turn your attention

 

God dwells in you, as you, 

and you don't have to 'do' anything

 to be God-realized or Self-realized,

 it is already your true and natural state.

Just drop all seeking, 

turn your attention inward, 

and sacrifice your mind to

 the One Self radiating in the Heart

 of your very being. 

For this to be your own presently lived experience, 

Self-Inquiry is the one direct and immediate way.

~ Sri Ramana

photo by Ansel Adams

with thanks to love is a place

we

 

Two beggars

sharing a meal of the food they've been given

The new moon shines intensely

~ Ko Un

with thanks to Poetry Chaikhana

love is

 

~ Rupert Spira

thirsty I remain

 

I need a lover and a friend

All friendships you transcend

And impotent I remain

You are Noah and the Ark

You are the light and the dark

Behind the veil I remain

You are passion and are rage

You are the bird and the cage

Lost in flight I remain

You are the wine and the cup

You are the ocean and the drop

While afloat I remain

I said, "O Soul of the world

My desperation has taken hold!"

"I am thy essence," without scold,

"Value me much more than gold."

You are the bait and the trap

You are the path and the map

While in search I remain

You are poison and the sweet

You are defeated and defeat

Sword in hand I remain

You are the wood and the saw

You are cooked, and are raw

While in a pot I remain

You are sunshine and the fog

You are water and the jug

While thirsty I remain

Sweet fragrance of Shams is

The joy and pride of Tabriz

Perfume trader I remain.

~ Rumi

with thanks to No Mind's Land

Buddhist emptiness

 

silence and contemplation

 

~ Thomas Merton

.

people are hurt, and nature can heal

 

A documentry of Lhakpa Sherpa, a fearless example

 of strength and perserverance.

 

“Look at me, I’m not educated,”

 she says of her achievements. 

“[If] I can do it, anybody can do whatever they want. 

People are hurt, and nature can heal people and change them.”

~ Lhakpa Sherpa

film by Lucy Walker