Freedom in Restraint

At first the ideas of Freedom and Restraint seem at odds with each other. If however, we exist without restraint we are in fact not free. Rather, we are tethered by desire. Restraint provides boundries that through whatever enforcing process, enable us to be free.

It is when restraint fails that we find ourselves without freedom. Think of a bad habit that enslaves you; perhaps food, cigarettes, or envy and the consequences of not imposing some restraint upon the behavior. Freedom is not guilt. Freedom is not self-loathing or destruction.

When restraint is intact and boundries exist, then can there be freedom. With firmness of right mind, speech and action there is a liberation of spirit. When there is no enslavement of self to any thing, then one is free.

And now, a few words from the Dalai Lama...

Buddhism is more than a religion. It is a science of the mind.
- Dalai Lama

Unplugged

Cresting waves crash silent still
Damage done, but naught to feel
Numbness swirls against the dream
Unplug the energy and quell the scream
LGR

Rainy Haiku

Splashes on the ground
water washes grit away
thunder in my head

Harmony In Distress

The hungry ghost in each of us howls for recognition and craves what it cannot have and needs more than it has. Without mindfulness, we are lured and seduced by fantasies, promises, and the future. Believing the release from suffering is just a breath away, is the ectoplasmic energy that feeds the starving phantom.

The future is not real, and does not exist. It is not a physical place that we travel through time and space to reach. Now is all that exists. Craving what I do not have does not make now better - it nullifies it. How can I be mindful of now, if my thoughts keep me spinning in circles somewhere in a future that does not exist?

The struggle to be patient with now is an isometric mental exercise. The constant battle of thoughts force their energies against each other in the demilitarized zone within me (where no thing rules). While there is awareness that now is all there is, I can't help but desire something more or better. Believing that I would be more peaceful without desires, it seems absurd to continue to want.

The only solution is to find harmony in now, whatever that my entail. If desire stirs within, recognize it as desire and let it be part of now. Monitor closely the feelings that arise and fall within each moment and accept them. The ability to mindfully separate what is now from what is not is a path to harmony in distress.
LGR

Grabbing Air

I see so vividly the ghost of you
and swear sometimes you're there
I extend my heart to hold you close
But alas, I am grabbing air.

Buddha Nature

Koan: Everything has Buddha nature. But Buddha nature is originally empty. So how can everything have Buddha nature?

My interpretation: Everything is nothing, and all is empty. While it may at first observation seem a nihilistic approach, I believe it otherwise. No thing exists independently, as there is a recipe for every thing. A table does not exist, rather it is pieces of wood arranged in a specific pattern which we call a table. The wood does not exist, rather it is pieces of tree that we call wood. A tree does not exist, as it is the growth that results from a seed which we call a tree. A seed does not exist, it is the progeny of another tree which we label a seed. In this way, nothing exists and is empty of its own inherent nature.

Knowing Nothing

I'm not sure how people spend their life learning, and only rarely realize they know nothing. Certainly we think, but that is not the same thing as knowing. Knowing implies an absolute and infallible belief in what is real and certain. I liken knowing with believing; they are both personal expressions and are not based in reality at all.

Ballet In The Barn

Dance with passion among the hay and seed
Snapping fingers 'til the blisters bleed
Music-less beat will fevers feed
Whirling hastened to slake the need
Shaking out the human breed
Imprisoned passions at long last freed

Tapping toes in horses' grain
To a silent verse and no refrain
Rattling drums inside my brain
Swirl and dip to enjoy the pain
Hands raised to swear the sane
Only me and the dance remain

Heavens witness to solo night
Dancing in the barn's low light
Eyes are clenched low and tight
Arms extended as if in flight
Releasing self with all my might
Becoming one against my plight

Melt into the world we are
A dancing ocean or shining star
One so close and one afar
Nothing separate to shun or bar
We coalesce and simply are

The Posse

I am blessed each day to work with an incredible group of women (I'll address the fellas on another day). These are incredibly strong and intelligent women who have a passion for their chosen professions and pour themselves into making a difference - every day.
I don't have a sister, but I am a member of one helluva posse. Here's to the girls~