Spiritual Poetry III

III. Daily Encounters
Contents: i. Introduction I. “In the Beginning…” II. Synchronistic Webs III. Daily Encounters Walking The Hudson RiverTrail Yoga Meditation T.V. IV. Infinity’s Point V. BodyTemple VI. Observations VII. Enlightenment VIII. Alternatives IX. The New Age Center X. “At the End…” Vol. 2 XI. Enlightenment Poems XII. Worldly Concerns	Walking Many times a daily walk I had. Bodily organs rejoicing. And, always, a quietness arrived. "It's just You and me again," automatically I thought So, frequent prayers would to my lips and mind arise With quietness in-between. Today it occurred: There's separateness here. How can I to pray continue? Realizing this, prayer fell away. Now it's quietness that reigns. Delicious Stillness, unifying Presence. Consciousness enjoying the cool breeze. Admiring the purplish evening sky. Consciousness out for one of Its strolls. What fun allowing mind to dissolve! Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Hudson RiverTrail¹ A solitary daily slow jog/fast walk along the Hudson River's bike/walking trail². How good the dirt road to feel - to Nature back again! The open expanse uplifting is. The tall, straight mountain (Hook Mt.) face³ fascinates. Giant granite boulders everywhere manifesting the power of Consciousness. Relishing, in the distance, the majestic Tappan Zee Bridge. Awesome is all! Wondrous to the eye. Multicolored butterflies/varieties of birds. Hawks, like eagles, drifting in space. Rocks by the riverside, smoothed by continuous waterwaves, just as we, mellowed overtime by the Grace of Primal Energy Thick/thin vines everywhere: climbing trees, hugging rocks, blossoming flowers. Varieties of dogs strolling, bringing people together in communication (It's a dog's world) Couples out for a walk, a man with his hands on her hip - or was it her buttocks? Detective-like fathers with thin children investigating the fascinating environment. Little wavelettes, as so many forms on the beautiful gigantic Hudson River. Reminding of our forms on the sea of Life - appearing and disappearing continually, Like Life and Death, so many ripples. Yet always there the River - even if our personalized forms dissolve. Opening the eyes, so many insights/lessons everywhere. Welcoming Presence, Awareness, Stillness - "God," for some. What better way to start the day - except for prior meditation! You're invited. Footnotes: The beauty of the River: "The outer form is a temporary reflection of what we are within our essence." A delicious 2-mile path along the edge of the Hudson River starting at Nyack Beach State Park (Hook Mountain) - the end of north Broadway in Upper Nyack - ending at Rockland Lake (4 mile round trip). Trail way opens at 7 am. The cliffs of Nyack are 500-600 feet high. Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~ Yoga Practicing body-awareness. Be here now--in the body. Pre-yoga warming-up stretches. Then the postures.¹ Hatha, the generic term. Many yogic styles, which one? Focus on the body and breath Move into each posture with gentleness and awareness. Witnessing the restrictions, the inflexibility, the stuck places or "knots." Accepting just where you are. No need to compete.² The body, after letting go, rejoices. Into needed areas, the blood flows delicious oxygen carrying. Slowly, the body glows again with youthful vitality and flexibility. Cleansed and reinvigorated are the organs. Yet, to what purpose? Not physical fitness--although valid. Not ego-centric body form. Not excellent health--but what a by-product! No--it's using the body to go deeper, to contact spirit, to experience the innermost Being. Leading to the meditative frame of mind, Where ego drops away and only Consciousness exists. May the West not bastardize the East's legacy! Footnotes: Total postures or body positions are about 800. See famous "Yoga Chart" dedicated to Swami Kailashananda, by Yoga Asana Center. See The New York Times "Controlled Breathing, In the Extreme" July 2003 ST1 about Bikram Chaudhury's Bikram yoga classes. "Hot" and competitive yoga. P.S. He also wants to franchise his particular style. Interested? Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~ Meditation Meditation, many traditions¹ thereof -- Within each, many variations. What is one to do? Better, on one path, to remain Or, them all experience, even if not in-depth? Which for what time of day/night? A certain stage of life, a more appropriate one? But why even meditate? A waste of time--or the best thing one can discover? Overall, two major approaches appear. The first, called, outer or other-directed. Named inner, self, or non-self directed, the second. The first--some acceptable CONTENT directed inwards, a teaching, a conditioning, a socialization, a brainwashing--usually authoritative, and "the right way." Infiltration of ideas/concepts and proper posture whether revealed, transmitted, or not. From without to within. Differs greatly, the second. Through stillness of mind, One watches/observes what arises without judgment--just amazement. From within to without.² What a difference! Meditative mantra: "Let go." Ultimately, however, let go of letting go. Pure Beingness, Unconditioned Consciousness comes forth. Our original state before the Fall? It's hard. It's easy. It's practical. It's enlightening. Maybe it's boring. But how can the exploration of the innerself or non-self, be boring? Depends on your worldview! To meditate or not to meditate--THAT is the question! Ultimately, there is no need to meditate. Yet in meditating, the Silence, the Stillness, the pregnant Emptiness, the sense/feeling of deep Interconnectedness, can still be relished. Source invites you to experiment. Footnotes: See the Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience by Daniel Goleman for an excellent survey. Hindu Bhakti, Jewish Kabbalah, Christian Desert Fathers, Sufisim, Transcendental Meditation, Patanjali's, Ashtanga Yoga, Indian Tantra and Kundalini Yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Gurdjieff's Fourth Way, Krishnamurti's Choiceless Awareness, Ignatian, and more. However, to arrive at the deepest within, one must allow all the "conditioned" withouts to emerge and float into the ether. If you believe in "past lives" (reincarnation) you can imagine how many "withouts" there are embedded in the energy field of your cells. For a more penetrating insight, see Chapters 4 and 5 in Toward a Psychology of Awakening, by John Welwood: "Beyond the oneness of the transpersonal ground lies the zero-ness of the open ground." Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~ T.V. Television, lethal tool of Unconsciousness The Dark Side of Consciousness. Escapement into virtual realities. Innumerable choices sucking one in. Magnetic compulsion built of obsession. Sport after sport after sport… Displaying attractive beer-induced parties. promising lusty female bodies. in love with gas-guzzling status SUVs. or, maybe the Mayback57¹ Followed by mindless game shows. Pizzas, burgers, mouth-watering meals, presented to fill the emptiness of the interior. Refrigerator habits unbroken. Soaps/B-movie vapidities replace authentic emotions. Living vicariously to many appeals. How can you turn it off? Addiction supreme. What else is there to do? Mental noise in talking-head infotainment. Who’s right, who’s wrong — so impartial! Peaceful sleep fades, thinking unceasing. Dreams cluttered by all the above. Buddha: desire/craving, the root of all suffering. Infinite advertising materialistic acquisitions creating. Deepening the root to depths unimaginable. The future promising to fulfill all, The pregnant present moment clouding over. Where is Stillness? Can we stop? Allowing Consciousness to hear Itself? Or, will Knowingness send us a message undeniable? “Be still and know that I am God.” Footnotes: Latest Mercedes ultraluxury car: $311,700 - 363,200. Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~ [ Back ] [ Next ]