Locked Rooms

Christ
you enter
into the locked rooms
of my heart,

not that you enter
for you were always there,
but I become aware
of you,

and you simply breathe.

You breathe
your sweet
life giving fragrance
into my mouth.

I drink deeply
and become
intoxicated
with You.

Your love
filling me
freeing me
sending me

out from my dark locked rooms
into the light of the living
to breathe your Love
into others.

Easter Sight

There is more to you
than meets the eye.

You are more
than what you say.

You are more
than what you do.

You are more
than what you think.

I need new "eyes"
to see that deeper you.

I need to see you
from the eye of my heart.

An Easter
heart
that can see
an Easter
you.

The Silence of the Tomb

The silence
of the tomb

echoes the music
of holy rest.

Total surrender
to nothing
to everything.

Having let go
into the mystery
of the unknown,

only to have
the heart
awakened

by the fullness of Love

holding all of what is
in the embrace
of Life.

New Life (Resurrection)

Holy One
you call us to more.

Jesus suffers
and opens the way

to more union
with you.

From that place
of unitive life

my truest self
is without sin

my truest self
is worthy

and at one with Life.

From this calm depth
may the new creation
that I am

rise

and transform
my entire life

until I am only

Love.

You Are Who I Am

In March of this year I completed the second residency in a two year program offered by Shalem Institute in Baltimore, titled “Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Groups and Retreats.” 

This has been a wonderful opportunity of deepening contemplative practice in community, and of stretching my experience with new and varied meditative practices. The objective of meditation is to help open up our ego personalities and our thinking minds, in order to become aware of and live out of that deep well of “living waters” within. Our deepest and truest self is our spiritual heart made in the image of God and is in absolute and undivided union with Divine. This deep and loving union cannot be merited, bought or won; it simply is. Jesus says “I am in the Father and the Father is in me; I am in you and you are in me.” St.Paul says that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Christ calls us to learn to live and love more deeply out of our spiritual heart. 

One of the meditation exercises that we did while in Baltimore, was to sit knee to knee with another person, and to look directly into their eyes for 10-20 minutes. Where am I seeing that person from within myself? And what is it that I am seeing in the other person? If I am only seeing from my ego or thinking mind, I cannot know deep union with the person. If I am only seeing their personality or how they think and behave, I cannot know deeper union with the person. But if I am gazing from my spiritual heart, I am going to see the person as God sees them. I will see past what separates us, and will experience a deeper soul union with the person. Cathy was the person who I sat with for this exercise. A sophisticated and bright mind who works for Congress in Washington, and is gay. As we sat in silence gazing upon one another, what I saw in her was not her personality or sexuality, not her intelligent thinking mind, but I saw myself in her. My spiritual heart gazing upon her spiritual heart. The same Spirit lovingly gazing upon the same Spirit. It was a holy Communion.

There is a beautiful sufi mystical song that says “I am who I am, thank God I am. I am who you are, looking back. You are who I am, can you imagine that. There is one God, that is a fact.” This is simply another way of reframing what Jesus also teaches. The call on the human spirit is to learn to live from a deeper place within our soul, where there is no judging or separating, only unitive conscious love in God. 

You love me completely

You see me
and know me
better than I know myself.

You see
the movements within me
that I wish you could not see.

You gaze
upon me
knowing me fully

and You love me.

You love me completely
You love all of me.

Why?
Because I am wonderfully made.

And I am to see others
as you have seen me

and love completely.

Lent's Call to Freedom

Freedom,
God's gift.

Freedom,
the image
of the fully awake
human.

Freedom,
from the narrow
confines
of self.

Freedom,
from incessant
thinking and
worrying.

Freedom,
to know
the deep calm
of universal Spirit.

Freedom,
to be open
present
available
and in Love.