All We Have...

 

All we have about us 

in our lives are the threads, 

some sort of material 

we could choose to wrap ourselves in knots, 

or self pity or even hide under it. 

The soul has the power to “Reconcile” 

to attract Love and so, 

match and reconcile the opposites, 

creating beauty instead of discord and imbalance, 

making sense of the pilgrimage 

each one of us has here. 

~C

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

Perspective Came Into Being...

 

Perspective came into being during the Renaissance 

and therefore also taught the soul too, 

that it is not a flat thing. 

It can gather its strength through understanding, 

ring in presence, 

appreciating beauty and accepting what is. 

All of a sudden the heart joins into a new beating 

and circulates the soul into a new and brighter world 

of reason and hope so we are no longer 

drowning in the din of everyday life! 

This beautiful Art 

and these words help to remind me of this each day, 

and also each of your efforts and struggles too. 

~C

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

The Guest House...

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

~Rumi

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

She Who Reconciles...

"She who reconciles the ill-matched threads of her life, 

and weaves them gratefully into a single cloth”.

(Rainer Marie Rilke)

He writes "Gratefully"! 

I find that helpful. 

It speaks of non-identification in work language 

and seeing and experiencing one's life in a larger sense, 

a greater sense of scale. 

With the word "gratefully" 

it places one in a higher world. Lovely.

~M

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

When You Get...

 

Frederick Leighton

When you get, give.
When you learn, teach.
~Maya Angelou

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

The Juggling Man...

 

Adrien de Vries

The Juggling Man represents the balance of centers. 

If our centers are balanced we do not fall over. 

We need to stay vigilant and present to changes. 

The juggler is not static. 

He is ready to adjust himself 

and changes his position slightly for new challenges. 

This is a beautiful representation of our work, 

we cannot really stay the same, 

triads change and we need to move with the flow of life. 

If we block one center 

this flow is disconnected 

and our desired state of Harmony cannot be achieved. 

The juggling is not comfortable, 

we need to be constantly moving 

and be open for new ways. 

Rilke called it 'walking on fishes'. 

~S

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

As you awaken ...

As you awaken and grow in this work, 

You become objective to yourself.

~J

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

The Hope Of Loving...

 

Edward Burne-Jones

The hope of Loving...

“What keeps us alive? 

What allows us to endure? 

I think it is the hope of loving or being loved.

I heard a fable once 

about the sun going on a journey to find its source. 

And how the moon wept without her lovers warm gaze.

We weep when light does not reach our hearts, 

we wither like fields 

if someone does not rain 

their kindness upon us.”

~Meister Eckardt

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

To Live In The Heart ...

To live in the heart requires stillness, 

and attentiveness 

or we may miss these beautiful clues 

to higher understanding. 

~J

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

Working With Vanity...

John Clarke

Working with Vanity is a long term project 

and requires all of our patience 

with ourselves and acceptance. 

Acceptance means acceptance, 

that we have this thing we would rather not have, 

but that we will not judge ourselves for it, 

just see it and note it. 

But keep at the back of your mind that with inner work 

and presence over time, 

you will most certainly change and Vanity will lessen.

 

A good sign of it becoming less strong 

is when we start to really value others 

and to actually LISTEN to what they have to say. 

That is not half listen 

and identify with our much “better” I.  

That comes usually after fairly long work 

at seeing ourselves, 

seeing we are more or less the same as everyone else, 

not better or worse, 

in fact that we are brothers and sisters on the path.

~John Clarke

academyofeuropeanarts.com 

Tenderheartedness...

 

Xiaofei Yue

“Tenderheartedness” is a term St. Theresa often uses. 

There is a wonderful explanation 

where she explains 

her heart becoming soft like “Molten metal” 

and the beloved comes and stamps his presence within it. 

This feeling of tenderness 

is beyond false personality 

or the feature and is to be trusted and followed. 

It is our ear within, 

our sense and openness towards others, 

the place we open within 

when Jesus has been “knocking” on the door 

we looked at in “Light of the World”.

~C

academyofeuropeanarts.com