Sharing my original poetry which encompasses topics that touch my heart and soul including spirituality, faith, theology, nature, authentic being and belonging, social justice, and social criticism.
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’
rambling among the wild carrot, thistle, crimson clover, blackberries, curly dock, fields of wild flowers, with the dragon flies, creek fish, while tail, in the Southern Hills’ woods, paddling the creeks, then sitting a spell in the deep shade of mature trees, with the cool breeze on our face fills our hearts with unending gratitude and grace
arising early at first light waking slowly sipping coffee then out to hear the dense bird song and to see the overnight blooms scanning the sky and vistas back inside making Cathey’s ginger green tea elixir checking friend’s post and messages writing it all down before business of the day sets in Cathey comes down to nap on the couch near me we are well here on Bird Heaven Hill where all is regarded with love
here in the church of God’s Creation worshipping in the woods, dales, and lakes
doing the work of bringing light unto the self practicing Self realization, resisting the Empire and all that separates us from Creation
residing in authentic communities of healing and belonging with others who value sharing the work and doing the practice
walking in nature, creating, writing down the bones taking care of one another and those we may
here and now in our aging together releasing worldly desires, falling upward, in the cloud of unknowing
flowing with Cosmic energy connecting root to crown filling hearts with grace, love, hope, faith
beloveds, we are fine
Herb Stone here&now working poetry June 16, 2021
photo: the author and his wife at Bird Heave Hill in the Southern Hills of Nashville
Author’s note: Just a little love note from Cathey and I to all our beloveds that we are fine here on Bird Heaven Hill doing the quiet, slow practice and work of Self, mutuality, belonging together, and oneing, and we invite you all to join together in authentic communities of intentionality, purpose, and meaning.
After weeks of struggle, this poem comes to me to share with you all dear Beloveds
I offer this original poem today for all, who like myself, have been out of sorts and out of balance lately with worldly desires and worldly challenges which can result in attachments that distract us from a more holistic and healthy way of being. As both beings of immanence and transcendence I believe we must seek the middle path of health, wholeness, grace, and love. What better way to do this than to gather in circles as Beloveds with the intention of balancing our lives and life together.
presently gathering our selves in sadhana aligning our very being as one balancing satchitananda friends, let us sit still and quiet in the circle
focusing on the breathe (discerning) concentrating on the breathe (witnessing) contemplating the breathe (knowing) meditating on the breathe (being)
opening to the object breathe as the action breathing through the seer breather one with all the Cosmos
balancing the spiritual energy incarnated now dormant in our root chakra with the Cosmic pool of Creator God universal available at our crown chakra
emptying, dependence arising opening the heart chakra energy flowing root, heart, crown non-doing, non-achieving
we pray silently our being at One with the spiritual energy of the Radical Love of all lying in the bosom of the Universal God of the Cosmos
just so let it be so be it satchitananda
Herb Stone here&now working poetry June 6, 2021
photo of author and wife Cathey at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida in the dunes
Author’s note: Satchitananda is sanskrit for ‘truth, consciousness, bliss ’ describing the experience of the highest reality of existence. Sadhana is sanskrit for the intentional practice of attaining higher consciousness. Chakra is sanskrit for ‘wheel’ and refers to the focal points of energy systems throughout the body. Balancing the chakras involves proper alignment of the energy in the seven main body chakras so that the energy at our root chakra located at the tip of our spine flows unimpeded to the crown chakra at top of our head allowing us to experience the truth and bliss of the highest reality of universal God consciousness.
