A Book for Our Times, Part 3

     The last couple of weeks I was describing the powerful, relevant book Dialogues with a Modern Mystic by Andrew Harvey and Mark Matousek.  While they touch on many subjects, my ears (or eyes) perked up when I read a passage that touched on one of the themes of The Gemini Bond.  That is, that Twin Souls are symbolic of what must take place internally for us to evolve spiritually.  Here is how Mr. Harvey says it:

The Christian alchemists tell us that when in our being we have completed the sacred marriage of opposites, of the male and the female, the sun and the moon, the dark and the light, the conscious and the unconscious, we become a sacred androgyne-child, free of reason's madness and the ego's frivolous gloom, free of all conscious and unconscious barriers and definitions, mysterious and complete as reality itself and one with its mystery in the ground of our perfected being.

     That deserves some pondering, don't you think?

A Book for Our Times, Part 2

     Last week I was extolling the book Dialogues with a Modern Mystic by Andrew Harvey and Mark Matousek.  Even though it was written over two and a half decades ago, its words seem like they were written for exactly our times.  Here is a quote that seems fitting, I'm sure you'll agree:

Aging narcissists, which is what we're ruled by, are very dangerous people.  As death approaches, their hunger for power and to prove their immortality gets more and more hysterical.  They're willing to sacrifice more and more people on the altar of their own vanity.  It's frightening to look at the majority of politicians and businessmen who rule the world because they are so clearly terrified.  Their terror of losing power, and of death, makes them engines of destruction.  Through this denial, they're even willing to institutionalize the death of the environment.  This is the final paradox of narcissism, that it is willing to go on engineering total destruction in order to keep going and not have to face the shock and pain of truth; it will press the atomic button to keep alive its fiction of invincibility.  It is as mad as that.

    See?  Written for our times. 

A Book for Our Times

     A couple of years ago, I was browsing through a lovely used book store and a book practically shouted at me to take it home.  Of course, being the obliging sort, I did so (of course, I paid for it first).

     And this is a book for our times.  Even though it was copyrighted in 1994, it was definitely meant for our current generation to read.  What is this book, you ask.  It's Dialogues with a Modern Mystic by Andrew Harvey and Mark Matousek.  You may know Andrew Harvey as one of the foremost writers and speakers on the mystic life, but Mark Matousek is also a deep-thinking modern mystic.

     The book takes the form of a series of conversations between the two men on various topics.  It starts out with Harvey, primarily, warning of the dark future that faces humanity if we do not return to our hearts and live with compassion, justice, and love.  It then touches on several topics, including fear and courage, death and deathlessness, work, visions, humility, grief, and humor.  It is a book to read slowly, savor, and contemplate.

     I think we need to heed the call within this book.  Let it be a guiding light in our path to building a better future for all of us.  Highly recommended.

A Moment of Peace

Today we will take a moment

to breathe,

to connect,

to envision peace

within and

all around us.

Peace.

Peace.

Peace.

(image courtesy of pixabay.com)

Are You Being Vigilant?

     We have talked about this before, but with elections coming and misinformation flying like bees on spilled soda, I would like to remind you to stay vigilant.  There are those who have a vested interest in making you angry, outraged, or afraid so that they can bypass your rational mind and have you behave in ways that would benefit them.  Remember -- if you feel your emotions getting aroused when you see things on TV, hear them on the radio, or see them posted in social media, take a moment.  Step back.  Breathe.  Ask yourself -- Is this true?  Have you checked it with Snopes.com?  And then take one more second.  Ask yourself -- Who benefits from spreading this (mis)information?  And what actions do they want me to take?  Why?

     Don't be a puppet.  Be wise.  Be vigilant.

(image courtesy of pixabay.com)

A Different Kind of Poetry Book, Part 2

     Last week I was describing the unusual book by Daniel Ladinsky, Love Poems from God.  May I share one of my favorite poems from the book?  It's from St. Catherine of Siena (freely rendered by Mr. Ladinsky):

LIVE WITHOUT THOUGHT OF DYING

We work so hard to fly

and no matter what heights we reach

our wings get folded near a candle,

at the end,

for nothing can enter God but Himself.  

Our souls are some glorious substance of the divine

that no sentry wants to stop.

Live without thought of dying,

for dying is not a truth.

We have swayed on the sky's limb together,

many years there the same leaves grow.

But then they get that look in their eyes

and bid farewell to what they disdained or cherished.

This life He gave the shell, the daily struggles we know,

sit quiet for a minute dear, feel the wind,

let Light touch you.

Live without thought of dying,

for dying is not a truth.

A Different Kind of Poetry Book

     Before the pandemic, when I could go out to shop just for fun, I found a lovely store filled with books of all kinds along with artwork from local artists.  Just my kind of place.  I spent a long time there, head tilted sideways as I was looking at all the books being offered, when I picked up one that practically yelled at me to get.  And being the obliging sort, of course I bought it.  I mean, what's one more book?

     I've spent the last several months since savoring the poems in this most unusual book of poetry.  Written and/or compiled by Daniel Ladinsky, Love Poems from God features poetry that he created out the writings of twelve mystic writers from various traditions.  Which mystic writers? you ask.  Let me tell you:  Rabia, St. Francis of Assisi, Rumi, Meister Eckhart, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hafiz, St. Catherine of Siena, Kabir, Mira, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and Tukaram.  Both Eastern and Western traditions are featured, although it's interesting to see, when comparing the poems, how the poets often come to similar conclusions or dwell on similar themes.

     Daniel Ladinsky is the first to admit that he had fun taking liberties in his translations/adaptations.  Some of the poems are earthy, some are cheeky, some are downright naughty.  But they all point to the mystic's efforts to describe the sense of unity with the divine within.  This is a wonderful book to read and savor as long as you don't read some of the poems in church.  Recommended.