On this day before the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I want to share what I think is one of the most moving songs I’ve ever heard about this terrible event that broke our hearts and for a time united people all over the world in our common humanity. The song is called […]
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D. H. Lawrence-Song of a Man Who Has Come Through
Song of a Man Who Has Come Through by D.H. Lawrence Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time. If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me! If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a […]
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Kabir-“I Said To The Wanting-Creature Inside Me”-Poem and Music
Here is another beautiful poem from the Indian mystic and poet Kabir. It’s called “I Said To The Wanting-Creature Inside Me.” May this poem, and the music that follows it, inspire you to empty your life of whatever would keep you from the happiness of being truly present in what you are! I Said To […]
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For the Sake of Strangers-Poem and Music
For the Sake of Strangers by Dorianne Laux No matter what the grief, its weight, we are obliged to carry it. We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength that pushes us through crowds. And then the young boy gives me directions so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open, waits patiently for my […]
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Kabir – “The Sound” – Poem and Music
The Sound by Kabir The flute of the interior is played whether we hear it or not, What we mean by “love” is its sounding coming in. When love hits the farthest edge of excess, it reaches a wisdom. And the fragrance of that knowledge! It penetrates our thick bodies, it goes through walls— Its […]
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The Sufi Mystic and the Punjabi Rock Musician (audio)
From time to time, I like to share insights from other traditions to broaden the scope of Metta Refuge. I am quite fond of the Sufi mystics and poets, such as Rumi: Rumi—Learn the Alchemy True Human Beings Know Taking Care of Our Heart Donkey This Being Human is a Guest House Today, I want […]
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Mary Oliver, the Buddha and a Poem called “Spring” with Music
Few poets speak to my heart as Mary Oliver does. Here’s another one of her remarkable poems that has moved my heart. It’s called “Spring,” and it’s from her collection of poems and prose poems called West Wind—highly recommended! At the end of the poem I’ve also posted some music I think you enjoy. It […]
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Among Trees – Quiet and Still
An untitled poem from from a collection of Wendell Berry’s poems called A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997 I go among trees and sit still. All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water. My tasks lie in their places Where I left them, asleep like cattle. Then what is afraid of […]
Continue readingDo You Hear the Call of the Wild Geese?
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you […]
Continue readingPoem – Today is the Day You Have Been Waiting For
Today Today is the day you have been waiting for when you would finally begin to live when you would at last open the door. This is the what, the circumstance, the more you have been withholding, saving to give. Today is the day you have been waiting for when you could sit down to […]
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