One Song (by RumI; translated by C. Barks)

What is praised is One,
so the praise is One, too,
many jugs being emptied
into a huge basin.

All religions,
all this singing,
is one song.

The differences are just
illusion and vanity.

The sun's light looks a little different
on this wall than it does on that wall,
and a lot different on this other one,
but its still one light.

We have borrowed these clothes,
these time and place personalities,
from a light, and when we praise,
we're pouring them back in.

What is the art
and
secret of life?

Single pointed devotion in
any direction you choose.

It begins now.

This is NOT the Apple - Sue Marie's interview with me - I read from Odyssey of Autumn's Breath: An American Collection and Life, my manuscript of poems and letters...

http://www.thinktwiceradio.com/sue-marie/sue-marie.html

Taught to value materialism, we do not clearly see one another as sovereign majestic beings.

We see past one another. Are we clearly preceiving?

Do we know ourselves as the source of all of this? We are ultimately infinite choice makers, going along with what we are told as if it has some end result of refuge.

There is, in one sense, no refuge.

In another sense each moment is a refuge.

If we only see things as a commodity, what we might gain from it, then it loses its value as Gift.

Meditation, zazen, awakening are the manifestations of wanting something deeper from life.

Each moment is an offering to start fresh and new.

I refuse to see myself as valued for only what I produce, I, we, have inherent value in our being, and our being here...

My existence is a truth and a gift, of itself, valued apart from what it may lead to...

"We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things." ~Joy Harjo



Hummingbirds
beat,
air
swirls; the
snoring dog
ages years in a 
minute, turns that corner
we all turn,
turning 
turning
seasons, unfurling
flower blossoms
that are destined
to bloom and extinguish
in a whisper,
me, you,
all this.

 

Airing a second time on WJYE 96.1 this Sunday morning: June 14th, 2009 at 7:00am

Tom McNulty, President and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Erie County, interviews Joel Lesses, MS CRC a counselor, poet, and writer about overcoming his mental health condition and having hope for those with severe and persistent mental illness.

The message Joel gives is one of hope. Going into the struggle with mental illness, and expecting difficult trails, one can through persistence overcome severe and persistent mental illness.  The show is pertinent if you have a mental health condition or if a family member has a mental health condition, one wants to learn more about mental health, reducing stigma, and advocating for others with mental health concerns.

The show streams on the Internet from WJYE 96.1, and may be listened to on the Internet from any location that has access to the World Wide Web. It is Sunday May 24th, 2009, 7:00 am.  UPDATE: The show is posted on Unraveling Religion on Thinktwice Radio and may be listened to anytime.

http://www.thinktwiceradio.com/joel-lesses/joel-lesses.html

The link for the website for Spotlight on Health is as follows:
http://www.wjye.com/Personalities/SpotlightOnHealth/tabid/4451/Default.aspx 
There is a link to listen on the website.

Depth of breath, how many levels are there?

What we see is and is not a dream.

All the world is like this.

The wind howls carrying drifting over the river, the river. We are given blocks of time, a day, minute, second, hour, nothing other than the river; the shifting flux of just this present moment in an ever changing flow of ceaseless existence, ever changing, vast beyond measure, simultaneously empty and full, this human existence pouring into the Great Ocean of Timelessness.

I begin to feel free when I write like this, there is a surging in my chest that opens.... who would like to join me in this dance? I feel a remembrance of long lost homes, long lost friends, plans made and forgotten, there is much more to this simple life than meets the eye. 

The Supreme has created all of this specifically for us. Reason does not hold the answers to existence and its Great Secret, but the breath unravels the mysteries. The Tao Te Ching speaks:

Clouds are mist, thick, and life is process of clarification. Life is our intention for life. Some time ago, this poem came:


A new day arises and the freshness of today puts to death the past and future. Of all that Is, there is only This. Just this and I travel through time with the echos of the Tao Te Ching:

The newest episode of Unraveling Religion was today, read on...

In this deeply spiritual and reverent dialogue, Reverend Mary Masters
and Joel Lesses discuss many aspects of Unity's Christianity and the
purpose and potential of all religion, including Jesus and the
metaphysical aspect of the parables, silence and listening, Gaza and
Israel, the post 9/11 world and Barack Obama diplomacy, and the
paranormal, and the nature of God to name alittle of this shows wide
range in terrain. In this episode and conversation, the presence of
Spirit is palpable. Listen...

Rev. Mary E. Masters was installed as the minister of Unity in
February 2003, after having been ordained as a Unity Minister at Unity
Village, Missouri during 2002. Rev. Mary holds a Master's degree in
Managerial Communications from Northwestern University in Illinois
plus a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, where she
majored in political science and organizational behavior. Prior to
entering the Ministerial Education Program at Unity School for
Religious Studies, Rev. Mary worked in the field of collegiate
athletics management. She held several positions in the Big Ten
Conference in Chicago, Illinois for 18 years. Rev. Mary's roots in
Unity go back to the 1980s, when she became a member of Unity in
Chicago and was very active in that congregation.

www.thinktwiceradio.com