All poems

Release from the Cross

Retracting my judgments upon the world,
I would release my brother from his cross,
And with this wish alone—that he be free,
From self-hate and condemnation, I find
With joy that I am released from my own.
What joy it is, to know the Divine Law
Is Love and Mercy, and that Righteousness,
Is sourced in these two qualities alone!
How foolish I was to think sacrifice,
Must be the cost of anyone's mistakes!
Now, in my newfound gratitude for Life
Freely given, I happily would share
The gift my Father placed within my hands,
And heart to give away—which brings no loss,
But only gain to each recipient—
Of all the Grace I have received of Him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

All Else is Vanity Except for Love

One's days are vanity; one's nights consumed 

by endless thirst for substitutes of peace.

Under the sun is nothing that is new,

And many hope in death to find release.

One's panting breath won't stop, one's heart won't still,

When that old king monotony holds sway.

Nor yet by bread is inner hunger filled--

Oblivion appears to be the way.

God's Word tells us that death is no escape,

Nor yet a torturer to inflict pain,

But a lucid and colorful mindscape 

Wherein no thing exists that is mundane.

No streets are there, no buildings, nothing 'real',

For now reality assumes a form

Of formlessness; a dancing, flaming world

Set off by a new Vision unadorned

By little sights and disconnected sounds.

All tongues are stilled, and silent is the Voice

That echoes through the canyons of the heart

Reminding one to make another choice.

And rejoin God, from whom one cannot part.

No unforgiven world exists, no truth

In lies can find a place to be at home.

And man is vain in old age and in youth,

walking through life as if he is alone.

This world you see cannot be real because

You do not really see the world at all.

By judgment is the world obscured; by sight

is it revealed--an angel cannot fall.

And so is earth but heaven unperceived

...Until it is. Pray dawn that blessed day--

When you see but the blessing and the blessed,

The face of Christ in everyone you meet,

In all of his disguises of distress--

Then is the Kingdom plainly visible,

And earth and heaven cease as separate states.

'Til then be vigilant, keep trimmed your lamps

And take care that you have sufficient oil

For even now the bridegroom draweth near.

Keep watchful with me, Angels, hearts unsoiled--

While God my Father wipes away all tears.

~~~~~~~~~

The Word of God is What You Are

The Word of God is what you are; His Son;

The Light of everlasting Truth and Love

You who are the Creator's Workmanship;

The evidence, the proof, of the Unseen.

The secret influence of Spirit's Grace

Works in and through all things, the very Breath

of God. Your soul is one with that Spirit; 

The inspiration, and that which inspires,

And nothing that you do or say or think 

Can change that fact. The Cause of all that is

Is also Cause of you. Considering

Your divine origin, then, Who could stay

The rising of God's Son from death's ashes?

The Bird of Liberty, which flies to Peace,

And soars over the battleground's tumult:

The Soul, the Christ in you, is very still,

But takes its cues from Spirit. When the time

Is ripe for mind's awakening, is set;

Nor can it occur a minute sooner

Or a second too late. Your Way to God

Is set as well. But will you follow It?

It merely asks you claim what is your own—

Remembering it also is your Self—

And accept nothing else. No substitute

For Love can ever fill the sense of lack;

That God-sized hole which sits within the heart;

And by its daily feeding, only grows;

Which gnaws upon the mind; and steals the rest

The nights conferred before the hole appeared.

There is one thing, which realizing, you

Will understand there never was a hole

That needed filling, for you are complete,

And ever are, as God created you:

Without Self-Love, you knew not what you sought

Nor where 'twas found. In maya's lair was caught,

The Bird, and seemed imprisoned in a cage

For a season. But Freedom's Call was heard

And Psyche, slumbering, opened an Eye

And the cage disappeared, as did the hole

That seemed to dwell within. The Soul recalled,

The State before there seemed to be a fall,

And cured the mind of Separation's sense.

God, being realized as All in all. 

And all in All, the world puzzle was solved,

For it resolved itself into the One

For whom the Universe is but Itself.

Beyond this point, words fail entirely;

Nor are they needed; all is understood

As having for its base and its support

The Everlasting Arms of Father God.

~~~~~~~~

A Deeper Sense of Surrender

O Transcendent, Imminent now

Unto Thee I humbly bow

Thou suffering and sorrow ender

Grant me pure love for Thee and show me how

To achieve a deeper sense of surrender

O blessed one, untouched by sin

Come, and come, and come again

Thou ever-free in deed descender

My constant Companion and dearest Friend,

Give me a deeper sense of surrender

O sustainer of all three worlds

Thee in whom they all do whirl,

Help me forget and to remember

By Thy touch I am released evermore,

Teach me the deeper sense of surrender.

O slayer of demons of doubt

Thy praises be in my mouth

May my heart grow always more tender

I need not any worldly accolades

In fact, I would very happily trade

Them for a deeper sense of surrender.

~~~~~~~~

The Wisdom of Folly

Dear Lord,

Deliver me from the whirlwind of infinite opinions.

I have found no peace at all in them;

No satisfaction in theologies, philosophies, and systems of metaphysics.

For each question answered, ten more arose in its stead.

This rabbit hole, I believe, has no end at all.

Now I, dull-headed and empty of sophistry,

Burnt out from wracking my brain

And straining to make sense of clever word-play,

Desire only to sit and listen to the sound of the birds,

The wind rustling through the leaves of the trees, 

The children laughing at play.

The silence of my meditation

Is filled with the Voice that speaks 

The Truth no tongue has ever uttered,

Nor ever was penned in any book, however holily esteemed.

My mind's integrity remains

All that in my life is sacrosanct.

Return to thy native simplicity, O my soul!

And discover again the wisdom of folly.

~~~~~~~~

My Everlasting Home

Create in me a clean heart, Lord,

To this I give consent

May the cloud of your protection

Surround this fleshly tent,

My comings in, my goings out,

My waking and my sleep

And fill my heart with loving, Lord,

My mind with wisdom deep.

These things I ask in Your name, for

My needs to You are known.

You are the Answer that I seek,

My everlasting Home.

~~~~~~~

Victim or Savior?

In ignorance, man's buffeted by fate;

Driven off course by every passing wind

But though he suffers in a million ways

He cannot bring himself to look within

And while he thrashes on the threshing floor

Of outer circumstance, he cannot see

That all he does is done unto himself

And all he is, but what he chose to be.

Now all hope like a candle flickers out

In dense darkness; he finds himself alone,

Unhinged from all he knew and loved before

A stranger to himself, exiled from home.

A man is victim or savior unto

Himself, as he elects. By his own thoughts

He ascends to heaven; plunges to hell

For those are not places, but states of mind,

Determined by the use to which 'tis put.

Use it to help the ailing ones to heal

And you will find healing; use it to hurt

And you but offer pain unto yourself.

It can be but ourselves we crucify

And likewise, we alone who gently take

The savior off the cross and offer him

The only gift he needs; our gratitude

For all the endless love he really gave

Though we misunderstood. The beating heart

Of hope returns to us, faintly at first

But steadily it grows in certainty

That what we gave is given unto us

And who we save is worthy of our trust.

~~~~~~~

Soliloquy to My Soul

My Soul, tell me your secret,

Release the hidden drive.

Invite me to the banquet

Where you always do abide.

Take me to the mystic river

Wash me clean within its flow

You are the selfless giver

And the Self whom I would know

I wither here without you

Like a plant that thirsts for rain.

Your counsel courses down the mountain

Settling in the lowly plain.

Show me, my Soul, your resting place

For I must seek its shade

For lifetimes I will pilgrimage

Until my mind is stayed

Upon Your blissful reverie

That sang in joyous tones.

Falling on my ears, the notes

Drove me from house and home

To find the Source from which there came

This melody divine,

And were, my Soul, like drops of rain;

Like rays of sweet sunshine.

~~~~~~

I Am That I Am

I am that I am, and there

Is nothing I am not

For this I came to you to share

Who, sleeping, had forgot.

The child playing with his toys–

I am that I am.

That which pleases and annoys–

I am that I am.

The man possessed by his possessions–

I am that I am.

Confessor and the one who listens–

I am that I am.

Consciousness is my domain

I am that I am.

Unnameable, This is my Name:

I am That I am.

I the seer; I the seen.

I am that I am.

I the dreamer; I the dream.

I am that I am.

The "I am" is the secret key;

The Knowledge that will make us free.

To understand that it must be

The 'I am' that I am is me,

Is everything–but only true

If All in all includes you too.

I am that I am

And that is all that needs be said

I am that I am

It doesn't matter what you read

I am that I am and that

Is all I'll ever be.

The ground is holy where you're at

For 'I Am' is also thee.

~~~~~~~

Father, I Give My Life to You Today

Father, I give my life to You today

For when I tried to run it my own way

I faltered many times and failed much

The curse was on me of Midas' touch:

In great success I found but bleak despair;

For finding it, I did not find You there.

I did not know 'twas You I needed, but

More I required, although I knew not what.

Your Word greeted me out upon the way

And turned my night of gloom into bright day

Bathed in a golden light I heard Him say

"Close are ye now unto the Kingdom's gates.

Tis only on your welcome that Love waits."

Without You, earth is but a desert vast;

So would I make my way to You at last.

For I've come far enough by now to see

I am much better off at Home with Thee.

I thank You Father – that You never left –

'Nearer than hands and feet, closer than breath.'

~~~~~~~

The Happy Path to God

There is no harm that ever can come nigh

The secret Dwelling-Place of the Most High.

And he who takes It up as his Abode

Has neither need for friend nor yet for foe

Delightfully he learns his needs are met

As he is led to lay down all regret

In mercy on himself. Thus he forgives

The sin-sick dying world, that it may live

It is the light of Heaven that he brings;

Redemption's everlasting song he sings.

Thus dawns a new day for humanity

To him who renounces his vanity

And takes up his part in Salvation's Plan

To bring forth God's Son from the son of man.

In littleness He spawned, but He will grow

To heights unfathomed by what mind can know.

For this He came, for this cause was He born

That He might bring peace to a world war-torn;

To tell the winds of chaos to be still;

To let be done on earth His Father's Will.

~~~~~~~~

Love has lit the way

Unlike the earthly forms of parent-child

Relationships, the Son of God and His

Father never exist in separate states;

'Though the Son has this unique attribute:

He can imagine such to be the case.

However, when he does, he then perceives

Himself only in pieces – not in peace.

A stranger in a strange land; in the far

Country where his needs he must provide for

Or go without, and it is this he does

In some way when he seeks without himself

For his good. It is not within the world,

But from himself that he must bring good forth

For that is the activity of God

Which he must become an observer of.

The working out of Grace seems to take time

But any moment you can have it – now

If you so wish, or I should say, 'so will.'

Until that time, take heart my friend in this:

You cannot escape Him Whose Son you are.

Nor is there really sense in the idea,

Look not with trepidation on this thought

For it is your Salvation and the world's.

Rather, embrace it as the whole way out

And see it and yourself in the One Light

The Holy Spirit brings to every thought

And cleanses all perception, every new

Meeting with a brother another chance

To save the Son of God, and bring him peace

From God, his Father. Let us be released.

That we may, in turn, release our brothers.

Now let us say amen, and enter in

The sanctuary where the Son is home

At last. And now is fear the stranger here,

Who once seemed sole companion; co-pilot

To turn to in every emergency

For guidance and support, stability

Even if based on its rigidity.

The fixed upside-down orientation

Assuaged anxiety but for a while,

And then another replacement of love

Was called upon to keep you safe, secure

And occupy your senses for a while

Not one distracted mind but seeks for love

And happiness, but knows not where to look

Be you their teacher; love has lit the way

And the path is laid out before you now.

With compassion as trusted compass you

Will be brought to problems thought not your own

To learn how much alike each is to all.

Mistake not multiplicity of form

For difference in content. What is One

Cannot have separate parts. So carry Love

Within your heart and give All unto all.

~~~~~~~~~~

We need do nothing

Truly, we need do nothing but be still

And listen for the still, small Voice for God

The holy instant that we do, we find

It has incessantly been calling us

Since time began, and isn't still or small

In truth, for when we listen, It resounds 

In gentle splendor, from a Majesty

That fills the heavens and which 

Melts the earth.

But quiet it appears because we made

Another voice with which it won't compete,

That seemed to split us off from the One Source

We share with everything that lives and moves.

In It we have our being. The only

Undoing is to hear no voice but that

Which speaks for God, and represents His Voice

Is real in us. Prepare you now for the

Undoing of that which was never done,

Nor had a life of its own, but derived

Its seeming power from the very mind

That it relied upon to foster it.

Refuse to listen to its madness now.

Turn softly inwards, move through the low bank

Of clouds darkened by false perceptions, for

They cannot hold back those who would advance

To Meaning; to the Light of Love within.

Be you Love's Presence, shine your little light

For more will be added to them who have

And none can give what they do not possess.

Be still, and know your true Identity

As One with God, a vital part of Him

And of the Sonship, which you make complete,

By your willingness to join in the Plan

Of God to restore that which seemed apart.

~~~~~~~~~

Father, I thank you

Father, I thank You for this gorgeous day;

For every breath I draw into my lungs;

For new beginnings and the endings which

Precipitate them. All is perfect when

I let go of my own definitions

Of how all things should look and act and feel.

Your Will it is my pleasure to perform

For when I try to exercise my own

Apart from Yours, it is but misery

In some form that I bring upon myself

I do not ask You for a single thing

But call forth that which is latent within

To house and feed and clothe me, all my good

Must come from myself as a spider weaves

Her web out of the substance of herself.

If I ask You for aught I do deceive

Myself into believing I can use

You. Rather, I ask to be used by You,

In service of salvation's perfect plan

To show the natural abundance of

The Christ in His sweet ministry of Love.

~~~~~~~

Nearer than hands and feet; closer than breath

Moths of insanity eat up the cloth

From which is spun the garment of the days

The dust of ignorance of countless lives 

settles thickly upon the mirror-mind

Alas, that its perfection seems so dim

On their account! Its spotless purity

Seems to be tarnished and its luster dull.

I am, verily, an ocean of faults

That would be lost forever if not for

The boundless, causeless Mercy of God's Grace

Although darkness seems impenetrable

It disappears in but an instant as

A light illuminates a darkened room

Though it had been dark for a thousand years.

So pray Christ's second coming will be soon

But bear in mind he never really left...

"Nearer than hands and feet. Closer than breath."

Receiving the Present

The past stands like a shield before the now;

The future like a flaming sword. Meanwhile, 

The now stands brightly forth, shedding its light;

That those who would see, will. Christ's gift of sight,

He offers all the humble, willing ones

Who would but see the world He looks upon,

And have every perception purified.

Thus do they lay the body's eyes aside.

As all vision is but a wish fulfilled,

So is theirs granted by their holy Will.

The Pearl of Great Price

Alone, I am a dry and barren ground

Until Your Living Water gushes forth,

Then this wasteland is suddenly a Spring

Inhabited by a myriad of living things. 

A song of gratitude is on my lips

As you have blessed me with so many gifts,

And not for these I thank you, Lord, but for

Your Self, the only Source, the Fountainhead

Of all my blessings. You the Treasure House

From which I draw an Infinite Supply

You are the only Place I am content

The sole Environment where I can bask

In the eternal bounty of Your Grace.

Your Love surrounds me; angels hover high 

above my head and sing of the Union

Of a loving Father and a blessed Son

Who sought His happiness and now has found

It always did reside within Himself.

The song resounds with pulsations of peace

That move within Him, quickening his flesh,

And giving a Meaning unto his life

And Purpose to every activity

that he engages in with His Father

His Part to play was written in the stars

Long before He incarnated here.

Christ's footsteps still shine brightly in the sand;

Impressionable, soft, yielding to Him

For it does not present an obstruction

To being molded into His image

And in His image, seeing it is God's—

The Infinite Invisible's Likeness.

He witnesses and demonstrates for all

By sheer force of his realization.

He demonstrates by acts of consciousness,

Wherein He claims the holy Will of God

For Himself and for all of His Brothers,

Who are not restricted to humankind

But could appear as plant or animal

Or any other form, for he beholds

Them with the Eyes of Love, which overlook

All seeming sins and forgive those who curse

And treat him spitefully, for He is sure

Delusion alone seems to threaten Him

And tempts Him to reconsider His way.

This devil He must put behind himself

A hundred, nay, a thousand times a day

Until this false appearance finally

Gives way as shadows do unto the day.

~~~~~~~

The Moment of Awakening

The world can give but what you give it, for being only your own projection, it exists not apart from what you wish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment of awakening strikes suddenly
And all things change.
The whereabouts of what you left behind
Is nothing and nowhere.
Christ came to heal the mind and that he did
By your election.
The image of his loveliness brings peace
To tired hearts and weary feet,
And brings Vision to sightless eyes.
As your innermost Self, Christ gives himself to you
Nor anything does he hold back from you,
But shares freely of his full treasure house
Take one step farther, see him on the road
Made beautiful by a sudden splash of light
And reach your hand to him
He knows your need; the deep fatigue
And sense of hopelessness
He will not leave without your blessing,
That you may come to know that you are blessed.
Give to him all the thorns and all the nails,
With which you sought to crucify yourself
He longs to bring you home, to keep you safe
To shelter you in the midst of the storm.
The sickly grievance; the unholy hate
Are unworthy of you who are God's Son.
Redeem yourself; for thus you save the world.
Emerge from shadows, step into the light
And let Christ look on you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From this point forward, nothing you say or do
Has any purpose but to make the Christ manifest
Humility knows it is He that does the works.
He in me and I in Him, and we both ever together in God.
The winds and waves of worldly life will come,
But learn how not to be disturbed by them.
Situations cannot dictate how you feel, nor how
You must respond to them, for it is you
That are in charge of your journey.
If you did not have help, and mighty help
You would be lost indeed!
The Holy Spirit, through your hands, commands
The little vessel safely into the harbor
If you give up the ignoble attempt
To steer your ship alone, to think you know
Better the way than the Guide that God Gave
You will find a perfect peace, like unto
The eye at the center of the storm.
As it is single, so let yours be as well.
Let shine your light, small though it may appear,
And your presence shall illumine the world.

~~~~~~~

Awake from Slumber, Sleeping One

Awake from slumber, sleeping one.
I want to share a word with you.
No ordinary word is this,
for this the Word of ever-bliss.
The time it takes to bring you there
Is nothing but a tiny tick
No more than taking down a tent
Or any structure, brick by brick.
The Word of God is what you are.
A Word that sparkles brilliantly
You issued from the Mind of God
And still remain as one with He
The Door that leads you to the Word
The Christ of God, the Shepard good
Resides within your mind, obscure
But even now speaks still and sure
The ego's death throes painful moarn
A dirge to hopelessness, forlorn.
The Soul's call of awakening
Sounds to the ego a death knell
Seeming to chime in strident tones
A siren's song, that draws to kill
The ego's fear of death must be
Seen through with eyes that finally see;
Replaced by unconditioned Love,
And the Knowledge that makes us free.

~~~~~~

Limit Not the Forms that Love May Take

Limit not the forms that love may take
For so might you miss one along the way
And thinking it fearful, dismiss its light
That would have saved you, had you seen it right.

~~~~~~

Cross of glory

This instant is the holy one I choose

To save me from king death; his hollow claim 

of name and form to swallow up all things

After a brief allotted time on earth.

Oh mind! Remember what you always knew

But for a time forgot; the time is now

To be released from all that would deceive;

From death and fear in all their different forms.

They are not really different. Take my hand

For you and I embark now, once again,

Upon the journey from the straits of death,

Unto the ocean of eternal life.

You are like me, a holy son of God

And there is nothing that we cannot do

When we unite, and fuse our will as one

Under the Father's plan of Atonement.

Do not despair. Declare the time as now

In which what has eluded you before

Is suddenly so simple and so clear

You can but laugh at the complexity

That seemed to hold you back a little while.

In truth, you are always at Home with me.

The ego was a silly joke, at which

The son of God forgot to laugh. That's it!

So laugh with me, but let me see you smile,

And all of Heaven shall rejoice with us.

But remember the present memory

And all that is not love will disappear

And enemies shall be transformed to friends.

Christ must come unto His own, through His own.

And every one of us must take His cross.

However, His a cross of glory is;

Demanding neither pain nor sacrifice,

Nor aught but boundless love and endless joy.

~~~~~~

Love is Freedom

Love is freedom; freedom, love
Peace descends as from a dove
God's Kingdom is like a pearl;
To obtain it we trade the world
The ego made with its false hope
And despair like the weeds that choke
The seedlings of the scattered Word--
Far lovelier than aught we've l aheard.

Small beginnings serve great ends,
Take heed your appointed Friend
Who Calls you unto mighty deeds
And thoughts that bless the universe.
He will fulfill your every need--
The Midwife of the Divine Birth. 

~~~~

The Truth is True

The Truth is true;

Is one with you.

Your hands, your feet,

Your lips are Its.

Speak as It bids

Do as It did

Reveal what was

Aforetimes hid

Rejoice in It

Delight in It

Do not, my friend

Make light of It.

Wander, but

Return to It

And learn of It

Right where you sit

Hear as It calls

To one and all

To drink and think

Of It, nor stall

Outside of It

But enter It;

It welcomes you

And dwells in you.

By It, the Sonship's

Mind is lit.

Recall the Word

Reborn in you.

~~~~~~

By this we Know

How can one tell when God calls to His Son?

There is a peace, so compelling it covers the world.

There is a depth and breadth of wisdom that surpass our present understanding.

There is a Love so far removed from any 

Earthly experience called by the name

So as to make analogies impossible.

There is a dignity the likes of which 

No king or queen has hinted at it.

There is a beauty in each step, in every breath we draw;

There is a grace in the slightest movement of our hand;

There is an authority in every word we speak 

Which none can deny.

By this we know the Father calls to us.

By this we know the Son calls to Himself.

~~~~~~

We were born for love;

Born for joy.

Each man and woman,

Girl and boy.

Born to express

God and Heaven within.

Born not for death,

Nor for sickness and sin.

Born, though our soul

Has never been.

Born to find peace

Amid the world's din.

Born to smell flowers

Along the path

Born to remember

We forgot to laugh

Born to be free

Born just to be

Born in God's mind

Not by a body.

~~~~~~

It's Very Easy to Escape the World

You do not question when you know you know

Nor do you hide in darkness when you glow

You do not hold a grievance when you love

Nor do you cling to earth when up above--

That battleground wherein scavengers roam

To find what flesh they may upon the stone

Third out from the sun. What can we then say,

But here are hungry creatures seeking prey?

Yet it is very easy to escape 

The world and all of its ghastly effects

At once and for all time. You need only

Accept the atonement for all the world

For this you do when you accept it for

yourself, for we are all joined in the Will

Of God and of His Son, that He be saved

By your overlooking what is not real.

When you are healed, you are not healed alone;

The universe entire benefits.

There will be no mistakes, no loss of truth

No need, in Truth, even for forgiveness

When it is recognized there is nothing

to forgive in this rarified climate,

Where sight receives the gift of Christ's Vision

That sees only brothers with whom to join

And celebrates the time of His release

From dreams of crucifixion that our guilt

Had laid upon him. This time there will be

No going back, because your feet are now

Planted firmly upon the path to Truth.

Above the battleground, you finally see

That you were always sustained only by

The Love of God, because it holds you up,

surrounds you now, and is your all in All.

God reveals His omnipresence to us

When we desire but to feel His Love

Enfolding us as a mother her child

Gently soothing us into restful sleep,

That is precursor to awakening.

Christ comes to and for His own; no delay,

When we welcome and invite Him to stay.

At the moment, He is but a small child 

but with our nourishment he will become

The savior of ourselves and of the world.

Such is not blasphemous, but simple truth.

God would not be Love if it were elsewise.

Ultimately, there is no love but God’s

And this we recognize when we would have

No Love but His, no Presence but His Own

Uplifting and upholding who we are

And who we may become with His support.

~~~~~~

Die Before you Die

In time, all things of earth will pass away,
Your person, your possessions, and your pride,
All things will be stripped from you,
And yet one thing will remain.
Who or What is that one?
To die before you die
Means to seek devotedly
The answer to that question
Any way that suits you best.
For some, it is a formal practice
For others, a more informal way of living
No path should be judged as higher or lower
The important thing is that they are helpful
To the individual, and lead to the Truth
The curriculum is universal, and Holy Spirit
Will correct all errors in everyone’s minds
That taint the Practice
With self-seeking motives
The goal is to tame the roaring lion of ego
Into a gently purring housecat
This would be a great miracle, would it not?
It’s tamed by the Truth, and you must command it.
Although the correction is not of you,
It nevertheless must come through you
To prove that it is in you and that you have been transformed by it.
Bring Light unto darkness, speak Truth to lies
And what is Truth?
Truth is the One
The One you must find
Within your Self
Within your Neighbor
But understand, your neighbor is a universal thing
Because it symbolizes the Sonship
Which is Universal; the Body of Christ

The One has been waiting for you
To become aware of It since the day you were born
It isn’t patient or impatient, isn’t partial at all
It is neither good nor bad, holy or unholy
It isn’t male or female, but has characteristics of both
It is everything and nothing, the alpha and the omega
The beginning and end; but is birthless and deathless
Is not bound by attributes or by non-attribution
Has form, then again has none,
And something beyond these two altogether
No one can say with certainty what It is like.
Best to seek It within the quiet of your Heart
It will reveal Itself to you.
It is revealed in surrender.
It is the ability and act of surrender,
The Object of surrender, and the one who surrenders.
It is also the Voice that brings you to surrender,
As a mother cat carries her Kitten someplace.
So metaphors and parables have been used
Suggestive stories and symbols for what
Is the root of all existence dwelling within you
The ground of all being Is the One I speak of
Find It, and leave all concepts behind you
Drop the word God if it doesn’t resonate
In total self-surrender, let yourself
Be reborn into a newfound Self
By surrendering to It.
A phoenix rising from the ashes
Of a bitter dream of death.
The ego doesn’t perish in the process.
It merely seems to return to the nothingness whence it came.

One can only be confused amid all the opinions
Don’t seek answers to questions unanswerable
To ask how the impossible came to be
Must be to question meaninglessly
Seek only the Answers that come from deep within,
Your Self, Your Christ Mind, from that reservoir of wisdom
Or which resonates with your wisdom that you find in the world
In the Holy texts of the world, for they all
Have many high credits, and all of them profit,
As they are all capable of lifting your mind to loftier heights
And help to make firm the depth of your resolve
That you will keep choosing the better way every day
If you approach them contemplatively
Without a calculating mind
Just surrender
Let go
Everything will be okay.

~~~~~~

Come, Friend, Let Us Take Our Leave

Come, My Friend, Let us Now Take Our Leave

Can Harvard yield a commission from God?

Or Can Yale produce a single saint?

Of what use are lectures from lettered men?

Don’t fall for the temptation to let them

Tickle your ears; You’ve heard it all before

And always walked away empty-handed.

Out here, divinity degrees are good 

Only for the warmth from the fires they start;

Churches and temples useful only for

Shelter from the elements they provide.

They’re best when they are ruins, overgrown

With weeds and creeping vines, resounding with 

the happy songs of crickets and of birds.

Let none call you teacher. Be you rather

An eternal student. Aspire not 

To be called Master. If you would be great 

Aspire to be the servant of all.

Throw, therefore, all your priestly robes away,

And cast all man-made religions aside.

If you would find the Source of Holiness

Stop seeking without – go deeply within.

Why take a pilgrimage to distant lands?

If God’s not as much in your own backyard

As any holy place on earth, there'd be

No hope for land-loafers like you and I.

Come now, let us depart from the talkers

Whose long-winded talks only ailed our ears;

And take our leave of the seeking pilgrims

Whose sole rewards are thirst and blistered feet – 

And let us fast from worldliness a while.

I brought some special wine to share with you,

That ferments not, and offers the soul bliss.

The silence, on a trusted source’s word

Abounds with precious gems and priceless jewels

If only somehow we could lose our head,

We may possess them and not want for aught

Again. But Alas! This chatter box plagues 

Us day in and day out, without surcease.

Why do we, friend, let it pester us so,

But for the simple reason that we have

Not yet learned how to make the darn thing stop?

So many days in this life have now passed

Us by, and little progress has been made.

Come now, my fickle mind, stop playing dumb.

You and I can move mountains by our faith 

Without our even lifting a finger.

~~~~~~

The Divine Appointment

When I first heard the Divine Mother’s call
I was sitting silently atop a hill
I followed after Her Voice like a hound
Tracks down a scent. I found her in repose
Under the shady boughs of a tall tree.
Breathless, with trembling limbs, I then beheld
For the first time the lovely Mother’s Face.
I felt her Presence as a gentle breeze
Cools and caresses in the eventide.
A smile played upon her luscious lips.

She gazed at me for long and long. She seemed
As carefree as a child. “Mother” I said, 
“Please give me your blessing.” “My Son,” She laughed
With tenderness I couldn’t comprehend,
“That you already have. But be my Voice
For those who hear it not, and that will be
A blessing so abundant, you will find
The more you pour, the more your cup is filled.

It has been years now since I laid my eyes
On her that day, or was it just a dream?
I cannot say. But what I can tell you
Is nothing has been quite the same since then.

~~~~~

Like Father, Like Son

The Son of God is like unto His Source
In all except that God created Him,
But God is eternally uncreated.

Enfolded by the timeless Love of God, 
the Good, Christ knows He is always sustained 
Forever by this Love that knows no bounds.

As wholly blessed, ‘Tis but blessing He sheds
On all He looks upon; on all who seem
To meet Him here as if for the first time.

Serene, impartial, kindly, with a grace
That knows just what to do, what Word to give
If that is what is needed. Do not think
There ever was a one He turned away
Because of what he had or did not have.

Each one is given gifts by the Father
To learn to use them in a proper way,
And in so doing, remind the Kingdom
Of Its wholly inviolate nature;
Such is the mission given us by God.

The Kingdom's invulnerability
Is its perfect protection, which God has
Himself established when He founded It.

I did not come to further burden man
But that, through my example, he may come
To understand the inestimable
Worth and Divine Nature of humankind.

In truth, if you have seen the Son but once
You have already beheld the Father.
And if its true you have seen the Father,
It must needs be you saw Him in your Self.

So must it be that you are One with Me,
And both of us are One with the Father.
If this has not been your experience,
Rest assured; you will see and know Him yet.

The Son of God was sent into the world 
As but a stranger in a strange, strange land,
Representing what is good and true
In each of us; revealing what was hid
By ignorance of What brings lasting rest.

He came, amid the obstacles to peace
Detached, untrammeled, free of grievances,
Teaching the divine path of forgiveness,
And love for all, even one’s enemies.

Others came also, but the nescient force
Kept many good-intentioned teachers on
The well-trod path; the marketplace of men,
Where valueless items are bought and sold
All day and night in this Vanity Fair.

These fledglings never seemed to get His sense,
Its breadth and depth; His Vision and Grandeur.
‘Tis but a little while yet, until
All of the voices will be stilled on earth,
All vain thoughts hushed, and in newborn silence
The World shall hear God’s Last Judgment on it:

“It is nothing! A hiding place that seems
To be apart and separate from My Love.
It is not sinful; it does not exist
Except as a schoolhouse in which to learn.
It could but hold back those who wish to be.

It cannot represent more than a wish
That what could never be somehow occurred.
And in this false belief, men seek to keep
It going, that the sickly wish remain.

Now let it be corrected. In its stead
Is My Beloved World. Tarry not here,
Where moth corrupts, and thieves break in and steal,
But go to It. Hear Its imploring Call.
And give to It the welcome due to Love."

~~~~~~

A walk can be divine;
A friendly smile, a miracle;
A kiss, the finest wine;

A dazzling sunset, spiritual.

~~~~~

Love Speaks

Love speaks, and suddenly all things have changed

The flowers sparkle with a loveliness

Not seen before. All beings radiate

A joy that blesses you who blessing gave

Love speaks, and suffering is seen no more

To rack the world with pain. And no more tears

Fall from the eyes of those who see as Christ

His Vision is His gift. His smile he shares

With you so like to He there is no spot

Of sin to stain or mar your purity.

The Angels now rejoice. And God Himself

With but a Single Step, transports you Home

So that it be no longer absent of

The Holy Presence that you bring It.

Your homecoming is celebrated by

Creation, for it recognizes you

As like unto itself. Your redemption

Proves to it that God has left none to die

And suffer for a moment’s ignorance.

The search for love must end in bleak despair

But here, as is God’s Will, hope is reborn

When Love speaks but a Word, and all things change.

~~~~~~

Our life is but a shadow briefly cast
A tragic comedy at which none laugh
Ere long, to our dismay we must depart
And bid adieu our bitter, doleful heart

~~~~~~

A Light in the Dark

We seek to solve the problem of ourselves
And grasp the hidden meaning of our lives.
But too oft we are thwarted in our goal
By every obstacle upon life's road
Alas the tragedy! Alas the search!
That fruitless is, addicted so to birth.
Death seems to be a tiny price to pay
To shiver thru another frigid day.
The ego merely is a thought of fear,
A thing of nothingness, yet held so dear.
Our soul, a distant lighthouse in the dark,
Guiding the journey on which we've embarked.

~~~~~

You Are it All Already

You the Will of God
You His boundless Love
You the Being infinite
You, Grace from above

You the ocean of Mercy
You Her Miracle
A healing drop from Heaven, you
Speak as Her Oracle

You the beam of Light
From the crack in the door
You the final Resting place
On the opposite Shore

You the dreamer of the dream
You the dream as well
Take responsibility
And be released from hell

You the hero on a voyage
You the sirens and their song
You the virgin with no oil
You the flame still burning strong

You the holy Christ of God
You the Messiah to come
You the homeless in a hut
You the slummer and the slum

You the miser with much wealth
You the saint that shares her crumbs
You the bomber with great stealth
You the beat of the war drum

You the Mighty, you the small
You that rid the world of hate
You the Begetter of all
You the dictator irate

You the jail and jail keeper
You the One that must awake
You, God and the grim reaper
You who give and you who take

~~~~~~~

Mystic Flight of the Goddess

In a void I heard

Strains melodic from a rose;

Not a whit perturbed, 'tis but

This moment that it knows.

Do you think she even cares,

Twirling spirals through the air,

That the masses come in droves

To see her dance up there?

Though the rivers dry,

In the tomb of pregnant space

Th'eternal Spirit never dies,

Yet precious few have seen Her face.

Majestic canyons rise

From the foothills of the morn’.

And desperately men try

To reach their summit but are scorned.

A Pure beauty unrivaled

In her tapestry of light.

Her Passion is unbridled

As she soars in mystic flight.

~~~~~~

Help me, Father,

To Turn my mind to you;

Heal my blindness

 That I may see anew.

Bless me, Father

Source of Love and Truth;

Heal my weakness

That I may stand for You.

Teach me, Father

Instructor of the wise.

What aids my faltering footsteps?

Your Son in whom I rise.