Hear the Universe Whisper

When you are quiet, absolutely quiet,
  you can hear the universe whisper.

Quieting your voice is the first step.
  Then you quiet the prattling mind.

Quiet the impoverished stories.
  Quell the cancerous emotions.

Yes, becoming quiet is a practice.
  But, when you find your quiet,
  you can hear God.

In that quiet, 
  you are gifted awareness,
  you see beyond and into,
  you feel profound peace,
  you witness Spirit move.
  
You feel the breath of life
  flowing, filling, washing,
  gifting, loving, birthing.

It is all sacred, all of it.
  It is all around all of us.
  Every day, each moment.

Become quiet, totally quiet.
  Hear the universe whisper.

the Sacred Dance

Your soul calls, listen!
  You are not alone, never!

Crying, sobbing, the pain
  as fresh as the first slash,
  blood, bright red, gushing.

Tears, hopelessness, fear.
  Alone, dark, no way out.
  Nightmare seething, here.

So many years, so much work,
  yet still, the horror grips me.
  And still, I have no answers.

'Surrender,' I hear.
  'Allow, feel, see...
  See into, beyond, through.'

'Let go the worn-out stories.
  Their truths deceive, distract.
  There is another truth, beneath.'

'Be quiet, breath deeply, surrender.
  It is time to lay bare the wound.
  Allow the healing, allow the love.'

'Remember all you have learned.
  Know that you are never alone.
  Believe your greater good is here.'

'It is precious, wrapped, waiting.
  All you need do is to surrender
  totally and allow. Then witness...'

'I AM the Sacred Dance.'

A Christmas Wish

My Christmas tree sat for several weeks
  without an adornment for its crown.
  The traditional adornment just
  didn't feel right.

So, as with all things these days,
  I waited and watched to see
  what Spirit brought forth.

This morning, I knew what belonged
  in this place of honor.  It is my
  statue of Quan Yin.

Quan Yin is the feminine countenance of the Buddha.
  She is the goddess of love, mercy and compassion.
  
One story of Quan Yin features her
  about to enter the gates of Paradise.
  She heard a cry of anguish from earth,
  and in the compassion that is Quan Yin,
  she renounced her reward of bliss eternal
  to stand watch over those earthbound souls.

She stands ever at the ready to soothe
  broken hearts, touch gently those who cry,
  love without condition all who walk in this life.

She represents to me the spirit of this season.
  Unconditional love, compassion, kindness, mercy.
  Tender, gentle, sweet love for all earth-bound souls.

None are left untouched by her love.
  None have the wrong beliefs.
  None are judged unworthy.
  None have to deserve it.

All
  All of us
  Every last one
  is gifted with love,
  compassion, mercy.

All of us.

This is what Christmas means to me.
  Nothing else matters, only love.

So Quan Yin sits atop my tree
  this season, holding me and all
  in simple, gentle, life-giving love.

May she touch your heart this season.
   May you witness and feel and share peace.
   May you feel unconditional love and kindness.
   May your beliefs guide you to wisdom and grace.

Namaste

A Toast to Women the World Over

I have been feeling lots of dark feelings the last week.
  I had been feeling so clear and light, so balanced.
  Then, my friend reminded me of the hormones.

That mischievous gremlin prowls my being
  day and night, seeking, waiting, always
  for a fissure or rift in my well-being.

And then, she pounces with glee,
  throwing off my sensibilities,
  turning asunder my peace.
  
I had been rid of her
  but she is back
  and me, well,

I'm pissy.

And, BTW

I have been spending a lot of time

  in hospital facilities of late.

  During my most recent visit, a nurse

  proudly showed me a bed pan.

This was no regular bed pan.

  It was a bed pan made for women.

As I studied its logical contours, 

  I suddenly realized the answer

  to a question that has long plagued me.

The question?  'How do bed pans work anyway?'

  The answer?  'They don't...for women, that is.'

  They were made to fit men's bodies.

It is 2015, for God's sake!

  Women make up half the population!

  I can only presume that half the population

  needs to use a bed pan in a hospital!

And now, we have the miraculous invention

  of a bed pan made for the female form?

  And, we are celebrating?!

Someone, please tell me what's wrong with this picture!

btw - perhaps Estrogen doesn't make women bitchy.

  Perhaps, it gives us the edge to say what needs to be said.

Piercing the Surface

There is a deeper gratitude that I am asked to feel.
  It transcends thankfulness for that which I desired.
  Its tendrils penetrate the dark, musty soil of my being.
  In that rich, thick loam rest the seeds of my ascendance.
  
My transgressions, my heart-wrenching anguish, my dolor,
  the ones who summoned demons of anger and enmity in me,
  all the painful, gruesome, ghastly moments I have experienced,
  the dark, restless, never-happy, ungrateful, uncompromising self...

ALL these were gifts, gifts given with the deepest of love, to me.
  The sweet irony of life, the exquisite and remarkable stories I live.
  The pristine rose bloom does not magically appear to grace this world.
  It is born in that dank, wet, dark soil, is nourished and protected therein.

So too, our lives.

My gratitude emerges from a realization that through the trials,
  I have been offered innumerable opportunities to learn and grow,
  to experience Divine grace, to see beyond the material to the eternal,
  to witness miracles in everyday life, to find the wisdom I seek inside me.
  
So too, each of us.

So too, all of us.

Be

Sometimes, I can feel the air about me tingling, sparking.
  Like each atom is dancing in delight and anticipation.
  The energy permeates every pore, floods my body.
  Waves rush through me, bursting from my head.
  There is a party going on, hosted by life itself.
  All are welcomed, material and incorporeal.
  All are asked to awaken from the slumber.
  Shake off the malaise of mere existence.
  Feel the rapture of Qi surging, flowing.
  Know the quintessence of Qi is love.
  Wake up to the wonder that is you.
  Revel in the glory, magnificence.
  Then, stand, sing and dance.
  You are gifted with this life.
  Live each moment fully,
  with gusto and passion.
  Breath deeply the Qi.
  Exhale, inhale, live.
  This gift for you,
  exquisite love.
  Awaken now.
  Allow.  Feel
  the spark.
  Rejoice
  Dance
  Love
  Be.

Divine Spark

I am but a spark in the Divine mystery.
  I know not of the future nor the past.
  But, I shall shine brightly and boldly
  for as many days as this life shall last.

In the Presence of the Divine

I realized yesterday that I am done
  contemplating the upcoming surgery.

Just like that and for no particular reason,
  I'm done.  I am at peace with the surgery.
  And, I am done contemplating my mortality.

I don't know what spiritual/emotional boundary
  I crossed, nor do I remember passing through it.
  But, I realize I am on the other side, and at peace.

I am at peace with all the days apportioned to this life.
  I accept whatever outcomes emerge from the surgery.
  I honor the sanctity of life, on and beyond this plane.

The moment I recognized this shift, I felt a sense of
  gratitude for the many blessings showered upon
  me in this lifetime, a reverence, euphoria, awe.

I am standing in the presence of the Divine.
  Everything is exactly as it is meant to be.
  I am asked to quiet my mind and heart.

Now, bear witness to a sacred dance.
  The Divine breathes, life moves.