Month: March 2012

Quote of the Day – March 14 2012

“Thoughts can create such a barrier that even if you are standing before a beautiful flower, you will not be able to see it. Your eyes are covered with layers of thought. To experience the beauty of the flower you have to be in a state of meditation, not in a state of mentation. You have to be silent, utterly silent, not even a flicker of thought – and the beauty explodes, reaches to you from all directions. You are drowned in the beauty of a sunrise, of a starry night, of beautiful trees.”
— Osho

This to me, means many things, On one level, it means that at times I have to stop and let myself experience things. Too often I run around intent on what I see as important and I miss out on seeing, really seeing what is in front of my eyes. Even in an art gallery or a garden when my express purpose is being there to appreciate, i remain distracted. By thoughts of things done and undone and dreams of what I want to do. I am everywhere in my head except at that point where I can appreciate fully what is in front of me.

This becomes truer when dealing with other people. Too often I have thirty other things on my mind other than focusing on that one being in front of me even if that person is one of the most important people in my life. How often do we miss out on perceiving the universe because we are not in the moment at hand with the people in front of us?
Blessings, G

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Lunching in the Ruins by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 13 2012

“One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences. Often secrets are not revealed in words, they lie concealed in the silence between the words or in the depth of what is unsayable between two people.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

 

“Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

 

Yesterday we arrived in County Clare, Ireland which is where John O’Donohue lived and wrote. I find his insights amazing so wanted to use his quotes tonight. I find friendship to be a rare and treasured gift and yes to me, there is always that sense of recognition. Sometimes with really strong friendships, it feels like we have always known each other and when we meet this time, we pick up easily from where we left off, whether that was minutes, days, or lifetimes ago. I don’t mean by this that I believe all close friendships are past life connections (tho more often than not I believe that is the case) but that when we discover or re-discover someone with whom our soul clicks we recognize our heart or another part of ourself that beats inside the breast of another.
As easy as it is to find those we can talk with, how much more amazing it is to find those with whom we can have an easy silence. One in which understanding can be shared. Sometimes we need to speak and know that we will be heard and understood. Recognizing that need in ourselves, we can hopefully sense that need in our friends and learn to listen with compassion and heart when our friends need to speak.
Does this apply only to those we consider our friends? Perhaps there lies the secret towards evolving the human race. What if we decided to listen compassionately not just to those whom we consider friends but to everyone we meet, treating each in the way we would a close friend. Would we then start recognizing each person inside of ourselves thus expanding the friendship circle? Could compassionate understanding be contagious? I truly believe so.
Blessings, G

Some Pictures from Ireland  tonight

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First Glimpse of Ireland through the Clouds

Celtic Bench Outside Bishop’s Gate Hotel in Ennis

Grotto outside the Franciscan Friary in Ennis

Pyramid Tomb outside the Ennis Friary

Quote of the Day – March 12 2012

“I want what’s best and I trust the universe, not my little brain, to be the judge of what’s best and how best to make it happen.”
–Jed McKenna

To me this doesn’t mean that I should stop striving to Master my emotions more. Quite the opposite. Increasing my awareness can only be a step in the right direction towards what’s best.
It does to me tho mean that I don’t have the right to choose what is best for others

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Rainbowed by G A Rosenberg

Challenged Kingdom by G A Rosenberg

Quotes of the Day – March 11 2012

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
– Miriam Beard

Halfway done with UK / Ireland trip. It hasn’t felt quite so much like a long strange trip as a welcoming home. London is a very comfortable city and today we spent with friends old and new in Sudbury with a side trip to Saffron Walden. We got to see Ley-Lines and labyrinths and walk along the oldest hedge maze in Europe.
So has this trip been transformative in nature? Yes but in surprisingly subtle ways. Soft insights rather than revelatory ones and perhaps in some ways a reclamation of self. I have done much of what I’ve enjoyed and I’ve managed to claim space to do so. I’ve discussed the importance of looking deeper and not accepting easy answers and perhaps I’ve learned how important face to face intelligent conversation is to me and how much I’ve missed it.
Here’s to new destinations and sunny skies. Tomorrow we fly to Ireland. Blessings, G

Leopard Glow by  G A Rosenberg

Saffron Walden Town Maze Ancient Monument in Saffron Walden on the Mary Ley Line

Old Oak in Sudbury

Quote of the Day – March 10 2012

“You have little time left, and none of it for crap. A fine state. I would say that the best of us always comes out when we are against the wall, when we feel the sword dangling overhead. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power

Many of the most difficult lessons I’ve had to learn in my life have come from people (teachers, friends, relationships) that I have felt greatly challenged by. So many times I have been knocked on my ass metaphorically (and once or twice literally ) by people and I’ve hated it. Many of these people I’ve been able to go back and thank and give both my retroactive consent and gratitude for the lesson learned.
Now when I find myself challenged by someone and feeling put upon , I take a closer look at what is really going on. In what way do I feel challenged? Which of my buttons is being pushed? More importantly, what is the intention of the person whom I feel challenged by? It is rare indeed that anyone has the intention of upsetting me tho there has been several times that I’ve had to be shaken out of my complacency.
Sometimes I have learned to appreciate the verbal form of what in Zen Buddhism is known as ‘grandmotherly kindness’.

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Balance by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 9 2012

“Real compassion kicks butt and takes names. If you are not ready for this fire, then find a New Age, sweetness- and-light, perpetually smiling teacher. . . . But stay away from those who practice real compassion because they will fry your ass, my friend.”
– Ken Wilber

I get amazed how often people mistake sympathy for compassion. Oh we say we want compassion especially during those times when the world hasn’t been going our way and perhaps a bit of self-pity has crept in. Many of us seem to equate this with people helping us because they feel sorry for us. The most compassionate people whom I have met don’t act like that. They tend to have little sympathy and can be very direct with their observations. They may yell, they may scream, they may say things that pull us up so short that we, with a mirror placed in front of our souls may start to feel even worse. When we look in the eyes of these people we see the love and often the mirror they show us are themselves.
In our most compassionate moments we not only see our brother’s pain but experience it ourselves. We can often see how someone has ended up in the mess they are in or even in no mess at all as much as experiencing what they need to in furtherance of their own growth. We also know that part of it sometimes is that they have to experience the feelings that they are feeing in order to grow without the solace band aid of our sympathy.
I have been on both ends. I have felt true compassion from a few very special people who have pointed the way for me. I have also striven to become more compassionate myself.How successful have i been? I’ll let you know when I feel i hit a stoping point in my growth. Blessings, G

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The first image tonight is indeed the inverse of last nights. I rather like it this way

Drawing In-Radiating Out 2 by G A Rosenberg

Emerging Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 8 2012

“Walk gently, with humility, respect and love or at least awe for everything around you. That way, a spiritual process will naturally happen for you.”
–Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

What an amazing process even to try. When I have tried this, consciously feeling love and awe as I walk k and watch the people around me, the trees and plants, even the creations that we’ve made–cars, buildings etc, I have found that the walk itself becomes elevated to a spiritual experience.
If only I could maintain this, it would be incredible. Too often the irritations that pop up during the day throw me off balance. I find myself walking not in respect, love and awe but in frustration and resentment at whatever is causing the frustration. Little by little I am learning to pull myself back. One of the best insights I have had of late is that it is the frustration and irritation that are my normal state but the respect, awe and love (watching just about any child will show you this). The negative stuff is like the road dust that covers the good stuff. It is our attitude that decides how much of that emotional road dust sticks
Blessings, G

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Drawing In Radiating Out Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Approaching by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 7 2012

A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have two friends who live here in the UK who I’ve known for three years. I and them have seen each other go through many changes. Last year I felt privileged to attend their wedding. Tonight I got to meet them for the first time. I love the ways the internet has added to my life. Discovering friends and loved ones who share common interests and developing friendships that in many cases are deeper than any I’ve built where I live. Not to mention the fact that without the net my partner and I would never have developed the relationship that we have and Zev would have had a very different life.

Lucas, Claire and Myself

Quote of the Day – March 6 2012

“The important thing is not the finding, it is the seeking, it is the devotion with which one spins the wheel of prayer and scripture, discovering the truth little by little. If this machine gave you the truth immediately, you would not recognize it,”
Ursula K. LeGuin

So far the trip to London has been pretty amazing. London is a city with beautiful architecture and direct people. I loved the tower of London but found it strangely sanitized. I also love the tube station.

On the subject of the quote, I really like this one but find myself butting up against the phrase ‘wheel of prayer and scripture’ unless I start to look at it as Ms. LeGuin’s definition of life in which case I say ‘ah’ and yet is the truth a mere reflection, the merest shadow of reality and then does the wheel become a sphere, one that we can study but not fully hold. Namaste, G

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Big Ben

Quote of the Day – March 5 2012

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
– Henry Miller

To me, true travel takes place not so much between physical destination and physical destination as between point-of-views. Even in this more family-oriented trip, farther away in physical terms then I’ve been before I find myself gaining perspective. Before when travelling, I have gone alone with whom I travelled following where they wanted to go. This trip more than ever I feel I am doing it by choice and not nearly as constrained as I have in the past. This is good.
I love the turning of the kaleidoscope. I believe we all have internal ones. Mental patterns of perspective and colour that shift continuously into new patterns whether we wish them to or not. Some people fight desperately to hold onto a pattern that they find pleasing and indeed they may slow the shifting of the patterns down but it never stops completely. I love the shifting myself. I try to find as many people who will cause that shift as possible because each new outlook, each new pattern tells me something new about the reality in which i live. For once a new mental pattern has been formed it is ours to access. Each perspective has brought me greater understanding. Even the ones I don’t particularly like. Perhaps especially the ones I don’t particularly like.
Blessings, G

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Sunspot Mandala by G A Rosenberg