Wonder

This appeared at midday in a clear blue Arizona sky. We watched the phenomenon change its' vibrant rainbow colors.  We sat in wonder.

open awareness

Opening to the vulnerability of being human

Open awareness

Awakened mind

Awakened heart

How open are you to the inevitability of change?

(Thoughts from a recent workshop with Pema chodron)

Full Moon in Vesak

The cactus blossomed last night during the Fullness of the Moon.

Rumi says: "Listen to me: for one moment, quit being sad.

Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you."

"In the body of the world, they say,
there is a soul
and you are that."

Vesak

We celebrate the first Full Moon of
Vesak May 24th.
Remembering the birth day of Buddha, his enlightenment, and death.  It is a time to
re-dedicate ourselves to our own practice.

The time is ripe to commit yourself to not causing harm; to benefiting others; to embracing the world just as it is.

Pema Chodron asks this deeper question:
Are you ready to embark on the journey of embracing the groundlessness of life? Are you ready to consider falling in love with the ever-shifting, never certain reality of our situation?

Everything we can see or hear is a manifestation of enlightened energy. Everything is a doorway to the sacred world (Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change)

Strive for your liberation with diligence

Cherish One Another

I recently came upon this rock someone had placed on an old altar outside of Tuscon. The person wrote:

Cherish One Another.

It reminded me of the words of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
"When we change our attitude from self-cherishing to cherishing others, we immediately feel a big release from the tension in our heart. We're suddenly freed from the prison of self-cherishing. With this attitude we have much enjoyment." How Things Exist: Teachings on Emptiness

Growing wholeness

"Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe.

What nine months does for an embryo

forty early mornings will do for your gradually growing wholeness." The Essential Rumi

Renewal

 I have been on a journey, seeking a renewed vision.  I have returned home to the place of new beginnings.

Before entering the labyrinth She asked: What do you seek?
My answer: I seek wholeness.
And so my journey began Toward the One.

I passed others along the way and bowed deeply to respectfully acknowledge their Buddha nature.

Having peeled away all illusions of who I think I am,  I arrived at the central point.  Empty of a separate self.  Simply peaceful awareness.

Then the journey back out, slowly, not wanting to forget again what lies hidden at the heart of all phenomenon.

"Love and joyfully
follow the way,
the quiet way
to the happy country."
The Dhammapada: Sayings of the Buddha
by Thomas Byrom