Mindfulness III

NOT FAR FROM BUDDAHOOD..... An anecdote I read in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, sharing it in a poetic way......
A student once asked the Master have you ever, the Bible read.
The Master asked him to read it , aloud, to him instead.
The student picked out from St. Mathew a verse.....
"Twas about liles  of the field to be terse.
They toil not, neither do they spin,
Yet even Solomon in all his glory couldn't win.
Look to this day, and be in the here and now,
For tomorrow will take care of itself some how."
The Master remarked " the one who uttered the words, to be truly enlightened
to which the student just continued reading the Bible delighted.
"Ask and it shall be given to you.
Seek and you shall find
Knock and it will be opened to you.
For everyone that asketh receiveth.
and he that seeketh, findeth.
To him that knocketh shall be opened"
Excellent -The Master then remarked,
Whoever said those words on the Path of Buddhahood had embarked.

Mindfulness II

Mindfulness , at its best,
Brings all your senses to the test.
Allows you to realize,
Acuity of  senses do materialize.
Being in the here and now,
Is what is needed,
Awareness helps ,
When it is heeded.
To be the sound, the scent or pain
to be the taste or vision, deign.
A footfall on a dry autumn leaf,
gentle breeze tinkles the windchime.... brief.
The whirrr of distant traffic, a blast of a horn
the beating of your heart, a new sound is born.
Mindfully aware you are of your surrounding,
All your senses, now in acuity abounding.

Bottle bird beginning

Somewhere in the past, somewhere in between,
Did this painting come about and oh! it was a dream.
I always loved to paint or draw, but never tried it out,
When this one did come, it was a turn about.
I began to paint, sketch and draw,
More than I did before.
Now I write and paint and draw
Its creativity galore!

Ganu: A gift

A gift is something,

 you give of your self,

Not something I would,

 buy off the shelf.

Specially so,

for a dear special one,

So hand in hand,

this task was done.

A dear friend asked

and I did comply

I guided her through

Ganu was painted in a blink of an eye!

One

I am the seed, that grows and grows

bringing happiness to all, who seed knows .

The seed grows its roots into family grounds,

shooting into friend circles and all else that abounds.

Beautiful and green this little shoot grows

learning and sharing is its motto, no one knows

Shoot grows now, into a little plant

with leaves growing upwards, downwards and at a slant.

Its tender and delicate branches reach out to the sun,

school is another place to learn and have fun

From a sapling to a stronger plant and now to a young tree

standing a head taller and bursting with energy.

Growing with the years, growing up strong,

spreading out its branches to those who belong.

Over the years tree finds it peace, in caring and sharing,

Loving and giving and fruitfully bearing.

Fruits that did fall from this awesome tree,

Have now buried their seed in the ground and are free.

The tree looks from above waiting for the shoot

In time it will appear and so will its root.

The circle of life will begin once more

a family of trees will bond and grow,

This is one of my all time favourite....... everytime I read it I find a new meaning for me........
One day I decided to quit... to quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...
"Look around", He said.. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied.
When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said. "In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. "I would not quit.." He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant... But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots.

Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots." "I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. " Don't compare yourself to others .." He said. " The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern ... Yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

Your time will come, " God said to me. " You will rise high! " How high should I rise?" I asked. How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can? " I questioned. " Yes. " He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can. "

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you. Never regret a day in your life.

Ramblings......

Love yourself and you will love the world.....- MJ’s” Make the world a better place, for you and me and all human race” holds true for me. I love myself plenty, and this reflects through caring, also that I share what I learn with those I love. Knowledge is powerful only when shared, cause sharing helps fill in the blanks for others and self. This sure does keep me happy. I have Curiosity in abundance, it appeals and awakens in me a desire to learn about things that are, some thing, I have awareness about, but not complete understanding off, this "something new" sends my pulse racing and blood pounding. Behavioral and esoteric science is something that I hunger about and have a voracious appetite for. It is my higher self or the subconscious that edges me on in the direction, of that which is beyond my ken, uncannily, directing me to a certain book, person, place or a clip in a periodical which gets me on the trail, where I follow instinctively, the higher self , be it thru books, Internet threads and discussion and it is so amazing how I "Chance " upon the most appropriate answer. Where a fresh insight and a firmer grasp of the query is revealed.

The Universe, to me is one big encyclopedia, which answers my any thought or wish, now, later or eventually it does materialize. It is as if the answers come on a carousel and it is for me to recognize the right one and take it for the answer to my query. Alertness and Awareness is the key to recognize an answer. It is my experience, to every querying thought you must stumble upon and find an answer, it is for you to turn and twist and find the right fit as a solution.

Initially, Creativity thrilled me to bits at school - painting and writing poetry surfaced in uncountable places which I took for granted, which then flowed into family, work and gradually into my close circle of friends. Books and other such reading material have been my faithful partner, tutor, guide or teacher, now in tandem with other learning exposures like workshops, group activities or dynamics, where one is able to understand and appreciate discomfort and voice out the same. Several such interrelated learning, trainings or courses, have honed and fine tuned my latent yearnings and have begun to piece together my reason for being where and when and how I am today. Each therapy or activity has rubbed off on me making me the person, I am and I delight in it. Each of the areas I have worked, trained or learnt has added to the knowledge base and strengthened my understanding on behaviors. The aspect where I lacked have now filled in and given a more holistic approach to life. I relish the idea that growth has given me enough, to love sharing and caring and to hold another's hand through the learning/sharing period.

My belief is, the more you know and the less you share, you really don't get anywhere. On the flip side, the more you learn, unlearn, relearn and share the more you grow, this is the growth process and then you learn life is fair. Greed to amass knowledge as much and more is a craving which never ends for me, so more is always less. Hence I will keep on till I can ……There are miles to go before I know the difference between “what is” and “to be”.