Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 235 – 8/8/2021

so much to celebrate and commemorate on this day of pilgrimage under the new moon of leo on the moment of eternity of celebrating the astonishing light of being coinciding with the heliacal rise of sirius in egypt, that moment when the dog star, the brightest star in the sky rises before the sun… how i love this portal, this gateway into more expansive and deeper realms of consciousness when potent messages from the invisible realms are flowing freely… involving three key players, the sun and earth and the star sirius, this portal is set in motion in july when the sun and sirius known as the spiritual sun seem to merge together and are seen as one with our sun swallowed by sirius to die and be reborn with the frequencies of sirius during the first weeks of august when the sun is in the constellation of leo giving us the name lions gate… the energies are potent throughout the portal and especially dramatic on the heliacal rise of our great central sun when the sun and earth are directly opposed and our reborn sun laser beams the energies of the spiritual sun into pachamama raising the earth’s frequency, raising our frequency to love and above… in this new moon which vibrates at the frequency of the energies of empathy, compassion and understanding, it is the moment to boldly move onward wholeheartedly…

let’s all take this moment, this astonishing light of interbeing moment. to bask in the radiant light streaming through us to see through the eyes of wonder and wisdom all that is as it truly is… a beautyway of love and light… as a circle of us gathered to commemorate the moment the bomb exploded in Nagasaki with a moment of silence at 11:02 AM Japan time, we came together to build peace in the world we know is possible…

may we all live in the field of the illuminated heart… let’s close our sacred ceremony with the Essene Communion for Monday dedicating ourselves to living in the unity of our interbeing… 

THE DEEPENING: God so made life and ALL living things that they, by the living word, would teach the laws of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, to the sons and the daughters of men.

MORNING COMMUNION: Angel of LIFE I invoke thee; for in everything that has life is the Holy Law written. In the grass, in the flowers, in the forest and in the trees. In the animals, and the birds and the fishes in the seas. All life speaks to us and if we listen, we can understand the tongue and the will of the living God. 

MEDITATION: The life-force within me cries out. That which I am longs for experience and to know and to understand. May I gain the wisdom of the connectedness with all that there is, for I am the one, and I am the many.

NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with CULTURE. Though thy brothers be of different origin, we all do toil in the vineyard of the Earthly Mother. We all lift our voices in praise of the Heavenly Father, and together, we all break the bread of wisdom and share in the Holy feast.

EVENING COMMUNION: Angel of PEACE I invoke thee. Cast your blessings to the peoples of the world and to all that are weary or do suffer. And as long as the sun and moon endure, and throughout all the generations to come, may peace prevail over the earth as the waters cover the sea. And in remembrance of thee, I shall ever greet my brother by your name, and as each evening comes, I shall embrace thee. Peace be with you.

THE BLESSING: The whispering of a flame invokes the peace within me. Reminding me of my task and of my journey. I have been given a peaceful heart and my path is before me. I joyfully take up the task, to reach the center, and to realize that I am a channel for peace.

The Communions are a bridge between man and the angels. And like a bridge, can only be built with patience. Yea, even as a bridge over a river is fashioned stone by stone, as they are found by the water’s edge. ~Gospel of the Essenes


Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 234 – 8/7/2021

seventy-six years ago, the beautiful child in this image, Sadako, was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her city of Hiroshima during the second world war… nine years later, she developed the atomic bomb disease, leukemia… hearing the ancient Japanese story that says when you fold 1000 paper cranes your wish will be granted, Sadako was able to fold 644 cranes with her wish for healing before she died at twelve years old from atomic radiation…

inspired by her courage and strength, her friends and classmates dreamed of creating a monument to memorialize their friend and all children killed by the bomb. young people all over the land of the rising sun real-eyesed their dream a couple of years later when in 1958 a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Park. The children also made a wish. It is inscribed at the bottom of the statue and reads:

“This is our cry, This is our prayer, Peace in the world.”

today, people all over the world continue to fold paper cranes and send them to Sadako’s monument in Hiroshima…

may we all take up their cry and prayer of peace in the world… may there be peace on earth and may it begin with me and thee…

let’s close our sacred ceremony for today with the Essene Communion for Sunday dedicating ourselves to living in the unity of our interbeing…

  THE DEEPENING: Spend time outside. Hold in your hands a stone and explore it intently. Know that the Earth and all that dwells therein is but a reflection of the Heavenly Father.

MORNING COMMUNION: Angel of EARTH I invoke thee; for the Lord hath created this world to be a garden, where the magic of herbs and the secrets of plants nourish and heal the bodies of men. And as I regenerate my body, I regenerate my soul, and as each morning comes, I shall embrace thee.

MEDITATION: I feel my body become one with the earth. From the richness of the soil springs the fruits that you share…… and I am the rock. My center belongs to that which was kindled long ago. Bring that consciousness back to me now.

NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with the EARTHLY MOTHER:
Blessed is the Child of Light who knoweth the Earthly Mother and brings peace unto her. Know that thy Mother is in thee and thou art in her, for she is the giver of life.


EVENING COMMUNION: Angel of CREATIVE WORK I invoke thee; for he who walks with the Angel of work has within him a field always fertile, where healing herbs and beautiful flowers blossom and grow. The mind that is idle is full of the weeds of discontentment, but he who has found his task shall not be in want of other blessings. And as each evening comes, I shall embrace thee.

THE BLESSING: The table in my house is full and I have much to share. I gather in the fruits of my labors. I work with the talents I have. In the labor of right livelihood, I find the greatest joys of life, and my cupboard overflows with its blessings.

To lift your eyes to heaven when all men’s eyes are on the ground, is not easy. To worship at the feet of the angels when all men worship only fame and riches, is not easy. But the most difficult of all is to think the thoughts of the angels, to speak the words of the angels, and to do as the angels do. 
~Gospel of the Essenes

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 233 – 8/6/2021

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction. The splitting of the atom has changed everything except the way we think. Thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.”  ~ Albert Einstein ~

The Atomic Bomb Dome pictured here was the only structure left standing in the area 75 years ago when the first ever atomic bomb was detonated on Hiroshima, Japan Its marker reads: “As a historical witness that conveys the tragedy of suffering the first atomic bomb in human history and as a symbol that vows to faithfully seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace.”

may we all join with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui in calling for the total elimination of the world’s nuclear weapons…

heiwa, heiwa, heiwa…

here’s one more hibakusha’s cry for peace that began as a cry of revenge:

Koko Kondo had a secret mission as a girl: revenge… determined to find the person who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the person that caused the suffering and the terrible burns she saw on the faces of girls at her father’s church and then give them a punch,.she got her chance in 1955 as ten-year-old Kondo appeared on an American TV show called “This is Your Life” that featured her father, Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, one of six survivors profiled in John Hersey’s book “Hiroshima.” Kondo stared in hatred at another guest: Capt. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the bomb… while Kondo, who survived the bombing as an infant, wondered if she would act on her fantasy and punch him, the host asked Lewis how he felt after dropping the bomb… “Looking down from thousands of feet over Hiroshima, all I could think of was, ‘God, what have we done?’” he said. Kondo saw tears well in Lewis’ eyes, and her hatred melted away. “He was not a monster; he was just another human being… I knew that I should hate the war, not him.” she was grateful she met Lewis because it helped the hate go away… on the eve of Thursday’s memorial at the cenotaph of Hiroshima Peace Park, Kondo held a moment of silence praying for the victims including Lewis… Hiroshima has become a beautiful place, but atomic bombs still exist, she says, and another nuclear attack would destroy the world… “It’s time we human beings get together and abolish nuclear weapons,We have hope.”

 thank you for joining in and being a pulse of astonishing lights cataly-sing the world with prayers for harmony, conscious evolution and for peace prevailing on Earth… let us close this commemoration with the Nuclear Prayer…

The Beginning and the End are in your hands, O Creator of the Universe. And in our hands you have placed the fate of this planet. We, who are tested by having both creative and destructive power in our free will, turn to you in sober fear and in intoxicating hope. We ask for your guidance and to share in your imagination in our deliberations about the use of nuclear force. Help us to lift the fog of atomic darkness that hovers so pervasively over our Earth, Your Earth, so that soon all eyes may see life magnified by your pure light. Bless all of us who wait today for your Presence and who dedicate ourselves to achieve your intended peace and rightful equilibrium on Earth. In the Name of all that is holy and all that is hoped. Amen.”

hear our prayer and cry: Peace Prevails on Earth!

let’s close our sacred ceremony for today with the Essene Communion for Saturday dedicating ourselves to living in the unity of our interbeing… 

THE DEEPENING: Fasting is the first principle. Fast from negative thoughts, words and deeds. Fast from ego, pride and desire. Fast from all physical ills and Ye shall behold the strength and the wisdom of the spirit.

MORNING COMMUNION: The EARTHLY MOTHER and I are one. Blessed is the child who knoweth the Earthy Mother, for she is the provider and the sustainer of life. Her harvest becomes thy body, her waters become thy blood, her winds will carry thy spirit, and as each morning comes, I shall embrace her.

MEDITATION: The richness of the Mother’s garden surrounds us. The forces of nature toil unendingly for the benefit of all. For this we are blessed. The kingdom which guides and nurtures the plants and the forests is yet another manifestation of the Mother’s love for us, and we within this kingdom must return her blessings with respect, with caring, and with love.

NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with the HEAVENLY FATHER:
Ye that love thy Heavenly Father do Ye then his bidding; Walk Ye with his Holy Angels and you shall find peace within his Holy Law.


EVENING COMMUNION: Angel of ETERNAL LIFE I invoke thee; descend upon my soul and bless my spirit with the splendor and the knowledge of eternal life. And as each evening comes, I shall embrace thee. 

THE BLESSING: The food upon my table shares its life with me. And as this life nourishes my body, one day my body shall nourish this earth. And until that time shall pass, I shall return her blessings with kindness, with respect, and with my love.

Verily I say unto you, if in the daytime the Earthly Mother holds you in her arms, and in the night the Heavenly Father breathes his kiss upon you, then will the Sons of Men become the Sons of God. ~Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 232 – 8/5/2021

“This is our cry, This is our prayer, Peace in the world.”

~ Sadako’s friends ~

~

today i gather with astonishing lights of being around the globe as i have for the last many turns around the sun to commemorate what is described as the most significant day in history, the day the United States detonated the first atomic bomb killing over 220,000 innocent beings with many more dying in the following decades from the radiation… we gather on Japanese time so we can be together at 8:15 AM on August 6 when the siren goes off in Hiroshima commencing a moment of silence…

this ceremony is always so powerful and moving and the most inspiring part for me is hearing from the hibakusha, the ones who as children in an instant saw their classmates die, their family members die, their city devastated with thousands of bodies dead in the streets, themselves burned and 76 years later the mission in them is stronger than ever to abolish all nuclear weapons, that what happened to them never happen again… let’s listen now to their urgent appeal…

At present, humanity stands at the crossroads of whether to save our blue planet with all living things on it as it is or to go along the road of self-destruction.

The two atomic bombs dropped on August 6th and 9th 1945 by the US forces totally destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an instant, and killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people without discrimination. With corpses charred black, bodies with their skins peeled off and with lines of people tottering in silence, a hell on earth emerged. Those who narrowly survived soon collapsed one after another. For more than 75 years since then we have struggled to live on, afflicted by the delayed effects and by anxiety about the possible effects of radiation on our children and grandchildren. Never again do we want such tragedies to be repeated.


After 11 years of silence following the A-bomb suffering, Hibakusha assembled in Nagasaki in August 1956 and founded Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. There we pledged that we would work to “save humanity from its crisis through the lessons learned from our experiences, while at the same time saving ourselves”. Since then we have continued appealing to the world that “there should never be another Hibakusha.” This is the cry of our soul.

Wars and conflicts are still going on in the world, and many lives of innocent people are lost. Nuclear weapons are being used to threaten others. There are also moves to develop new nuclear weapons. The destructive power of existing nuclear weapons, which number well over 10 thousand, amounts to that of tens of thousands of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined. Nuclear weapons are the “weapons of the devil”. They could wipe out the human race and all other creatures. They could destroy the environment and turn the globe into a dead planet.

Human beings have prohibited the use, development, production and possession of biological and chemical weapons by treaties and protocols. Why do we hesitate to prohibit nuclear weapons, which are far more destructive than these weapons? We, the Hibakusha, call on all State Governments to conclude a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons.

The average age of the Hibakusha now exceeds 80. It is our strong desire to achieve a nuclear weapon-free world in our lifetime, so that succeeding generations of people will not see hell on earth ever again. You, your families and relatives, or any other people should not be made Hibakusha again…”

on the cenotaph in the Peace Park in Hiroshima is an inscription which reads, ‘Rest in peace; the mistake will not be repeated’. This has become the prayer and vow of many survivors, who are determined to make sure that the deaths of loved ones has not been in vain and that no human being will ever have to repeat their fate. may we all commit to share the Hibakusha vow and mission…

let’s close our sacred ceremony with the Essene Communion for Friday dedicating ourselves to living in the unity of our interbeing… 

THE DEEPENING: In the gentle breeze of the forests and in the winds of the fields, thou shalt find the Angel of Air. Breath long and deeply, for the rhythm of thy breath is the key of knowledge which will unlock the secrets of the Holy Law.

MORNING COMMUNION: Angel of AIR, I invoke thee; for no man may come before the face of God whom the Angel of Air hath not passed. For thy body must breath the air of the Earthly Mother before thy spirit may breath the Holy Law of the Heavenly Father. And as each morning comes, I shall embrace thee.

MEDITATION: This morning brings a different breeze. The winds of inner change and reflection. These winds blow strong as I unfurl my sails and set a course for yet another journey. May the wind be my guide, and the calmness of the truth lead my way.


NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with the BODY:
As thou movest the air with thy breath, movest thy body with thy soul. Eat of the blessed fruits from the Earthly Mother, and walk in the light of the Holy Law; for he who hath found peace with the body, hath built a holy temple wherein may forever dwell the spirit of God.


EVENING COMMUNION: The HEAVENLY FATHER and I are One; Thou hast made known unto me the deepest of mysteries. By thy fourteen fruits of the Tree of Life thou hast directed my heart, and guided my steps, that I may walk in your presence and dwell eternally in the essence of the divine.

THE BLESSING: What is man, that thou art be so mindful of he? Thou hast made a covenant with the Children of Light, and thou hast given unto all the Holy Law. To some it has been lost, and to some it is forgotten. But to some it is lived, and those whom walk with thy Holy Angels shall dwell forever in the kingdoms of God.

Hear me, Sons of Light, for I will impart to you the gift of tongues, that by speaking to your Earthly Mother in the morning, and to your Heavenly Father in the evening, you may go closer and closer to oneness with the kingdoms of earth and heaven, that oneness for which the Son of Man is destined from the beginning of the times.
~Essene Gospel of Peace

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 231 – 8/4/2021

some four decades ago, i injoyed the extreme pleasure of spending time with today’s representation of all of us as a being of astonishing light in the vestibule of the National Cathedral… such twinkling eyes and such merry energy that radiated off of him and then he danced down the aisle of this august and solemn sanctuary, i smile just re-membering…

Nobel Peace Laureate, Desmond Tutu re-members his boyhood in one of South Africa’s black townships where he describes himself as an urchin with a penchant for fun and joy in recalling a song he sang as a child: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” which came to serve him well later in life in the era of apartheid, when then Archbishop Desmond Tutu railed against the injustice and inhumanity of South Africa’s government with his passionate advocacy helping make the change that came to his country in the 1990s.

Tutu’s first intentions about a career revolved around his first love – medicine – possibly because a bout with tuberculosis as a teenager made a vivid impression as came face to face with the prospect of his own death. “I still can’t believe that that happened to me, but I sat there, and I said to God, ‘Well, if it means I’m going to die, that’s OK.’ I don’t think I’ve ever felt that same kind of peace, the kind of serenity that I felt after acknowledging that maybe I was going to die of this TB.”

years later, as chair of his country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Tutu listened to accounts of political hatred and physical brutality that might shake anyone’s faith in humanity but Tutu says, “we were constantly being bowled over by the extent to which people were ready and willing to forgive. But we had, obviously, the spectacular example of Nelson Mandela, who could come out of 27 years’ incarceration, so eager to be able to forgive.”

decades after that faith-building experience, Tutu says his sense of his relationship to the divine is still evolving, “I am learning to shut up more in the presence of God.” more and more for him, communion with God is about “trying to grow, in just being there.”

i’ll close this peace with a reminder from the dancing Tutu, ” We are indeed made for something more. We are made for goodness.” and so it is… blessed be…

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 230 – 8/3/2021

the dalai lama’s words are also being added to my morning devoceanal along with Felin ghetti’s poem, such great accompaniments on this journey of traveling at the ever more astonishing speed of light… now, i want to turn to someone i don’t know but who’s recently beeping in on radar…

Julie Yip-Williams, no stranger to tragedy, died over three years ago after living with cancer for five years… As a mother of young girls, one of her top priorities was leaving behind words of comfort for her daughters…. the following letter is excerpted from the book, Letters of Note: Mothers….

“Dear Mia and Isabelle,

I have solved all the logistical problems resulting from my death that I can think of — I am hiring a very reasonably priced cook for you and Daddy; I have left a list of instructions about who your dentist is and when your school tuition needs to be paid and when to renew the violin rental contract and the identity of the piano tuner. In the coming days, I will make videos about all the ins and outs of the apartment, so that everyone knows where the air filters are and what kind of dog food Chipper eats. But I realized that these things are the low-hanging fruit, the easy-to-solve but relatively unimportant problems of the oh so mundane.

I realized that I would have failed you greatly as your mother if I did not try to ease your pain from my loss, if I didn’t at least attempt to address what will likely be the greatest question of your young lives. You will forever be the kids whose mother died of cancer, have people looking at you with some combination of sympathy and pity (which you will no doubt resent, even if everyone means well). That fact of your mother dying will weave into the fabric of your lives like a glaring stain on an otherwise pristine tableau. You will ask as you look around at all the other people who still have their parents, Why did my mother have to get sick and die? It isn’t fair, you will cry. And you will want so painfully for me to be there to hug you when your friend is mean to you, to look on as your ears are being pierced, to sit in the front row clapping loudly at your music recitals, to be that annoying parent insisting on another photo with the college graduate, to help you get dressed on your wedding day, to take your newborn babe from your arms so you can sleep. And every time you yearn for me, it will hurt all over again and you will wonder why.

I don’t know if my words could ever ease your pain. But I would be remiss if I did not try…

My sweet babies, I do not have the answer to the question of why, at least not now and not in this life. But I do know that there is incredible value in pain and suffering, if you allow yourself to experience it, to cry, to feel sorrow and grief, to hurt. Walk through the fire and you will emerge on the other end, whole and stronger. I promise. You will ultimately find truth and beauty and wisdom and peace. You will understand that nothing lasts forever, not pain, or joy. You will understand that joy cannot exist without sadness. Relief cannot exist without pain. Compassion cannot exist without cruelty. Courage cannot exist without fear. Hope cannot exist without despair. Wisdom cannot exist without suffering. Gratitude cannot exist without deprivation. Paradoxes abound in this life. Living is an exercise in navigating within them.

I was deprived of sight. And yet, that single unfortunate physical condition changed me for the better. Instead of leaving me wallowing in self-pity, it made me more ambitious. It made me more resourceful. It made me smarter. It taught me to ask for help, to not be ashamed of my physical shortcoming. It forced me to be honest with myself and my limitations, and eventually to be honest with others. It taught me strength and resilience.

You will be deprived of a mother. As your mother, I wish I could protect you from the pain. But also as your mother, I want you to feel the pain, to live it, embrace it, and then learn from it. Be stronger people because of it, for you will know that you carry my strength within you. Be more compassionate people because of it; empathize with those who suffer in their own ways. Rejoice in life and all its beauty because of it; live with special zest and zeal for me. Be grateful in a way that only someone who lost her mother so early can, in your understanding of the precariousness and preciousness of life. This is my challenge to you, my sweet girls, to take an ugly tragedy and transform it into a source of beauty, love, strength, courage, and wisdom.

Many may disagree, but I have always believed, always, even when I was a precocious little girl crying alone in my bed, that our purpose in this life is to experience everything we possibly can, to understand as much of the human condition as we can squeeze into one lifetime, however long or short that may be. We are here to feel the complex range of emotions that come with being human. And from those experiences, our souls expand and grow and learn and change, and we understand a little more about what it really means to be human. I call it the evolution of the soul. Know that your mother lived an incredible life that was filled with more than her “fair” share of pain and suffering, first with her blindness and then with cancer. And I allowed that pain and suffering to define me, to change me, but for the better.

In the years since my diagnosis, I have known love and compassion that I never knew possible; I have witnessed and experienced for myself the deepest levels of human caring, which humbled me to my core and compelled me to be a better person. I have known a mortal fear that was crushing, and yet I overcame that fear and found courage. The lessons that blindness and then cancer have taught me are too many for me to recount here, but I hope, when you read what follows, you will understand how it is possible to be changed in a positive way by tragedy and you will learn the true value of suffering. The worth of a person’s life lies not in the number of years lived; rather it rests on how well that person has absorbed the lessons of that life, how well that person has come to understand and distill the multiple, messy aspects of the human experience. While I would have chosen to stay with you for much longer had the choice been mine, if you can learn from my death, if you accepted my challenge to be better people because of my death, then that would bring my spirit inordinate joy and peace.

You will feel alone and lonely, and yet, understand that you are not alone. It is true that we walk this life alone, because we feel what we feel singularly and each of us makes our own choices. But it is possible to reach out and find those like you, and in so doing you will feel not so lonely. This is another one of life’s paradoxes that you will learn to navigate. First and foremost, you have each other to lean on. You are sisters, and that gives you a bond of blood and common experiences that is like no other. Find solace in one another. Always forgive and love one another…

And last, wherever I may go, a part of me will always be with you. My blood flows within you. You have inherited the best parts of me. Even though I won’t physically be here, I will be watching over you... I love you both forever and ever, to infinity, through space and time. Never ever forget that.”

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 229 – 8/2/2021

today, i want to honor one of my favorite poets who said that if you would be a poet, create works capable of answering the challenge of apocalyptic times which this astonishing light of interbeing lived by and was so blessed with the courage to truly be a being of light living freely… let’s turn now to a favorite poem of mine which could definitely be our theme soul song for this moonth of celebrating the astonishing light of our interbeing… i think i’ll begin each day resounding Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s masterpeace on being astonishing light…

“I asked a hundred painters and a hundred poets
how to paint sunlight
on the face of life
Their answers were ambiguous and ingenuous
as if they were all guarding trade secrets
Whereas it seems to me
all you have to do
is conceive of the whole world
and all humanity
as a kind of art work
a site-specific art work
an art project of the god of light
the whole earth and all that’s in it
to be painted with light

And the first thing you have to do
is paint out postmodern painting
And the next thing is to paint yourself
in your true colors
in primary colors
as you see them
(without whitewash)
paint yourself as you see yourself
without make-up
without masks
Then paint your favorite people and animals
with your brush loaded with light
And be sure you get the perspective right
and don’t fake it
because one false line leads to another

And then paint the high hills
when the sun first strikes them
on an autumn morning
with your palette knife
lay it on
the cadmium yellow leaves
the ochre leaves
the vermillion leaves
of the New England autumn
and paint the ghost light of summer nights
and the light of the midnight sun
which is moonlight
And don’t paint out the shadows made by light

for without chiaroscuro you’ll have shallow pictures
So paint all the dark corners too
everywhere in the world
all the hidden places and minds and hearts
which light never reaches
all the caves of ignorance and fear
the pits of despair
the sloughs of despond
and write plain upon them
“Abandon all despair, ye who enter here”

And don’t forget to paint
all those who lived their lives
as bearers of light
Paint their eyes
and the eyes of every animal
and the eyes of beautiful women
known best for the perfection of their breasts
and the eyes of men and women
known only for the light of their minds
Paint the light of their eyes
the light of sunlit laughter
the song of eyes
the song of birds in flight.

And remember that the light is within
if it is anywhere
and you must paint from the inside
Start with purity
with pure white
the pure white of gesso
the pure white of cadmium white
the pure white of flake white
the pure virgin canvas
the pure life we all begin with

Turner painted sunlight
with egg tempera
(which proved unstable)
and Van Gogh did it with madness
and the blood of his ear
(also unstable)
and the Impressionists did it
by never using black
And the Abstract Expressionists did it
with white house paint
But you can do it with the pure pigment
(if you can figure out the formula)
of your own true light
But before you strike the first blow
on the virgin canvas
remember its fragility
life’s extreme fragility
and remember its innocence
its original innocence
before you strike the first blow

Or perhaps never strike it
And let the light come through
the inner light of the canvas
the inner light of the models posed
in the life study
the inner light of everyone
Let is all come through
like a pentimento
the light that’s been painted over
the life that’s been painted over
so many times
Let it surge to the surface
the painted-over image
of primal life on earth

And when you’ve finished your painting
stand back astonished
stand back and observe
the life on earth that you’ve created
the lighted life on earth
that you’ve created
a new brave world”

may we all stand back astonished at the lighted life on earth we’ve created – a brave new world of peace founded on justice and guided by love….

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 228 – 8/1/2021

“A human being is part of the whole we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself in the thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion, to embrace all living beings and all of nature.”

~ Albert Einstein ~

~

Aloha Astonishing Light of our Interbeing August! For almost four years now, beginning August 14 2017, i’ve been posting weekly segments on the astonishing light of being…  with so much light pouring in as we move from one epoch to another, i feel called to honor divine light consciousness by sharing a few stories throughout this moonth of everyday people representing our better angels and sharing the astonishing light of our interbeing…

i spent part of today in a circle of Line 3 water protectors which reminded me of another being who brings so much light, Sherri Mitchell, an indigenous activist pictured here… let’s let her words speak directly into our one heart… 

“When we come into this universe, we are born into our first eco-system, our mother’s womb. There we are nurtured and sustained through an umbilical connection to the body of our birth mother. When we are born into this world, our umbilical connection is transferred from our birth mother to the Earth mother. Our umbilical connection with the Earth mother then nurtures and sustains us for the remainder of our human lives.

Though we have migrated a great distance, the radiance of that star dust still resonates within us. It is the essence of something indescribable that is etched upon our souls. It stirs something deep within us. This stirring is a call of recognition, of remembrance. It continuously reminds us that we are infinitely connected to one another, to the natural world, and to a unified divine source. Evidence of our shared origin can be found all around us. Science has finally caught up with what we have always known, that we are all related. We are all made out of the same foundational elements…

We are part of a universe, a collection of individual notes in one continuous song; the song that sang all life into being. This song is the drone of the musical universe. It is the foundation upon which all structure is built. If we listen closely, we can hear this creation song echoing in our bones. It exists in a vibrational frequency that emanates throughout the entire universe and resonates deep within us. This tone is the voice of creation; the voice that first spoke and brought all life into form. Each individual soul carries its own unique vibrational tone that is built upon that universal tone, and that individualized tone carries the seed of that being’s life path. When that seed is planted, even before the first shoot comes up through the ground, the vibration of that tone exists within it. This tone sets the rhythm for the new life that is being cultivated; it is that individual being’s creation song.

As Indigenous people, we are taught to live our lives in a balanced rhythm with the harmonic frequencies that surround us. This is why our teachings rise out of an oral tradition. Our history has been passed orally, not because we lacked the ability to translate our words into written form, but because we have always realized that our words have an alchemy that is capable of creating form. Our language is the vibrational expression that gives form to the animate universe. Every vocal expression that is released creates its own unique resonance. As we speak, we are weaving layers of sound that merge into harmony with the entire creation. This harmonic symphony brings into form the reality that we see before us.

The only way that we will be able to hear these harmonic vibrations is to become multisensory beings. We must tune in to our ability to see beyond the physical reality that surrounds us, and awaken to the vast unseen world that exists. Then we can begin to see beyond sight and to hear beyond sound. We see the underlying structures that support our world, and life begins to take on new shape, new meaning. When we live as multisensory beings, we find that we are able to comprehend the language of every living thing. We hear the voices of the trees, and understand the buzzing of the bees. And we come to realize that it is the interwoven substance of these floating rhythms that holds us in delicate balance with all life. Then, our life and our place in creation begins to makes sense in a whole new way. Our vision expands to see the overall order of our path, and our hearing tunes in to a whole new source of information. Once we become attuned to this new information, we can integrate this into our physical experience and harmonize our entire being with the vibrational reality that surrounds us. Then we will become witness to the perfect orchestration of divine order. We will recognize that when the trees breathe in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, our lungs mirror that movement, by breathing in the oxygen that is generously given and releasing carbon dioxide back to the trees. When we merge our internal rhythms with the rhythms of creation, we develop grace in our movement, and without thought or effort we are able to slide into the perfectly choreographed dance of life.

I remember my first moment of conscious engagement with this dance. I was a young woman, in my early twenties. It was a warm early-summer day and I was seated in a meditative state in my back yard. At that time, I was learning how to track energy. For several months, I had been deepening my ability to see the life force that permeates our world. As I was sitting there, I noticed a tiny ant crawling across a blade of grass. As I watched the ant move along, his little body began to light up. Then, the blade of grass that he was walking on lit up. As I sat there and watched, the entire area surrounding me began to light up. I slowly raised my eyes and the entire field became illuminated, as did the trees standing on the other side of the field lining the forest. Every bird that flew into my line of vision had an added layer of light surrounding it. I sat very still, quietly marveling over this newfound sight, afraid to move and lose it. While I sat there observing my newly illuminated world, I noticed something intriguing. The field of light that I was seated in was rising and falling in unison. As I watched the Earth breathe around me, I felt my own breathing fall into harmony with it. Everything became sharper; all of my senses came alive. While I sat there breathing with the world around me, the firm lines of my being began to fade. I felt myself expanding and merging with all that I was observing. There was suddenly no separation between me, the ant, the grass, the trees, and the birds. We were breathing with one breath, beating with the pulse of one heart. I was consumed by this achingly beautiful and complete sense of kinship with the entire creation. This single moment of open awareness allowed all of the teachings that I had been raised with to sink deeply into my heart. I got it.”

may we all get it and live in the field of the illuminated heart… let’s close our sacred ceremony with the Essene Communion for Monday dedicating ourselves to living in the unity of our interbeing… 

THE DEEPENING: God so made life and ALL living things that they, by the living word, would teach the laws of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, to the sons and the daughters of men.

MORNING COMMUNION: Angel of LIFE I invoke thee; for in everything that has life is the Holy Law written. In the grass, in the flowers, in the forest and in the trees. In the animals, and the birds and the fishes in the seas. All life speaks to us and if we listen, we can understand the tongue and the will of the living God. 

MEDITATION: The life-force within me cries out. That which I am longs for experience and to know and to understand. May I gain the wisdom of the connectedness with all that there is, for I am the one, and I am the many.

NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with CULTURE. Though thy brothers be of different origin, we all do toil in the vineyard of the Earthly Mother. We all lift our voices in praise of the Heavenly Father, and together, we all break the bread of wisdom and share in the Holy feast.

EVENING COMMUNION: Angel of PEACE I invoke thee. Cast your blessings to the peoples of the world and to all that are weary or do suffer. And as long as the sun and moon endure, and throughout all the generations to come, may peace prevail over the earth as the waters cover the sea. And in remembrance of thee, I shall ever greet my brother by your name, and as each evening comes, I shall embrace thee. Peace be with you.

THE BLESSING: The whispering of a flame invokes the peace within me. Reminding me of my task and of my journey. I have been given a peaceful heart and my path is before me. I joyfully take up the task, to reach the center, and to realize that I am a channel for peace.

The Communions are a bridge between man and the angels. And like a bridge, can only be built with patience. Yea, even as a bridge over a river is fashioned stone by stone, as they are found by the water’s edge. ~Gospel of the Essenes

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 227 – 7/31/2021

in this moment of pregnant pause, i see us standing still and simultaneously moving at the speed of light on a high dune dedicated to free flight and deep dives into blessing this belonging space we share… this precipice where we see the collapse of a world that no longer serves and receive visions of a new world quietly forming, a sacred space where we realize there is no separation… this stillpoint at the center of our circle, the hub of the wheel where all that is, is still, where everything is oh so real, where the peace that passeth all understanding is palpable calling us into deep silence…. listen, listen to the cosmic hum… listen, listen to our heartbeat’s drum… listen, listen for the sound of the bell syncing our breathing to the mantra of all is well… deep peace of the running wave to you, deep peace, deep peace, deep peace…

deep bows to us all as we close the circle of joyvolution july and bless this space of the deep peace of the flowing wave and big sky and high plains and inner light while in the very same moment we all feel the inner and outer tectonic plates shifting as we close out an era, an epoch, a cycle of nature… for the last nine days i’ve been on retreat celebrating re-creation and profoundly plunging into the waters of life to listen, listen, listen to mama gaia and papa cosm and all our relatives’ heartsongs of blessing and lament, the soul songs that are our connective tissue reminding us, re-membering us that we are one, one family belonging to each other… on this ninth day of retreat, on this last da of july, re-membering it’s the day an ancestor, a joy revolutionary, my father died, listen to this heartsong from Rumi….

“This longing you express
is the return message.
The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.
Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.
Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.”

i return from this retreat of deep union with spirit and earth more committed than ever to every moment being a moment of peace watered by the river below the river, our underground wellspring, the river of joy reverencing the mystery of unfolding the wholeness we are as we summon the courage to face what is real-eye-sing this is what in forms us, forms us, re-creates the world of original blessing for that is our origin, we are blessing living in a world of blessing beautifully revealed as we polish the mirror, see through the eyes of loving acceptance, opening our one heart’s circle of compassion ever wider…

thanks be, great mystery, for awakening to the beauty of the unitive field we are we are… one cosmos, one web, one tribe, one family, one being, one ocean, one underground/aboveground wellspring of the river of joy, one love, one…

Poetic Peace Pilgrimage – Year 8 – Day 226 – 7/30/2021

“wherever you go, go with all your heart…”

~ Confucius ~

~

walking a path of devocean, going with our whole heart, asks us to be present in every moment trusting that all is divinely woven together seamlessly and calls us to surrender to or merge with the divine web of life which is both rooted in the river below the river and winging across the sky above in free flight… showing up wholeheartedly is a smile on your face, is the sun lighting up the world, is a wave rushing home to shore, is the wind whispering through the trees and our chanting a litany of thank you, thank you, thank you…

can you hear the chords of hallelujah flowing in the background and foreground as one by one we awaken to the astonishing wonder of being no matter how turbulent the waves of the outer world?

as this moonth of joyvolution nears coming to a close, thousandfold thanks for sharing this journey along the buen camino, the pathless path, for coming home to our one heart flowing in rhythm with mystery, dancing and singing in harmony and shining the light of divine love so brightly…

in this field of love may we forever walk
all day long may we walk
through the turnings may
we walk
on the path of pollen
may we walk
with love in our one heart may we walk
with  love before us may we walk
with love behind us may we walk
with love above us may we walk
with love all around us may we
walk
wandering on a trail of
love, may we walk
beginning in love
deepening in love…

let’s close our sacred ceremony with the Essene Communion for Saturday whose purpose is for us to cultivate the unitive field of quantum possibility, the akashic ocean of all being…

THE DEEPENING: Fasting is the first principle. Fast from negative thoughts, words and deeds. Fast from ego, pride and desire. Fast from all physical ills and Ye shall behold the strength and the wisdom of the spirit.

MORNING COMMUNION: The EARTHLY MOTHER and I are one. Blessed is the child who knoweth the Earthy Mother, for she is the provider and the sustainer of life. Her harvest becomes thy body, her waters become thy blood, her winds will carry thy spirit, and as each morning comes, I shall embrace her.

MEDITATION: The richness of the Mother’s garden surrounds us. The forces of nature toil unendingly for the benefit of all. For this we are blessed. The kingdom which guides and nurtures the plants and the forests is yet another manifestation of the Mother’s love for us, and we within this kingdom must return her blessings with respect, with caring, and with love.

NOON CONTEMPLATION: Peace with the HEAVENLY FATHER:
Ye that love thy Heavenly Father do Ye then his bidding; Walk Ye with his Holy Angels and you shall find peace within his Holy Law.


EVENING COMMUNION: Angel of ETERNAL LIFE I invoke thee; descend upon my soul and bless my spirit with the splendor and the knowledge of eternal life. And as each evening comes, I shall embrace thee. 

THE BLESSING: The food upon my table shares its life with me. And as this life nourishes my body, one day my body shall nourish this earth. And until that time shall pass, I shall return her blessings with kindness, with respect, and with my love.

Verily I say unto you, if in the daytime the Earthly Mother holds you in her arms, and in the night the Heavenly Father breathes his kiss upon you, then will the Sons of Men become the Sons of God. ~Gospel of Peace of Jesus Christ