The Bottom Line

Each winds their way toward awakening,
Each goes through their own twists and turns.

Some meditate,
Some sing and dance.

Some practice qigong, others yoga,
Some become pundits, others pedants.

Some assert I Am, but aren’t,
Some go to ashrams or spiritual workshops.

Some seek to heal themselves or the planet,
Some try to adjust their wanting-machine, the engine
   driving us through life.

The bottom line is to calm the mind,
To open the heart to its inner longing.

Embedded in Bone

The urge to awaken pulses through our body’s every 
   cell,
Circulating like a river headed for the sea.

This quickens a new ratio of heart to mind,
Inspires a new sense of Self’s presence.

We become less enslaved to our dream-life,
Less spiritually paralyzed and asleep at the wheel.

The longing to awaken comes as naturally as blood
   flowing through our veins,
While remembrance of the Beloved gets embedded
   in every bone.

What’s the Key?

What’s the key for awakening?

The key is preparing the ground.

 For what?

 For lightning to strike, for seeds to grow.

 Preparing the ground how?

Through forgetfulness of our separate self and remembrance of the Beloved.

 How to forget self?

Remembrance of Self’s endlessness and onlyness effaces self, chipping it away, wiping it out.

Then how to remember Self?

It’s what’s left, where awareness naturally goes, when we’re less entangled with conditioned mind. It’s the fruit of wholehearted spiritual practice.

How do you know when that’s happening?

The wondering-self never knows, it’s just bypassed. It’s left in the lurch before having a chance to know what’s going on.