reaction

one reaction triggers another,

without the sugar, I don't reach for the salt,
without the flour, I don't want the cake,

without the popcorn, I don't want the coke,
without the getting, I don't dread the losing,

without the embrace, I don't dread the loneliness,
without your touch, I don't dread you leaving,

without the advertising, I don't need the latest,
without her haircut, I don't need one,
without the rain, I don't need the sun,

without this thought, I don't have a problem
without this thought, I don't need a solution

without this thought...
without this thought...
without
this
thought...

not empty

not empty
or
full

no past
or future
or even a now

before time began

before words

before concepts

before creation

before thought

be
fore

be
fore It

be
for It

it is for you

beCause
it IS you

what ever
It is
or isn't

no matter

no problem,
not empty
or full

before
be-ing

dis-belief

what kind of day would you experience today?

a day of perfect peace,
of dis-belief

a friendly universe
where all forces are working
together,
a shared purpose,
celebration and gratitude

all enemies,
but the deepest friends

brothers
are your heart
cast out,
this judgment chosen
over love

the list of grievances
against Source

isn't it time

to look closely
at each place within you
you have denied, shamed,
hidden, tried to pretend
didn't exist,

the child you've kept
in the closet her whole
life,

that revolting image
we see in the news?

our own shining star

nothing could be
closer to the truth
than a mirror

only Compassion
is called for

only
Compassion

pause
here
to compass

to find
and feel
in every cell of your body

this center,
this Origin

what dear, kind thing
would you do first
for this child of you
whose been kept
locked in the dark
for so many years?

let this be my question
today

how can i love
this one?

fertility

fertile,
the cracks
in the sidewalk

even death
is fertile

is there anything
that is not?

this kaleidoscope
of transformation

no wonder "I" slides into "you",
of course,
there never was a difference

black soil that 'becomes' a flaming red blossom!
is there anything that isn't fertile,
that isn't ripe,
dripping,
juicy?

i can't find it yet--
a copper penny
now a cooking pot

a pencil
once a 200 foot tall
dare i say "tree"--
confine such infinite fertility
to these squiggly lines
and sound?

can fertility
ever be contained
by a mind
that didn't create it?

a tiny dot
in the realm
of fertility

all things are no things,
gone already--
all images gone already,
and here it comes, comes, comes...

this fertility
is mind blowing

just notice

Babies

The power of love
to have babies,

in your eyes

Laughter reflected,
in your shiny eyes,
the echoes,
out of your throat,

spaciousness so vast,
it cannot possibly be limited
to "a body"

the wide open vista
of sky,
a heart bigger than the entire
universe,
holding every ant,
every child,
every baby

the master you are,
mirror image,
the only way
i can see this face,
this heart,
an open door
or closed,

devastation
or reclamation

the Power of Love
reclaims it all,

one territory,
Power,

one territory,
Love

all the possibilities

of all the possibilities...

can you even imagine...
all the possibilities?

is there ever an end to this
wealth
of information...?

certainly there is a place for each one,
a time,
a moment,
a click

then surely
the one occurring now
must be its time and place

since it is

isn't that all
the evidence necessary?

the leaf fell

certainty,
no choice,
no "other" possibility

and so it is

friends, so it is

the only "enemy"
is the insane idea
'it should be happening differently"

and even this
is in perfect order

so sweet :-)

love is not blind

oh no no no,
love is not blind

only love
can see

like a rainbow
you never see
until the sun comes out

never see the full spectrum,
violet, orange, gold, lime green, turquoise,
 magenta...

black and white,
good and bad,
yes and no

the folly of a colorless
dream

no reflection
of light,
no refraction

without love,
gray

without love,
the glow
isn't visible

and such a thing
isn't possible at all--

what color are your pajamas
in the dark?
ummmm...
(how can i really claim to see with the lights off...
oh, well...)

to love
is to see

beauty
is in the eye
of love

nothing i can do

there's nothing "i" can do
to make myself NOT have integrity,
to NOT feel that sick feeling  if I'm not completely
transparent,
consistent

this inner compass
wasn't put there by
"me"

intelligence,
deep knowing,
responding,
resonating,
joy,
gratitude,
Self Love
wasn't put there
by "me"

so "me"
can't take it away

"me" can't affect it at all

all "it" can do
is wave it's flag
really fast!
jump up and down,
and grrr its teeth
to get my attention

it's really just sound effects,
she's got no foundation
to give you

just cotton candy
that melts in your mouth
and isn't there
when you go to reach for it

what do i get?

What do I get for believing the thought
there is an inscription in my heart
that cannot be removed?

I get to be wrong
about smallness
and limits
and temptation
that will last forever
and suffering that will
plague  mankind until
the end of time

I get to pause
in the moment
before I succumb,
before I react

I get release from ancient lies

I get inner space,
calm,
a reprieve

presence

the breeze
on my face

fullness

I get the end of neediness
in that moment,
the end of darkness--
habits operating
without awareness

I get the end of fear
and feeling helpless

I get to remain still,
rather than running, chasing,
reaching, stuffing, filling,
trying, compulsing

yes,
what do i get
when i believe the thought
there is an inscription in my
heart
that cannot be removed,
no matter what..?

freedom

the friendly city

the friendly city
is working,

the neon signs,
 traffic lights,
 sewers,
 the open restaurants,
the sales tax,
the paved streets,
the apartment on the 8th floor
with the mountain view,

the park,
the creek flowing through,
the bike lane,
and bike vendors,
the ball park,
the streets blocked off,
the homeless man holding the sign
at the intersection,

the afternoon matinee,
the gumball machine
in the lobby...

is it so?

as i imagine
the entire thing?

what's not to work
when you can't really even find it?

can't really
even
find
it

consider...

can you really know
it exists?

without an anchor

characters loom large
like hot air balloons,
but they also drift away
just as easily

without your anchoring
them to your ground

it takes quite a deep stake
and hefty strands
to hold tight this ship
through a storm

let go
the grip
upon your nightmare

and as it distances
itself
it will get smaller
in your sight,
'til but a tiny dot
barely visible

and at last
not seen at all

there is nothing you have to do
to make it go;
simply don't
hold it tight

loose your fingers
and it will go
on its own

so sweet,
rest,
and you will see
all is well

hands off!

notice,
truly "you" are not needed--
there is nothing for "you" to do
at all

just notice,
you are being done

why work
for what is already
freely given?

just notice

that's all

slay me

break my legs,
tie my tongue,

but you will never stop
the Love i am

you will not change
one thing about me

there is no harm
that can come
to the Source of all that is

burn the image at the stake!

i
am untouchable

the sweet, roasting flesh
is not mine

the midnight movie
has lost all of its
attraction,
sweetheart

slay me,
i'm all yours

peripheral vision

imagine having
only peripheral vision;

that's the ego

it looks straight ahead,
but only sees
sideways;
only sees what's outside
of the range of vision

doesn't that just
explain it all?

would you like tuna fish?

no, that's not my truck!

nonsense.

of course
no problem can be solved--
it can't even be seen!

i keep asking
the waitress at the restaurant
for a truck!

and she looks at me
like i am crazy

because
i am

peripheral vision
is not
what is in front of you

:-)

illness

illness
shuts off the venue
of distraction;

you can't continue
down the same road,
chasing that and that and that...

no body
running,
bed ridden,
a prayer answered

STOP THE CHASE!
what would it take
for you to STOP
the chase?

illness?
a physical breakdown?

to turn inward,

the Only
place you will ever
actually find
what you are
looking for

thank God
you are sick!

how very very kind,
to get off the rat race

you are not a rat!

heavenly peace
is you

feel the support,
the safety in not running,
not chasing
the forever unreachable
helium balloons
in the sky!

they
are for two year olds,

you
are an adult now

time
for Love, honey,
time for love

the end
of Homesickness

without contraction

without contraction
without edifice
without retrospect

awe

body
but a faint image,
distant city lights
fading,
long since gone

the tiny "i"
just a minuscule whisper,

like a mouse in
a closet

see clearly
you have to ignore
all of reality
to craze


the limitless entirety
of reality
or a frozen crystal
that melted long ago,
you choose

there is no choice at all
in reality,

a lie or truth,
the false
can never
be true

come close

come close, dear one,
come close

your "hair" like driftwood,
the curling spirals,
the tossed waves,
the backwards,
forwards,
upside down wildness

the indescribable "skin"
of your cheeks

words cannot
touch

your eyes,
oh Love
Oh Love
Oh Love

have you stopped
today
to really
see you?

the infant innocence,
has never ever left,
not for one moment

newly born,
now,
embrace,
adore
this new born infant,
instant

the only one
there ever was,
ever is,
ever will be

now
all
there
is

the vigil

when you slow the clock
you can see
each gear,
the space between each cog...

the space holder

the space where no proof
is called for,
no evidence,
no goal,
no outcome,
no product
needed

no time needed,
no tomorrow needed,
no better needed

you can see
the stillness
every where you look--
the tall grass,
the leaves,
the buds,
the air,
the sky,
the silence,
the gentleness
of the breeze

the largeness
of space

no reaction
required

no hammer,
no nail to hit
on the head

when you slow
the clock

you can see
it all

no thing off
with any blade
of grass

every thought

harmless
harmless
harmless

tick
tick
tick
harmless
harmless
harmless

puppies!

stillness
precipitates
nuzzling

ground zero

open

to receive

be not blinded
by the meaning
you laid on your brother

if a knife cut you,
perhaps it is to remove
a tumor

to cut away
the last pin prick
of hatred

for it is that,
even that pin point,
that destroys
the entire universe
in my sight

a prick in vision
and the entire view
is fouled

love is not partial,
and hatred has no limit

gasoline is flammable--
it doesn't matter
how small the spark.
you burn
in hell

let me be still
and wave my rights
to be right

ever

yes, let me sit
still,
resting
assured

let me share stillness,
let me share silence,
let me be open

there's nothing
that can not move,
that cannot pass through
an open door

an open mind
has no defense

everything
is allowed

complete demolition

ground zero

amen.