Saturday, May 4, 2013

InI Nature


The following poem is dedicated to specific moments in life when we transcend our physical being and enter a heightened reality. When the distinction between body and earth blurs and spirituality clarifies. At times these moments are brief. When our heart is in the right place, they last forever.

I think we all enter this realm of being at some point. Some choose to explore it; others don’t. Thank you for choosing the former. Thank you for wandering up this path with me…

*****

When we take the time to lie in the grass and really observe it. The forest floor where ants wander and grasshoppers live like lions.
The world underneath our feet

When the sun shines

Lying down in the field at night and feeling the presence of the stars and the moon

Time of silence at water’s edge

Marveling at architecture
            Natural and manmade
            Unsurpassed in beauty and efficiency
                                   
Matisyahu when the time is right
The same goes for Marley


Music


Knowing that this is the beginning, not the end, as I sit down to write this

Knowing what’s there
Holding back and letting go

Dancing freely, shoeless, with God

Dancing with the people I love
Even if they’re not around

The perfectly imperfect limbs of the Oak Trees
                        Winding their way towards the ground
                        Branches reconnecting with roots
                        Then soaring again towards the heavens

Attempting to capture this living, breathing world with words and a camera
But knowing life cannot be captured
Knowing life is free

Running through the woods with Bunny Wailer
Anywhere with Bunny Wailer

Crying as I write
            Shedding tears that I have held back
            Water filled with innocence and honesty
            Pain and heartbreak

We have weakened our connection with Mother Earth and hers was so visibly present, so vibrant. Integrated, 
                               Interested,
Connected
When I’m with her the barrier we have built up with our roads and our buildings crumbles.

Walking barefeet
Running barefeet
Hiking barefeet

Climbing rocks and scaling mountains
with nothing on my back
with nothing in my mind

The feel of the land

The trust in it


Releasing all worries, all fears, all expectations


Perceiving aspects of one’s reality previously unknown
The heart and mind liberated from senseless shackles


Discovering anything for the first time

Self

Discovery


America
       Native. America
Anyone anywhere who is forcibly removed from the land they love by humans who consider themselves superior

                        Forced to land where water doesn’t run
                        Where grass doesn’t grow


Overstanding that the connection between man and earth surpasses life
                                                                                                            surpasses death


The purifying power of water healing my body
Quenching my thirst



Honoring God
Honoring the Self
Quieting the mind and Feeling the breath


Writing these words
I miss the Creator
I miss walking in silent bliss
So I seek truth through sound
Knowing it’s a temporary tool,
a source of inspiration for myself
and hopefully
for Us

You see I write
because one night
sitting on a rock
that rests on the beach
caressed by the ocean
I looked up at the Moon
shining in the sky
and she said,
“I gifted you language.
Share it as best you can.”

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hermanos

We have the same Lion Mane, just a different face
Meditate, Elevate, Feel the gift of Jah Grace
It's hard to practice conscious living
Gonna rise and a'fall
Still we strip the Soul naked
Feel at Home where we are

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Share your art, share your heart, share the spaces within
Share the here, share the now, share the places we've been
River run, water fall, mountain soar in the sky
Share the fruit, share the herb, share the mystical high
Sing your song, your lion roar, howl your lonely wolf cry
When darkness come, don't hide nor run, there's no day without night

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Raise the youth with the truth, watch them seeds grow
Slow the mind, stop the time, we don't know what we know
Grief and praise, rejoice and mourn, we've all loved and we've lost
Sound the horn, crown of thorn, time to take up the cross

With heavy pack and aching back pilgrims climb through the mist
Sons and Daughters, Mothers Fathers, seeking spiritual bliss
Walk for days, walk for miles, drinking water and wine
Moonlit night, fire light, for the Sun of Divine

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

They took our land, demand we bow to the way of their God
Stole the bricks from our temples, built their churches on top
But church and temple, mosque and tipi, I-man it's all the same
Hold no hatred, hold no grudge, honor every name

Keep ya root, keep ya culture
Remember Pacha y Sol
Share the story of ancestors
So our Heart becomes whole

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

Way-a-why-a-ney-sha
Why-a-way-a-shay-noh

We have the same Lion Mane, just a different face
Meditate, Elevate, Feel the gift of Jah Grace
It's hard to practice conscious living
Gonna rise and a'fall
Still we strip the Soul naked
Feel at Home where we are

Still we strip the Soul naked
Feel at Home where we are


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Entrance

Culture births Language
a Cyclic Pulse
driven by the rhythm
as the story's told

Gather children round
gather children listen
Sacred ceremony
builds the temples of tradition

Listen with the Heart
for Love knows no judgment
instincts often overshadowed
by mental corruption

Planetary confinement
exists only in the mind
Who taught us live was lived
in Gregorian time?

We wear clothes out in the street
change in other people´s eyes
but these coats of many colors
cover truth unverbalized

Dreaming, Dreaming, Dreaming
Remember now
Humans weep on Earth
Rain Gods weep in clouds

Dance home with me Brethren
surrender to the flow
set down your swords and spears
no need to shield the Soul

Shower the Saints and Spirits
with childlike affection
all forms of existence
are threads of perfection

Rise up the Chi
aware of the breath
feel through the Chakras
gentle warm depth

Slip away, Slip away
Mind fully clear
Melt away, Melt away
Oneness
                 is
                      Here

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Grandfather

The last drops of a heavy rain trickle off the tin roof as Father Sun greets the Mother Lake. Roosters crow in anticipation, raggedy dogs cry in the street, and Grandmother Moon waxes in the blue sky as the jungle birds carry on Earth's song. A song so powerful, so complex, it takes all of creation to sing it into being.

The Mother Lake's deep turquoise water rests under Her Daughters, three densely forested volcanoes, and the surrounding cloud-covered mountain range. Patches of maíz and flowers of every essence enlighten the green hills. Tucked in between the Mother Lake and the mountains is where the forgetting-remembering humans dwell. Wispy smoke rises from their concrete pueblos, tortillas hot on comals, and the day is born.

The women sit in the market place, bartering and selling, teaching the younger women through action and word. Their vibrant, distinguished clothing emanates centuries of earth-taught wisdom. They chatter in native dialect until a viajero arrives and the tongue flows into Spanish.

The old men sit in their hand-carved cayucos, patiently waiting for hungry fish to bite, while the middle-aged men climb the mountain paths in pursuit of firewood. Those with small plots of land work the fields for harvest: corn, cucumber, carrot, squash, potato, peanut, melon, banana, avocado, cacao, and other bountiful gifts.

Tuc-tucs hum in the street, joining the pitter-patter of sandaled feet, and church music floats in the air. Children of God are everywhere. Some are in school. Some are apprenticing with elders. Some work in local tiendas. Some fly makeshift kites. Others wander and wonder, seeking something to spark the senses. Each is learning in his or her own way, in his or her own time.

I sit silently, entranced in the moment, listening with my heart. Forgetting yesterday, forgetting tomorrow, remembering to be here now.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Fear

Smoky storm clouds
pour into volcanoes
as sunset illuminates the Mother Lake

The Gods shake and groan
electrifying the air
in silence

A pittar patter
of steady raindrops
pounds the earth
like sandaled feet on the run

Are you afraid
when the mist rolls in?
Do you close your eyes, or
do you walk through
the doorway of darkness
trusting the light?