That Gull A Thought Across My Sky

Composer Robert Rich on the power of music to open up an entirely new world of consciousness

Despite his skepticism regarding the therapeutic benefits of sleep concerts, Robert Rich remains convinced that the right music can open up an entirely new world of consciousness. When I ask why it’s important to pay attention to our subconscious and our dreams, he fixes me with a look that’s at once urgent and sympathetic. “So much of what we experience is in parallel to our sense of self. We have this little script that says, ‘me, me, me, me, me,’ all day long, and we place ourselves right behind our eyes in this physical world and think that’s all there is. But our organs of perception are constantly processing things in the periphery. If we ignore that, we’re ignoring much of ourselves.”

“I feel that we are becoming really disconnected from our planet and our bodies,” he continues, his expression becoming more urgent. “As we get older, we realize what a blink life is, how fast it goes, and the technologies around us conspire to distract us from what really matters—community, the planet, the environment, love, joy. The thing-ness of reality is very important, and if I have a lifelong goal, it’s to try to help people stay aware of being in this world, in a body, for the very short time that we’re here.”

~ Robert Rich, quoted in “Songs in the Key of Zzz: A History of Sleep Music,” Pitchfork (October 2015), http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9738-songs-in-the-key-of-zzz-the-history-of-sleep-music/

Zen Master Zenkei Shibayama on Real Experience

However great the conceptual knowledge and understanding might be, in the face of real experience, concepts are like flakes of snow fallen on a burning fire.
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Zen Master Zenkei Shibayama

Mulla Nasrudin and the ‘Snake’

Not far into a long lonely journey, Mulla Nasrudin saw on the road in the distance a piece of rope that looked to him very much like a snake. Dismounting from his donkey, he led it back down the road and cried out to some other travelers: “Stop! Stop! Danger lies ahead! There may be snakes!”

The travelers immediately came to a stop and began to talk with him and amongst themselves: “What? What snakes?! Is there a way around? Perhaps we should band together for safety!”

This discussion went on for some time, after which they all carefully crept forward as a group, highly alert to possible perils.

As they got closer, one of the more sharp-sighted travelers laughed and cried out: “Hey, Mulla, is that your ‘snake’? But it is nothing but a rope, an illusion!”

“Oh, I know that,” replied Mulla Nasrudin, unperturbed, “but it’s an illusion that I was able to put to very good use!”

 

Copyright ^© J. C. Graham (2015). Mulla Nasrudin and the ‘Snake.’ Copy and distribute freely if noncommercially, unchanged, with attribution, and including this notice.

Ocean Shore View 2

Ocean Shore View 2

The Squirrel-A-Whirl Incident

Dear Dave,

Sorry I’ve been out-of-touch, Old Buddy, but we haven’t had power these past few weeks, ever since the unfortunate Squirrel-A-Whirl Incident (which shortly I’ll recount to you), so of course e-mail has been out of the question. Truth be told, the computer system has been up again since last Monday, but I’ve been so preoccupied coping with the chaos in the backyard, and our home’s wiring system, that this is the first chance I’ve gotten a chance to write you a note explaining what’s been going on with us. I think that you’ll agree that the course to our mishaps began innocently enough.

One day in early May, after work, Jill and I stopped by Buck-Moore Feed and Seed, to pick up a bag of seed for our doves (you remember: Pico and the gang). Casually looking around the shop, as the helpful attendent went to get a 50 lb. sack of Ful-O-Pep Parakeet Mix from the back, I noticed on a shelf by the front window, packaged in a box, the “Squirrel-A-Whirl” contraption. On the front of the box there was a picture of a cute squirrel evidently swinging around on a wooden dowel as the little fellow attempted to get to a ear of dried corn stuck onto the end of it. The picture showed three such baited dowels set out of a central rotating wheel.

“Keep squirrels away from your bird feeders, and have endless hours of entertainment yourself,” I read on the box. “Squirrels love to ride the ‘Squirrel-A-Whirl’ (TM) as the little acrobats feed and enjoy being swung about on our patented ‘Squirrel-A-Whirl’ (TM) carrousel. (Place in part of yard away from birdfeeders).”

And, in tiny letters at the bottom of the box: “Not responsible for any damage that may result from use of the ‘Squirrel-A-Whirl’ (TM) feeder. User assumes all liabilities.”

“What damage?” I thought. “Maybe a squirrel might fall off, but his kin would be unlikely to sue.” Little did I know…

<continue reading: The Squirrel-A-Whirl Incident

Ocean Shore View

Ocean Shore View

Loving Treatment (Louise L. Hay)

DEEP AT THE CENTER OF MY BEING, there is an infinite well of love. I now allow this love to flow to the surface. It fills my heart, my body, my mind, my consciousness, my very being, and radiates out from me in all directions and returns to me multiplied. The more love I use and give, the more I have to give, the supply is endless. The use of love makes ME FEEL GOOD, it is an expression of my inner joy. I love myself; therefore, I take loving care of my body. I lovingly feed it nourishing foods and beverages, I lovingly groom it and dress it, and my body lovingly responds to me with vibrant health and energy. I love myself; therefore, I provide for myself a comfortable home, one that fills all my needs and is a pleasure to be in. I fill the rooms with the vibration of love so that all who enter, myself included, will feel this love and be nourished by it.

I love myself; therefore, I work at a job that I truly enjoy doing, one that uses my creative talents and abilities, working with and for people that I love and that love me, and earning a good income. I love myself; therefore, I behave and think in a loving way to all people, for I know that that which I give out returns to me multiplied. I only attract loving people in my world, for they are a mirror of what I am. I love myself; therefore, I forgive and totally release the past and all past experiences and I am free. I love myself; therefore, I live totally in the now, experiencing each moment as good and knowing that my future is bright and joyous and secure, for I am a beloved child of the universe and the universe lovingly takes care of me now and forever more. And so it is.

I love you.

Louise L. Hay (1988). Heal Your Body. Santa Monica, CA: Hay House Inc., p. 84

Ace of Hearts

“The essence of true love is, above all, faith – in the ineffable reverence that grows out of the union with a beloved. This beloved can be your inner self or another human soul. The root meaning of love is to acknowledge absolute concern for another being. In order to express this empathy for another, one must secure self-love in one’s own heart.

In this card, two mermaids joyously push a Winged Heart up from the sea. It is offered as an inspired sunrise, touching the golden light of the sky. This heart reveals the acceptance of love at the highest level, for the heart is the vessel of life, adorned with wings of spiritual freedom.

An ace in any suit is always positive. This card affirms that a new opportunity in the realm of love is rising out of the depths of the past, symbolized by the ocean. This new love may be a person, an idea, the realization of a dream, or a new creative endeavor. Open your heart to what this card offers you, because it holds the key to exploring the higher dimensions of universal love. Have faith in love, for it can comfort you in times of crisis. Love is like an eternal flame whose steady light can always guide you during times of personal darkness. Love is always there, and will never abandon you.”

~ Isha Lerner and Mark Lerner (1992). Inner Child Cards, a journey into fairy tales, myth, and nature. Santa Fe, NM: Bear & Co., p.213

Our Desires are an Indispensable Resource for Spiritual Enlightenment

“… as Lama Yeshe, Tibetan master of Buddhist Tantra points out, religion often becomes a form of suppression instead of a method for transcending our limitations. Instead of viewing pleasure and desire as something to be avoided at all costs. Tantra recognizes the energy aroused by our desires to be an indispensable resource for spiritual enlightenment. This same view is expressed in the Talmud in the words of third-century Rabbi Arika, who said that we will have to account to God for all the good things our eyes beheld but which we refused to enjoy.”

~David Schnarch (1997). Passionate Marriage. NY: W. W. Norton & Co., p. 400.