Category: Perceptions

  • Twilight

    Twilight almaas mystery

    There is wonder, there is beauty, there is Majesty, but it is all mystery upon mystery. The peace is stupendous, the certainty is absolute and the beauty is dazzling. – A.H. Almaas

     

    Twilight

                the edge of two worlds

                the dark flame burns bright

                a well of longing fills the soul

                deep water

                still water

                an immensity — moves

                exquisite caress

                the Beloved’s breath

                silky luminosity

                beauty’s grace

                a kiss on the heart

                beckoning brilliant void

                a teeming

                pure crystalline delight

                I am

    Twilight

  • Running in Circles to Nowhere

    goethe,thomas traherne,black elk,peter de vries,infinite space,the moment

    This moment exhibits infinite space, but there is a space also wherein all moments are infinitely exhibited, and the everlasting duration of infinite space is another region and room of joys. Thomas Traherne

    “If you want to stride into the Infinite, move but within the Finite in all directions.” – Goethe

    The power of the world always works in circles, the sky is round, and I have heard the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down in a circle, the moon does the same. And both always come back to where they were. The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood. And so it is in everything where power moves.” – Black Elk

    Anyone informed that the universe is expanding and contracting in pulsations of eighty billion years has a right to ask, “What’s in it for me?” – Peter De Vries

    We are busy, busy, busy. The mind is constantly engaged in inner dialogue – constantly chewing on the future or rehashing the past. So much time is spent in this manner that we are rarely in the moment.

    Most people consider being in the moment as an extension of the thinking process. Thinking can occur in the moment, but the experience of the thinking process while in the moment is like comparing an old hand-crank adding machine to today’s flash drives. One is a mental cranking with gears and cog-wheels turning. The other contains no moving parts.

    The mechanical mind also runs in circles. Again, the experience of this circle is vastly different from the circles Black Elk speaks of.

    Extracting oneself from the mechanical requires awareness. Exploring the compulsion to mental activity requires a process of observation not dependent upon constant internal chatter.

    Image by Mark Willis

  • DreamTime

    Dreams

    Life, life it’s only a dream one small bend in an endless stream…
    (a line from song by Rich Miller, an old friend)

    As my friend Jim Walberg says, “We are prisoners of our belief systems.”

    This raises the contemplation – How open is our mind? It’s not so much a question of – What can we concieve of? as much as – How much can we let go of?

    What’s needed is more space, more pliability, more sensitivity for the mind to be influenced by forces beyond the habituated reification. The conviction that life is as it appears is more a matter of conditioning or a world dream.

    “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream….” – Willie Wonka

    “A dream we dream alone is only a dream. A dream we dream together is reality. – Yoko Ono

    “All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.” – Edgar Allan Poe

    “Quantum particles are the dreams that stuff is made of.” – David Moser

    Image by A.J. Kalin

  • Being

    Being almaas

    Simply being means the absence of any
    activity, inner
    or outer, to be ourselves.
    Simply being is just that: Being.

    A.H. Almaas

  • Lighten Up

    Humor lighten up

    There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

    The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. –  Bertrand Russell

    Someone sent me a postcard picture of the earth. On the back it said, “Wish you were here.”

    If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide, is that considered a hostage situation? –  Stephen Wright

    One of life’s greatest enjoyments is laughter.

    Being able to look at oneself and one’s situation with humor is one of the greatest assets one can bring to personal growth and development. Good friends to share lighthearted moments with are a real blessing.

    Take a moment to find and share the joy of laughter and humor in a way that does not denigrate anyone or anything but rather lifts the spirit and celebrates life –  like the fellows above are doing.

    Image by Philip Williams

  • TGIF Martini

    Martini TGIF

    Where do we turn to wind-down, de-stress and relax? What I observe is that for the most part, people want to get away to accomplish this. Get away from the pressure, the hassles, the job, the situation and even to get away from themselves.

    Perhaps the cure is just the opposite. Maybe getting closer is what is needed.

    We are present; we have re-membered ourselves. –  Anthony Craig

     

    Where the whole man is involved there is no work. Work begins with the division of labor. – Marshall McLuhan 

     

    What has history to do with me? Mine is the first and only world! I want to report how I find the world. What others have told me about the world is a very small and incidental part of my experience. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

    Image – Nicholas Wennerberg

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