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Thanksgiving Day: from Rumi's One Handed Basket Weaving

Posted on Nov 26th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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.
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Touch and Release: A Note to Myself

Posted on Oct 31st, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
What is the art
and
secret of life?

Single pointed devotion in
any direction you choose.

It begins now.

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This is NOT the Apple

Posted on Sep 7th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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
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Our Inherent Value

Posted on Jul 17th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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...
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Fleeting Thoughts on Eternity

Posted on Jul 15th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
"prayer: an introduction

dusk trail
pray we know
the way home
"

~Odyssey of Autumn's Breath

This life's movement for me is the work of erasing myself  to experience what I am. In a visit with a good student of Buddhism, we came across this:

"life is not a riddle to be solved,
but a reality to be lived"
~Roshi Philip Kapleau

So, too, for me, eroding the ego helps one to experience the truth of what they are, some call it Spirit-soul. The truth of our existence that life is a reality to be lived and a dream we are having, both true.

Karma, measure for measure, or to do unto others as you would have done unto you are all an affirmations of the truth that God is one, and how we treat others is, in a direct and practical way, how we treat ourself. We receive what we give. Dalai Lama says:

"what you want for yourself, provide for another."

Everything is one, and this is the truth of our existence. Karma is not another law, but a practical expression of the unity of existence. Everything is one, and that one thing is love. It's essence may be concealed from our eyes and ears, but if we train ourselves through meditation to see clearly, we see that all is an expression of One great love that is not separate from us, that never ends, only changes and forever is...
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Thoughts Between Breaths

Posted on Jun 18th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel

"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.




 

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Spotlight on Health Interview with Joel David Lesses

Posted on May 13th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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.
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Crossing The River; Thoughts Regarding Time

Posted on Apr 13th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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:

"While you...
     Focus your breath until it is supremely soft,
     Can you be like a baby?"

This may be read by blind ears and deaf eyes, but, something here may sprout inside some.

If you do not understand... then dance, anyway, dance, dance...






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A New Day

Posted on Mar 29th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
Clouds are mist, thick, and life is process of clarification. Life is our intention for life. Some time ago, this poem came:

"Mountain trail,
Climb slowly,
Sun and moon are One."


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:

"he who is good at traveling
leaves neither tracks nor traces."

Daily life, ordinariness, is neither sacred nor secular, but in the appreciation of it is the highest forms of mysticism. The Sixth Patriarch of Zen in China speaks to this truth:

"With a thought a Buddha becomes an ordinary man,
With the cessation of thought, an ordinary man become Buddha."

In the deep reverence cultivated by meditation, an ancient technique to resolve the quandaries of life have been lost. What are we searching for in our materialism, what do we feel we are lacking?

It is clear that in our lack of a deep and persistent, cultivated sense of gratitude, we have lost the sense of mystery and wonder and uncertainty in which we are ever-present.  We have never left our original home...

Here! Now!

It beckons to us and calls to us in Its original voice.

Respect and reverence for all life, all ways.

Today, a dawn is born in human consciousness, the seasons we spend here, soon to be eternal spring.

May all beings know happiness that knows no sorrow.

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Mountains Walking, Faith of A Mustard Seed

Posted on Feb 9th, 2009 by Joel : . Joel
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
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