“I felt in need of a great pilgrimage,
so I sat still for three days.”
-Hafiz
Tag Archives: Photography
Go Outside
“Go outside
and let your breath
be stolen away.
Find the forests,
seek the seas,
meditate
on the mountains,
mist covered
from morning.
We are nurtured
by nature, born
for the wild places;
we’ve no business
in cities, in buildings
taller than trees
can grow.
Go outside,
and begin living
again.”-Tyler Knott Gregson
The Moon of Your Heart
“Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.”
-Rumi
Door to the Temple
Mary Oliver.
A treasure, a poet, a conduit to wonder…
“I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.”
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“For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”
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“Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word.
I’m letting all of the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I’m traveling a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.”
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All above quoted words by Mary Oliver
Thank you Mary Oliver for the ropes let down when I was lost. You inspired and lifted me up, reminded me of the always verdant, wise, and loving absorption available in the natural world. Your words were and are a respite. You will be so deeply missed, but your rich deep poetry, music really, will remain – always.
Walk Slowly Into the Mystery
“It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.”-Danna Faulds
Welcome the New Year!
“And now we welcome the new year,
full of things that have never been.”
-Ranier Maria Rilke
Each of these snowflakes have never been before. Each new crystal is a unique expression of wonder! Light filled, every one. These are a few of the many many reasons that I am completely enamored of snow! The peacefulness, the beauty, the calm, the quiet, the sweetness, the meditative stillness, and that unique expression of wonder – it all embraces me completely.
And aren’t we all like this too, unique expressions of wonder? Light filled crystals of being? Yes, I think we are. May we all be filled with this light and wonder, knowing our unique expression of being this New Year…
It is very softly snowing on this dawn of the newest year and all of these feelings are very present – as am I. And in stillness I am listening to what my heart prays…
“Sit in stillness and listen to what your heart prays.”
-Ruth Jewell
Just This Breath
“Settle in the here and now.
Reach down into the center
where the world is not spinning
and drink this holy peace.
Feel relief flood into every
cell. Nothing to do. Nothing
to be but what you are already.
Nothing to receive but what
flows effortlessly from the
mystery into form.Nothing to run from or run
toward. Just this breath,
Awareness knowing itself as
embodiment. Just this breath,
awareness waking up to truth.”-Danna Faulds
If Only You Could Hear the Sound of Snow Falling
“If only you could hear the sound of snow falling.”
-Hakuin Ekaku
“If you forget yourself, you become the universe”
-Hakuin Ekaku
Precious Present Moment
I am here, now, present.
Celebrating. Each day a new birth – day. Each moment precious.
“Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment, fully alive and fully aware.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
“If you have your attention on what is, see its fullness in every moment, you will discover the dance of the divine in every leaf, in every petal, in every blade of grass, in every rainbow, in every rushing stream, in every breath of every living being.”
-Deepak Chopra
“Women get more beautiful as they grow older. Not less.
Female youth is only prized in modern culture because it doesn’t represent as much of a threat spiritually to anyone who is frightened of divine feminine power.
As women grow and mature, they call in stronger forces of sacred feminine wisdom. They vibrate with the creative power of their stories.
They are more of a force to be reckoned with.
They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit.
When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in ‘slowing the signs of ageing’, an enormous vault of divine love is lost.
Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed.
Perhaps a total revolution would occur.”
-Sophie, Yogesh Kumar
Life at Midlife
“I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn the best candles on ordinary days.
I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean; I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.
I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me; It’s just not their task
I am no longer waiting for the perfect children; my children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.
I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived.
I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now.
I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.
I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment; my heart can be stilled whenever it is called.
I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace; I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.
I am no longer waiting to do something great; being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.
I am no longer waiting to be recognized; I know that I dance in a holy circle.
I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness.
I believe, I Believe.”-Mary Anne Perrone
Magnetic Mountains
“Although I deeply love oceans, deserts and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. They keep me continuously wanting to know more, feel more, see more.”
-Victoria Erickson
