today is such a special blessing the space moment of eternity as we close this sacred moonth of september, a moon of  being silently drawn  by the pull of surrendering to love – thank you, dear Rumi, and happiest of turns around the sun on this 814th anniversary of your birth…

blessing the space of a moon of our continued witnessing of the world’s great turning, one long moon moment of intensity and chaos as we are pushed to the edge and over the edge awaiting the birth of a dan-sing star…

let’s close this moon together by syncing with our beloved earth mother sitting in circle around the central sun finding a place where we are comfortable, let go of any doing… now, take a full breath – holding it for a moment and then releasing it completely… and, another full breath – holding it for a moment and then releasing it completely… and, one more deep cleansing breath…

continue breathing slowly, deeply and without effort – releasing all doing, simply witnessing the easing of stress and tension in the body… notice any place that feels tight and release the tension feeling a softening around that area… as we continue to breathe in, let’s begin to draw our attention within with every breath… notice any thoughts and release them gently…

now, draw your attention to our earthmother – no matter where we are sitting, let’splace our attention on the earth below our feet… is it soft and verdant or hard and frozen? our earth – our home – our Mother… notice a pulsing, vibration of energy and draw that connection up through the feet, up through the sitz bones – wherever we are connected with our earthmother – and draw that energy up into your first chakra noticing the grounding and connection…

continuing to breathe fully, deeply and with ease, notice your attention and bring it gently and effortlessly to the vibration of our earthmother within… be one with our Mother as she holds and nurtures us… as you continue deep breathing, begin to bring that connection, that energy up to your heart chakra, noticing the energy, the vibration of the earth as it expands within your heart, within our one heart…

witness any thoughts, feelings or emotions releasing them with love and ease… feel your heart expanding with each breath… pulling in the energy and vibration of our earthmother, notice your heart to expanding with light, love, and peace…

light, love, peace… our heart opening and expanding with each breath… light, love, peace… connecting with the earth, with nature, with all beings… light, love, peace… witnessing the intelligence within every living being…

as we breathe we are connecting with all that is, with earth and sky, oceans and mountains, all beings and the cosmos which surrounds us… we are one with all… light, love, peace… expanding and connecting with all… gradually bringing our awareness back to our heart, notice the steady beating of life, the rich fullness and the expansion…

now lay your hand upon your heart and notice any thoughts or feelings and then release these thoughts with ease bringing your focus back to the breath…

gradually feel your breath bringing your attention back to your first chakra noticing the energy of the Mother holding us quietly and still… with great gratitude and love, release the energy and vibration back to the earth saying, thank you, thank you, thank you for sustaining us and holding us as one and thank you for your gifts of light, love and peace…

slowly and with great ease, notice your hands and feet, wiggle your toes and gradually open your eyes simply sitting for a few moments and witnessing deeply our connection with our earthmother and all living beings…

may we always be silently drawn by the stronger pull of surrendering to love… blessed bee…

blessing the space between us

as we journey into great mystery,

the pilgrimage to our one heart

so much space to bless in this intensely astonishing moon that has both flown by at the speed of hummingbird and each day filled to overflowing with the whole spectrum as if a whole turn around the sun has elapsed in the course of a day leaving me feeling i’ve covered thousands of miles metaphorically traveling the seven seas and everywhere in between even if we never left our dwelling place… so much awakening and trancing, growing and staying still, moving and grounding…

so,in this moment of eternity, this astonishing light moment, may we shower ourselves and each other with lovingkindness and compassion re-membering we optimize wholeness for all with the smallest of gestures… a SMILE, hugs, thumbs up, deeply listening, taking healing breaks throughout the day, flowers, a cuppa, coming home to the moment with every breath, seeing through the eyes of wonder and awe… like this open hand, being open vessels for life to flow through… every inbreath, inhaling grace, every outbreath, surrendering efforting and striving and pushing against the river… always trusting what is ours to do/be comes to us naturally; we need only listen to our one heart’s song whispering the way of the path with heart for which we all long…

what an astonishing august we have shared, what a blessed space we have inhabited walking each other home in a sacred way through the fires of purification of the planetary portals when waves of union, of communion, sweep energetically across the planet re-minding, re-heartening all our relatives to our true, shared reality of  one source, one body, one heart, one mind, one spirit…

such a potent collective moment for living the grail quest-ion, what really matters? what breaks your heart? what breaks your heart wide open waking you up each moment to serve?

listen deeply hearing the hum of  our one heart re-joy-sing as we walk this path together coming home to our one heart, summoning the courage each moment to  simply take one more step into great mystery’s sea of love energy, the ever expanding abunDANCE of  a friendly uni-verse…

today, i am re-joy-sing in the knowing that in the chaos, we are birthing a dancing star, a cosmos of peace and harmony guided by love…will you join me in placing your hand on your heart, our one heart and holding this intention wholeheartedly with every wild cell in your body, our one body?

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…

on this day of sanctity, in this moment of eternity, in this moonth of nascence, on this pilgrimage along the rainbow trail and in this life of being in the unknowable, in uncertainty, let us bless this space between us, this numinous space, this sacred space of vast open spaciousness where the spirit of all that is always flows through us, where we are one heart always being love…

blessing this space, this unified field of the divine, this pathless path of awakening the heart, of cultivating bodhicitta with one small step and another and another, this journey of healing, of becoming more and more whole as we transmute the holes into the holy, the wholeness we always are even if we have forgotten, numbed out to or in denial about true reality…

thanks be for it all – every breath, every moment, every relative, every trial, every tribulation, every suffering, every liberation – for everything is the teacher bringing us to this moment of peace, of love, of joy, of harmony,, of wisdom, of compassion and grace… thanks be for you and your amazing gifts of kindling fire, the inner flame of spirit, of inspiration, of breath, of our breathing together through our one heart and of our real-eye-sing we are one seamless web interdependent on each of our relatives picking up the thread destined for me and thee to re-weave the web into an ever more expansive and boundless tapestry with beauty behind us, before us, beside us, surrounding us, within us blessing us, blissing us dissolving us into great mystery…

Each day has a moment of eternity waiting for you. Each day has a portal, a threshold, a liminal moment in which everything could open up and reveal itself to the eye that can see. ~ WilliamBlake ~

here’s a long moment of eternity to share with you and a wonderful practice to begin and end the day with, a wonder-filled way to luxuriate in reverence…

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World

The People

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people.

Now our minds are one.

The Earth Mother

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Waters

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.

Now our minds are one.

The Fish

We turn our minds to the all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Plants

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

Now our minds are one.

The Food Plants

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Medicine Herbs

Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.

Now our minds are one.

The Animals

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

 Now our minds are one

The Trees

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.

Now our minds are one.

The Birds

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds-from the smallest to the largest-we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

 The Four Winds

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Now our minds are one.

 The Thunderers

Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

Now our minds are one.

 The Sun

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

 Grandmother Moon

We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

 Now our minds are one.

The Stars

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the Stars.

Now our minds are one.

The Enlightened Teachers

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.

 Now our minds are one.

The Creator

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

 Now our minds are one.

Closing Words

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.

Now our minds are one.

~

today, like so many days over the past moonth as i go through this death/rebirth pilgrimage, this soul song, Rumi’s poem sings me inspiring my coming back to life…

thank you beloved, divine presence and beloveds, divine presences for sharing the dance of synchronisiddhi of deepening our pilgrimage into great mystery… cheers!!!!! hope you find it as enlivening as i do…

~

Drink the wine down, tip the glass.  Drink with the Beloved.
Take this breath like it’s your last.   Drink with the Beloved.
We’re a caravan, you see, moving towards our destiny.  You must find the eyes to see.
Drink with the Beloved.

La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah
La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah

Go to the East or to the West.  Drink with the Beloved.
You can’t escape this birth and death.  Drink with the Beloved.
Drink the cup of loving down.  This is truly drink and drown.  What is lost, it shall be found.
Drink with the Beloved.

La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah
La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah

So listen to the inner call.  Drink with the Beloved.
The tavern masters rise and fall.  Drink with the Beloved.
Watch the drunkards reel and spin.   Feel the Presence from within, toasting with the dearest Friend.  Drink with the Beloved.

La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah
La Illaha il’Allah, La Illaha il’Allah

~ Rumi ~

~

ah, it’s not yet that day of the moonth, the last day, the day of blessing the space between us but in this new state that’s all i really want to do – come together to sing blessing the space of our belonging together no matter what, being here for each other eternally…

may we come together in every moment to strengthen and stretch our heart muscle and to polish the mirror of being, of deepening into our true nature which is not only what Rumi calls us to but also which this moment of planetary mutation calls us to, which is what viruses call us to as they whisper to the genes to mutate, transform… what healing balm to have such astonishing light beings to dance the pathless path together drinking in that in the spaciousness of our being together in this present moment all is well come what may so let us devote this wild and precious moment and every wild and precious moment to opening our hearts and being peace…

thank you for this day of love, peace, harmony, generosity, mystery, wonder and joy…

joy in the morning, joy in the kindness of friends, joy in seeing the beauty of the moment, the beauty of every moment… thank you for the gift of flowing energy meeting this moment with courage and compassion real-eye-sing we are beloved community knitted together in an ever expanding tapestry delicately woven with a thousand thousandfold threads of luminous light dancing in the quantum field out beyond…

in this field of love may we walk
all day long may we walk
through the turnings may
we walk
on the trail 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

always being and becoming love…

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, on the brink of a new world, space where we real-eyes once again the ancient knowing of 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…

may we all awaken to the beauty we are… one cosmos, one web, one tribe, one family, one being, one ocean, one love, one…

thousandfold thanks for sharing this journey along the buen camino, the rainbow trail, 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…

how aptly this moon is named metamorphosing may and here we come to this momentous moment of closing the circle on this phase of the great pause breathing gaia and calling us ever deeper into the earth of being…

come and join me beside the still water on this day we celebrate the astonishing light of our being giving us the courage to look deeply within at our suffering and act courageously, with great heart co-creating the world of compassion and peace we all know is possible…

let’s hold out our hands to each other, smile and conspire, breathe together through our one heart receiving the golden light pouring into us from our earth mother and sky father who love us so… with each breath we enter deeper and deeper into great mystery…. open the way… toward the one… breathing in… breathing out…

may we experience source, the ultimate spiritual reality of the universe, the power of healing and transformation that is the ultimate reality and shaper of the universe, the transformative power unifying all being as one spiritually-alive, mutually inter-dependent, awesome, flawsome, fantastic, evolving, conscious totality of which we are each a tiny part and totality, the one and the many simultaneously…

blessing the space between us as we journey deeper into  sacred mystery walking each other home, the pilgrimage to our one heart…

on this day of sanctity, in this moment, this moon, this pilgrimage, this life of being in the unknowable, let us bless this space between us, this numinous space, this sacred space of openness where the spirit of all that is always flows through us, where we are one heart always being love…

blessing this space, this unified field of the divine, this pilgrimage of awakening with one small step and another and another, this journey of healing becoming more and more whole as we transmute the holes into the holy, the wholeness we are…

thanks be for it all for everything is the teacher bringing us to this moment of peace, of love, of joy… thanks be for you and your amazing gifts of kindling fire, the inner flame of spirit, of inspiration, of breath, of our breathing together through our one heart…

today is such a special blessing the space moment as we close this sacred moon of september, a moon of  being silently drawn  by the pull of love – thank you, dear Rumi, and happiest of turns around the sun…

blessing the space of a moon of our witnessing the world turned upside down on both inner and outer planes, one long moon moment of resetting…

join me now on this high sand dune with panoramic water views to celebrate the fire dissolving into water, to savor the harvests of the trials faced, the suffering now seen as the grace of awakening, the bittersweet letting go of the small protective self in service to the higher purpose of the all that is…

thank you for sitting with the council of elders around the central sun as we reflect upon and share the full filling moments that live forever…

 A Brave And Startling Truth

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth
And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

~ Maya Angelou ~

may we all awaken today…