Garden at Hawkscry

 At the end of the last growing season I decided to rearrange the growing beds in the garden at Hawkscry, mainly to increase growing space and give room for the plants to spread out without impinging on the production, which happened this year when all the plants grew well but were to crowded to produce much. The work was accomplished over several weeks and involved double digging new areas where paths once were and then deeply lining the paths with mulch. I planted a thick cover crop of Austrian peas to over winter for nitrogen replenishment, which as of this writing has taken over and covered the beds with a thick head of green. Very satisfying to see and I am looking forward to the next growing season. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.