Rumi 

 

I become a waterwheel,

turning and tasting you, as long

as water moves.

Things good and generous take form

in me, and the air is clear.

I’m not talking out loud. I’m talking

to the ears of your spirit.

Remember what I’ve said. Tomorrow

I’ll say openly what I’m saying tonight.

Intricate sounds, not words. I catch

what I can’t quite make out. Fire burning down

along the roots, as well as in the branches.

The whole tree gone.

I would love to kiss you.

The price of kissing is your life.

Now my loving is running toward my life shouting,

What a bargain, let’s buy it! 

from

 Open Secret — Versions of Rumi 

Coleman Barks translation

Alan  Watts

come to your senses - here and now

from

Secrets  of  the  Feet

When God first created man He brought to focus in the physical organism the highest wonder on earth in design and function, providing capacities essential to the fulness of life in the revelation of Deity. All the parts in their intricate designs were correlated, brought under a central pattern of control, so that life might continue indefinitely to manifest in this realm. In that original realm there were beautiful gardens, lovely grass, flowers. The soft earth did not have the hard and jagged edges that we find in evidence now, and man was created to go barefooted. He was never intended to wear shoes.

The conditions that developed made it necessary for man to find some kind of protection against the hard earth, the pebbles, the rocks, the various things that might produce injury. But in the beginning, when man first began to walk in the garden, the earth was such that it made a pleasant sensation to the feet. And walking, stepping on little bunches of grass and the gentle irregularities, man constantly, in moving, provided a natural process of massage, or pressure and relaxation, for the soles of his feet. Recognizing these conditions into which He intended to place man, God did something that was very considerate and wonderful.

There are natural healing processes which go on in the body at all times under normal conditions, processes of restoration in various ways, renewing. During periods of sleep there is a cleansing away of the toxic conditions that have been developed and a renewing of tissues, so that the body may be prepared for the activity of a new day. There are two primary functions in the body in an overall sense: the processes of assimilation, which are primary during the day, and the processes of elimination, which are primary during the night. I am not thinking of it just from the standpoint of the final elimination of poisons from the body but the processes of elimination from the tissues through the bloodstream, so that they may be given final expulsion early in the morning. And then the processes of assimilation begin.

If the eliminative processes are not complete the toxins and poisons, refuse matter, tend to be reabsorbed into the body and there we begin to have very often the initial steps in the breakdown of health. Gradually reabsorption of substance that should have been fully eliminated tends to interfere with digestive processes, tends to interfere with normal feeding of the cellular structures of the body, and there begins to be an abnormal pattern of weariness. All of this natural rebuilding and function was provided for in the body itself, but God recognized that there should be some means by which special stimulation could be given, if there was any particular need for it, to the various organs and parts of the body, something that would be worked out in the natural process of things. And so to supplement all of this wonderful mechanism of restoring, rebuilding and healing, He provided reflex points in the feet, connecting with every organ of the body. There are such reflex points in the hands also, not as clearly distinguishable, but definitely present from the standpoint of the general pattern of the body as a whole; and the points in the hands and the feet correlate. You may have noted that sometime in the past for some unexplained reason, tender places feeling almost as if there had been a bruise started to develop somewhere in the palm of the hand or in the sole of the foot, something that could not under any ordinary circumstances be accounted for. That bruise was from the inside, because of conditions developing in the physical organism as a whole.

The feet were designed to be secondary organs of elimination—the large pores in the soles of the feet. When we are standing, moving about through the day, the pressure of the blood in the body is accentuated in the lower extremities and a process of elimination through perspiration or sweat is normal and natural, and if you do not wash your feet for a week or two you will notice that there begins to be an accumulation of a sort of crusty material on the bottom of the feet, substance that has been eliminated as refuse from the body. One can smell a person's feet—sometimes one does not have to get too close—and have a very clear idea as to whether or not digestive processes are working properly, the body is functioning in a normal healthy condition, for even though there is a certain amount of natural elimination from the body, the normal process, it is not, well, repulsive; it is not unpleasant.

In the normal processes as God designed man, there was walking in the dewy grass early in the morning, which allowed the magnetic currents of the earth, which were perfectly in tune at that time, to function in and through the physical organism of man. Man did not insulate himself from the earth but he had two particularized poles extending from his creative field which gave him contact with the earth: The positive and negative poles of his contact with the physical earth itself, his two feet. And as he walked about in the grass, even if it were a little dry in the middle of the day, there was the removal of the substance which tends nowadays to accumulate a bit on the feet, the natural cleansing externally, and there was constantly a natural, gentle massage on all those points which gave natural stimulation to the various organs of the body.

You will find that there are contact points relating to every part of the body, all the endocrine glands, all of the different primary functions, particularly, in all the organs. There are points on the feet that relate to the sinuses, for instance, and so on. If these reflex points in the feet are not properly manipulated because we go around with shoes on that carefully protect our feet from any real massage from walking, and we avoid any contact with the earth because we carefully insulate our feet from the earth, we allow those points that should be more or less in action to reach a state where they are never activated. We walk as little as possible, ride as much as possible; we do various things to avoid any possibility of letting the natural process clear the stagnation that develops in relationship to these particular points. It really covers the entire area of the soles of the feet and extends up on the side of the feet somewhat, up on the ankle.

In any case, we avoid any possible relaxation of those points. We let them get into a state of tension. We do not activate them, and instead of this material that should be carried clear out through the soles of the feet getting out, we have our feet bound up and so interfere with that process. It tends to settle inside at these reflex points—a sort of crystalline substance, crystals that develop little sharp points, and there are tender places that result because of the irritation. Sometimes these tender places show up in the palms of the hands. And so these substances that should have been eliminated by natural processes tend to come into a state of congestion, crystal form, in the soles of the feet. Tender places develop and, instead of having a soft, pliable reflex point that is giving normal, natural stimulation and corrective influence to the various organs of the body, we have a half-dead point.

People begin to die usually from the feet up, and then finally, after their feet are pretty dead, they start dying along the spine; death starts creeping up the spine. When it reaches a point not too far from the ears they leave us. If your feet are unhappy and uncomfortable, you are unhappy and uncomfortable all over. Why? Because there is a correlating point in your foot to every organ of your body, every part—to the brain, to all the endocrine glands, to the lungs, to the heart the liver, etc. You can reach any part of the body through the feet, and you can do it if you have to even without touching the feet. If you will give close attention to these things, you can learn where the various parts of the foot correlate with the various parts of the body. It is possible to relax tensions and allow the normal processes of restoration to get under way, the healing power of God through the feet, and we need to understand the principles involved—but you can do it without knowing just what point belongs where.

We can see how in the original design of man, the original state of the earth, this was one of the provisions of God by which physical life might be extended over indefinite periods of time in one physical body. This was not at all unusual for the physical body of man, to live for, well, over two or three thousand years. And then of course there was ascension. The body changes continued on, some of the substance ascending, some of it being cast out as refuse, more or less the same principle that we have now, not as aggravated, but it was there. But the same form in that ideal state could continue indefinitely, and a man or a woman two or three thousand years old was nothing unusual. And how did they look? They looked like mature, you might say, early middle-aged human beings who had their full vigor, full health, full capacity. They were not carrying around the ordinary evidences of age as we think of it in the world today. They were handsome or beautiful, as the case might be, and full of life and vigor.

So this was a part of the divine provision whereby the body might maintain health and strength indefinitely. Human beings are not inclined to do very much about it. Why is walking good exercise? Of course it stimulates, more or less, the circulation through the whole body, and you can recognize certain obvious possibilities. But the walking that we should do is not generally indulged in even by walking enthusiasts: to get the shoes off and walk on the earth, to walk in the grass, or maybe a little bit in the mud, to begin to massage the soles of the feet, to let the natural cleansing processes take place.

Uranda   July 6, 1953

Through The Smoke Hole

  

There is another world above this one; or outside of this one;  the way to it is thru the smoke of this one, & the hole that smoke goes thru. The ladder is the way thru the smoke hole;  the ladder holds up, some say, the world above; it might have been a tree or a pole; I think it is merely a way.

Fire is at the foot of the ladder. The fire is in the center. The walls are round. There is also another world below or inside this one. The way there is down thru the smoke. It is not necessary to think of a series.

Raven and Magpie do not need the ladder. They fly thru the smoke holes shrieking and stealing. Coyote falls thru; we recognize him only as a clumsy relative, a father in old clothes we don’t wish to see with our friends.

It is possible to cultivate the fields of our own world without much thought for the others. When men emerge from below we see them as the masked dancers of our magic dreams. When men disappear down, we see them as plain men going somewhere else.  When men disappear up we see them as great heroes shining thru the smoke. When men come back from above they fall thru and tumble; we don’t really know them; Coyote, as mentioned before.

Gary Snyder

William Butler Yeats

My fiftieth year had come and gone,

I sat, a solitary man,

In a crowded London shop,

An open book and empty cup

On the marble table-top.

While on the shop and street I gazed

My body of a sudden blazed;

And twenty minutes more or less

It seemed, so great my happiness,

That I was blessed and could bless.

from   Vacillation  by  William Butler Yeats

A living man is blind and drinks his drop.

What matter if the ditches are impure?

What matter if I live it all once more?

Endure that toil of growing up;

The ignominy of boyhood; the distress

of boyhood growing into man;

The unfinished man and his pain

Brought face to face with his own clumsiness;

The finished man among his enemies? –

How in the name of Heaven can he escape

That defiling and disfigured shape

The mirror of malicious eyes

Casts upon his eye until at last

He thinks that shape must be his shape?

And what’s the good of an escape

If honour find him in the wintry blast?

I am content to live it all again

And yet again, if it be life to pitch

Into the frog-spawn of a blind man’s ditch,

A blind man battering blind men;

Or into that most fecund ditch of all,

The folly that man does

Or must suffer, if he woos

A proud woman not kindred of his soul.

I am content to follow to its source

Every event in action or in thought;

Measure the lot; forgive myself the lot!

When such as I cast out remorse

So great a sweetness flows into the breast

We must laugh and we must sing,

We are blest by everything,

Every thing we look upon is blest.

from   Dialogue Between The Self And The Soul  by  William Butler Yeats

Robert Bly  &  Michael Meade

now each day

i hear that thunderous voice

speak clearly

and show the way of oneness

 and when I look at you

i see my own reflected brightness

streaming from your eyes

radiant face of me shines back from you

 david barnes

Freedom — Allegiance to the Light 

Jean Hammond   June 2015

As the ship left New York City’s harbor, many passengers arrived on deck to view the spectacular skyline gradually lighting up in the dusk. The bon voyage celebratory spirit was alive and well as the “Big Apple” was viewed from our course on the Hudson River as we traveled south before heading out to sea. Stunning were the sights! Someone said, “Now I know why they had us embark in the evening.”

As the newest and now tallest skyscraper in Manhattan was spotted in the distance near Wall Street, the party atmosphere began to shift. The clink of cocktail glasses subsided as people became quieter, and some reminisced about 9/11 in subdued voices: “Just think, those planes flew in right where we’re looking now.” “Thank God they didn’t get the Capitol Building.” “I lost my brother that day.” “I’m glad they built it. I want to go to the top some day.”

The One World Trade Center stands at 1,776 feet—a deliberate reference to the year the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. Colloquially named “Freedom Tower” during initial construction, what a symbol of reaffirmed freedom for this country it is, with presence at various levels. By the time the ship was parallel with the Center, the party atmosphere was all but gone. As we sailed on and the sight of the gleaming sentinel receded, never to be forgotten, even strangers quietly linked arms and there was peace on the deck.

With the announcement that the Statue of Liberty could be seen in a few minutes on the other side of the ship, our grouping moved over and sure enough, there she was in the distance. The atmosphere became celebratory again, but in a different way. I heard: “My family came through there…they were those tired and poor…thank God they came.” “Imagine France giving us that.” “Oh, I love her! I always get teary seeing her.” “Those people must have been glad to see her.” “I would go to war again for democracy.” “I hope America will always be here.” “God Bless.”

As the ship passed the lighted, stately icon, people were emotionally moved, respectful and thankful for what is represented by this original symbol of freedom  the United States. Heading out to sea, our grouping quietly stood until the beautiful and strong woman depicted with a broken chain at her feet and holding a tablet inscribed with “July 4, 1776,” disappeared in the night, never to be forgotten. Human history is endlessly marked with events that concern freedom. Recent ones would include the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the official end of apartheid in South Africa, the Tiananmen Square protests, and overt wars, many of which continue to rage as I type. Many other localized events concern freedom, such as divorce, death, or sending animals back into the wild after rehabilitation.

All such events can be seen as part of the creative process at some level, but what is true freedom? Not being victimized by climate change, health, a circumstance, someone—or anything! The recent obituary for my remarkable sister stated: “She never let her illness define her.” Freedom!

The gentleman entered the almost empty hospital cafeteria, with a little boy in hand. He tipped his cap towards me while sitting down with a tired sigh at the next table. Noticing “Veteran” and ribbons of military decorations on his cap,” I said: “Thank you for your service.” Oh…well…thanks, ma’am. (Quiet) This food isn’t too bad.

“Yes, for hospital food, it’s really quite good.”

(By now the little boy was testing how high the water in the drinking fountain could go, just missing the wall.)

“He’s having fun...”

My great-grandson…He’s got lots of energy! (Quiet)

“Where did you serve?”

Nam. Korea. (Quiet) I’ve seen some stuff... (A long silence…) Some friends…they’ve got that PTS...what is it?

“PTSD.”

Yup. Not good. I could have had it too, but decided not to...too much to live for...had to leave the stuff behind… (Quiet)

“You must be glad you found the way to do that.”

Yup.

“He’s free!” I thought.

Well, better go see how she’s doing…came in pretty sick...

“Thank you again for your service, and I wish you, your family, veteran friends, and whoever you’re visiting the very best.”

Thanks a lot, ma’am.

He tipped his hat again, smiled, and rescued the water fountain from his great-grandson who waved back as they headed to the elevator.

In the inspired anthem “God Bless America,” Irving Berlin captured personal feeling for the United States that the nation has sung for decades:

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her,

Through the night with the light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

to the oceans, white with foam,

God Bless America,

My home sweet home.

God Bless America,

My home sweet home.

On this upcoming July 4^th, this heartfelt prayer will be sung by thousands of people at all kinds of venues. In these often troubled times, the “night” could be seen as the almost overwhelming horrors that mankind has thrust upon itself, from which there seems no way out. It can also be seen as a precursor to dawn that can bring a New Day when allegiance is given to Spirit, the “light from above.”

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, he spoke of the “fierce urgency of now” relative to issues he was addressing then, emphasizing “Let freedom ring.” There continues to be “fierce urgency” relative to what needs to happen in the consciousness of mankind and in every field of endeavor throughout the world now.

We each have a part to play in intensifying the Light. America has a unique part to play, as does every nation. In the midst of everything going on in our world, God blesses America and every other nation. That Spirit is always available to “guide through the night.” Unwavering trust in that Spirit is the only way to break the chains of human nature and let the New Day dawn in which true freedom may indeed ring.

Jean  Hammond

God  Bless  America   Mormon  Tabernacle  Choir