Dedication
Welcome, Blessings, and Thanks!
I look at life as a prayer. Every moment. It is a sacred journey. I am very spiritual, not religious, but very spiritual. In every moment, I try to be present to experience the blessings and infinite beauty along the way. I have come very far in my life, through many challenges, many experiences, and many negative thoughts to a place where the everyday has a whole new character, life has more meaning than on the surface. The surface, as they say, is just the tip of the iceberg.
My observations, experiences, and realizations are gathered with eyes that are fairly objective, and very loving. I see the beauty in all of life's mysteries. I have been journaling the deeper and more profound experiences and realizations of my life for many years. Yet, there has always been the feeling that I am not journaling for myself as much as I am for the sake of inspiring another. Years later, this site has come to be, and may my views and experiences give you great thinks to think about, to question and learn within your self, and inspire you to explore living as your genuine self.
08.23.2008
Swadyaya
(a study of eternal self)
waters flow and fires burn,
how did I drift so far from Self?
pilgrimages of life loosen
the debris stuck inside the cauldron of annamaya kosha*
the layers of non-self must be cleansed away
it is ours to understand when and how
let sacred fires burn, hot as Sun
and destroy all that remains until none remains
then I am only Self and I am free
and remain so until I discover another layer
another patina of non-Self
and it is time to perform pilgrimage again
toil what comes with the compass of faith in the Source
of the wisdom of Nature as guidance
inner eye needs no light to see
only the precious gift of feeling exposes all falsities
again and again I will dive
to the center of the soul and back
each time recovering a shining piece
completing the mosaic map of truth
living as its reflection
learning to hold my breath longer and longer still
until the last dive reveals all
*[physical or 'body composed of food']
08.18.2008
jala: sacred waters
One of the most powerful ways to cleanse and ground spiritually is to find a natural body of water. Those who live near the ocean, Love living near the ocean, and some don't even know the depth of why. Our body is mostly water, we are literally a walking aquarium, and this is how life evolved out of the water.
For those of us (most Americans) that don't live right by the ocean, we still have Sacred Waters- our lakes, rivers, streams, waterfalls, especially the one tucked neatly into forests and mountainous areas, protected from the full wrath of modern human existence.
Get your feet in the water, feel its coolness soak through into your whole being. Let it pull down your energy, drawing it to the natural, slow, steady rhythm of Mother Earth. Cleanse your jewelry, your face, or bottle some and use it to cleanse your home. Or you can just soak in the feeling, let it fill you and feed you, and as you surrender to it, you embody it.
Yesterday I connected with the sacred waters at a place 23 minutes from Amsterdam, called Plotter Kill Falls. It is maybe 6 minutes from Rotterdam Square Mall. It has three falls and multiple ways to go. If you are looking for a good hike and a fulfilling nature experience nearby the Amsterdam, NY area, please try there.
Namaste, Jai Jhala. I dedicate my energy to the service of all life, including you. Thank you.
08.14.2008
my practice:my path, my journey:this journal.
Just as my practice leads me on my path, my journeying shall lead me to write here. This is at times a task for me, because writing on paper is faster and easier, especially out in Nature, or not writing at all, and keeping my internal evolution inside, sharing it with those closest, and keeping alot of it organic and not committing it to words and structure outside of my mind & spirit.
Not all things need to be dragged out into the brightest light, label, quantified. Love for example. Why do I love someone or something? Does it truly matter, or does it just matter that I do? Who am I is a question to follow, and the answers will change, but keeping a healthy sense of respecting the shadows, the mystery is a powerful way to learn self-appreciation. It is often enough to realize how you work, certain cause and effect relationships that effect your equilibrium and peace profoundly, but do we need to know why we like the color blue, or why we don't like certain foods? Perhaps, but not always.
Nothing is black and white so much as a Yin-Ying. That is a dangerous symbol of balance, because balance between black and white is a gradient between the two, with waves and swirls of many, many shade of gray.
I know I won't write everyday, but whenever something I feel is particularly useful, powerful, interesting is transmitted to me (more about transmission in a sec), I will seek to share it as my seva, my loving gift to anyone who could find light inside of it.
( A note about transmission- it isn't as commonly used outside of yogic circles in the same sense, but it is believed that wisdom, knowledge is transmitted from teacher to student. Even wisdom we discover within ourselves can be a transmission from our experience in Nature, with others, or etc. )
My hope is that the world receives the benefit of my seva. (seva=community serivce done a strong feeling of love and gratitude towards those one seeks to help). Blessings and Namaste!
08.13.2008
Today
Today I figured out how I wanted to make this easy for me to use, so now I can journal on here all the time, or at least more often. I dedicate this e.journal to the benefit of Mother Earth and all living things! Blessings!!