Unceasing Prayer

April 22, 2020 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

Lately, the weight of the world

seems to hold me to my bed

upon waking.

Entering the day requires

an unfamiliar courage.

But even as I lay under

the comfort of my covers,

trying not to face the universal worry,

I know how to be lifted…

I remember to pause.

I look out the window and

my eyes gaze in wonder

at the trees in the morning sky.

I bow inwardly to the beauty of their sparkle.

If the grip in my chest still remains –

threatening to take away wonder and joy,

I place my hands on my heart

and breathe.

I remember to offer myself

love and care.

This anxiety is not about me.

I can let it go.

Then, I look to my right and smile.

My love is at rest and peaceful.

I am reminded to celebrate all the love in my life.

My heart is soothed and

begins to open to the morning.

This is how to start the day

when the world is in pain.

If we practice the art of

transcendance,

and remind ourselves

of what is true and real,

we can step into the Presence

that we are.

So today, I set my intention to

continue in this way

moment by moment,

mindful of what I choose to see.

As I take the covers off,

and step onto the floor,

I lift up my voice and say,

“thank you.”

I gratefully move forward.

Later, if I catch myself

again in the grip of worry,

veering off track,

I lift up a prayer.

I give voice to what is good.

I deepen my gaze and do the work.

This way, darkness and fear

don’t win.

And I am free to love generously.

Regardless of the subject matter, this is the only thing worth teaching; how to uncover the original center and live from there once restored. – Mark Nepo

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The Nub of It All

November 9, 2019November 9, 2019 becomingandbeholding4 Comments

You will not find your way through a constant push. You will not reach your perceived pinnacle by force of will or never-ending trying. Believe it or not, the struggle is not necessary. In fact, it is harmful. For the more you exert against your imagined challenges, the farther away from presence you are. So, drop it all. Let go of your effortful ways. Open your eyes and look upon yourself as if you are separate from who you are in the world…because, in fact, you are. And as you look, don’t you dare be harsh. For there is no judgment here. We are all given this chance to learn to correct ourselves and embrace a larger belonging. We are born infants in a world which leads us astray from the truth of who we really are. Only those who catch glimpses of this reality are able to wake up and be free. So, get curious about how you move through your day. Keep a watchful eye as to your habits and reactions – your feelings. Look within at your thoughts and the movement of your heart. Listen to your life. Observe how the world works and interacts but keep a larger view. Pay attention and open your heart and mind to inspiration. Take pauses. Be receptive to your learning. Eventually, the gift of freedom and unimaginable presence will bubble up within you, lifting you up and out of your misdirected ways, and bring you a sparkling and sustainable joy along with all the energy you need to do the work you are here to do. You will learn what love really is and how to extend it and embrace it. It is really that simple. You just get out of your own way. You learn to be.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Here I Stand

September 23, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

I lift up my eyes

and I look around.

There is blessedness here…

and it was there, too.

I see differently now –

my distorted vision finally giving way to clarity.

The work of letting go

has been harder than expected.

But now I can see that

the grip is the giver of pain

and its loosening,

is grace received.

So here I stand

at the bank of the river of gladness.

I am finally ready to move toward yes.

I let go again, and

surrender to the divine flow.

All is well as I learn

the nature of floating.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

In the Deep Blue

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

With eyes closed

and distractions put away,

I settle and still.

Muscles release and

gradually, breathing deepens.

I am quiet.

Sensing an opportunity to connect

in silence,

my cat curls into my lap.

I look inward and notice things and

gradually release the grip –

that way of being

which contracts me.

I let go.

Soon, the colors arrive –

they move about in my awareness

and before my mind’s eye.

I see red and green,

purple – and finally blue.

When I get to the deepening blue,

I am touching awareness and

I disappear for some time.

It does not scare me to disappear…

but feels like freedom.

The deep blue teaches me

in ways that soothe.

In its presence, I become one with

the breath of creation.

I flow with the ocean waves,

glow with the trees,

and share the song of the birds.

I see the eyes of Love

looking back at me.

The wisdom of the ages finds me

and its touch heals.

In the deep blue,

I learn that God is real, and

in my very being.

In the deep blue,

there is peace.

I bring it with me.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Be a Tree

January 5, 2019January 5, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

You can stand in your ground

with roots that grasp to

all that matters

and holds you in place.

You can reach for the light and

blossom in its glow.

You bloom and grow,

bloom and grow –

shedding what is no longer needed,

in the appropriate season.

Other beings are attracted to you…

they sense your peace.

Its good to allow them

to hug you,

and be in your presence.

For sharing the strength and life

of your core

brings healing –

and releases the knots of

tension and contraction which cause

unnecessary twisting.

As the winds and storms arrive,

remember who you are.

You are not the weather.

You are a tree.

You observe.

You lend air.

You stand tall and alert, and

your stillness blesses.

Poem · Poetry

Calming the Outer Storm

November 11, 2018November 12, 2018 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

It is a slow creep –

the way the stress of life builds.

We live bombarded

by the need to rush,

bending over backwards

to meet the demands.

The expectations given

feed our perfectionistic patterns

and we get lost

by the constant doing.

That is what living from the outside

is like.

It exhausts and

makes us into fools

who think we are being productive.

To live from within,

one must commit to

slowing the pace, and

nix the needy drive

that cares too much

what others think and believe –

that invests in having

and holding

all the things

that make us look good.

True peace resides

where inner knowing lives –

blanketed by what is true,

and by the power

of the unseen.

Living from the inside

means listening to

the whispers underneath –

the voice that beckons

and seeks to heal us –

Take a walk on the beach.

Let your feet crunch a wooden path.

Allow a cat to rest in your lap.

Bow your head and offer a prayer.

Observe and honor a compassionate moment.

These are places where the whispers await…

To live from the outside

is to get lost

in the whirlwind of

the superficial.

But to live from the inside

is to be fueled by

purpose and

to be connected to

a larger dimension –

a place that

too few find.

Love is the main thing, of course.

It is the thread that connects us

at the soul

to God’s heart.

The only way to find peace

on this weary planet of ours

is to realize

that each one of us

is born to be free.

Our job and journey

is to discover that.

When we do,

the peace within

which passes all understanding

will bless us

and enable us to be a blessing

for others.

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Way of Being

July 22, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry

Be Still And Know

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Everyone has their special brand

of distraction and

dis-ease – that state of mind

that disguises and deters from

all the goodness

right in front of us.

Sometimes,

just stop yourself.

Tell that wrangling mind

“Enough already!”

And then,

do the shift.

Laugh a little, and

forgive yourself for being

quite human.

And then trust that

you can heal yourself

with right thinking…

for your suffering –

no matter what it is,

comes from all the stories

you have made up

in your mind.

That stuff is not real –

but the pain that comes,

is.

Focus, instead,

on what is true.

Your job is to open yourself to

the things that last –

and to hold onto

those principles

with your whole being.

When you learn this,

the problems disappear

and you are

whole again.

Stop living the fiction

and arise to become

who you really are.

This is where your freedom is.

Be well –

with all your heart,

and your mind, too.

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Floating Through

June 20, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry

Big Girl Pants

June 8, 2018June 8, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

I noticed her struggle.

It was one of those days when

the burden of work, life, and

responsibility

made her bow low,

even as she quickly moved about.

She was weary –

maybe even in pain,

her eyes with the dark circles below which

appear regularly now,

despite daily application

of concealer.

She kept going,

kept producing,

despite her burden.

I’ve got my big girl pants on, she said.

I could empathize

because I get tired, too.

I understand how hard it is to stop

and just be –

to observe the blessings

along the way.

Perhaps one of the perks

of getting old

is that as responsibilities

and requirements

fall away,

we can finally

rest.