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.

Each Day

Each Day

Be careful.

  Take care.

    Love the life you have.

Be mindful.

  Cultivate joy

    Love the life you live.

Be alert.

  Nourish awareness.

    Love the moment that is here.

And all good will follow.

~~~

Each day is the opportunity to be your true self.

Who is showing up with this breath?

Who are you? Really? Really??

Who is the you that is showing up?

Is it the one that society approves of

or the one that follows deep truths

that lie beyond social strictures?

Can you allow your creative expression

to be beyond outcomes,

to give without consideration of approval,

to live your infinite flow of being?

Then you are living your true self.

“All you need is already within you, only you must approach your self with reverence and love. Self-condemnation and self-distrust are grievous errors. Your constant flight from pain and search for pleasure is a sign of love you bear for your self, all I plead with you is this: make love of your self perfect. Deny yourself nothing -- glue your self infinity and eternity and discover that you do not need them; you are beyond.” ― Nisargadatta Maharaj

“Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,
Love is knowing I am everything,
and between the two my life moves.”
― Nisargadatta Maharaj

richard hammer

   1-13-17

2017 Blessings

2017 Blessings

May your new year be

  wild and wonderful,

  entertaining and expressive.

May you encounter

  unexpected joys,

  fortuitous connections,

  and flowing abundance.

May you be gifted with

  new insights,

  magical moments, and

  infinite joy.

May you be strong, healthy,

  and wise in all things.

May you be inspired to

  help others, be the solution,

  and rise to the occasion.

May your song be peace,

  your acts loving and generous,

  and your words healing.

May you know the cycles

  of coming and going,

  and be at peace with

 all that arises and passes.

May you and I move forward together.

     richard hammer

        1-1-17

Present Wholeness in 2017

Present Wholeness Yoga

January 2017

How will you open in the new year of 2017? Knowing that change is a constant - What will you allow to come into being? What will you sustain that is here? And what will you release and let disappear?

For the New Year

In “Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life”, Marilyn Schlitz writes that there are five elements to the process of changing our consciousness.

First is the intention to make positive, life-affirming changes.

Second is building spiritual practices out of our exploration, and shifting our attention from external to internal forces.

Third is repetition of our practice to build new neural pathways and behaviors to create a new habit.

Fourth is guidance, which can come from many sources, such as “a trusted teacher, reading an article, a book that rocks you”. At this point, there comes a shift from outer to inner authority.

Fifth, all of these elements, “are wrapped in the arms of surrender”. “It's all about yielding to potential.”

~~~

May that which is dying, go gently.

May that which is being born, arise exuberantly.

And may I be high witness to them both.

- Ascended Master Djwhal Khul

~~~

Use these thoughts from other teachers to light your path into the next evolutionary period.

“Teach only love for that is what you are.” - A Course in Miracles

“The only real voyage or discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

- Marcel Proust

“Reality is simply the loss of the ego.” - Shri Ramana Marharshi

“Everyone knows how to choose; few know how to let go. But it’s only by letting go of each experience that you make room for the next. The skill of letting go can be learned, and once learned you will enjoy living much more spontaneously.” - Deepak Chopra

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be....” - Lao Tzu

“Practice the presence of peace. The more you do that, the more you will feel the presence of that Power in your life.” - Paramahansa Yogananda

~~~

“Within the heart of every human being is the Truth they are seeking. With Truth, you live a life filled with perfect health, creativity, supply and Joy. … An inspired life is a life lived from the heart. Your heart center is the gateway, the portal, of your infinite nature ~ the healer within you. Your highest intelligence, purest love and infinite wisdom are all found within your heart. Each time you choose to be love in action, you open your heart.” - Chunyi Lin – Spring Forest QiGong

Four Steps to Opening Your Heart – Gratitude, Honesty, Respect, Kindness.

~~~

The Tens List for 2017

Forget the traditional practice of resolutions for the new year. The number 2017 is a “1' in numerology which invites beginnings and creation. What is arising for you to say yes to at this time for the new year?

Here is a practice of Tens for self reflection. Make a list, or several lists, of 10 items.

• 10 things to be left in 2016. Such as thoughts: eg negative self talk, grievances, missed opportunities, associations, experiences.
• 10 things to bring into 2017. Such as new learnings and creations, greater skill development in a chosen field, meeting new people, travel to never before visited place.
• 10 minutes every day for each: purposeful movement exercises such as yoga, for meditation, for sitting and journaling or walking in nature, for _______________
• 10 ways to give to others, to serve. Helping out a local charity with your time, talents, or tithing. Taking time to listen to someone who needs to be heard re: their life problems.
• 10 ways to create – writing, art, cooking, crafting, sewing, ________________ .

This is a time for setting Attitude, Intention, Attention // Direction, Discipline, Dedication.

Cultivate a sense of your 5 P's: Power, Purpose, Passion, Presence, and Possibility.

For Bonus Points – establish a 100 Day Gong. - Write out and create a daily check off list of things you will without fail do each day for 100 days and if you miss a day you start over at one for 100 days. This could involve diet, exercise, journaling or any other practice.

Do not become overwhelmed with all this. Step away and let it come.

Consider creating a metta (loving kindness) statement for your year repeating it each day to yourself, silently or out load, several times. Statement such as: “May I be happy. May I be well. May I know peace.” and then sending it out to others, both known and unknown, with “May you be happy. May you be well. May you know peace.”

Rules for 2017:

Don't be tricked into believing that the way things are is how the world works.

Look for beauty everywhere. Allow yourself to be amazed and live in awe.

Find what your heart opens to.

Make your own rules..... with love as your guide.

~~~

लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु

lokāh samastāh sukhino bhavantu
May all beings in the Universe BE HAPPY AS HAPPINESS!

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti 

Thoughts for January 2017 from Richard Hammer   

Speak the Truth Fearlessly

In this moment of time of change with the coming into the Winter Solstice next week and then the New Year of 2017 with a new President the opportunity is to face what is, and is coming, fearlessly. These words from Jack Kornfield are appropriate for these times of change, flux, and re-centering for finding one's strength and stepping forward.

"True strength meets the vulnerability of life with caring and courage. True strength knows that there are two great powers in this world. The first is those who are unafraid to kill. The other is those who are unafraid to love. Even in situations of great danger, true strength chooses love. Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated the strength of this love in the darkest hours, saying, “We will meet suffering with soul force.” It takes courage to truly feel the weight of each other’s suffering, courage to honor the other side’s fears of annihilation and loss of dignity. Yet until pain and fear are held in a wise way, the cycles of hatred will continue.

True strength also brings clarity, like a sword that cuts through illusion. It is called discriminating wisdom. When we are not locked in blame or struggle, we can see things as they are. “We can,” says William Butler Yeats, “make our minds so like still water that beings gather around us that they may see… their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet.” When needed, we can be fierce and strong, wielding the sword of clarity. Liberated from anger, we can speak the truth fearlessly. At the same time we are free of ill will, so our actions care for the welfare of all."