https://herbstonejr.com/quote-why-we-write/30/Test https://herbstonejr.com/haiku-july-days-on-bird-heaven-hill/28/Test

poem: time+space=creation

poem: time+space=creation

awakening with a poem on the tongue
and the great expanse of time surrounding us
this tableau for our imagination and creativity

our human form being here now
floating on this Gaian speck of life
the Great Cosmic Universe spins

all becoming a model of creative expression
(the page, the canvas, the clay, the notes, the performance)
this mutable reality of materials, energy, consciousness

we write, paint, sculpt, sing, and dance
re-connecting us to the true meaning of Life together
both human and divine, immanent and transcendent

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 26, 2021

art unattributed
Aboriginal dreamtime art

https://herbstonejr.com/poem-timespacecreation/26/Test https://herbstonejr.com/reflection-on-aging/24/Test

poem: the soul perseveres the ego

poem: the soul perseveres the ego

when one’s soul
exits its cycle of nourishment
entering the cycle of famine
it must be endured

one’s self must simply
get out of the way
and receive the unmerited
grace of the Cosmos

succumbing to a poor attitude
is but a misperception of the Truth
from which we must reawaken
time and again

taking leave and taking care
to not further poison
this world of illusion through our
selfish thought, word, and deed

then returning from the wilderness;
its solitude, and silence,
having faced the shadows
the soul again Self nourishing all

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 23, 2021

art by Frida Kahlo
‘The Love Embrace of the Universe’

https://herbstonejr.com/poem-the-soul-perseveres-the-ego/23/Test https://herbstonejr.com/quote-all-things-are-working-together-as-one-giving-rise-to-life/20/Test

Reflection: Self Liberation  and Walking Each Other Home in Togetherness

Reflection: Self Liberation  and Walking Each Other Home in Togetherness

As the author Toko-pa Turner wrote in her seminal work Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home there has always been this “terror of otherness so malignant in this world” driving us to tribalism, racism (and other oppression of peoples), xenophobia, nationalism, and violence which keeps us divided, separated, and siloed. For many, it appears at this particular time in history, this toxic ‘malignant otherness’ is as extreme  as it has ever been in our lifetime.

Certainly within relationships there is a natural flow of being present and being absent. Grounded in the soul’s needs and development of Self, there is need for both periods of exile in the wilderness and feast of togetherness in community. Even outsiders operating at the margins of society long to belong authentically with others in community.  As humans, we share this need to live our most true Truth together and to have a Home community we can always return to where we may truly belong in authenticity.

And thus the arduous journey facing us all as individuals in the pathless wilderness exile begins here and now. Resisting the selfish, dominant cultural lies of othering being spread by those operating at the self level of human development, those so called authorities, i.e., politicians, clergy, teachers, CEOs, social media influencers, power brokers, etc., those of the social systems of domination, we go inward, conducting a scorching self inventory of the lies we tell ourselves and others, and die unto that self. Then resisting the lies of the external authorities and annihilating the lies of our inner self, having unlearned all we have  mistakenly been taught and believed, we are free to sift through the remains, for the Universal Truth beyond the self, allowing it to rise into the Light and to guide us for evermore.

Now Self liberated in Universal Truth, we join together each walking the other Home in Authentic Communities of True belonging eternally!

Herb Stone

image is the epilogue scene from  the movie ‘Cloud Atlas’

https://herbstonejr.com/reflection-self-liberation-and-walking-each-other-home-in-togetherness/18/Test

My Book is Available on Amazon and Features New Cover Art

Featured

My Book is available on Amazon and features new cover art!

I am pleased to announce my new book published in April 2021 is now available with NEW COVER ART  on Amazon.

The cover art is a photo I made of water lilies on Great Western Lake in Grayton Beach, Florida. The water lily (and lotus) have always been symbols to me of resistance, overcoming, and transformation as it emerges through the dark muck of the lake, rising up to the light, and transforming into a beautiful and free flower floating on the currents at the lakes surface.

You can click on the link below to find the book and purchase it on Amazon:

You may contact me here on my website by clicking on Contact in the menu.

Beloveds, thank you for your interest and support, and happy reading!

https://herbstonejr.com/my-book-is-now-on-sale-and-features-new-cove-art/13/Test

poem: lessons revealed on a midsummer’s walk

poem: lessons revealed
on a midsummer’s walk

the honey locust
wild apricot
and angelpod vine
surprise us today
as we walk the path
along Seven Mile Creekin these days

in theses days
just after midsummer,
hot and humid,
the cumulus clouds
signalling afternoon showers
are close at han

walking the damp Earth
revealing its lessons:
inseparability, impartiality,
and mutuality connect
all to the great nest of being
as divine universal love

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 11, 2021

photos by Herb Stone
‘Honey Locust, Wild Apricot,
and Angelpod Vine’

https://herbstonejr.com/poem-lessons-revealed-on-a-midsummers-walk/12/Test

poem: life in a small world on a fragile planet (Smokey Redux)

poem: life in a small world
on a fragile planet
(Smokey Redux)

last evening
the sun nearing the horizon
here on Bird Heaven Hill
in the Southern Hills

haze from wildfires
in British Columbia
over 2,000 miles away
smudged the sky revealing

it is a small world
here on Earth Home
where all is connected
and ecosystems are fragile

our human impact is large
our neglect, denial, and apathy strong
our building in fragile ecosystems
our waste fueling climate change

structures fall into the sea
risking homes and lives
wildfires burn out of control
depleting ozone

now peering into the haze
clearly revealing our
human ego, hubris, and will
“Only you” saith Smokey the Bear

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
July 8, 2021

art images
U.S. Forest Service
unattributed

https://herbstonejr.com/poem-life-in-a-small-world-on-a-fragile-planet-smokey-redux/09/Test