Awake, Oh Sleeper

This place is but a dream, only the sleepers believe it to be real.

So hold fast to hope and find comfort in the truth of yourself.

And when death comes, do not be afraid.

It will be like blowing out a candle at the dawn of eternal day.

You will wake up laughing at what you thought was grief.

2,000 years will be contained within a single breath.

You will wake up understanding what you thought was omnipotence.

The universe will be contained within the eye of a needle,

And duality will be blown away, like ashes from a holocaust.

For though the believers are sleepers, we are the dreamers,

And we walk through the valley in the shadow of life, lucidly,

Until we are called to awaken.

LANGUAGE CREATES REALITY. WORDS HAVE MAGICAL POWER. SPEAK ALWAYS TO CREATE JOY.

‎I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU. YOU NEVER WANT WHAT’S TRUE. YOU WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE AND DON’T WANT WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE, AND SO YOU SUFFER. IT’S SO PERPLEXING! WHY NOT SIMPLY REVERSE IT? WHY NOT WANT WHAT YOU HAVE, AND NOT WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE? IT’S SO SIMPLE! YOU CAN BE HAPPY; IT’S HERE FOR THE TAKING. YOU WANT LITTLE THINGS WHEN YOU COULD HAVE THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE AND ETERNITY.

— SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ

Yesterday my father cut down a tree growing in my front garden. It had grown from little more than a weed to a massive force, marking the months I was gone from this place with the cracks it was putting into the gutters of my home. So strange how something so still and silent, so seemingly peaceful, can move bricks, can shake foundations, can break homes. Today it lies in pieces, scattered across the lawn, its leaves brittle and lifeless, still and silent. Tomorrow I'll go out and pick up the pieces, keep what's salvageable for fire wood, throw away the rest. No more threats. No more creaking of my gutters when I lie here alone on windy nights. No more birds singing outside my window.

hah!

once I had a dream
once I had a hope
that was yesterday
not so long ago
this is not the end
this is just the world
such a foolish thing
such an honest girl

Come on now little man, get away from your worldly occupations for a while, escape from your tumultuous thoughts. Lay aside your burdensome cares and put off your laborious exertions. Give yourself over to God for a little while, and rest for a while in Him. Enter into the cell of your mind, shut out everything except God and whatever helps you to seek Him once the door is shut. Speak now, my heart, and say to God, "I seek your face; your face, Lord, I seek."

A Year in New York from Andrew Clancy on Vimeo.

Halloween in New Orleans

Images via my friend Jennette, more to come

Oh, what false ramblings traverse these tired lips!

Oh, what great numbness permeates these restless hips!

Oh, what sardonic musings play across a mind, unloved.

To crawl into this moment, wrapped tight in its silence, would be such sweet relief.

Yet still, one must go on, as moments do.

They tell me nothing stays in one place forever.

They tell me the only things that moments cradle are memories and forsaken hope.

Oh, to be like the rain, and cling to nothing much longer than the weathered storm's subsidence.

To be like the rain, and fall away in a moment.

Support NOLA Fashion Week from Joseph Miner on Vimeo.

Dear Mantis Shrimp,

I wonder what sorts of things you can see, that I can only dream of...