Here, Now, In; 3 Doors to Presence

3 Doors to Contemplative Presence:

Here.

Now.

In.

There is only one time: Now.

There is only one place: Here

There is only one direction: In

There is only one time: Now.

The past can only become a source of wisdom, after that it is left in the hands of Divine Mercy...

The future is hidden, but belongs to Divine Providence... 

So worry and anxiety are useless. 

God intends the best for you and will not deny any gift or grace that will enable you to become all you are meant to be. 

What we perceive as a "No" in prayer to a desire is really always a "Yes" to the fulfilment of the desire in a better and deeper way than we could have imagined at that time.

The Present arises from the moment by moment loving attention of Divine Compassion... 

Your "job" is to get past the distractions so as to see the Now for what it is: 

Divine Love in action... 

Co-operate with this Love that is God, 

yield to it fully and be faithful to its call 

and the present becomes an infinite space 

of encounter with the God who IS Love.

There is only one place: Here

You are nowhere but here. 

Here, wherever it is for you in this moment we call now, is the place of Divine Encounter. 

It is your desert, your temple, your tabernacle, your burning bush. 

“God", said St. Bonaventure, "is One whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." 

Divine Presence is always fully present to you. You are just distracted by all the thoughts and desires of egoic nature that would have you yearn to be elsewhere in different circumstances. 

If you are here then so is God and your here is where He will work with and through you for the building of the kingdom, if you but tune in and know; and it is this attendance to the present moment that changes our circumstances. 

If you are in a place of trauma or pain then this may require physically moving from that space. But you are never journeying to God. God is with you here in your pain and with deep listening to Him right here, right now the path and call to move and to heal will be made clear.

He is where you are 

that you may be one day 

consciously where He IS.

There is only one direction: In.

All other directions are limited. 

Eventually we tire of them, 

we exhaust them and are exhausted by them.

We discover that they are fading and will one day fade completely. 

All except In. 

Only In lasts. 

Only In is. 

In is the direction that brings us to the true self, and through the true self to the place of stillness and emptiness and clarity, 

beyond the false and fallen self, 

where we finally know our true centre, our heart, 

beholding it in the Light of Divine Love 

from which it first arose as a perfect idea. 

We were eternally an idea in the Divine Mind, 

a movement of the infinitely creative love that we call God, 

who in the fullness of time 

brought us into being, 

loved us into being, 

holds us in being in Love 

and calls us to abide in Love eternally. 

In teaches us who we are. 

We discover we are love loved by Love. 

All other names may change, 

all other circumstances 

may come and go, 

arise and fall, 

change and even disappear. 

Only love is eternal. 

Only In In brings us to the source of real Love.

There is only one time: Now.

There is only one place: Here

There is only one direction: In

Cocoon; a meditation on metamorphosis

 Cocoon

Do not expect cocooning 

To be easy.

It is not a time of rest

But of rebirth.

They used to think 

That the Caterpillar 

Merely slept there,

Awaiting the wonder of wings.

This is not true.

To cocoon means 

The breaking down of self,

Of letting go of all 

that may be considered 

Caterpillar.

Yielding to the chrysalis call.

Dropping all that is old identity, 

All that is desire,

All that is hungry, 

All that is eating, eating, eating,

Endlessly.

When the moment comes, called

To go to the cool dark underleaf, underlog place,

To spin the silk of silent self,

The Caterpillar dissolves,

Touches the point of nothingness

Of being;

Become now

Neither Caterpillar

Nor Butterfly

Become simply, potential,

Until new form is found,

Until the selfmade tomb is too tight

And Butterfly is birthed, 

bursting blessing, beauty.

A journey through stillness 

into freedom,

Into flight,

No one who knew the Caterpillar

Would know it in the Butterfly,

No one who knows the Butterfly 

Would see in it 

Even the memory

Of Caterpillar,

Yet within there is

A continuity of being

A new recipe out of old ingredients

A life remade, a seed flowered, a potency fulfilled,

There is pain in this

I am sure.

How could there not be?

There is always pain 

In surrender,

In transformation,

In new life, new birth

Death before resurrection,

Letting go, before letting be

This is the divine order of things

This is why there hides

Even here, even now,

In all your old Caterpillar desiring,

In the hunger at the core of your being,

The promise of Butterfly

If you would but surrender 

To the call

Of the cocoon.

If you would know, 

even for a day,

The wonder of wings

The freedom of flight.

8th May 2020 

Pic without attribution on the web

Entering the Doors of Glory

              The Doors of Glory:

There are 

moments 

when 

the world 

opens up

and is 

revealed

as a door 

to glory;

when, 

between 

the twined trees, 

or upon 

the stacked stones,

or along 

the shingled shore,

or within

the heavy houses,

in a landscape 

long known,

but fading

daily

into familiarity,

the 

slanting sun 

sudden touches, 

in its rising 

or 

in its setting,

details, perhaps 

unnoticed 

until then.

Gilding them 

gold, its beams, 

bell like, 

sound

a soul call

to slow,

to stop, 

to stare,

to attend 

upon the 

filigreed 

moment

when the 

divine depth

welcomes 

us 

home again

to the 

holy beauty

of that 

which is.

There we, 

struck still, 

and wounded 

anew

by wonder's weal, 

find our 

inner eye

opened,

and soul-see 

all afire

with

glory,

now making of 

our 

everywhere 

a door,

a gate,

a garden,

where 

our senses,

barefooted 

and blessed

anew,

behold 

the Light

by which

all 

that is

abides.

Pic of sunset on one of the fairy hills

The Still Point

 On Good Shepherd Sunday may we remember to allow Him to guide us to the still waters...

Still Point.

There is

a 

still-point 

at the 

centre 

of our

being

that,

when

entered

humbly

and with

reverence,

opens

up

to infinite

spaciousness,

invites us

into

eternal

depths

and 

there 

reveals 

the face 

of

Divine Love

as

Fire

burning 

within

and

without.

To enter

its door

simply,

and without

hurry,

travel the 

ancient road

of 

breath

and find 

the

sanctuary

that has 

always awaited 

you

there

at the

crossroads

between 

the

inhale and exhale

of your

being.

When you

arrive,

stop.

Sit 

and 

listen

to the

deep rhythm

of 

stillness

breathing 

through 

you

the 

Divine Name

until its 

sound

is 

your 

song

and then,

you will 

have come

home

to

your

true-self

again.

Suggestions

 Suggestions:

Look at the sky; to do so draws you up and out of your thoughts.

Look at the ocean; in its flowing tides, its calms and its storms it will give you a sense of perspective.

Look at the trees; they will reach you both rootedness and the ability to let go.

Look up from the ground and meet the world with compassion.

Look at each person you meet as a teacher sent with an important lesson for you.

Live seasonally; enter fully the joy and the beauty of each one as it arises and then do not cling to them as they bid you farewell.

There is nothing you can do about the passing of time except to learn from the past and then live in the present.

Experiences without reflection are just events.

Experiences with reflection become wisdom.

Know the difference between the tears that purify and the tears that do not. 

Never hold back the former. 

Touch, taste, smell, listen deeply to all that is, remember, if it exists it has meaning even if it does not reveal it to you.

Living plants are better than cut flowers but always try and have a little of nature near you.

Listen for the birds, greet the dogs and cats and all creatures you meet along the way as fellow citizens of the one earth as brothers and sisters in being.

Live so as to cause as little harm to other beings as is possible.

Advocate for the weak and the downtrodden,

make space for those who have been silenced by life to speak and then listen.

Plant seeds. 

Grow a garden, and, if possible eat from it, it will teach you your dependence on the earth for bodily sustenance.

Sing, hum, whistle; let music be part of you especially the music that arises unbidden and seems to come from deep within.

Spend time with the very young and the very old, both will help you be yourself again.

Share.

Speak less. Listen more.

Pause before you post anything online. Ask will it bring more compassion to the world?

Learn the names of things: 

not just Tree; but Beech, Oak, Ash. 

Not just Bird; but Robin, Jackdaw, Wren.

Be polite and thankful towards those who have the job of serving you; waiting staff, shop assistants, cleaners etc and remember that everyone you meet has a story at least as complicated as yours.

Bend, stretch, move, dance; do not become confined in or separated from your body,

honour it with respect and kindness. 

Tell it you love it until you do. 

Rest.

Draw, paint, doodle, play with colour and shapes and as you do so watch what emerges. 

Do not characterise it as good or bad.

Compare yourself with no one. 

There is no universal map for a human life, but there is a universal destiny; to become love.

Remember the greatest potential for good or ill exists just as much within you as it does in others

Watch the dawn and the dusk often, both are great teachers in their own way.

Seek truth always. 

Be open to the fact that you could always be wrong.

Apologise.

Be polite.

Smile when you feel you are able to,

but be honest about how you feel.

Teach yourself the value of unstimulated solitude. 

The fear of being alone can lead to poor choices at any age. 

Treasure solitude and treasure connection. The balance you will need between them is unique to you.

Let your eyes rest on books more than screens. 

Read the older stories. 

If they are still with us it is because they have much to teach us. 

Laugh, as much as possible, as often as possible. 

Do not make the mistake of surrounding yourself with sad media when you feel sad. 

If you can’t take being happy at that moment at least choose that which brings equilibrium.

The most difficult mystical teaching of all is this: forgive everyone for everything and remember that Love is an act of will, not an emotional reaction.

Learn to sit still, to breathe consciously and to watch your thoughts and feelings as they come and go. They are not you.

Pray, meditate and do so as much in silence as with words.

Honour your ancestors. 

No matter their story they have something to teach you about how to be, or how not to be.  

Realise the vast majority are doing the best that they can with the knowledge that they have in that moment.

Be.

Finally; 

before all else and above all else; 

act justly,

love tenderly

and walk humbly with your God.

Meeting Otherness; a poem for these days

 A reminder for these troubled days...

Meeting otherness.

When you meet the other,

whoever they are,

stop.

Just stop.

Stop 

long enough

to become

present

to their

being

as a door

to

Divine Presence.

When you meet the other,

whoever they are,

bow.

Just bow.

Bow 

low enough

to reverence

their being

as a gift

held in existence

by

Divine Love.

When you meet the other,

whoever they are,

listen.

Just listen.

Listen 

long enough

to hear

their truth

revealed

as a page

of the story

written by

the

Divine Word.

When you meet the other,

whoever they are,

stop.

Just stop.

Bow.

Just bow.

Listen.

Just listen.

And then,

only then,

in the 

hallowed

space

between you

and the other,

whoever they are,

speak.

Earth Day 2021

 A meditation for Earth Day:

To live in Contemplative Communion is to live with the eye of the heart open; to see behind and beneath the veils of sense into the mystery of sacramentality, the mystery of divine presence made manifest in and through creation. 

It is to see the earth in its beauty and maternal seasons of fruit and plenty as a call to trust in providence and live according to its rhythms and patterns; and then, in time of scarcity to feel the call of compassion and mutual sharing. 

It is a call to know its very stones as a lesson in stability and stillness, to know its trees as torches lighting the way to heaven, their leaves as sparks upon the wind. 

It is the call to recognise in every creature the living breath of the Holy Spirit who sustains life, and to bow in reverence before such temples and tabernacles of the Most High. 

It is the call to recognise the wholeness at the heart of our brokenness, the mercy that is new each day and in each moment. 

It is the call to know time itself as a revelation of the eternity from which it arises and to find infinite depths of love and service available in each moment. 

It is to know that even sin and evil may be turned to our good when seen in the light of Light and surrendered to the grace of Love's love.

It is simply to dwell in grace, and then in and through grace to become grace for others.

(Pic found on Google with no attribution)