I have run the course
Faced many obstacles along the way
Nursed many a life-inflicted bruise
Now, as the curtain comes down
On this instalment of life’s dramas
I cannot help but smile…
For as I dive into the abyss
And am welcomed once more
Into the arms of Divinity
I melt into nothingness and muse…
“That was a job well done.”
Image by FalcoZen at Pixabay
Photo by Michael Manulevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/majestic-eagle-perched-in-aviary-at-sunset-33166976/
I’ve always been very cynical regarding the amount of influence religion has on society, I should add that I can only speak about the UK, and specifically the Christian Church. What particularly bothers me is the way that vast numbers of people have bought into the concept of being judged at death. The judge in question is an all-loving God, however, there’s a catch. The all-loving God is also angry, jealous and vengeful, and “He” loves you so much that if “He” deems that you haven’t loved “Him” back in accordance with the conditions that “He” imposed on “His” love, then you are for the high jump. Or, to be more precise, an eternity of hell-fire and brimstone. Of course, this is absolute nonsense, but it’s actually good nonsense because it has given me the inspiration for another book.
I have tentatively called it, Death – A New Beginning, and it will consist of a series of poems and (very) short stories that deal with death as a process. The process that enables us to transition to our next reality. In other words it will look at death from a spiritual perspective, but minus the angry God. So, this is the way my writing will be going for the next few months. The following piece, entitled “An Eagle Caged” is one such piece that may end up in the book.
Encased in a body of flesh
I was as an eagle caged
I existed to fly
But with clipped wings?
I was but a dreamer
Spending my days pondering
On what might have been
And what might yet be
If Only I could free myself
From the living death
But, is this not life’s greatest conundrum?
To seek freedom
Only to find that one was never caged
Merely a slave to the ego
Yes, a slave to the ego was I
A believer of life’s dramas
As they played out in my mind
I was the star of the show
Stumbling around the stage
Like a drunken actor
Struggling to remember his lines
Now, as the deluded await judgement
From their angry God,
My latest adventure concluded
I dissolve into the nectarine sweetness of Divinity
Maybe, this is the start of something new?
But, is there really any such thing as “something new?”
Maybe, the 1,000 petaled lotus beckons?
Or maybe, I’ll just continue to seek what I already have?
My mind, like a crazed dervish, frantically darts back and forth between the dualistic and the esoteric.
Why am I disturbed by trivia?
Why do I give credence to the mundane duality?
When there is a lamp in the heart of the Divine, lighting my way home…
The same light informs me that my many lives are but One
Each death, merely a setting of the sun
To rise again in the land of opposites
Where, in the blink of an eye
The blaggard ego comes creeping
Like a thief in the night
To smuggle away life’s sweetness
Leaving only bitterness in its wake
And so, I rise again
To writhe and squirm
To bleed and heal
To be guided by the light of love
To welcome death with open arms
To bask in a Love of indescribable purity
To melt in the bosom of Divinity
Maybe, this is the start of something new?
Photo by Klub Boks: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lotus-flower-in-bloom-8797577/
Photo by Tushar at Pexels
Consciousness had an idea…and…
Emerging from the timeless and eternal wilderness, two flames ventured forth into time and space. Two souls seeking wonder and amazement. In physicality they separated, and immersed in dualism, trod the arduous path of life. Through eons, they would periodically meet in conscious awareness, dissolving the barriers of space and time, sharing both pleasure and pain, the bitter and the sweet.
“I’m here for you.” They call out in unison across the ether, each aware of the other’s needs.
And on they go, pausing only from time to time, to rest a while in the heart of Divinity.
Photo by Andre Moura: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-lit-candles-2563040/
The humble potato. As you can see, this one is in mid-peel…
I recently found a cyber-friend of mine on another well-known social media site (you know who you are!), and on viewing her page, I came across the most wonderful post. I liked it so much, and it provoked so much thought within me, that I wanted to share it with you here. I am not quoting word for word, but I think you will get the gist; it concerns peeling potatoes; or as I like to call them, “spuds”. It goes something like this..
Religion based spirituality – Peeling potatoes, thinking about God.
Zen spirituality – Peeling potatoes.
At first glance you would think that the religious person is a goody-two-shoes; thinking about God whilst engaged in a fairly mundane task. However, unless you have an understanding of Zen and are able to look deeper into what is being said, there is a good chance that this is the only conclusion you will draw.
In the first example, the person’s mind is active; and is therefore giving life to the non-existent ego, or false self.
In the second example, the person is simply Being and is therefore at one with “All That Is”.
It has occurred to me that Zen is the direct experience of our own Divinity.
Author - Richard F Holmes 