Enduring Freedom
Freedom earned can be lost. Freedom discovered endures.
Poetic Pause: “Eternal Mystery”
Empty open free
Passing energy
Through biology
From sky to deepest sea
Permeating all
Even when you fall
In stillness it will call
Breaking down the wall
Past taught “you” and “me”
Moving now to “we”
Learning just to be
Eternal mystery
(from volume 2 of my anthology)
EDL Meditation: Waiting
Every time you become aware of waiting today, notice one breath consciously.
Notice all the moving parts that had to align perfectly in order to create the opportunity for you to notice one breath consciously.
Trailblazer
The path to fulfillment will never be found by following in the footsteps of another.
Listen Deeply
The first-ever birdsong still resounds to this day. Can you hear it too?
Poetic Pause: “Wholeness”
Where I am whole, you are whole too
We are different aspects of the same one life.
When we meet here in this place
We see our own reflection.
What aspect of yourself do you see
When you look at me?
(from volume 2 of my anthology)
EDL Meditation: Authenticity
Loving what is in front of us to do is a radical act of self-love, and is one fundamental way to guarantee a genuine, enduring experience of meaningful success. It shifts the focus away from “what” we do and puts the focus squarely on “how” we do what we do.
Our life’s work is not about the activity itself: it is about aligning with what is in front of us to do and celebrating the miracle of sentience and the capacity for reflection. Instead of resisting our life, we align with it and learn from it. When we love what we do, what we do changes. The surface aspects of who we are then also change, allowing our authenticity to stand revealed. In this way, authenticity isn’t something we need to strive for, uphold, or create. It is what’s left after we have shed everything that’s inauthentic.
My challenge for you today: when you become aware of resistance, notice one breath consciously. Notice how resistance sets the stage for a direct experience of authenticity.
Poetic Pause: “Empty Grace”
Sometimes we emphasize
The beauty of the flowers
Other times
The beauty of the vase
While all the while
What’s left unseen
Is the stillness
That holds them with grace
(from volume 2 of my anthology)
EDL Meditation: Opportunity
When you become aware of disappointment, notice one breath consciously.
Notice the opportunity that the disappointment creates: an opportunity to open, to explore, to discover. When fully embraced, disappointment provides a pristine opportunity to know ourselves more deeply. Instead of saying “woe is me”, try asking “what can I learn?”.
Plot Twist
The mask of hardship conceals the face of joy.
EDL Meditation: Fundamental Success
Every time you become aware of striving towards a goal today, notice one breath consciously.
Notice that your very being is the successful result of billions of years of evolution. Taking the next step with open curiosity and unfettered awe aligns you with the fullest possible expression of yourself in this moment. It connects you to yourself, to others, and to life, in a radical and transformative way, resulting in an experience of fundamental success.
EDL Meditation: Spaciousness
Every time you become aware of walking through a doorway today, notice one breath consciously.
Notice that it is the empty space, and not the door, which makes the doorway most useful. That space was here first, and will endure long after the doorway is destroyed. Science tells us that our bodies are 99% space. Can you sense your enduring spaciousness?
Poetic Pause: “For My Mom”
When you see a bird,
you instantly get still,
and watch and listen
with your whole body.
He sings a song and flits off.
He is a messenger from life
reminding you to be still,
and watch and listen
with your whole body.
When you see a flower,
you drink in its beauty.
You pick it because
you want that beauty in your life.
But the flower’s true beauty
isn’t its color or its structure or its scent.
It’s the peaceful way it approaches life.
It is a messenger from life,
reminding you to live peacefully.
(from my anthology)
Connecting Dots
Hardship creates the stage for joy to dance upon.
EDL Meditation: Timelessness
Every time you become aware of checking the time today, notice one breath consciously.
Notice how timelessness is here as well.
Benevolent Tedium
The answer to the question which plagues you most is concealed in requisite tasks disguised as mere tedium.
The degree to which you discover and accurately interpret that answer is in equal proportion to the degree to which you surrender to those benevolent requisite tasks.
Stillness Personified
The answer to “who am I?” is contained in the stillness which precedes and pervades the question.
EDL Meditation: Constriction
Every time you become aware of feeling constricted today, notice one breath consciously.
Notice how expansion is here as well.
Poetic Pause: “Released”
Expanding trust
A windy gust
Rustling sunny trees
Warmth and grace
Upon my face
Innocently please