Category Archives: belonging

poem: a missive from a hard winter and a possible return

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poem: a missive from
a hard winter and a
possible return

from deep within
the dark lair 

wounds are salved
and broken things mended

a buffeting wet, cold
winter wind chills the bone

quality of life
frail and weak

free floating soul
battered in the storm

consciousness clouded
the way uncertain

circling in this thin place
in liminal time

letting go of survival instinct
for more understanding

perhaps a bit more repose
into the bardos of uncertainty

faith in one’s good nature,
clarity, and hope of return

opening to what lies beyond,
transformation, re-engagement

the intuitive wisdom of knowing
beyond the mind

emergence of True Self joined
mutually in beloved community

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 13, 2023

photo by author
‘Old Coyote in Winter’

an Advent poem: making ready (what comes before)

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an Advent poem:
making ready
(what comes before)

sitting in the pre-dawn
darkness of this spiritually
transformative season

silent, reflective, open,
to the Divine Truth within
and the new beginnings before us

witnessing the Universal Cosmic Christ
who came down to us, comes again,
and is always with us in eternal life

mindful of the season’s
sentimentality, nostalgia, and hubris
which comforts and distracts us

here and now in the bliss
of participating and being
in the way of Creator God of All

mutually committed in body/mind/spirit
to preparing the way and living together
in diversity, healing, and peace

we humans transformed and co-creating
the alternative neighborly community
of True Self and Authentic Belonging

a lone voice in the wilderness
crying out, make ready the way
for the in-flowing of the Great I Am

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
December 6, 2022

author’s note: The last stanza is a paraphrase of the prophet Isaiah from the old testament found in Isaiah 40:3. The Great I Am reverences the I Am statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John, and Yahweh, God’s name in the Old Testament. It also connotes the Sanskrit mantra Tat Tvam Asi from the Chandogya Upanishad which refers to the unity of the individual Soul with the Divine Universal Consciousness. My experience is that all Divine Truth is universal, perennial, and cosmic flowing from the one supreme source which underlies all religion, spirituality, and mysticism, and which can be directly experienced by human beings who follow the way of True Self. An excellent book on this idea is “The Perennial Philosophy” by Aldous Huxley.

art image ‘O Root’ by Sister Ansgar Holmberg

poem: conscious aging, spiritual foresight, perennial wisdom

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poem: conscious aging,
spiritual foresight,
perennial wisdommindfully present
flowing in the
universal rhythms
of the Cosmos
here and now

letting go any
pretense of
hubris, sentimentality,
power, control,
and domination

pure being,
not desiring,
doing,
grasping,
or withholding

emptying,
opening,
uniting,
in the eternal, omnipresent
One Peace/One Love

sharing mutually
authentic presence
of belonging: witnesses,
prophets, seers, souls,
and saints

focusing, preparing, practicing,
participating, reflecting,
celebrating, liberating,
transitioning, whole-making,
arriving full-circle

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
October 20, 2022

photo by author

“Full Circle”

poem: an elder’s perspective on time and space

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poem: an elder’s perspective
on time and space

thinking of the past is useless
unless it informs the present

always going for the gust
is a fool’s dream

worrying for tomorrow
a thief in the night

thus taking more time
mindfully present here and now

with loved ones, dear friends,
soul mates, and witnesses

wherever you go, there you are
you will find me there

covering less ground somewhere
between disengaged and belonging

close to home
Homeward bound

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
October 27, 2022

author’s note: My reflection on aging

was sparked after reading Thomas Merton’s
quote, “Take more time, cover less ground.”
John Kabat- Zinn is reflected in a book title
of his, “Wherever You Go, There You Are.”
And Ram Dass’ iconic words, “Be Here Now”
from his book by the same title is
represented in the poem. Merton, a Catholic
monk; Kabat-Zinn, a biomedical scientist
influenced by Buddhism; and Ram Dass,
a Harvard social psychology research professor who became
a disciple of Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba.
These and others have been my teachers from
whom I have learned about living, aging, and dying.
I have tried to be a good student and continue to learn.
photo by author ‘On the Front Stoop’

poem: a husband/caregiver’s lament

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poem: a husband/caregiver’s lament

speaking honestly now,
crying out into the silence,
seeking to project
understanding, hope, and healing
into the challenge of
giving care to a beloved

having no time
for platitudes,
sentimental claptrap,
and well-meaning advice,
these self serving idols
of comfort, security, positive-thinkers

do not tell me
about long goodbyes
and cruel diseases;
the stigmas of Alzheimer’s, and
its resulting isolation and lack of support,
are contemptible in our competitive society

and so we two, together here and now,
presently in our deathless love,
falling upward into this simple, sweet life,
sharing warm hugs, a deep mutual attentive
presence, and loving-kindness for all beings
in deep gratitude

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
September 12, 2022

photo by author ‘Resting’ and “Here and Now”

Author note: I have labored to write this
piece for weeks in an effort to bring a balance
in the tension between living in a society
that does not value the aging resulting
in trite sentimentality, the isolation of individuals and caregivers,
and the lack of compassionate support and care, vis-a-vis
the reality of caregiver spouses and their
beloved with Alzheimer’s living and loving
with presence and attention together
here and now. Their is a great need for
everyone to better understand those living
with this disease and for more compassionate and accessible
support and care. Let us love one another!

 

poem: child of the universe, hippie, yogi, elder

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poem: child of the universe,
hippie, yogi, elderneither clinging to a nostalgic past,
nor projecting a future of sentimentality,
now resisting social norms of
emotional idealism and neurotypical
stereotyping

I, being a witness of here and now,
maintaining spiritual consciousness,
invitational presence, and attentive
mutuality, connecting deeply at soul level,
opening to the wholeness of other

we, belonging here together in beloved
community, falling upward in grace and love,
cycling through the bardo, eternally together
with the supreme in cosmic union,
that am I (tat tvam asi)

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry

August 28, 2022

photo by author

“Here is, in truth, the whole secret of
Yoga, the science of the soul. The active
turnings, the strident vibrations, of
selfishness, lust and hate are to be stilled
by meditation, by letting heart and mind
dwell in spiritual life, by lifting up the
heart to the strong, silent life above, which
rests in the stillness of eternal love, and
needs no harsh vibration to convince it of
true being.”- Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali

“The Perennial Philosophy is expressed
most succinctly in the Sanskrit formula,
tat tvam asi (‘That art thou’); the Atman,
or immanent eternal Self, is one with
Brahman, the Absolute Principle of all
existence; and the last end of every human
being, is to discover the fact for himself, to
find out who he really is.” – Aldous Huxley

“It is only those who are in constant revolt
that discover what is true, not the man who
conforms, who follows some tradition. It is only
when you are constantly inquiring, constantly
observing, constantly learning, that you find
truth, God, or love.”- Jiddu Krishnamurti

poem: initiation

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poem: initiation

witnessing life’s tension
with both/and mind,
opening to the complementary
experiencing the interconnectedness
of all things (oneing),
the initiated adult
in the the second half of life emerges
from their ego’s protective shell
of small self becoming
an invitational presence
of mutuality and belonging
here and now in the
beloved community

Herb Stone
August 15, 2022
here&now working poetry

poem: mindful, intentional, purposeful

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poem: mindful, intentional, purposeful

our presence deeply
touching the moment
beyond ego and selfishness

performing acts sacramentally
without attachment
to outcomes

interconnecting as One
in the flow
of all existence

manifesting equanimity of mind
healing inner fears
and worldly suffering

being holistically
body, mind, and spirit
in mutuality with the Cosmos

transforming personal self awareness
through dominant thinking to collective
Self realization of Spiritual Union

prepare
practice
participate

one turns around
receives the key
opens the door, enters

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
August 1, 2022

art image by Meghan Oona Clifford
‘Star Born’