The singing bell
vibrating freely
sending its energy of love
out into the atmosphere
to dance and
land where it is needed.
May I live a clean
intentional life
just like the bell.
Giving freely
the peace that flows
through me
not of me.
Let the peace dance
out into the atmosphere
and land where it is needed.
© 5 Dec 20
We are beings of wisdom
wearing a coat of delusion
all too often.
Slough it off, don’t take it up.
The wisdom being has no need
of this coat.
We are not here to sort out the
troubles of the world (mine and yours)
in order to experience future happiness.
We are here to know and realise
happiness here
in every moment.
We are here to know and realise
freedom available
in every situation.
We are not here to collect moments
of enlightenment
like spiritual shopping.
We are here to know Oneness
is the essence in which everything
moves, behaves, rises and falls.
We are beings of wisdom
shaking off our coats of delusion.
© 4 Dec 20
Thank you
for noticing me
for listening to me
for acknowledging me
for trusting me
for not opposing me
for your gentleness
for your kind thoughts
for your attention
for your lack of criticism
Thank you
for listening to me.
© 19 Nov 20
A woodland burial
a joyful celebration
a hay barn full of love
a hay barn full of grief
a request to wear purple
a bell and a poem
a favourite piece of music
a hillside full of space
a family in loss
a family held in love
a clear bright sky
a gorgeous setting sun
a cry of geese
a symbol of Sangha
a flowering cherry tree
a joyful celebration
a reminder to live
a reminder to love
© 6 Nov 20
What will emerge?
Whatever it is
trust
all will be well.
I'm eager to meet you
eager to hear you
to discover our connection
our mutual understanding.
I feel your eagerness too.
We stand together
in a place of love
listening to the open silence
in which everything is held
nothing can harm it
or interrupt it.
We stand together
in an endless, limitless
place of love.
© 19 Nov 20
Where do I choose to dwell?
What world do I create for myself?
Stand at the crossroads
which path do I choose?
This road leads to freedom
this one to bondage.
This way leads to light
though it may be treacherous terrain.
This way leads to darkness
though it appears smooth and easy.
This track leads to community and
shared experience.
This track leads to a single, lonely life.
This lane leads to knowing, being
though it feels like
continual becoming.
This lane leads to certainty
and spiritual deafness.
This walk leads to peace
each step along the way peaceful.
This walk leads to doubt.
Fear and longing at every step.
Stand at the crossroads
which path do I choose?
There is no choice.
I long ago chose
the treacherous terrain
stumbling in unknowing
all the while confident
I walk with the light.
© 31 Oct 20
Thoughts and ideas
are dust motes
dancing in the light.
They are not the light
merely revealed by it.
The light consciousness
allows the transitory dust motes
to be seen as
coming and going
dancing and moving.
Pay attention to the light
not the dust motes.
Pay attention to the stillness
not the movement.
The light consciousness
allows seeing
and knowing.
© 30 Oct 20
Every out-breath
an opportunity to let go
an opportunity to be free.
With every out-breath
releasing ideas of who I am and
who I want to be.
With every out-breath
I surrender ‘myself’
to be my authentic self.
With every out-breath
letting thoughts pass
not engaging with them.
With every out-breath
knowing I am free.
© 30 Oct 20
What is the sound of
the jewel in the heart
which we call Oneness?
How to describe the
soundless song
resonating through every cell
in the universe?
Can you feel it, sense it, know it?
The jewel sounds through silence
sounds through
the growing flowers
the blowing wind
the glowing sun
in every smile.
Listen, listen
the sound of the jewel
the sound of love
resonating
in the heart of everything I say.
Listen, listen
with the ears of the heart.
The sound of the jewel is Oneness.
© 30 Oct 20
Eternal presence
beyond past and future
beyond the pinprick present
beyond time and space
beyond comprehension and ignorance
beyond desire and preference
always within
the open secret
of the heartspace.
© 28 Oct 20
Being breathed
being visited by thoughts
choosing not to take them on
being free.
Being breathed
knowing the flow of life-force
easing through this body
unstoppable.
Being breathed.
© 28 Oct 20
One by one
the leaves let go
from the trees
dancing gracefully
to land on river and earth
creating a soft, golden bed
to walk upon.
One by one
the raindrops drum their rhythm
on my hood and
on the already swollen river
creating a peaceful pattern
with which to walk.
One by one
the leaves and raindrops
sing the song of impermanence
sing the song of beauty
sing the song of love.
© 27 Oct 20
The moving mind
cannot know the light
only claiming it as itself.
The light allows its presence to be felt
in stillness.
Being in the world
stillness is necessary
to see beyond moving shadows
to the unmoving light.
Silence longs to be recognised
longs to be known.
The moving mind
cannot know silence
always full of noise.
Silence allows its presence to be known
in stillness
the foundation of mind, heart,
Oneness.
© 27 Oct 20
Still I stood
as the world passed by
houses, fields, trees
people, cars.
They were moving
not I.
I watched this passing show
delighting, not partaking.
Quiet I stood
as rain fell on the river, ripple-making
on the leaves, gently soothing.
I let myself become
stone, pebble, ever-flowing water
twirling leaf, singing bird.
© 2 Sep 20
I do not wish to be with
the clamour of cars
or the shout of shops
I wish to be with the
wonder of the woods
the rolling of the river
the shh of the stream
where a mink may make an appearance
and the kingfisher has it’s secret home.
where the blackbirds chatter in treetops
and everything sings a golden song.
© 15 Oct 20
We are born to be together
we are born dependent
we are born to interbe
we are communal beings
born to meet, interact, exchange
we are not separate, individual beings.
We are always together
always interbeing
always exchanging love
caring for each other
as myself.
I am whole
when I recognise
I am part
of you and you and you.
I am whole
when I see there is no
‘me’ and ‘you’
there is only us
interdependent
interbeing
delightfully One.
© 11 Oct 20
Yesterday, 11th October 2020, was Thich Nhat Hanh's 94th birthday, or continuation. On the Plum Village website we were invited to share a gift for Thay, something about how his teachings have touched our hearts. Here is mine!
Dear Thay, dear Beloved Community,
I want to share my story about how Thay’s teachings are reaching a wider audience in a Sangha not based in the Plum Village tradition. A group of friends learned to meditate in a different tradition and practised together for many years, and after some time we felt restricted by the dogmatic approach. One friend (D) met a guru (Swami ji) in India and chose to follow his teachings. Concurrently I was starting Ph.D. research in Thay’s teachings of Mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism. This group of friends meets together, calling ourselves SoS - Silence on Sundays, meeting for communal meditation and silence. As we are geographically spread we organise retreats and whilst the main focus is Swami ji’s teachings, Thay’s teachings fit in so beautifully. D in particular, and now everyone else, has a great love of and respect for Thay’s teachings.
We have introduced mindful walking, breathing and eating. When we consider readings from Swami ji I bring in Thay’s perspective, which is exactly the same only different words. These ongoing retreats (we have been meeting together for 10 years) enable me to deepen my understanding of Thay’s teachings. There is no conflict from the apparently different approaches, we meet together in Oneness and clearly see the interbeing aspect in words of truth, whether they appear to come through Swami ji or Thay.
When researching my Ph.D. I shared my research on the retreats and everyone was very supportive and helpful. We looked at the 5 Mindfulness Trainings together, and it was useful for me to hear how they are received by people to whom they are not familiar. We watched the film Walk With Me together, and I was delighted to be able to share with them my love of Plum Village, and what it is like to go on retreat there.
We currently meet on zoom every week and for many of us this constant connection has kept us sane and happy throughout lockdown and beyond.
I share with you my favourite phrase from Swami ji,
“It is such a joy that whilst seeking in the world of forms, I found you sitting in my own heart”.
This is where I found Thay, initially through his books, and then on retreats at Plum Village. When I first saw Thay in 2009, walking into the meditation hall to deliver a Dharma talk I knew he was already in my heart. I knew I wanted to practise in this tradition (I had come on my first retreat as a researcher!) and to practise Thay’s wonderful teachings. In 2014 I received the transmission of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings in Plum Village from Sr Chang Khong. Now I am fortunate to teach the Be Calm Be Happy mindfulness course based in Thay’s teachings. Each week I connect deeply with Thay and share my love of the Plum Village tradition with the participants.
I have learnt so much from Thay and Plum Village, and continue to do so. When I stop and breathe mindfully, when I smile at an autumn leaf, the bright moon, when I walk mindfully in my garden I know I am Thay’s continuation. I write poems based in mindfulness and I know they come from Oneness, they are not my words, they come through me and I pass them on, out into the world.
A deep bow of gratitude to Thay, and to your journey bringing you west so we were able to meet. A deep bow of love from all in the SoS Family.
Lauri, True Mountain of Non-fear.
I am ready!
Ready to leave this self-imposed cage
of which I hold the key.
Ready to merge into my true nature
of pure, perfect and free.
All that holds me back
are my thoughts and ideas
created by the bird who thinks she is caged.
She hears the song of freedom
calling, calling, calling her
not realising she is the song.
She feels the breath of freedom
ruffling her feathers
not realising it is her own breath.
How can it be otherwise?
The cage is created from ideas and beliefs
thoughts and conditionings of
‘who I think I am’.
Once the bird hears the freedom song
the cage begins to change.
Her eyes are opened to seeing reality.
Instead of a beautiful and cosy nest
she sees limitations, impositions,
restrictions.
The cage becomes too small
to hold a free being
too small to stretch her wings.
She hears the song of freedom
calling, calling, calling her
and responds.
The cage of mind dissolves
disintegrates.
The self-imposed cage of mind
cannot exist for a free bird.
She hears the song of freedom
calling, calling, calling her
and responds
knowing she is the song.
© 6 Oct 20
I gave away my authority
to the mind and the senses.
Instead of keeping them in check
as obedient servants
I let them run wild
returning to me
with false information and lies.
I now take back my authority.
I rein in the wild horses of
mind and senses
I stable them close to my heart.
Instead of their incessant whittering
I heed the constant, quiet pulse
of my own heart
emanating from awareness and knowing.
The world is not ‘out there’
to be sorted out and fixed
It is within me
complete, perfect and whole.
I know Love alone
is constant, durable, unending, forgiving.
I place my confidence in Love alone.
It will not fail.
No matter how believable,
the mind and senses cannot provide constancy, completion
they dwell in a world of impermanence
ever moving and changing.
For a long time
I have wandered in the world
seeking to attain
to know, to become
seeking to get what I lack
all the while moving further away
from my true home.
Now I come home knowing
there is no lack
there is nothing to attain
there is nothing to know.
The home I wandered from
is where the answers lie
simple and straightforward.
This home of Love
is where I belong
where I choose to dwell
where I am completely myself
pure, perfect, free.
There is no lack
there is nothing to attain.
Let go of doubt and self-criticism
bring them close
let them sit by the fireside
to be complete in themselves.
Fear is stirred up
in the world of mind.
Let mind go,
come home to Love,
to awareness.
Fear cannot exist here
where confidence, acceptance,
generosity abound.
This home of Love
is where I belong
where I choose to dwell
where I am completely myself
pure, perfect, free.
© 27 Sep 20
Take out the stoppers
set free the infinite well of love
residing in your heart.
Let it wash over all that appears
good or bad
right or wrong.
Let it soak into all the cracks
seep into the walls we raise
to separate and divide.
Let it wash them away
they are not as sturdy or unbreakable
as they appear.
Set free the infinite well of love
residing in your heart.
© 15 Sep 20
We are one in the endeavour
there is no giver or receiver
we are one
there is no lover and beloved
we are one
there is no teacher and learner
we are one
It is all embraced in love
encased in love
swimming in love
living in love.
© 18 Sep 19
Today
be courageous
be really courageous
allow yourself time and space
to journey beyond time and space
to meet yourself
sitting in your favourite chair
wearing your favourite clothes.
Be courageous enough to meet yourself
be yourself
love yourself.
There is no greater gift than this
no greater blessing than this.
Allow yourself to stop and breathe
to be
just be
with no thought of what comes next
no thought of what is.
Lay down your plans, thinking, schemes
they are the blocks
that stop you meeting yourself.
Release the covers of ignorance
the creator of shade and darkness
let the light shine out.
A daring one looks inward
to meet themselves.
Many are called
few hear the call
fewer still heed the call
knowing it as myself, not other.
Today
be courageous
be really courageous.
Oneness longs to be discovered
acknowledged, known and loved.
© 2 Sep 20
A conscious non-doing
allowing the universe to speak
instead of our small, narrow mind.
A conscious turning away from
the mundane every day
turning towards unknowing
with a willing and open heart.
Meditation is to be
desire-free, need-free, carefree.
Allowing all ideas of me and mine
to be thrown into the wind
to see how and where and if
they will land.
Meditation is not an action
but a conscious non-action
a giving up of doing to allow being.
Space to see and hear the ideas
of who we think we are
that keep us small and bound
Transcending all ideas
to be who we always are and have been
pure, perfect, free.
© 1 Sep 20
Why not now?
Why not this moment?
What holds you back from
complete awakening?
Mind, only mind.
Decades of habit and
belief in being human.
The habit of doing
defined by that doing
so compelling, so attractive
so addictive.
We have spent a lifetime
believing that doing human
is the pinnacle of success and happiness.
All experience meanwhile
proving this not to be the case.
Happiness is an internal
not external condition.
Listen to the heart
that knows
dwelling place of truth
reality, freedom.
Listen no more to the
long-winded, repetitive
bluster of the mind
convincing, conniving.
Listen to the silence
in the heart
saying so much.
Stop the outer search
it was only ever within.
Why not now?
Why not this moment?
© 30 Aug 20
Coming home
to my best friend
who only greets me with love
no matter how I present myself
who does not see a tired
worn out body needing to
‘get into shape’
and loves this body just as it is
who cares not what I think
of myself
no matter how low my thoughts
can take me
and only greets me as whole
complete and shining
who pays no heed to how little
self-love I offer
and only has a full and open heart.
My best friend
who invites me to stay awhile
in quiet meditation
paying no heed to whether I think
I can or can’t
paying no heed to the ‘quality’
of my meditation
and only says,
just rest.
Coming home
to my best friend
who sees no labels, no conditions
no shortcomings
who knows me only as
pure, prefect and free
who is my mirror
and provides space
to allow me to see
we are One.
© 13 Aug 20
