haiku: luminous possibilities for the day

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Herb Stone

in the inky sky
dawn’s luminous tendrils spread
the day we wake up

Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

February 4, 2021

photos by Herb Stone

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Herb Stone

haiku: Cosmic resonance

dawn’s mid-winter glow
your soul emanating light
the Earth calls your name

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 18, 2021

photos by Herb Stone

quote: “We are all children of the Great Universe and its’ Big Picture….”

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Herb Stone

poem: winter equinox 4:01 a.m. northern hemisphere

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Herb Stone

poem: winter equinox 4:01 a.m.
northern hemisphere

shortest day
longest night
first winter’s day
arriving
at our door
patiently

pre-dawn
cold, wet fog
obliterating
settling
blanketing all
silently

nothing astir
all in its burrow
save the winter hare
and snowy owl
in stillness
anticipatingly

season’s visions
stars in the east
the light of the world
the fire of the spirit
Universal Cosmic Christ
Emmanuel

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
December 21, 2020

image courtesy of Lowell Observatory

(reader’s note: Jupiter and Saturn
will form rare “Christmas Star” on
winter solstice. On December 21, 2020,
Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer
in Earth’s night sky than they have
since 1226 A.D.)

Reflection: summa vitae meae, scio te ipsum

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Herb Stone

Reflection: summa vitae meae, scio te ipsum

Preface: I was deeply moved to write the following brief account summarizing the sum of my life’s purpose and expression and endeavors to know my self, which I must humbly preface with a poem from Mechthild of Magdeburg, a medieval mystic:

“Of all that God has shown me

I can speak just the smallest word,

Not more than a honey bee

Takes on her foot

From an overspilling jar.”

And so I begin. From my earliest childhood memories, before I understood their connotation and significance, and certainly since I was old enough to read and write, I have spent a lifetime endeavoring to understand and experience the truth of dreams, visions, creativity, religious experience, and spiritual traditions and practices.

Having studied the world religions and a plethora of spiritual traditions, read a library full of religious and spiritual literature, practiced numerous spiritual practices, spent years in intensive self inquiry, participated in the life of the Lutheran church, and endeavored to express it all creatively,

certainly I see this as the primary purpose and expression of my life (summan vitae meae) to this point and continuing forward. All else flows from this source.

And what of this life’s purpose and its expression? It has gifted me with some of the greatest stories ever told from the beginning of time, the great spiritual and religious literature and art of the ages, life transforming spiritual practices for mind, body, and spirit, an awareness and consciousness of that which creates, wounds, heals, sustains, and makes us whole, the shadows of self and the truth of Self, and the authenticity of mutual relationships and true belonging together in community.

From my earliest memories until now as a septuagenarian, I have come to know there is no greater purpose in life than to know our own true Self (scio te ipsum) wholly body, mind, and spirit and to enter fully into the mutuality of relationships and life together in authentic community walking one another home always.

Beloved, until we know ourselves, we cannot help ourself, or anyone else.

Khrisnamurti said, “When I understand myself, I understand you, and out of that understanding comes love.”

Ram Dass said, “Be here now.”

Gary Zukav wrote, we “may learn through the fear and doubt of our personality or through the courage and wisdom of the soul. The choice is ours to make.”

da, da, da

damyata, datta, dayadhvam

shanti, shanti, shanti