020

All is well.

Thich Nhat Hanh/ Plum Village (January 31, 2024) Stop Running/ Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qch5ISD9Bxo&t=511s