Archive
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 Sunday evening poem: Accept and Flow to Grace
I’ve been meditating on this for the past few weeks; how do we get to that state of Grace? Actually I think I’ve been working on this for most of my life! And last year, 2018, my word for the year was “flow.” For 2019 my word is “grace.”
Maybe I’m finally putting things together! In the Chinese Medicine philosophy and approach the Five Elements govern a lot about who we are, how we live and how our health can be influenced. My Element, my constitution is Wood. The virtues of Wood are clarity, vision, creativity. The primary emotion is anger. And the process to transform anger into the virtues of Wood is Forgiveness!
Another factor in “putting things together” is my fingerprints. Without getting into the details of hand and fingerprint analysis I am in the “school of love” for this lifetime. So, these words, acceptance, flow, grace and love are important to me; I wrote this poem with these key words in mind:
Accept and Flow to Grace
Acceptance:
The magic act,
True magic,
No slight of hand,
No deceit,
Only the pure act:
Acceptance.
Forgiveness:
The magic act
Powering acceptance;
Forgive self,
Forgive Self,
Forgive him,
Forgive them,
They know not;
Only the pure act:
Forgiveness.
Flow:
The magic state,
Birthing with acceptance,
Breathing with forgiveness,
Moving through what is
Only the pure state:
Flow.
Grace:
The true magic,
Flowing from the heart,
Flowing from the mind,
Flowing from Cosmos,
Flowing from Divine;
The only pure Magic:
Grace.
Love:
The True Magic,
The germ of acceptance,
The pith of forgiveness,
The shell of flow,
The seed of Grace;
Only the pure Magic
Grows Love.
©2019, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
Monday’s Poem: “Buddha Bells”
I am working with Dr. Joe Dispenza’s material and meditations every day to continue my journey to myself. One of the tools Dr. Joe offers is to catch yourself when you fall into a habit you are working to change, come present and then say “stop” or “change” to yourself to break the behavior, thought and emotion associated with the habit. This technique really works and strengthens awareness in every moment – a goal of my journey.
I’ve added my own twist to this, imagining I hear a Buddha Bell when I catch myself, bringing me back to the present moment to breathe in gratitude and breathe out love. Here’s what I mean:
Buddha Bells
The Buddha Bell calls,
Reminding: return,
Come present to the breath,
Gratitude and Love.
Irritation flares,
A Buddha Bell there,
Calling back to breath,
Gratitude and Love.
Lack enters mind,
A Buddha Bell finds
The breath is still there,
Gratitude and Love.
The Han sounds: thwoc, thwoc!
Awakening: go back,
The Zendo calls home,
Gratitude and Love.
Bija Mantra sings,
A Buddha Bell rings,
Present moment calls,
Gratitude and Love.
©2018, Richard W. Bredeson, all rights reserved.
PS: Zane and I are exchanging poems every day as a seed for our initial WorldPoetsClub “wordshops” enterprise. Watch for some things we are collaborating on, including a collaborative collection of our work. I’ll announce coming attractions here, so stay tuned, especially all you poets out there!
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: Basho’s Frog
I read an article recently describing the difference between Buddhist and Taoist meditation. The premise is that Buddhist meditation seeks to quiet the mind while Taoist meditation seeks to merge with the Tao, to find peace and tranquility, for example, in nature. Maybe I’m not a purist, or maybe I’m just missing the fine points the article attempts to make, but I find my meditations can go both ways, from quiet thoughts of nature into utter stillness, silence, empty mind; and then back again. Perhaps I am mixing two forms of meditation, but if so they both serve me.
As I thought about this, wrote about it in my pages, the world famous Japanese haiku by Matsuo Basho popped into my mind. So I took the liberty of riffing off his amazing vision:
Basho’s Frog
The pond clears as a cool mist
Settles on the surface
Undisturbed by breeze or current.
The mind holds a vision of quiet peace
Settling into stillness
Undisturbed by random thought.
The frog croaks, singing his love
Settlilng over his mates
Undisturbed by his call for response.
He leaps, “kerplunk”, rippling the surface,
Raising the mist
Disturbing the stillness, if not the peace.
Gratitude rises as a cool mist
And settles over the surface
As ripples fade into the undisturbed peace.
©2017 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
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.
CRYSTALS AND YOU – Richard’s Commentary
As I write this we are in Florida visiting friends on our way to a conference in Orlando. The items we brought, combining housewarming (our friends moved here recently) and host gifts, are crystals. In fact our son, who has been collecting crystals since he was two, sent a special quartz crystal he had found in Raleigh, NC, to our “adopted grandson”, aged 6, as a special connection. We are all tapping into the “wisdom of the worlds.”
Here is the paragraph from Rosemary’s channeled message from The Divine Feminine that I most resonate with:
Not all people alive at this time are ready to hear the Wisdom of the Worlds as transmitted by these crystals, and, so, they will deny the value or, indeed, even the idea of crystals as messengers. They will dismiss crystals as ‘new age fads’ or ‘just fancy rocks.’ When you hear this from a person, or if you feel this yourself, know that this attitude comes from a fear of the challenge of personal growth. If you are connecting to these words then, Dear One, you are ready for personal growth through a personal relationship with the Crystal Kingdom.
Many people are awakening to this special and “personal relationship.” We have another friend in the Annapolis area who hosts a crystal grid and sing bowls meditation once each month. These experiences are some of the most powerful meditation experiences I have had recently. And I am pleased and impressed by the number of young people who are attending. Several help with the hundreds of pounds of crystals set up each month. They are clearly ready for the “personal relationship.”
What does this mean exactly? I can’t explain it with rational thought or logical words. These are feelings. There is a vibrational experience and sensibility that works on trans-rational levels. It could be loosely compared to intoxication, but it is a trip of the mind/soul/spirit rather than a chemical trip of the body. And there is a Universe of “information” available on these trips. I am still processing my last experience with the crystals.
Do you have a crystal with which you resonate? If so you can simply sit with it. Hold it in any way that feels comfortable. Let your mind drift. Follow your breath. Then begin to gently tune in to the crystal. This is usually a very subtle process; a sensitive attunement with the energy radiating from the crystal. It is a delicate “listening” experience…listen with your entire person, especially inside. Tune out the five senses and “listen” with your heart. After a little while set the crystal aside and record what you experienced.
If you need to find a crystal to discover a “personal relationship” you can simply locate a “rock shop” in your area; you can find very inexpensive and yet powerful crystals almost anywhere these days (the Crystal Kingdom is seeking these relationships). Go into the shop in this “listening” mode described above. First sense the overall feeling of the shop. If it feels dead, low energy, or if you sense any negativity from the shopkeeper, choose another shop. But in my experience it is rare for a shop with crystals to have negative energy. To find “your” crystal simple scan the collection in the sensitive mode, listening with your heart. The crystal will call out to you!
Of course, if none of this makes any sense to you, you may not be ready for this “personal relationship.” And that’s OK too! We are all growing and developing at our individual rates. Remain in flow and patient!
For all of us, in all stages of development, the Crystal Kingdom is blessing us with their energy and messages!
The Science of Metaphysics – Richard’s Commentary
Here’s the key thought in Rosemary’s post last Friday which I reposted here yesterday:
“The Universe is revealing itself to scientists in such a way that they can now believe what metaphysicians have known through their revelatory methods.”
And here she was quoting the Pleiedians. There is a lot of information in this compact sentence.
First “the Universe is revealing itself.” In a sense this is referring to consciousness itself. There are those, Robert Lanza, author of Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, for example, who would support the argument made here; that consciousness expands in parallel with the expanding of the Universe and our understanding of that Universe. This expansionism, one could call it evolution, is one and the same as “biocentrism.” Lanza argues that it is, in fact, Consciousness as housed in biology that creates the Universe. It seems we can’t have a Universe without Consciousness, nor can we have Consciousness, particularly housed in biology, without the Universe!
This phrase then seems a truism if we equate the Universe with Consciousness.
Second, “scientists … can now believe…” Yes, science is another belief system just as so many religions and other organizational approaches to consciousness are. The sad fact is there are scientists who seem more dogmatic about their system than some religious leaders; and there are many in western society that kowtow to science when they would never be caught kowtowing to any religion or religious figure!
Third, “what metaphysicians have known…” So, scientists “believe” while metaphysicians “know.” This is a telling phrase and comparison. The implication is science is still evolving, learning, gaining revelation as the Universe unfolds (as consciousness expands). They are gaining insights in areas where metaphysicians have already made their explorations and discoveries.
Fourth, “through their (metaphysicians’) revelatory methods.” The methods, of course, are inner seeking, contemplative and meditative approaches to searching for truth. The Pleiedians say it best:
“In the realm of metaphysics, one rises above the known, the expected, and opens oneself to the field of limitless possibilities. No judgments. No pre-conceived notions. No rules and no ‘shoulds.’ The metaphysician is open to the exploration in a way that is energized by curiosity and receptivity. There is also a trust that is engendered by an understanding that the metaphysician has of the connectedness of all things, the unity that is The Universe. The guiding principle of the metaphysician is, ‘As Above, So Below.’ Thus, all exploration of The Universe at large is an exploration of the Self, the Universe Within, and vice versa.”
The methods here are open and inner exploration. There are no hypotheses set forth, no preconceived notions of the way things “should” be. And therefore Consciousness is allowed to expand, to evolve; the Universe reveals herself in her ever expanding glory.
And the metaphysician “knows.”
MONDAY’S POEM: The King and Queen
Rosemary and I attended a deep “crystal bowl and grid” meditation Saturday evening. We’ve been going to these as we can; the energy, the vibrational forces and the gathering are always uplifting. This July event seemed particularly powerful and I traveled far! I met the King of Light and the Queen of Love somewhere “out there” well beyond our own galaxy. In writing about the experience yesterday, this is what came:
The King and Queen
The King of Light and the Queen of Love
Unite to show the way Home.
The portal, this dark gateway of bliss
Opens, yawning wide, hungry.
The King in all His brilliance radiates
The white clarity of creative power.
All, the manifest, the presence
Extends from His piercing eye.
The Queen in all Her luminosity absorbs
The black softness of everlasting Love.
All, the unmanifest, the Emptiness
Beckons from Her open Heart.
Rose Astara is the Queen of His Heart.
She embraces all within Her sphere —
And All is within Her sphere —
Trembling at Her call, Her touch.
The King emerges from His trance;
The dance of creating All subsides.
He rests in Her embrace, merging
Through the Portal, arriving Home.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Blocked? – Part 2
I know; it’s “poem Firday”. But this business of “blocks” is on my mind.
Yesterday I wrote here about being blocked: blocked from listening to my intuition, from changing my language to speak (and think) in positive terms. And I wrote about practice. After 10 years Tenno became a teacher of Zen; he was practiced. Then Nan-in demonstrated how he was not “fully aware.” So Tenno became his student and practiced another 10 years! And I concluded my post yesterday with …another nine years of practice and study and “lessons in lost sunglasses”!
But practice what? OK, I’ve got 9 more years, probably 10! But what am I to practice; what am I to learn; how do I break through the blocks?
Later yesterday I was in one of my practices: Artist Pages writing as prescribed by Julia Cameron. I am fairly disciplined in writing my “morning pages” (sometimes afternoon); and I really know when I skip that something isn’t quite right with my day. I wrote yesterday and came up with some answers to my blocks; not only what is blocking but how to respond; to break through. Here’s what I wrote:
“I wrote my blog post for Rosemary’s site this morning – on “Awareness” again although the title was about blocks. What are my blocks to “full awareness”?
“I think the main one is fear – fear of letting go completely and relaxing into full awareness. If I let go completely I might lose myself! I am not yet fully willing to let go of the ego – that little self that appears to be so important to me. I have no problem with this for moments – while sitting, while doing Qigong, while writing pages when I merge and let come whatever words flow. Practices like these are easy times to let go. But when I’m at a bank ATM my ego is busy in the forefront – considering a number of choices: what’s my balance, how much cash do I need, what do I want to buy at the market, how long will this nice weather last, on and on…
“The conscious mind, the ego, can only handle 7 to 9 bits of information at one time. The thought of the sunglasses on the shelf gets pushed aside. The ego can’t handle all the information. And I am not practicing standing at the ATM. Why not?
“What if I had stood at the ATM in a relaxed but present Qigong posture? What if I had softened my focus moving into peripheral vision? What if I had remembered to breathe deeply and slowly as when practicing Qigong or sitting on my cushion? Would I have seen the sunglasses and remembered?
“Practice can be constant. And there needs to be no fear in this. If we drop our attention and expand our awareness the ego doesn’t disappear, it simply recedes into the background of the 10-million bits of information being processed by the unconscious mind. It is there, aware, processing its 7 to 9 bits, and content to rest, yet ready to come alive as needed. The “full awareness” is in the unconscious mind lifted out of its obscurity through constant practice.
“Blocks are revealed, recognized and broken through by balancing conscious ego awareness with practiced unconscious access.
“Relax, let go, breathe deeply, sink, broaden, move fully into self and become fully aware of Self.”
I think I have my answers! Now to put them into practice…
Happy Full Moon. Have a good weekend!
Please enjoy!
Men and The Goddess 