Waking Up to Now.... day 2

the full series will be at, PoemsFromNow.com

Today's a day to smile

It's good for us.
We know it.
People around us know it.

So: when to smile.
When you see another person.
When you see a cloud, or a leaves or the sky.

That's one game to play today:
See people, see reflected light: smile.

Another is this:
Sit quietly and sense your entire right leg, from toes,
all the toes
to the hip joint
Eyes closed
Then, keep the leg in awareness and start with your right fingers
and move up through your right arm to the right
shoulder socket.

Enjoy the whole right arm and the whole left leg

Breathe

Add on sounds.
Add on awareness of breathing , your breathing as you hear sounds.

Open your eyes.

Now the main game of the day:
Sense your right arm and right leg all day,
as much and
as fully as you can.

Talking
walking
reading this
sending emails
doing the text/ phone thing
driving
eating

right arm
right leg

they aren't going any where

where is your attention?

bring it on home, for the fun
and grounding
and freeing of it



This will be lopsided, yes,
and being mindless is
more lopsided, don't you think.


You can smile and eat light while you do
this,
if you wish.

what is the key to a good life?

what is the key to a good life?

perhaps this:
realizing you are going to die,
and hence,
you are alive,
and hence,
can be experiencing one and only one
moment:

now

Now, Nature and Love

We look at a river, a creek, an ocean, a meadow, a redwood, and oak,
even an elm.

Easy to enjoy.
East to just look, take it in, feel content, happy, at ease.

Nature reflecting back to us
the wonder of creation.

Telling us really, how grand we
are
how grand is life.

These are sweet messages:
the sky is just there
and as it is:
perfect, wonderful,
and we can love it

almost any time
we slow down
and come into the
now

the right now
now

and let the sky be what we
see
without even the word
"sky"

without even the word "blue"

but that color
ah, without a name
and with all that bouncing around in
our retina
and in our brain
and in our heart
and in our whole Selves:

what sweetness

and the sweetness
which is who we really are
makes us remember
who we really are:

love

we are love
and we blame the sky,
which we feel we love

or the river or the creek or the meadow
or the rose
or the cat or the mouse or the mockingbird dove quail
horse squirrel deer moose pigeon

nature
and now
and love

they kind of all swirl together

and when we are "in love"
it is as if we are seeing the beloved
the way we see a rose
perfect
or the ocean
marvelous
or the robin
delightful

nature is just fine
we don't want it to gain weight loose weight
appreciate us more
talk more talk less
say just the right thing

in fact
loud ocean
silent leaf shimmer
nature has a non verbal glory
that is
one of the hallmarks
of the now;

just what is

without the blah, blah
explaining it

even this blah, blah,
which might,
like good blah blah
inspire you to shut down the computer
and go stroll a bit
in the now
in the nature

in love
with
yourself
life
people around you

the whole
she
bang

Good.

Slow down, in the emotional world, too/ divorce advice good 4 us all

In a time of divorce
or separation
or breakup,
the temptations are two:

to simply lie down, pull the covers over one's head
and
"give up:

and
to add a bunch of extra activities,
learn Spanish,
take dance lessons,
keep busy every single night

Ah, yes.
Well, in a way, both are useful if they
shift us out of the rut
we were in,
AND they are only useful
to our true discovery of ourselves
and our inner transformation,
IF
we take part in them as mindful actions.

So, if we go dancing:
pay attention to all the movements, thoughts and feelings
while showering and dressing to go
while getting in and driving the car
or getting on and riding the bike
while waiting for someone to dance with
while getting instructions
while either "getting" the instructions, as in knowing what to do, or not

In other words,
if we are desperate for approval,
and that's what our relationship seemed
to be satisfying,
and wasn't really,
and then we go off to dance,
and are desperate for approval there,
even if we find someone who seems to be the one
who will give that approval

it won't work

unless we are content within and
able to give ourselves approval up and down the line,
good days and bad,
in sickness and in health
in poverty and in wealth
in good mood and bad

then we aren't ready to pretend that someone
else is going to do that for us

they aren't

So, maybe only do one or two new things.
And take them as experiments to be mindful
the entire time.
And don't try to meet anyone.
And watch, and be lovingly humorous about
our wish, need, demand, craving for outside attention
and
approval
and
affection
and
"love"

Why don't we take this breakdown time
and a breather
a breathe in
and breathe out
time,
time to discover who we are,
who we would be without the approval, or disapproval
of any person
or set of people

Okay, and what of the head under the covers
path.

Slow down on that, too.

Can we go to the bed, slowly, and sense our entire body.
Can we feel ourselves on the bed,
can we feel the covers,
can we sense where our arms and legs and spine are
in space
can we follow our breathing

can we get so relaxed and "into" our body on the
bed under the covers
that we can start to watch our thoughts
as a very entertaining show

and if the thoughts are coming too
fast
or are
too mean,
can we slow them down?

how.
by getting a journal and writing them down.
slowly.
carefully.

One "Should"
and one "shouldn't"
at a time.

All misery has a should or shouldn't or a should have or a shouldn't have attached.

Can we slow down, by writing, and then looking at what we have written with our
eyes and heart and brain,
and say: Oh, that's what I believe.

Soon, with the shoulds and shouldn't written down
the transformation can deepen.

But just to get away from hiding from the thoughts
behind our misery
into writing them down
and recognizing them
is to move so much closer to mindfulness
as to almost constitute,
then and there,
the new life we want for ourselves.

Good.

Day Seven, The Kingdom of Heaven, Resting on Seventh

The Kingdom of Heaven can be an abstract concept, or an ongoing experience. To coax it more fully into our lives, slowing down, at least occasionally, is essential. Some traditions call for this every seven days.

Is within. The Kingdom of Heaven is within, says Jesus in the Bible. Within. Not up in the sky. Not some high grade Santa Claus’s reward for being good little boys and girls in our life.

Within ourselves.

Within our own bodies, these temporary shells, in there, right Now, is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Maybe now IS the Kingdom of Heaven. To be explored later. For today, let’s look within our bodies.


For today, day seven, spend some time doing as little as possible.

You know, take a walk. Lie down and move slowly. Take a nap. Meditate. Go TV free. Go book and reading free.

Go eating light or large, but if large do it slowly and in the middle of the day and don’t have dinner.

Slow down on the seventh day and do a lazy and open minded and happily awaring search scan meandering listen for the Kingdom of Heaven within.

You.

Who are you?

How does slowing down help you find you.

How does it taste and feel and sense to get some inkling of an experience of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Within.

You.

Now.

Go Slow, Joe

the rush to get something done
often loses us the potential
sweetness of what's here
right now

This is my life, 1

River near the house I'm staying in Gunnison, CO


DAY SEVEN: THIS IS MY LIFE, 1
This is my life in gravity, this is my life in…

This is my life right now.

This is today’s game/ exercise/ meditation/ activity. Throughout the day, say to yourself, aloud or not aloud, “This is my life.”

This moment, while you read or hear these words: This is your life. The moments on the toilet, in the shower, getting into your car, getting out of your car, “thinking” about what you are going to or “have to” do, this is your life.

The time spend worrying or arguing or regretting or planning or gossiping or talking mindlessly, or mindfully, on the phone or in the grocery store: this is your life.

At work, you are looking at a computer, talking to someone, pounding in a nail, lifting a rock, soothing a child: this is your life.

And let’s make it bigger and more concrete: as you say, over and over, “This is my life,” sense your skeleton, especially arms and legs and spine, in gravity. And sense your breathing in air. And notice sounds coming in your ears. And light coming in your eyes.

This is our life.

Now.

What is the tone of it, as we say this each time? Shock? Delight? Horror? Gratitude? Fear? Anger?

Those feelings are an indication of something, of a lot.

Don’t analyze them during the day but you might want to journal a bit about your discoveries as you go through the day saying, “This is my life.”

Good.

this moment

"buddha barn"
on Orcas Island
(workshop there coming up this weekend,
see Orcas Island Workshop)

this moment
is
all there is

even
if
I'm hungry

and I've committed
myself
to getting a certain
section of writing
done
before
I eat

Now is easy, why

Now is easy
and

why do we make our lives hard?


So much to do.

And who told us to do it?

Ah, la,
what a world

what a sweet
amazing
challenging

world.


All you need
is some disaster
loss
mess
up
to see how powerfully
healing
and soul saving
the
present can be.

Any time we go there:
Resurrection.

Good.

taxes and death

garden park in spring. 5 years of work there, and maybe it'll last
and
endings have their own amazing sweetness, too




TAXES AND DEATH

both good
in their own way

even better:
death
as a reminder:
we are alive
NOW

as i write
as you read


even better:
taxes
a
reminder:
it's complicated to live in
a society
and this one
this whole civilization
is.....

fill in your story


but
let's just say this:

not geared around
happiness
or now
or nature
or love


oh, well


we get to point ourselves
wherever we want to

and sometimes that's a lot
of work
and with the ease
and learning of being
present

can be done

What's love got to do with it, 2?

what's love got to do with it:


everything

and when
we hurt
are in
pain
wish we / they / the world
was treating us better

then we feel
the pain of not
being in love
with the Now

and maybe
that wakes us
up

maybe not

an amazing
and huge
and every second/ moment
present
choice

good.

this breath

let's say
we've been kind to ourselves
and given
ourselves a few minutes
to
do
nothing

and then we start to get
a little antsy

what to do?

notice the breathing

notice the noticing

notice how we are sitting or standing or lying in
gravity

notice
the noticing

good

A real person

What can a real person do?

Love

Forgive

Move with ease, grace and awareness

Enjoy learning

Be happy even if things aren't "going our way"

Think clearly

Live in the present moment

Connect with Nature




that's a grand start,
eh?

TheTriple Friend Society

What about this?

Friend to ourself.

Friend to others.

Friend to the Earth.

How to do that?

Most of the essays / thoughts/ poems
in this blog
have been about that.

Good start:
to be present
now
and then
now
and
then
now.

With others:
be present.

With the Earth:
consume less
grow more
car use less
walk to friends
make friends with those within walking distance

that's a start.

Who Am I?

Who or what am I
without my story?

Question four of
the Work of Byron Katie
(thework.com)

Question number two
of:
how to be in the present.

Question number one
of how to be present:

What is my experience,
without describing it,
right now?

Thanksgiving Six: Coming Home to Stillness

Dock leaf, supreme food in the spring, or the false spring of California fall

Life is always
here
as long as "I"
am

and what that "I"
is,
is most easily
felt if I return
to a quiet
awareness of almost anything
in the present

without the words
tagging along

this experience:
ease
aliveness
now
awaring
being

can be called anything

and the
word

is never the experience

and the experience
is always

just right
and just
what it is

So,
thanks various teachers,
experiences,
efforts,
learnings,
realizations

that may
made my life one
where this
coming home

becomes more and more

the center
of
everything

for me

ciao,
happy stillness
or
feasting
or
both:

to you

Chris

Thanksgiving One

why just one day of thanks

let me start now:

the blue sky

the rains

the green growing Earth

my breathing

the sweet sound of my friend's voice

the wind in the leaves, golden turning

the ability to know
now
that
I am alive

and the amazing peace
in silence of observing
Self, Life, Earth
from a no word, silent
place

Peace



hmmm
that's a good start

War and Peace

Originally, November 11,
and more exactly,
the 11th hour of the 11th day or the 11th month,
was
Armistice Day

the day wars were going
to end
the day World War I
was officially over,
"the war to end all wars,"

and then the vindictive
"peace" sowed the seeds
for one of the most necessary of all
wars,
World War II

and those Veterans
include many of our fathers and grandfathers
and most of them are
dead,
but to them,
who fought in a war to stop a mad
and crazy man
with a mad and crazy idea:
we now offer thanks

Veterans Day

And of course,
to any of our soldiers, in any war,
just doing their duty,
trying their best to serve and protect
their country,
we offer our gratitude.


In the local paper,
the Sonoma Index Tribune,
in one of his many fine editorials
David Bolling praises Veterans,
and looks at the overall picture of
a country whose wars are always
"over there"
and the dangers
of this separation of the men and women
doing to amazing and awful work
of war,
and the civilians back home.

Here's one part of the editorial:
President Eisenhower understood this clearly when he said, "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, as only one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."

You can read the rest
at
David Bolling's Veteran's Day editorial


And now,
amazingly we have a President-elect who stood up
a while back and bravely made these
distinctions:
wars that were necessary: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War II
and
those that perhaps were not.

He wasn't against all wars,
he said, Barack Obama
on October 2, 2002:
I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war.


the whole of his speech is
at Wikipedia on Barack Obama's Iraq Speech of October 2002

And what can I add to
that?

Very little.

Except to admit
that while not serving in the military
I have partaken in the emotional equivalent
of "dumb wars."

Now is always a good time
to stop
that sort of nonsense.

Good
old
Now.

The wonder of life

Here's the secret to life:
we are alive.

That's it.

We were born.
Some sort of end to the earthly existence happens.

And now,
right now,
we are here, wherever your here is,
wherever my here is.

This is good.

The secret to life is:
I am alive and that is wonderful,
and you are alive
and that is wonderful.

Wonder.
Means not knowing.
Not knowing means a chance to
learn
a chance to
discover
a chance to
be more, know more, feel more, understand more
and to
thrive in that change.

What do you wonder about?

I wonder about how to spend all of my moments
in the states I reach sometimes:
states of being profoundly happy with myself,
and with others.

I wonder about how to create a world
where human beings are free
to take care of each
other
and to take care of
the Earth.

I wonder how to create change
without being "upset," and "uptight"
and just plain old angry,
at the way certain systems
and institutions seem to be
set up
for the destruction of the Earth
and the making it hard for many
people to live decent, healthy and happy lives.

I wonder how to be happy
all the time,
without resorting to denial
and the phony happiness of
thrashing around
and making a lot of noise and hoopla and using
myself and/or the Earth much more
than is kind.

I wonder
how we
as the family of humans,
can rediscover that certain habits
are not helping us much,
whether at the relationship level when we
have the habit of blaming our spouse for
when we feel bad,
or at the national level,
when many governments have the habit of organizing
around attacking and being at war with
some defined "bad guy."

There is more to wonder about.
Even now, talking, and thinking and writing about
"war"
how can I
how can you
stay in our present,
in our breathing,
in some sort of peace and happiness.

If I am wonderful,
being full of wonder,
you are wonderful, too.
And what, can you happily
and peacefully wonder about?
And when is the wonder unpeaceful?
And can that change over the course
of this book?

I wonder what it will be like
to write a book
over 108 days,
starting each day's reflection
as a blog?

I guess we'll find out together.

time and the meaning of life

do you have time to breathe
good
we all do

do you have time
to be
happy?

good,
we all do

do you have time
to love
yourself
and others
and the Earth

good

we all do

cute talk on time management today

she was fun
and made money helping people
be better robots
and was a sweetie

and here's a few things she didn't know:

people need to waste time
and
just BE

time is for beginners
breath is for finishers

time isn't real
when we are now

she does know:
time counts when you
agree to meet someone
at a certain time

and on the way
to the appointment:
are we here
or worrying
about living up to our clocks

this is
slowsonoma
dot
com

slowing down
we can
be aware
of the great
miracle

we are alive

ah,
sweet

and to add
some spice
of learning

and some water
of loving

and ah,
a good life

heal the Earth,
ah,
all the better