TAKE A VACATION DAILY

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We think of having to go somewhere to have a vacation, but if we make an effort we can create mini-vacations in our daily routine. All we need to do is tune our dial to Source, which (as the name implies) is the source of all love, joy, energy and fulfillment. (Source is the same as God, except that it is a better term; God is a concept created by religions and is laden with false concepts.)

Source is a judgment-free zone. It does not dole out punishment. After all, you are a child of the universe and are deeply loved, loved so intensely in fact that it cannot be described in words.

Find those spaces in the activities that fill your day. It may be when you are waiting at a stoplight or when you are walking from one place to another. If you can, find a moment to walk through a natural setting or settle down there on a bench.

Express gratitude for something in your day, or for your very life. Tune in to your existential love of Source. Feel the connection and the bliss and healing that ensues.

“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”
Excerpt from “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann.

Happiness, Healing, Nature, Poetry

DIVINE VARIETY

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Advaita Vedanta, the philosophy of oneness, states that all is Brahman– the Divine. However, if oneness is the truth, how can we explain the incredible diversity of life?

The universe is multi-layered. On the fundamental level oneness is indeed the truth, and this can be understood and experienced if our intuitive perceptions are awakened. However, on the relative level there is duality, which in many ways enhances our experiential reality.

It is the duality that we crave when we embark upon the adventure of being human. Without duality we could not experience self and other, and thereby learn to manage our emotions and enhance our ability to express love.

In duality the Divine is hidden, but immanent. Gerald Manley Hopkins, a poet as well as a Jesuit priest, captured this idea in his poem entitled “God’s Grandeur”:

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
…nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
…
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”

In this multi-layered world there is incredible variety. Though each of us is at our core the one pure consciousness, we come into our human lives to be a unique expression. At this level we are all different, and no two are alike. So oneness lives alongside diversity–a beautiful combination.

Nature, Poetry, Unity

THE BHAKTI CHRONICLES – 4

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[From time to time I plan to publish devotional poetry to be called “The Bhakti Chronicles”]

WHEN I AM ALONE

Lord, I love when I am alone for I sing with excitement,
knowing that I am free to be with you alone.
There you are, a steady sound, a looming presence,
hovering behind me and infusing me with a feeling of blooming joy.
I say it is you Lord, but the presence could be mine.
I know not which, as you have whispered:
…We are the same.

Poetry

THE BHAKTI CHRONICLES – 3

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[From time to time I plan to publish devotional poetry to be called “The Bhakti Chronicles”]

I GO DOWN TO THE BEACH

I go down to the beach to be with you,
knowing that you wait there to rendezvous with me.
You hide from me but I know your game.
You are everywhere but insist on being discovered,
playing the same game as my grandson.

In the sand you massage and warm my aching feet.
In the seagulls you squawk to encourage my journey.
I know you are there. You shine out through their eyes.

As a sandcrab you dig holes so that I can fall into you.
You are so busy even though no one prevents your rest.

In the seabreeze you shake the lifeguard’s flag;
you cool and caress my sweaty brow.

But in the mighty ocean, you tell me
I am vast and unbounded, just like you,
and remind me how much I am loved.

Poetry

THE BHAKTI CHRONICLES – 2

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[This is part of a series of devotional poetry under the name “The Bhakti Chronicles.”]

I cast my fishing rod into the deep, hoping to find you there–you, the unfathomable, the greatest secret of all, the most hidden mystery.

Was I too timid before to pursue your greatness? Was I just another fool, drunk with the trinkets that you toss to your children for play?

Does my mantra cry to you? Will you come if called? Can I entrap you with my love? Is my love ample enough for your enormity?

I pursue you day and night like a hunter, laying out traps along my way, retracing my steps to see if you would allow yourself to be cornered out of compassion.

Sing to me as I walk in your garden of delight. Speak to me through the flowers. Touch me with a cool breeze. Tell me that I am yours.

Poetry
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