No Self

Sometimes you have to abandon everything you know- everything you learned.  When you abandon yourself your left with no self.  Self is nonexistent.  The I dissolves into the Sea of One.  No I has ever wanted to return to its earlier existence.  The Sea of One is the allness of life.  It slips through your fingers and can't be measured.  Yet each drop is separate- a reflection of the One.  Within each human being is a drop of the sea.  If you forget this your life is nothing.

Celtic Wisdom- The Styles of Vision

The human eye is one place where the intensity of human presence becomes uniquely focused and available. The universe finds its deepest reflection and belonging in the human eye. When it opens, it shows that others and the world are outside of us. When you gaze at something, you bring it inside of you. To look at something that can gaze back at you can heal your eyes and deepen your sense of vision. Vision is central to your presence and creativity. There is great beauty to behold in this world when you have a loving eye.
To the fearful eye, all is threatening. When you look toward the world in a fearful way, all you see are things that can damage and threaten you.
To the greedy eye, everything can be possessed. A greedy person can never enjoy what they have because they are always haunted by that which they do not yet possess.
To the judgemental eye, everything is closed in definitive frames. It always excluding and separating, and therefore it never sees in a compassionate or celebratory way. It enjoys neither the forgiveness nor imagination to see deeper into the ground of things where truth is paradox.
To the resentful eye, everything is begrudged. They are always looking out toward others with resentment. The resentful eye lives out of its poverty and forgets its own inner harvest.
To the indifferent eye, nothing calls or awakens. Indifference calls for a great commitment to non vision. When you become indifferent you give all your power away. Your imagination becomes fixated in the limbo of cynicism and despair.
To the inferior eye, everyone else is greater. Others are more beautiful, brilliant, and gifted than you. The inferior eye is always looking away from its own treasures.
To the loving eye, everything is real. This art of love is neither sentimental nor naive. It is the greatest criterion of truth, celebration, and reality. Love is the light in which we see each thing in its true origin, nature, and destiny. It sees through and beyond image and effects the deepest change.

Reference~Anam Cara A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'donohue

Poem- Empty Shadow Lands

Where do my eyes gaze?
If not on your face then a waste.
The fancy devices of this age
occupy our mind and personal space.
Where is intimacy-
between the I and the eye that sees?
It clearly depends on what
your filling up your heart to be.
If not a wave, a rock, a sunset, or a tree
then there is no realness in it you see.
Desolation, loneliness, fear, and even rage-
will occupy a man's heart whom fills it
with empty things.
Where do my eyes gaze?
If not on your face then this life a waste.

Dream- Evil Presence in Bed

From Journal Entry 2/26/2012

I'm lying in bed next to my husband.  I feel a dark presence in the room.  I am scared and try to wake up my husband.  This thing then cuts my foot in two places.  I see blood dripping on the floor.  My husband is now awake but in an unconscious state.  His eyes are open but he's not responding. 
I then ask for God's help.  The dark presence laughs and says it delights in my pain.  I then pour out my love for Christ and say with passion, "God if this is your will so be it.  I too will suffer like your son Jesus."  I asked God to forgive the dark spirit and that I to love this spirit. I am crying and begging God for his mercy.

Over the years I have had the reoccurring dream theme of being tortured.  This was the first time my action inside the dream was different.  I consciously made the distinction of the dark presence as also being a part of God's will. I felt love for it even as it tortured me.
God is that which is within everything that transpires- the beauty and the horror alike.  When one reaches a level of awareness, one understands that darkness as part of God's ultimate plan.  That both light and darkness are the operation of the Holy Spirit and that, ultimately, everything serves to enlighten and liberate living souls.
Isaiah 45:10  I form the light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.

Reference~ Gnosis of The Cosmic Christ by Tau Malachi

The Circle of Love

The Lovers vanished days collect into a pool of mystery. Time fades light away. Darkness blankets the soul. Memories creep out at the dawn of new beginnings.
They weave themselves into the fabric of the heart. Pain, sorrow, loss, joy, love, ecstasy, loneliness tie the soul's existence together. The Lovers live to create this masterpiece. Out of selflessness they define themselves by this eternal bond. Many seasons come and go. This is the circle of love.

Lead Me

The burning desire of this heart
only speaks with these eyes
Only you know loves mystery
that lies behind

So take my hand
as you please
Lead me through
loves mysteries

Tear down these walls
that contain my heart
And be with me
where no seasons are

The Nature of Interdependency

When we look at our internal experiences, the past is no longer there and the future has not yet come.  There is only the present.  The principle of interdependent origination in relation to cause and effect states that nothing can come about without the corresponding causes and conditions.  The very cause which brings about the effects must itself have a cause.  For a positive outcome, one needs to appreciate the interconnectedness of all events and phenomena.

Reference~The Essential Dalai Lama

Emptiness

There is a space inside of me that is empty.  Having found you only to let you go again.  My fullness I see in the reflection of your eyes.  When your absent the emptiness is my companion.

Dalai Lama- Tolerance

In order to practice genuine compassion or altruism, we need tolerance.  Without tolerance, it is impossible to practice.  Anger and hatred are the greatest obstacles to compassion and love.  To minimize anger and hatred, tolerance is the key factor.  In order to practice tolerance we need an enemy.  Because of our enemy's actions we get the opportunity to practice tolerance.

Reference~The Essential Dalai Lama