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/

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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.