Thursday, January 28, 2016

All Is Love: Prayer of Gratitude

Listening to the music of Findlay Brown, especially his poignant song All Is Love inspired this prayer. Many thnks to Findlay Brown for the inspiration.
Image result for love and creation

All is LOVE prayer

Great spirit,  force that unites all
Help us crawl back into our hearts
Where all illusions will fall apart
And unite us in one infinite body of love

Help us to see, hear, taste, smell, and imagine
With heart senses intact and
Once again inhabit a world that
Endlessly inspires us with its song
To discern how we fit into the miracle of creation

Help us to see clearly with our heart senses intact
So that gratitude fills every breath
With a song of praise to the great force of love
That has brought us to this very moment
Across an infinity of time and space

And help us to know that what we imagine in our mind
We can bring forth into the world to sanctify this love force
That through our minds we can create a world
Where every being has the dignity and the freedom
To dance their sublime duet with the creator

All is LOVE
And love is you

All Is Love (Findlay Brown)

Once you crawl into your heart all the illusions will fall apart.


More about this video here

Gone are the loves that she craves
Bound by the lives that she gave
Under the moonlight she bled
Into the night, and she said

Once you climb into your heart
Then the illusions will fall apart
Once you get over your mind
Then there's a wonder that's yours to find

And all is LOVE
And love is you

Drowned by the tears that she spills
Over the bones that she built
Out of the earth she was fed
Into existence she said

Once you climb into your heart
Then the illusions will fall apart
Once you get over your mind
Then there's a wonder that's yours to find

And all is LOVE
And love is you




The Mountain Falls For The Sea (Findlay Brown)

Lovely song and images about love.

You're all that I know
You're all that I see You're all that I am Founded by the sun, followed by the moon Loneliness too soon You're all that is real You're all that is right You're all that is good Founded by the sun, followed by the moon Loneliness too soon As time goes by And love runs dry You know that I'll be Like the mountain falls for the sea The mountain falls for the sea You're all of my heart You're all of my dream You're all that I love Founded by the sun, followed by the moon Loneliness too soon As time goes by And love runs dry You know how I'll be Like the mountain falls for the sea The mountain falls for the sea

Redefining Normal

Sure "normal" is predictable and that can be comforting. But also what we believe as "normal" can seriously impede creative thinking and even stymie forward progress on many fronts. Watch the video and celebrate the desire to be abnormal that hides in all of us.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Heart Sutra (in English)

The Heart Sutra was given by the Buddha to explain the nature of reality. It might take a little study to really get at the deeper meaning and significance. You can find a pretty good explanation of the Heart Sutra here

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Folding as a spiritual practice

 
We are just thawing from the mega snowstorm. I love being lovingly slowed down by so-called inclement weather. I see it as an opportunity to go inward for a moment without the normal pressure to be up and doing. Slowing down allows me to pay more attention to every activity and even to turn each activity in a meditation. This happened when I applied the Konmarie method of tidying up my clothes drawers. What a joy to very consciously pay attention to each article of clothing; almost to develop a relationship with each article. Being unhurried turns the activity into a opportunity for gratitude. It becomes possible to see deeply into not only the activity but also into every aspect of the fact that I have clothing; what exactly does it take for me to have this clothing. I can be grateful for the cotton farmer, the rain, the tractor drivers, the factory worker toiling away, etc. Now I have a different appreciation for the clothing as a result of seeing deeply into it. This is what Thich Naht Hanh means by Interbeing.


Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Uncommon Conversations: Thich Nhat Hahn and Br. David Steindl-Rast

A lovely conversation between two who embodiment  peace and gratitude.

Rest Your Heart (Blue Cliff Monastery)



This type of artwork is the grandparent to the earliest movies, made and "cranked" by hand. Thank you to Tina Swift for making this happen and to Sarah Martin for the phenomenal song. Happy New Year, Everyone!
Lyrics:

REST YOUR HEART – by Sarah Martin

In a time with no beginning, swimming through the cosmic sea,

one day the darkness grew so lonely, she said, “My heart feels so heavy.”

And her sister, the light, was listening. She said, “My dear, come lean on me,

for we are the heartbeat of the cosmos, and together we are free.

[CHORUS:] “So come and lean on me. Rest your heart with me.

We are not one without the other. Don't be afraid to lean on me.”


There is a tree deep in the forest. She has a heart like you and me.

One day she felt the greatest sadness. She said, “My heart feels so heavy.”

And deep below her, the bedrock was listening, and she said, “Please lean down on me,

for I am resting on the cosmos, that's why my heart is so strong and free.” [CHORUS]


One night, a deer came wandering into the forest dark and deep.

She had traveled weary miles, and her heart cried out for sleep.

Then a voice came out of the silence. It said, “My dear, come lean on me,

for I am resting on the bedrock, that's why my heartwood is strong and free.” [CHORUS]


A mother came into the forest carrying her baby, fast asleep.

The night was cold and she was weary, and her heart began to weep.

And then she heard a whisper in the darkness, so gentle and so sweet.

It said, “Dear Mother, come lean against me, and we can share each other's heat.

For this old tree is strong and steady, and I'm as cozy as we can be.

We are not one without the other. Don't be afraid to lean on me.” [CHORUS]


The little baby, his eyes came open, there in the darkness, there in the wild.

He could feel the warmth around him, he could feel his mother's smile.

And he said to all the beings in the cosmos, “Well, you can come and lean on me,

for I am leaning on my mother who is resting with the deer against this tree.

And we are all leaning on the bedrock on the cosmos, a mystery.

We are all leaning on each other. Don't be afraid to lean on me.” [CHORUS (2x)]

We are not one without the other. Don't be afraid to lean on me.
ALL COMMENTS (4)