Archive
A Friday Poem: My Prayer
A few weeks ago I enjoyed several offerings by the Shift Network during their Global Summit. One of the most profound talks was by Andrew Harvey, a “modern mystic” for our times. His talk was an impassioned call to address the five crises humanity faces, and the five responses that are required to bring about a new paradigm for our survival on the planet.
I’ve been working on my responses. One of them is a prayer to bring about the new paradigm, the new way for humans to evolve and thrive on Mother Earth, a New Vision for Humanity. Here is my prayer:
My Prayer
Sitting in the midst of chaos,
Anger bubbling beneath the waves,
I practice: Forgiveness!
Wondering at the edge of time,
Anxiety rising to the surface,
I practice: Patience!
Feeling the loss of all that’s dear,
Grief hanging heavy all around,
I practice: Praise!
Witnessing the suffering everywhere,
Greed holding power in the world,
I practice: Compassion!
Knowing humanity is evolving now, with
Ignorance still shading the light,
I practice: Wisdom!
Realizing there is a greater good at work,
Trust breaking through to ignite souls,
I practice: Gratitude!
Awakening to a New World together,
Love shattering these old patterns,
I practice: Love!
©2020 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
A mid-week poem: Falling
I have been absent from this blog for too long. I’ve missed the writing. I still write my “morning pages” almost every day but the poetry isn’t coming; lots of titles and ideas but little inspiration. There is so much chaos out there right now; it’s difficult to make sense of it!
So, I am falling!
Falling
Equinox behind, beyond balance,
Nights grow longer, shadows deepen.
Already inside, isolating, avoiding;
The waiting for darkness somehow soothes.
Breathing slows, drops, lengthens;
Eyes close, focus softens, turns inward.
An easy scan, toes to nose, body subsiding;
This is an inside job now; just breathe, be.
The falling isn’t downward but inward,
Into that core of self, being.
The gyro at the base of that core spins;
It stabilizes giving the body purpose.
Rest, be easy, let in the light;
No shadow here, on the inside.
©2020 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
A Monday poem: “Raw”
Happy New Moon! It “fell into the Sun” at 1:33 pm EDT. I am ready for new, something fresh, a new beginning!
I began to think about this poem as I was grieving the loss of a dear friend a few weeks ago. My feelings were raw and I wanted to express them. But they had to simmer, to cook for a bit before I could write this down. And then other titles kept coming up. My thoughts turned into a trilogy; I’ll be publishing them this week, today, Wednesday and Friday. The first is:
Raw
Dough—cookie, bread, Mom’s baking;
Snitch, pinch, tasting, testing;
So delicious—raw. Then add the
Heat, alchemy in the oven. Baked.
Meat—beef, pork, lamb, I’m roasting, grilling;
Blood dripping—raw. Then fire, wood smoking,
Fat sizzling. Aromas arouse olfactory senses:
Gustatory delights cooked, offered.
Feelings—grief, anger, fear—these are raw.
Old age, sickness and death never ending;
Samsara cooks us, yet leaves us undone,
Half-baked, simmering, salty, sour, bitter.
Power—force, control, seizing freedoms,
Unleashing aggression, anger, instilling fear;
Raw emotions open hostility in the Human
Heart—half-baked understanding selves.
Wisdom—presence, open mind dawning,
Leading to a deepening understanding,
Transmuting the raw to a fully baked
Human to rise from the fire into Light.
©2020 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
A Sunday Poem: Don’t Let Their Throes Throw You
It seems needed now…
Don’t Let Their Throes Throw You
Violence feels on the rise; state
Sponsored terror, murder is
At the door, our door!
Will it never end? Will the killing
Stop? The promised “new age”
Seems a distant dream.
Yet there are signs and wonders
We watch for, as planets turn
And Pluto returns with renewal.
Perhaps the step-up in violence is
One of these signs: the final throes
Of a dying age, expiring time—
For the ones losing power, losing
Their grip on the old ways. They
Hold tighter for a moment. But
Their days are numbered; their time
Is running. They have no vision.
Don’t let their throes throw you.
Throw off the burden of violence, hold
The vision of that New Age, and take on
The lighter load of love.
©2020, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
Monday’s Poem: Heartwood Doors
Rosemary leads a Sunday morning Celebration on the first and third Sunday’s of every month. (http://CenterforaNewAlliance.org) I gladly support and participate in this gathering of like-minded/hearted spirits where we “celebrate our spirituality without dogma.”
Yesterday Rosemary led a powerful mediation that took us deeply inside to the doors of our hearts. I went there as my initiation continues to lead me further into this heart-centered realm, as I move from thinking to feeling, leading with my heart rather than my head.
Today’s poem, on the eve of this significant election in the US, is an attempt to capture my meditative journey to and through the doors of my heart:
Heartwood Doors
The winding path is neither
Straight nor narrow.
An arrow’s arc, graceful and true,
Is not a wanderer’s way.
One step, half-step aside, back-step,
Turn, pause, a jagged spiral
Tracing ragged sojourns upward
Outward, blocks, lessons learned.
Heartwood doors block the way;
Bright brass fittings, heavy knocker
Lifts and thuds with thunder heard
And felt in the deep awakening chamber.
No key is found, no clock is wound,
The tic-toc sounds loud on the inside.
The calling is an echo, a dream
Of another time, place, All Love.
The doors glide wide, smooth, easy;
No sound now, no groan of hinges.
The light bursts forth from the deep,
Bright sun streaming through parting clouds.
All Love flows from self-love quotes the Sage.
Heavy doors protect and block the two-way
Street. How to greet all passers-bye?
Hold wide those doors, let out the light!
©2018, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
VOTE!
Friday’s Poem: Casting No Shadow
[Warning: this poem contains a four-letter word that may offend some people. It is a word for material found in the bottom of a bird cage and rhymes with grit. If this word offends you please read no farther!]
I am fresh from the Christine Kloser event, known simply as “Breakthrough,” for Transformational Authors. I have known Christine and her event for several years; this one was her sixth; it was the first one I attended. And I can honestly say this was the best of all personal growth conferences, retreats and other such meetings I have ever attended! I did come away transformed in several ways. I will write more about this in a later post.
For now I want to offer this poem, dedicating it to Christine and all of the friends and fellow poets I spent three quality days with this week:
Casting No Shadow
Standing in the Center under high Sun,
Casting no shadow
I wonder:
Where has all that shit, my shit gone?
Earth, Mother, accepts it all
Composting it, the shit, into food:
Rooting soil
For the wonder and beauty of the lotus.
Facing East, bowing to the rising Sun,
Shadow stretching West
I wonder:
How far does that trail of shit extend?
Great Bear of the West doesn’t care;
His shadow absorbs all darkness
Sending life
Deep into the root and stem of the lotus.
Facing West, bowing to the setting Sun,
Shadow disappearing into the night
I wonder:
While the Mother sleeps, who stirs the shit?
The Great White Way of the night sky
Carves a graceful turn to churn
Rotting waste
Feeding the growth and awakening the lotus.
Facing North, bowing to the Great White Way,
Soft Moon shadows glowing in the night
I wonder:
How can shit survive this peace and beauty?
Cosmic Energy, creative power
Pumps the life-blood, pure potential
Filling mud
With juice to enliven the lotus bud.
Facing South, bowing to the warming Sun,
Shrunken shadow withering to the North
I wonder:
How can so much shit generate all this beauty?
Earth and Fire, Mother and Sun
Join in Holy Union, merging love and light;
Ascending we
Witness the opening, Jewel in the Lotus!
(Om mani padme hum!)
©2018 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
A Mid-Week Poem: “Light”
One of the many things I love about autumn is the light. We are experiencing absolutely perfect Fall weather here in Maryland and the light streaming down epitomizes that love I have. It must be the angle of the sun well past equinox at this point, the way it casts that golden hue to everything it touches. The view of the light toward the south from my writing chair is the inspiration of today’s poem. Happy mid-week!
Light
Reflections dance, glinting shards of Light winking on and off
Over the nearly still surface of the mirror-like lake.
The flashes could be the under-bellies of leaping fish
Or simply the lightest of breezes playing over reflections of sky.
It’s difficult to block out the Light seeping through cracks in the wall;
Even the shadows cannot hide, cannot exist in the absence of Light.
Squinting through nearly closed eyes at the stream from the crack
Reveals the coat of many colors worn so beautifully by the Light.
There is no escape, no corner to hide, no distance to run from the Light;
It is the first and last of the holy creation that reveals consciousness.
Reflection within reflections, echoes of time, the record of the beginning
Stream down, all around, signs of eternity from the Ancient of Days.
©2017 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The poem for today: Edge
Our first call this morning was from Mindy. First reaction: oh-oh, what’s wrong? She usually doesn’t call early unless she is in distress. First thing she said was “Charlie is OK.” Our son-in-law was driving to work this morning, going in early about 2:00 AM. As he crossed the Severn River bridge going west he had to rapidly respond to an oncoming, fast moving vehicle going the wrong way, toward him; he managed to swerve away to avoid a head-on! And he had the presence of mind to call 911 and alert authorities.
Just down the way, near Mindy and Charlie’s home the wrong-way car hit another head-on; both drivers were killed. A third car was also hit causing injuries. The police still do not know exactly what happened, how the east-bound car in the west-bound lanes caused this!
We are all so grateful we still have Charlie in our lives! And it is a reminder of just how precious our lives are! This inspired today’s poem:
Edge
Humans are fragile things,
Little more than the gossamer
Of a moth’s wings.
When we dance at the edge of flame
We flirt with oblivion, feeling real,
Believing it’s not a game!
The heat heightens awareness, we feel alive
Remembering each moment is precious.
Flitting too close we die.
An errant draft can set us adrift.
Away from the light we forget,
Wondering why, wandering from the gift.
Then the flame flares, calling like Buddha’s bell,
Reminding who we are and why;
We fly true and well,
And dance again on the ledge,
Conscious of our delicate beauty,
Floating in ecstasy, balanced on the edge.
©2017 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
PS: Mindy called as I was writing this. Thankfully it was a request for a quick ride to medical appointments. While driving to and from I did remember…!
Update and a Poem: Testimony
I have not posted here in a while but I have been busy! Personally I have been deepening my study and practice of Qigong to become a better teacher. The more I study, the more I realize Qigong is not only my life-long practice for health, happiness and longevity, but also my passion to share this health-giving, life-saving technology from ancient China. And it is so simple, so easy, and FREE!
One of my teachers, Jeff Primack, came to Baltimore in early April for a three-day intensive. It is always great to be with a teacher; and I had a profound experience of energy rising during the closing “breath circle.”
In late April Rosemary and I traveled to Sedona and the Mago Retreat Center for an amazing experience with Teacher of Soul, Katye Anna Clark and about 30 other travelers from all over the country. The retreat was a four-day intensive immersion for “Living from the Heart.” Wow! Another transformational experience of opening the heart to live more fully from the soul. And I had the distinct honor of teaching Qigong every morning of the retreat in the beautiful settings of Mago.
And in mid-May I traveled to Daytona Beach to spend another three-day intensive with Jeff Primack, this time at his National event: QiRevolution. And I met another of my teachers, Dr. Roger Janke who offered profound insights into health and wellness from his 40-year perspective of teaching and practicing Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong.
It was a magical spring. I am honored and humbled to have experienced profound shifts. I am grateful for my further awakening. And I am motivated for share my insights.
And with that I offer:
Testimony
Health is a personal thing
And it is a choice.
It’s personal because it comes from inside;
And only you can make the choice.
Look to the outside;
Visit the impersonal health-care facility,
The hospital near you, the place
You would go if seriously ill or injured.
Do you see health there?
Oh, there is plenty of care.
Sickness, disease, crippling injures
Are within the realm of care here.
Look rather to the inside
If you are seeking health care.
There is where your health lives;
It is in your heart, your mind, your soul.
Your body is a walking, fluid, pharmacopeia.
Visit is often to find wellness.
Breathe, meditate, seek inside
The magic pill of health, happiness, longevity.
Be the testimony to your free choice.
Breathe the richness all life offers.
Move inward to seek the Light.
Balance in the flow of boundless Love.
©2017 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
No End
A little “Five Element” ditty:
No End
The well is deep
The stream is long
The lake is broad
The ocean has no end.
The dawn is bright
The flame brings light
The Moon warms night
The Sun’s shine has no end.
The growth is strong
The expanse is vast
The trees stand tall
The life has no end.
The breath is long
The song is light
The word is true
The story has no end.
The soil is rich
The land is broad
The core is deep
The Earth has no end.
©2017 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Please enjoy!
Men and The Goddess 