The 2018 Shift

The 2018 Shift

If you were a flat lander, had only 2 dimensional referencing, you would have no idea of the 3D perspective. Map vs on the ground terrain experiencing. It is the same with contents vs context, wave vs ocean, and as Martin Buber cites, I-Thou.

We have a tendency to float in our current habituated perspective until something jars us free or beckons on. It could be a challenging event, serendipitous encounter, or the continued inner quest. The question arises of what am I missing, or what is to be understood here now?

Yoga gives us tools for this inner inquiry but we have to apply them. Then after consistent practice and strong inclination to be free of shackles of misunderstanding and ignorance we begin to see from a higher level. It is like looking out from a tall building at the bottom floor into a park. You see kids playing there. Then you take an elevator the to 86^th floor and look down at the park where the children are still playing. Both views are valuable. One is more centric and the other more expansive. When both are considered the viewer's awareness of balance, unity and wholeness becomes more greatly appreciated.

So, the opportunity of 2018 is to shift and bring a new perspective to what is arising in you, for you, and as you. It could be considered a mountain top view, higher up vs low down. Low down is necessary but so is higher up. Can you live as comfortably in the known as well as the unknown.

Can you find individual sanctuary and stillness time as part of the shift?

What are some of the important practices that you might bring to bear? They might be learning to ask the right questions, some of which might be universal and some uniquely individual to you. They might be asking for help, admitting at long last that you need a higher up view.

The opportunity is to hold the yin-yang perspective and energy, uniting with it and being it. The work before us is to be creative, contributory, adventuresome, and satisfying. It is to reveal what is wanting to be seen and witnessed. It is us showing up, cherishing the journey, and doing the work.

Writer, poet, thinker, activist Joanna Macy sees us being in the potential of three epochs:

  Business as usual

  The Great Unraveling (breakdown)

  The Great Turning (turning to love, wisdom vs on each other)

Author of World as Lover, World as Self, she writes “It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up -- release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast, true nature.”

“The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe.”

― Joanna Macy

~~~~

How might you open you today?

You can listen to her talk with Krista Tippett in 2016, or read the transcript, at

https://onbeing.org/programs/joanna-macy-a-wild-love-for-the-world/

Richard Hammer, Present Wholeness Yoga, 1-1-18

Christmas 2017

Christmas 2017

May joy come to you as easily as the next breath.

May peace and love abide in the

abode of your every thought.

May the causes of happiness

grow in the coming year.

                                                       -  Richard

The Path Ahead

“ …the long pilgrimage of spiritual work demands a commitment to wander

into a life of authenticity and truth.”  - Mark Nepo

    The Path Ahead

What happens when

  the impossible becomes possible

  the closed door opens

  the constriction becomes flow

We each have agency, authority

  to make change happen

  to see things differently

  to uproot stagnation

When change happens

  there is insight and evolution

  there is beginning again but differently

  there is a welcoming joy and light

This shift is an acknowledgment

  that all is well

  that wonder exists

  and that grace is operating.

       richard hammer

            12-5-17

      Cape Coral, FL

Balance, Flow, and Integrity

Balance, Flow, and Integrity – Wholeness in Motion

How will you move through life today?  Is it mindfully and with love?

"If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself, if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give, is that of your own self-transformation." – Lao Tzu

"The transformative process is our job, so that we are not ruled by fear but by love." – Ram Dass

"Through an open heart, one hears the universe." – Ram Dass

“If there is love in your heart, it will guide you through your life. Love has its own intelligence.”

- Sadhguru

"The first thing you discover is a kind of emptiness, a silence, a presence which doesn't seem to have content to it, like looking up at a limitless sky. That boundary-less place inside you is your own consciousness, your awareness. When you relax into it, you realize that it's also full - it is everything. You realize this presence is what you really are: Love." ~ Arjuna Ardagh

"There's a voice that doesn't use words. Listen." ~ Rumi

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ 

लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु

lokāh samastāh sukhino bhavantu

May all beings in the Universe BE HAPPY AS HAPPINESS!

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ 

A Note from Richard - 11-27-17

I use a free online journal for a short weekly writing. Titled Penzu  (penzu.com), it is easy to access and save, and go back to rewrite on occasion. It prompts me in my email on Mondays to write something for the week or day. Here is part of today's jotting:

Title: Gratitude, Grace, and Guts

The title may same a little unusual. These three words don't seem to fit together.

When we have gratitude we flow into grace. And when we are in grace, that feeling and awareness of perfect wholeness in action and activity, we find the courage, the "guts", that lies beyond fear based consciousness that is a cheat and error of thought, to do the work that is waiting for us to do in the world today.  Our work that is absolutely unique to us to perform.  That which is waiting for us to do.

Embrace the three G's and step into your day.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ 

And then two weeks ago as part of my morning penning was this -

At the beginning of the year 2017 I was drawn to create, embody this:

Purpose Declaration (aka Mission Statement) -

I am here to use my voice and talents to elevate humanity.

(to make the planet a better place).

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ 

So, on this Monday I ask you to create a short Mission Statement for yourself that is beyond the ego's prompting of “to compete and survive”.  Take time, perhaps on the space below to write out what it means to you, at least today, to thrive meaningfully. Keep it simple.

Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now, encourages us with this -

Love, Serve, Remember.

The Invitation

Last month when hurricane Irma came up the west coast of Florida I elected to stay and ride it out.
This gave me time to sit, journal, observe, and be. It is always a choice - to stay in the quietness of centering presence or to dwell at the fluctuating edges of storm turbulence. It became a time of personal gathering in and evolving. So, here is an invitation to you dear reader. Pause. Breathe. Center. Find and cultivate a time of stillness .... not waiting for storms to push you into it.

     The Invitation

There's an invitation in stillness

  to rediscover what has always been.

The ever active mind and ego protests,

  requesting doing over being.

Before the sunrises each morning,

  there is stillness upon the land.

 

Before the bird takes flight,

  there is preparation of spreading wings.

The inner quest is a cherishing of deep truth,

  the action of centering self care.

Pause now, and then again, until

   balance appears as mindful presence.

This is the open heart greeting the world,

  connecting mind with wonder, grace,

  and the mystery of your being.

                 richard hammer

                       9-30-17

Artist of Your Own Life

You Are An Artist Of Your Own Life

There's a time for knowing.

And there's a time for not knowing.

  Both are sacred.

Just as there is wisdom as foundation in stillness,

there is wisdom as active creative, intuitive energy.

  Both are needed.

Knowing can be a referencing point on the horizon.

Unknowing can be an allowing for discovery of what is there.

The important qualities that are generative

  are trust, courage, and fidelity to Self.

Cultivate a sense of Power, Presence, Passion, and Purpose.

Align with love, service, and your individual unique expression.

There will be challenges.

There will be learnings.

There will be you living as active wisdom.

The right and perfect path is the one you are on.

The gift you have been given is Divine Agency.

The gift you have come to give

  is in this breath,

  is in this turning inward,

  is in this saying yes to life.

            richard hammer

                 8-5-17

The Layers - Poetic Openings

The Layers

I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers,
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes.

— Stanley Kunitz from The Collected Poems of Stanley Kunitz

                     -------------------- 

Stanley Kunitz was in his seventies when he wrote this poem, and he still had many changes to traverse before he died at the age of 100 in 2006. With great dignity, he speaks here of the losses he has known and what it is that survives when all else is gone. Everything passes. Is it sad? Is it a relief? Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Is there anything, then, that abides? For Kunitz, there is “some principle of being” from which he struggles not to stray. The enigmatic lines near the end of the poem –

Live in the layers,
Not in the litter

came to him one night at the end of a terrifying dream, a voice from out of a cloud speaking a riddle as strange as any from the Delphic oracle of Greece. He woke immediately and wrote down those lines. Soon afterward, the whole poem flowed from these two lines.

Warmly, Roger Housden

roger@rogerhousden.com

-------------

From Richard:

Daily be aware of your guiding principles. Are they in the rear or in the front? Do they pull you  forward or hold you back?

Is the liter of past actions and events an attractor factor for this day's mental focus? Regrets, recriminations, and could have beens?

Release yourself from this bondage with your next breath.  Perhaps say to yourself in coordination with the breath cycle “Letting Go”  --- with the inhale saying “Letting” and with the exhale “Go”. Do this for the next 5-10 breaths. Then sit in silence for a moment and feel the release.

Self perceived baggage from the past is like having to carry around a large, heavy backpack.  Every time you think of something of later days with a negative view it is like putting another weighted object in that already over stuffed, supper heavy pack. It is hard to breath carrying so much weight.

Why not sit down for a moment and unpack it. Leave some, or all, of it by the road now. And when you are ready, stand up and renew your journey with a lighter load.

As Kuntiz writes in the poem, come to live in the layers of the forward journey and not the liter of the past.

Moving Toward Inner Solstice

  Moving Toward Inner Solstice

The earth moves constantly in space

yet we here do not notice it.

Other than the seasonal changes

we are unaware of the movement around the sun. 

What other major movements are occurring 

around us, and as us, that the conscious mind

is not noticing?

As we ride the earth into summer

let us see if we can become more aware

of the large arcs, circles, and cycles of

of our being

Cultivating conscious awareness of,

and appreciation for,

the macrocosmic and the microcosmic

orbits of our evolution.

    richard hammer  

         6-17-17

Gratitude as an expression of being fully alive.

Week 1 - Posting into the Make a Difference Academy – an eight week journey for Inspired Life Yoga teachers. Our leader, Kimberly Glick, asked us to post on the group fb what we are grateful for.

"I am grateful for those who are willing to show up and fearlessly be the full expression of their deepest authentic loving self. I am grateful for my life journey, all of it, the mystery, majesty, and the mournings. I am grateful for those who see the me that I am not yet able to see and love that me. I am grateful for my mystical self, my wild side, and my intent to promote unconditional love for all beings. I am grateful for soft touches, meaningful hugs, and cascades of laughter. I am grateful to be able to serve and savor (Tara Brach's phrase) all of life."

Now it is your turn! What can you express gratitude for this day?

Shoreline Walk

Shoreline Walk 

Walking along the shoreline of your life

  what will you find this day?

Are the waves rough or calm?

  Is the horizon cloudy or bright?

Are you walking in another's steps?

  Is another walking in yours?

Have you made this walk before?

  If yes, what are the memories.

If it is a new walk,

  how open are you to discovery?

If you are alone on this walk

  what are your thoughts?

If you are with another,

  is there conversation?

Can you feel the earth under your feet

  and the wind's embrace?

Can you walk with purposeless presence

  and a sense of grace filled curious wonder?

                        richard hammer

                            5-22-17

Just This

   Just This

Just this moment

Just this breath.

I am here.

Turning inward.

Sensing inward.

I am here.

Releasing distractions,

surrendering control.

I am here.

Giving myself to light,

opening to life.

I am here.

In expansion while centering,

centering while expanding.

I am here.

I give myself to Shakti

in this moment in love.

I am here.

Peeling back surface layers.

Sourcing into self truth.

I give myself to light.

And know

The essence of everything

is light and love.

In silence, and in surrender.

Essence is revealed.

   richard hammer

      5-20-17

  

Yantra of Being

Yantra of Being

C.A.L.M.

Centered

Aligned

Loving

Mindful

There are a multiplicity of openings in each quadrant of your mantra of calm.

As you look at, and meditate on, this yantra, the center of it, see it as a wheel of deepening awareness, of both grounding and expanding, of both center and circumference.

Feel the vibrancy of its activating colors. Come into a sense of its depth and vibrancy.

Spend time with it. Each one of the compass points can be an inquiring into presence.

Perhaps note the Four Quadrants as:

Centered is the North point – lifting mental awareness up beyond separated self identity.

Aligned is the East point – leading you forward in your calling, leaving behind attachment to the results of your actions.

Loving is the South point – a grounding into the basis of your being, into love for that is what you are.

Mindful is the West point – a remembrance of what has brought you here, the work to be done in this moment.

Mantra

When I am calm I move forward with purpose, grace, and ease.

When I am calm I know the next right action.

When I am calm I move in the rhythm of all life.

~~~  ~~~ 

Sea of Awakening Poem

On the Sea of Awakening

There is an imperative

that requires you to blossom.

Just as the flower opens,

as a responding to light

And the butterfly emerging into flight

as an expression of fulfillment of being

With pure attention and intention,

 it is a tasting into mystery that is.

Start with feeling this moment,

beyond conceptional understanding.

Feel the energy that is you, a primal pulsing,

and the delight that is its right action.

Let enlightenment be revealed to you

with this breath, and the next.

Becoming empty to become all that is,

non-separation as authenticity.

There is a givenness to this moment

that blesses you and all around you.

Open to this sea of awakening.

            richard hammer

               5-13-17

            Cape Coral, FL

Deeper Listening with Self and Others

Deeper Listening with Self and Others

May 15, 2017

All of us are familiar with the phrase – “Life is what you make it.” Restated, it could be said that the goal could be to experience all that is here to be experienced by us, or to be in our wholeness.

Ruth King, mindfulness teacher, writes that “There is no greater gift to ourselves than our willingness to be present to our own lives ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly ~ and we do this most effectively through Mindfulness or Insight.” ( see https://ruthking.net/ , “Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible”)

What is necessary to come into this sense of wholesomeness is to get out of the old story, narratives, and remove the lens of misperception caused by egocentric conditioning. One helpful way for Ruth is to have a mantra phrase she uses with herself when confrontation arises - “life is not personal, not permanent, not perfect”. This is a reminder for her that the act and perception of it is not “all about me”, is not going to be permanent for change is a constant, is not my way which usually involves arrogance or be indignant.

Standing back from judgment, at least two steps, can we see things differently? This requires a deeper listening. It requires a sense of presence with your true self as well as with the other.

For the self, the first step of mindfulness is to relax and come into relationship with body and breath. Then, one way of looking at the challenge of the moment is to sit and have tea with the demons that are being faced. This story analogy, from Buddhism and the demon Mara that confronted Guatama, is to invite the demons to have tea with you. Do not reject and push away. Sit and see what is here.

For connecting with the other, it is to engage in mindful conscious conversation. This requires unprogramed presence, the willingness to be a receiver. It requires standing back from fixing, comparing, and judgment. It requires us to be a good listener. The process of nonviolent communication, known as NVC, is helpful here. (See https://www.cnvc.org)

Being a good receiver takes practice. It requires that we recondition the way we have done it in the past and then the discipline to remember to do it.

Take time each day to sit and listen - to the inner dialog of you, and then with another for the inner dialog of them. Connect.

The Dali Lama has noted that the next step for enlightenment for us, both individually and as the human species, is to develop community.

Listen Well

What is the conscious conversation you might have today with another? 

..... one that might provide a space for deep listening.

Today a member of our Center of Spiritual Living Wednesday meeting group, Ken, spoke of a moment in time that offered a deeper spiritual awakening for him. He said,“I came to listen in a different way.” 

Can you mindfully pause, yes stop, to inquire of another "How is your day today." Attempt to drop below the surface veil of accepting the standard response of "OK" to listen at depth. Instead of receiving the five second response, opt in for the five minute listening without speaking response. Say nothing, unless it is "tell me more"! Have eye-to-eye contact. And listen. Deeply listen. Be present for meaningful heartbeat of another. 

Our world hungers for this human connection.  As human beings, we each want to be seen and heard. This is part of joining the community of human beings, to be accepted and loved. Give the other a moment of your time to feel nurtured by you.

Instead of listening for content, listen for heart resonance, for mutuality, for understanding the meaning of another's life. Instead of trying to fix the other with all your accumulated years of wisdom .... pause and let higher guidance direct your next words and action.  Maybe it is "Thank you", along with a hug.  May be it is something else.  Let it be authentic with you. 

We are here for mutual support and surrender. Or, is that mutual surrender and support?  When it is your turn to say what is happening to you this day, allow vulnerability. Walk to the edge of your fear of opening to another, and mindfully voice what is arising.  Face the fear of revealing your deeper self to another (yes, done within a safe context with appropriate boundaries).  

We grow by pealing back the layers of surface stories and meeting what is truly true at depth.  This is self discovery.  Listen to the words you speak and hear something that you did not realize was there, that wanted to surface.  This is self-realization. This is transformation. 

Let another hold this space for you just as you would for them. 

Here are a few referencing sources:

From  Elephant Journal online  - "Love, real love, in all of its raw, beautiful, dirty, confusing, funny, ugly, and sexy forms is what connects us. At Elephant Talk we dive boldly into every aspect of love and partnership. Curiosity and a passion for finding connection, fresh perspectives, and honest communication are the driving force behind every episode."

https://www.elephanttalk.org  /  Listen  - https://www.elephanttalk.org/listen/

------------   

Also, you might find it of interest to receive the short monthly recording of Listen Well, a monthly audio blog, a spoken word website where the speaker-journalist provides an insight into perceptions. impressions of her journey. -  http://www.listenwell.org/current-offering

May you be well.

May you know peace.

May you offer peace to others.

Richard

Appreciative Joy

I will live this day with a sense of appreciative joy, expectant serendipity, and conscious connection.

 --- I will remember to look down and see how the beauty of the earth supports me. ----

Touching Into Wisdom

Recently I spent the week of April 11-16, 2017 at the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, FL for their Master Detox - April Cleanse program with Dr Brian Healey and Indu of the Amrit staff. See https://www.amrityoga.org for future offerings.

Part of the program is for one to identify things that need to be released (detoxed), to chart next steps, and to cultivate being present. The program was limited to eight of us.  The Amrit campus provided a generous amount of nature and stillness to soak in.

Here a few writings from this time. ........


Touching Into Wisdom   -  Journal – 4-15-17 a.m. – Salt Springs

 This is what I have to say to you …

You sometimes find it hard to commit.
You are opening to new paths with thinking and energizing.
But what is the heart saying?

Your fear is that you will make a mistake.
Know this – there are no mistakes. You are never off the correct path.
Find the pace that satisfies.  Now live into it.

Let it live in you. Both path and pace. Live the “just right” life. Not seeking, grasping for more but feeling the fullness of enough.

 Love the earth. Love other people. Love yourself.
 Each path you select builds you, prepares you for the next mountain of opportunities.  Each path supports others.  There are no mistakes.  Love is the way.  Do what you can and let the rest be.

 Paths can be for a reason, season, or lifetime.
Stop over analyzing and ask what the heart wants.
Sit with it.  Feel it. Does it serve Higher Purpose?
What is that?  Write it out.

 FOR WHAT PURPOSE?
  Is it for self or Self?
  Is it for Self thru self?
 The correct path is one that feels light and right.

TAKE THIS PATH.  Pause when needed.  Then reset the compass needle for your true north.

 Though the path may seem to be a spiral, instead of a straight line, live it with gratitude and a welcoming of the mystery that is you and that is all around you. Live each day with the welcoming acceptance of your goal.

This moment now has been designed for you to make the choice. Tomorrow is a delay, a postponing of your expanding good.  Be at peace knowing that you are making the right choice.  Live in wonder, grace, gratitude and expectancy of all good.

 Let it be a continuing engagement of simplify, clarify and trust.  This is the path.  The compass point on the horizon may change.  The winds may change. With hand to tiller and sail, thought and heart (wisdom and grace), move with gentle ease.

 There will be moments of giving and of receiving.
Open humbly to both.

There will be moments of both touching into the relative and into the absolute.  Accept with curiosity. 

 There will be moments of completion and incompletion. Flow through these with the dance that you have come here to dance.

 This breath, this word, this touch are plantings of seeds.  Each will sprout when nurtured with love, unconditional love.  Are you ready to receive as well as give to open the borders of your tent?  See what awaits you with tomorrow’s sunrise with joyous anticipation of good.  Touch the earth and the sky. You are here.

 There is a radiance in you. Peel back the layers and let it shine

 -    Richard’s journaling 

------------------------------------------------------------------------   

  Opening Into

Sunrise.  Sunset.

What did you do today?

Was it with compassion and kindness,

  and perhaps with a welcoming smile?

Was it with rush, mindless repetition

  or gratitude and grace?

Each breath is a doorway

  into being present in the moment.

What visitor did you invite into

   your circle of awareness today?

The sea gull flying overhead

   was in flow.

The squirrel climbing

   was displaying dynamic balance.

The tree leaves were kissing each other

   in their dance with the wind’s music.

Did you miss it?  Go back.

   It’s not too late.

Give the fullness of who you are

   into this moment.

         richard hammer

     4-15-17

 Salt Springs, FL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Arising Awareness

There is an arising awareness.

  Can you feel it?

It beholds this moment with

  the consciousness of Grace.

There is an arising awareness

  that brings evolving wisdom.

It is based in love

  and supports clarity and truth.

There is an arising awareness

  that invites the dance of union

Its name has been sung thru millennia

   and it is you.

  

richard hammer

     4-16-17

Salt Springs, FL

Recent Poems

 Heart Travel

Is it your intention to leave footprints

in the sands you travel, or perhaps

to let the sands you travel on leave

grains of welcoming in your heart?

Along the way as you wander and

wonder, know that you will be

challenged and gifted,

opened and closed,

find new horizons,

and curate old ones.

And then on return discover

a new you, a new clarity,

a new pulse and beat

of your own heart.

richard hammer  / 3.9.17

  Daily Reawakening

There is an opportunity everyday

to reappear.

It is a turning of the page for

a blank page, a new chapter, or fresh vision.

It is a feeling and insight into

what purposefully beckons.

The opportunity is to be drawn out, to be

pulled forward, immersed in new energy,

and to dance in new light.

It is an opening to receive the day's blessing.

Who will you be today? The old repeating version,

or the one that invites wonder, creative flow,

magic and spontaneous delight?

Come dance in the light of this new day.

  richard hammer  /  3.28.17

The Fires of Your Being

How do you attend to the fires of your being? The practice of yoga is about settling more deeply into who you really are. Use of ritual and routine can help create and maintain a sense of balance. But then, when the inner embers that are the soul's fire need fuel, step out from the routine and perhaps create a new routine. Try these 3 R's:

Reset – your operating system. A re-boot, which might mean an Ayurveda massage, a weekend silent retreat, rendezous with a lover.

Revise – your criteria. What passion are you willing to fuel?

Renew – this action step requires your commitment, discipline, grit, and joy for living.

Then appreciate the quality of your own presence. This is self love. Love your Self. Love the journey you are on.

Clarity and Knowing

Clarity

Jumping from high up I land.

I am here.

Each moment holds the possibility

of presence and awakening.

Each moment holds the possibility

of releasing or gathering in.

Each moment holds the possibility

of embracing the mystery of all life.

Each moment, this moment, gives birth

to realizing my wholeness and beauty.

Each moment can be a catalyst of stillness

for exploring right action in the world.

richard hammer

1-25-17

Cape Coral, FL

~~~ ૐ ~~~

"Deep clarity is not reached through thought, it's rather through

transcendence of thought.

So let go of trying to figure it out and allow the profound silence within

to lead you to clarity.."

- Anand Mehrotra

~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~~~~

 The Knowing

So may we, in this life, trust
to those elements we have yet to see.
May we lean into the wings
that surround us,
May we know in our deepest knowing
that we are not alone
that if we fall we will be caught
by the invisible web of magnificence
we weave every day.
And in that knowing,
may we, like the wings themselves,
rest and rise
rest and rise
rest and rise and soar
to unseen heights.

Come, let us fly.

~ Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Remember daily to hug yourself with your own wings.

Some Buddhists say that like a bird with two wings we need both wisdom and compassion to support our action in the world. The question of which comes from the other, or which comes first, is irrelevant. It is like asking which comes first the chicken or the egg. The inquiry logic comes from a dualistic view of the world versus a non-dual.

Both proceed from each other and need each other. What is more important? The inhale or the exhale? Both are needed for the other to flourish, and can not exist without the other.

So remember to wrap yourself each day with wisdom and compassion.