Category Archives: True Self

poem: a season of loss

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poem: a season of loss
feeling the deep sting of loss
in this dark, wet, cold,
season of mid-winter


and yet, what personal hubris of one’s self


would tell someone to worry about the comfort


and safety of their own ego




only in the dark night of the soul


are we liberated from old attachments


and compulsions so that we love more freely




only with suffering can we


awaken to the deepest


compassion and wisdom of life eternal




and only in healing can one


know the complimentary, both/and,


unitive, full process of suffering




yes, here and now in the second half of life,


it is time to put away our childish ways,


and spiritually discern our falling upward




Herb Stone


here&now working poetry


January 27, 2023




photo by author “Home”




author’s note: the second line of the last verse is from 1 Corinthians 13:11. 
Richard Rohr has an excellent book titled, “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the 
Two Halves of Life.”





























































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
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’





















































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
poem: “maybe not being on the way is also the way”

			
						

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poem: “maybe not being on the way


is also the way”at one with life’s Cosmic Flow,

in the True Self and Authentic Nature

of all things here and now,

the way is eternally unending










our story becomes broken

when things become hard,

we pick and choose: ego erupts,

shadows creep in, suffering ensues


one feels they have lost the thread of life,

are off the path, are in exile,

lost in the dark night of the soul,

no longer walking towards home


maybe once on the way, there is no way

but the way; the conscious/unconscious,

engaged/disengaged, yin/yang,

wholeness of it all


“nothing goes away until it teaches us

what we need to learn”: isolation,

grief, loss, illness, doubt, heartbreak;

all are the way on the way


within the complementary tension of Cosmic

Flow, here is the Truth, Authenticity,

and Wholeness that guides us step by step

unending in the eternal way of all things


Herb Stone

here&now working poetry

November 19, 2022


author’s note: the title of the poem is a quote from the writing of Toka-Pa Turner.

The quote in the fifth stanza is a quote from the writing of Pema Chodron. I am

grateful to these two contemporary seers for their deep wisdom, writing, and

teachings which inspires me to reflect and write as I seek to know for my Self.


image: Cosmic Dust Flow, NASA Hubble Space Telescope


























No photo description available.



















































					

		
		
	


				
					
	

				
					
	

		

						
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: 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’