Beginning Is....

 

AI generated

Beginning is, actually, 

quite a wide open topic with many points of entry. 

In order to begin 

we just need to pick one 

and then we can find our way through 

and to the others. 

The quote from Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki, 

"In the beginner's mind 

there are many possibilities, 

but in the expert's mind there are few” 

has so much in it. 

For me, it speaks to an attitude; 

an approach to lines of  work and way of living.

 It has a photograph embedded in it, 

the implication of feeling oneself 

an expert speaks to the dangers of vanity and crystallization, 

being closed to new possibilities 

because one already knows 

or thinks they know and understand 

and have the being so the mind and heart 

are or can be closed. 

But we each know and have experienced 

that the only moment is this one - 

right here - right now 

which by the time I finish typing is already gone. 

And we are into this one right here and now, 

so each moment is a new beginning 

and can approached with Fresh Eyes.

~J

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Oh How Sweetly

Annas-Bird-Bummingbird-Perched - Pixabay

Oh How Sweetly

Trying to find my way back.

Working through the layers that harden,

the vines that cling.

Out of touch with my ability to fly,

I wait for an epiphany

to launch me upward in freedom.

I'm thirsty, I do not feel my skin.

Why do all my sorrows

Bounce off me like so many raindrops?

I'm hovering like a hummingbird

over your flower of grace

and yet I cannot drink.

I've lost my vision.

I have no program to fix this.

So I will write to you, my sweet, my love.

I will write it all -

the confusion

the fear, the emptiness.

I will write until I lose all the me-ness of things

Until my heart speaks just to You,

And maybe, just maybe

I will be feeling

sometime soon

(oh how sweetly)

That you've not just

come back to me …

But that you've been there all along …

Jennie Hansen - August 22, 2011

AcademyofEuropeanArts

On Forgiveness

Old Man in Prayer by Rembrandt (1629)

"In my experience I have encountered a word 

which can "Stop" Supernatural Grace 

entering the Soul. It is subtle and if 

the Student is not aware of it, It will 

reject most of the efforts of Higher 

influences to penetrate the Soul. 

This word is called "Forgiveness."

It is you yourself who is the Judge 

on Judgement Day. And I know many 

condemn themselves afresh and 

repeatedly because they do not realize 

that they must "Forgive Themselves." 

This is SO important.

Now it is YOU who must forgive yourself. 

It is You who must examine yourself, 

and it is You who must absolve yourself 

and forgive. Then it is You who can r

eceive Supernatural Grace or the direct 

intervention of God.

Each one of you should have a little c

onfession with yourself this week. 

Check the "Accounts" book and forgive 

yourself as the Gods are willing to do. 

Later you will have to take on the 

bigger octave of "Forgiving" others, 

but that is another story.

Forgiving Yourself is within your power 

right now. For only then can Love and 

Supernatural Grace enter and believe me 

there is a lot of it around."

Mervyn Brady - Excerpt email on 

Forgiveness, Mon Oct 16, 2000

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Commitment to the Work

Image by Sven from Pixabay

During the recent retreat, I saw a peer commit 

himself fully to a minor role in a short play. 

His dedication pierced me deeply. 

Not only was he committed, but he also worked through and 

transformed so much last minute stress, 

accepting the little that was given to him and 

working with it so purely.

Then, I heard a voice in my heart say: 

"if we commit fully to the Work, just as he 

did to his role, the light will certainly shine within us."

AcademyofEuropeanArts

Life Is...

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. 

Don't resist them - 

that only creates sorrow. 

Let reality be reality. 

Let things flow naturally forward 

in whatever way they like.

~Lao Tzu

AcademyofEuropeanArts