Thursday, December 31, 2020

Ripples of Light

 

Ripples of Light, Lanikai Beach, HI, May 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp

Take a moment to watch the video above, it’s less than 2 minutes long


This video gives you a glimpse
of how the Earth and its Oceans and Islands are made
Indeed, how the Cosmos itself was formed
And what makes up the some-body each of us think we are

And what do you see?
Ripples of Light - on the surface
Vibrations of Waves - on the ocean
Undulations of Quanta - on the sandy bottom

It also gives you a glimpse, and a metaphor, if you will
for the interplay of the Cosmos and of Life itself
The manifest dynamic pattern is an unfathomable Wholeness
And no part can be isolated for ease of analysis or exploitation

This is the Wisdom we need at this time — Right Now
To recognize and explicitly value our dependance on this One Earth
And to see our neighbor, and even our so-called enemy, as ourself
Made of the same stuff, we are kith and kin; we're all in this together

There is more, of course, once you begin to see these Ripples of Light
You start noticing them everywhere ... Seeing the shadow dances
Feeling your subtle body sensations as they come and go, 
Watch them simply arise and then pass; this is the Life process itself

All of this is impermanent, is transitory, except, perhaps, 
the awareness that is aware of these “sense”-sations
Science has yet to find the ultimate building blocks of Nature
But many before us have lit candles in this darkness

The common instruction of this exploration is to look within
Hold that candle of awareness, and look deeply into all
that you might think “you” are, and see, that you are not that
No unchanging “self” can be found; nothing fixed anywhere

It may seem unsettling at first, but actually it is such a relief
To be able to drop one’s opinions and beliefs, and replace them 
with curiosity and awe and not-knowing — it’s so liberating
to simply live Life, as it Unfolds, in this Moment, Here and Now



Sunday, December 27, 2020

Of Magic and Miracles

 

We Come in Peace, Kailua, HI, September 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp

Of Magic and Miracles


Surely it is Magical,

if by magical you mean 

unknown to science and 

the rational (wo)man


You have seen with eyes

that intuit the Whole, where others

see only the little bits and pieces

Magic and Miracles abide in Wholeness


We are bathed in a cultural paradigm of 

reductionism:  If, Then, Goto, Else, Loop

A causes B causes C, ad nauseam

But this is not the language of Life


In Reality's mother tongue, the Whole 

really is greater than the sum of its parts

And Wholeness must be seen

from a (w)ho(l)ly different vantage point


Jesus told us that the Kingdom of 

Heaven is within each of us!  You, me,

saint and sinner … put down your stones,

and abide in Peace, Love, and Joy


Even during these painful times and

personal hardships we can know this Truth

If only we look deeply within, and see

the Miracle of our in-ter-dependence


So Love deeply, and lift up our brothers and sisters

For that is how we’ll find our better Angels

Know that every birth is Sacred and Miraculous

Feel deeply, for there is no music like Soul music


You have heard that no (wo)man is an island, 

So then, let us not ask for whom the bell tolls

The(e) real Magic is that we are all in this Together

And our Salvation begins with(in) (W)hol(i/e)ness


Saturday, December 05, 2020

On Fearlessness

 

Trick or Treat?, Lanikai, HI, October 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp


On Fearlessness


You, my friend, are fearless

And if you think otherwise, please,

Please, know that you can be fearless, 

Just as you are, right now


How so?  Simply this:  Understand that fear

Only exists in the past or the future

You know that from your own experience

Don’t believe me?  Please think, my friend


Think back to a time when you were

Exposed to grave physical danger

Do you remember how, it seemed,

That time, itself, slowed down?


That was you, living fully in the present moment

Remember?  There was no danger or fear; only

Whatever action was needed in the moment

This is the power of being fully present


And so, my friend, please free your mind 

From its shackles of the past and the future

Abide in the timeless, eternal Now, and know

This is where Peace and Love reside


Go there often, my friend, 

Return again and again,

Be that which is your true nature 

And become fearlessness itself