quote: the art and spirituality of imperfection
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Monthly Archives: December 2020
poem: faith in the crucible of here and now
poem: faith in the crucible of here and now
and what of faith
solely dependent on doctrinal words,
acculturated beliefs,
and religious merit
it is deceptive
and dangerous
one’s faith authentically forms
in the practice of here and now
grounded in your experience
the truth authentically revealed in you
and lived by you
practice, little truth seeker, practice
through thought, word, and deed
practice and know the truth
in the crucible of here and now
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
December 19, 2020
image of William Blake’s Orc*
(reader’s note: the last stanza is from my
poem ‘Practice and Know the Truth’ also
available on my poetry blog; * Blake’s Orc
is a complicated mythical figure of both
good and evil much like humans in their
false self and True Self as sinners and
Saints)
quote: taking one’s seat at the table
haiku: birds in winter
Advent Reflections: Baby Jesus, Mature Jesus, Crucified Jesus, Cosmic Christ
Advent Reflections: Baby Jesus, Mature Jesus, Crucified Jesus, Cosmic Christ
It is relatively easy for most of us to believe in Jesus as a sweet babe in the manger and to dwell on this peaceful image. However, Jesus matures and later resists the Empire’s Kings and Caesars and their oppression and social injustices. This mature rebel Jesus can be much more difficult for many to accept.
Jesus’ entire birth, life, death, and resurrection were in resistance to the ways of this worldly Imperialistic Empire, and its systems of power, control, domination, and violence.
Jesus, and his family, were under the Empire’s suffocating control from the moment of his birth on the dirt floor of that animal stall with only some straw as a blanket. They had traveled to Bethlehem for the King’s census so the King could know all that he possessed, controlled, and dominated in his Empire. Then they had to suddenly flee to Egypt to escape the King’s infanticide which was an effort to kill the baby Jesus to eliminate his threat to the Empire.
Jesus’ entire adult ministry was in resistance to the contemporary religious and political powers of that time that imposed the letter of the law and not it’s spirit thereby oppressing and marginalizing all the common people of that time and place in often the most cruel ways.
Jesus’ radical resistance was his Good News of the kingdom of God, and its’ alternative community, grounded in grace, love, mercy, distributive justice, peace, and hope! At this time, oppressed people were clamoring for a Messiah who would be their King and vanquish the worldly Empire of the Kings and Emperors. The authorities were afraid that Jesus might be this ‘King of the people’ that they were waiting for and thus saw him as a threat leading to his being constantly under the suspicion and surveillance of the authorities and ultimately resulting in his cruel crucifixion on the cross.
At the time of his coming before the authorities and being crucified, because Jesus had not violently destroyed the kings and their Empires but rather demonstrated peaceful resistance, he was mocked, spat on, scourged, whipped, stripped, denied, abandoned, and killed in the most cruel way possible by the Empire, its religious collaborators, and those same people who called him Messiah.
Because the Cosmic Christ, the savior and hope of the world, never stops resisting the evil Empires of this world and never stops calling for the peaceful, diverse, inclusive neighborly community of God’s kin-dom, we must never stop witnessing and resisting the contemporary Empire of today’s world where we now live and are all still pawns in the oppressor’s control and domination.
This Advent, be a witness and resist the ways of this world, its’ Empires, and their systems of domination which separate us from God! It is the Christ-like thing to do all year long.
Herb Stone, here&now working poetry
photo ‘Snow in the Little Wood’ by Herb Stone
poem: “oh, for the love of God”
haiku: cat in the rain
reflection: Universal Cosmic Christ conciousness by whatever name
reflection: Universal Cosmic Christ consciousness
by whatever name
Now in the season of Advent, according to the Christian liturgical calendar, it is well to reflect upon the coming of Jesus, the Christ, and the incarnation of Christ consciousness into the world. This highest consciousness of the divine is universal to humanity, and available to our experience through many religious, spiritual, and other traditions, and alluded to by many names: Cosmic Christ consciousness, the omega point, Supreme consciousness, nirvana, moksha, and so on.
Once this consciousness speaks directly with, in, and through us as an individual, and is expressed with, in, and through our day-to-day thoughts, words, and deeds, which is the mystical expression of That I Am in our lives, we are liberated to know our most true Self and our most authentic belonging. Until such time, this highest way of knowing, remains at risk of being viewed as mere religious history, doctrine, and beliefs, inaccessible to many and unfulfilled in practice. Thus the Christ child’s coming and his peaceable kingdom here on Earth is for naught swallowed in a world of human power, control, and violence.
This consciousness, as revealed, in the incarnation of Jesus, the Christ, is our only true hope for life together, in the Cosmos, on the Earth, in the world, in communities, for all beings. All authentic traditions and their teachers teach this practice and way of knowing: Gandhi, Thich Naht Hahn, Paramahansa Yogananda, Thomas Merton, Pierre de Chardin, Richard Rohr, etc.
As human beings, we must awaken from the illusions of this world (Maya), and have the eyes to see and the ears to hear our human and non-human teachers, including the Earth, and participate in the letting go, emptying, and thousand little deaths preparing and opening to Self truth, mutuality, and the authentic community of belonging in, with, and through Universal Cosmic Christ consciousness.
Reflection: hand crafting
reflection: hand crafting
The craftsperson works impeccably with their materials through self expression and a perfecting of artisanship which only their hands can create. Such effort requires a connection between head and heart, focus, patience, intention, accuracy, and precision. In other words, the art and the craft working together through you.
Some years ago now, my son, Christian, opened an Etsy shop online to sell his handcrafted writing instruments. He named the shop Sarabby Creations for his daughters Abby and Sara who were 6 and 8 years old at the time. In addition to the writing instruments, Cathey made macrame jewelry, and I made bird houses sold in his shop.
Christian and I had a complete wood woodworking shop in our basement with a wood lathe, band saw, drill press, sanding and polishing tools, assorted hand tools, and a large work bench we made. Cathey worked upstairs with her trays of beads and clasps, spools of waxed hemp, pliers and other tools.
After some years, our son closed his shop. As they say, life happens: other hopes, dreams, demands, needs, priorities, choices, paths arise, we move on. It is now a good memory of a lovely time we worked together in our cottage industry.
One reason this returns to my mind now is that my dear friend
Liezel Graham, who lives in Scotland, has re-opened her Etsy shop NoahandNoo selling the most beautiful and finely crafted knit items I have ever seen. She is now working on a pair of wrist gloves for Cathey to warm her hands this cold winter. I encourage you to visit her shop and reward yourself with one of her fine creations.
Here is the link to her shop:
And by the way, Liezel is a fine poet who has written two books of poetry, ‘Stripped” and ‘A Counting of Love,’ which are both available on Amazon.
I share some images of the crafts we made and sold in our son’s Etsy shop.
Reflection: My current reading
Reflection: My current reading
I have just started reading both of these books. I read every day, often reading two books at the same time; sometimes three. Both of these books speak to me deeply.
Ann Pachett’s book, by the way she lives in Nashville and has a bookstore here Parnassus Books, is a memoir of her friendship with the poet Lucy Grealy who suffered from childhood with facial disfigurement due to cancer and died of a heroin overdose at the age of 39.
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book is nonfiction and explores bringing together her scientific and Native American knowledge for a wider ecological consciousness which can save our Earth home. Her book has been called ‘A hymn of love to the world’ by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Here are quotes from the books:
Describing her friendship with Lucy, “ Ann Pacheet writes, “Our friendship was like our writing in some ways. It was the only thing that was interesting about our otherwise dull lives. We were better off when we were together. Together we were a small society of ambition and high ideals. We were tender and patient and kind. We were not like the world at all.”
Speaking of the Earth teaching us how to live sustainably, Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “Plants know how to make food and medicine, and then they give it all away.”
Reading satisfies my unending curiosity about life on this Earth and its’ never ending mysteries and our bigger picture lives in all their Cosmic dimensions. And it feeds my passion inspiring me to write to discover what I know to be true and authentic personally and collectively. How do we know our most true self and together walk each other home authentically in community?
