awake in the world…

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

awake in the world
what is this meditation?
dirt beneath these nails

December 31, 2013

commentary:
solitary enlightenment is darkness
and being awake when others are asleep is a nightmare for the Heart of Love
meditation, contemplation, and prayer are all good
but to Love is to get one’s hands dirty
working for the benefit of all beings
off the mat and into the world, as it is said
this is the path of the Bodhisattva, this is the journey of a Warrior for Love

Nelson Mandela, 1918 – 2013

December 6, 2013December 6, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment

July 18, 1918 ~ December 5, 2013

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
~ Nelson Mandela

In Buddhism, there is a name for someone who serves Compassion, who works tirelessly to awaken, to wake up the masses that they may work for justice, work for peace – the healing of the world. We call this person a Bodhisattva. In Christianity, we may call this person a Saint, one who works for the fulfillment and realization of Love.Truly, Nelson Mandela, can be and should be called by either one of these names. And although he has passed, he surely still lives in all of the hearts he has touched and all of the souls he has awakened from the insidious sleep of ignorance, indifference, and injustice.

Thank you, Nelson Mandela, for choosing to take your gift of life and return it to this world as one of service to Love and Peace, through the hard work of Forgiveness.

~ j

you are Love, OM…

December 2, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

“you are Love, OM”
by JMW
Ink on Paper, Digital Capture 12.02.2013

this shared Life…

November 28, 2013November 28, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ 3 Comments

“Destiny itself is like a wonderful wide tapestry in which every thread is guided by an unspeakably tender hand, placed beside another thread, and held and carried by a hundred others.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

what have i done that i should wake with
breath filling my lungs?
what have i done that i should feel the
warm sun kiss my back,
the cool breeze tease across
my face?

what have i done that i my feet should
walk upon this earth and
feel its strong embrace,
holding each step?

what have i done to hear the
songs of birds or
see the dedicated work of
bees and ants?

to find comfort in
music?
to dream in
art?

what have i done to know friendship and
love

LOVE
in the deepest places of my heart, that
it has no choice but
to sing its song to every cell in
this body

THIS BODY
that too has been
given,
this body

THIS BODY
made of so many other little bodies in
this shared Life?

YES
this shared Life.

nothing.

it is all Gift.

November 28, 2013
Thanksgiving & Hanukkah

winter falls…

November 6, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ 2 Comments

leaves turn their color
winter falls upon this heart
again, i let go…

a teaching ~ an act of conscience…

November 1, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

“It is not an untrammeled market economy that is going to redeem our world. It is not strategies of aggression, domination, and repression that are going to make us safe. The secret to transforming the world, the key to security and safety, lies in cooperation and collaboration. It lies in compassion for all beings in the wider web of life, and in generosity and love channeled into selfless action on behalf of people we will never know or see.”

~ Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, “An Act of Conscience”

the choice…

October 7, 2013October 7, 2013 ~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

there is always a choice to choose the positive, to work within the great artistry of hope. there is also the choice to focus on the negative, to undermine and work for the purpose of failure, to lie in bed with cynicism.

…before making that choice, it helps to remember that everything – EVERY THING you have is a Gift. yes, it is good if you have worked hard and achieved. but remind the ego that you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the stars, the minerals, the elements, if it weren’t for the biology, the chemistry, or your ancestors. all of these have given the right circumstances, the perfect combination of Gift that has afforded the opportunity for you to manifest in this life, in this world at this time.

now, take a deep breath and go do some good. work for good. work for peace. work for community. work for kindness and compassion. be a servant to Love. and then see, yes see, all the beauty you bring to Life.

~ j