Topic: Poetry
Plato’s Cave
Plato’s greatest legacy was arguably the allegory of the cave. Plato’s cave is a depiction of how humanity starts life trapped in an everyday material existence. The only way one can free themselves from this trap is through contemplation and deep awareness of the nature of the world.
The prisoners are trapped so that they cannot move, in a cave that represents their worldly experience. The unwitting prisoners can only see before them, accustomed through birth to this world. The fire burns behind them and casts shadows upon the cave wall. These shadows represent the phantom illusion as projected from spiritual forms, and the fire is the light of Spirit.
The prisoner that turns their head to see the fire must first overcome the dazzling brightness. This painful experience is representative of the saying that, “truth hurts.” Now that the prisoner has seen the light they begin to apprehend the nature and source of ideas, and the spiritual reality beyond the shadows they have known. In turn, they are freed from their shackles that they bound themselves with, and can now begin their journey to the source of this light.
This journey of higher learning requires persistence, courage, and an undying drive for truth. The prisoner may not make it and turn back, or may leave and feel sad for those still trapped inside the cave of ignorance. And there are fewer still that return to the cave to be a living example of light…
Plato’s Cave
Spiritual forms are real,
their shadows much less so.
The shadow of spiritual truth,
is the world that we commonly know.
The beauty of the dream,
is but a reflection to our eyes.
Yet, we might delve through reality,
seeking the truth beyond these skies.
A seeker lets go of the surface,
of the cave to in between,
likely terrified and uncertain,
but letting go, beyond the seen.
But premature pushing of mystery,
Without experience and knowing of self,
Can be the difference that comes from religion,
amidst the scriptures, the power, the wealth.
Acceptance of belief and dry concepts,
of the true nature or where we will go.
Devoid of direct confirmation,
the traps we do not yet really know.
Accepting our ignorance softly,
in the face of the truth of self,
offers our own direct experience,
to deny or confirm for ourselves.
Yet escaping has perils aplenty,
the bright formless light too much,
stunned to return to our comfort,
and the caress of shadows we touch.
In turning to the light to ponder,
seeing the truth of all forms laid bare,
fire casting shadows of rapture,
every ‘thing’ the vision all share.
Now seeing these futile possessions,
what appears to be true is but fake.
Grasping for the shadow of form,
will never satisfy through that which we take.
Just as we think we’ve succeeded,
in making the matter our own,
essence beyond form beyond us,
and longing is all that we know.
But now to see that fire burning,
and remember the truth of the cave.
Moving forms now as obvious about us,
as the compassion we sense that might save.
The soul that is capable of existence,
from Source to deadness so spun,
now turns to escape this dank prison,
potentially enlightened of One.
Passing by Soul of the All,
and Spirit as they contemplate truth,
we bless the role of creation,
and mechanics that now set us so loose.
Try something different, says Plato.
Stop chasing the shadows you see.
Pass your preoccupation,
Learn how to live and yet truly to be.
The Journey to Love
In the face of provocation,
I can be love.
As I walk beneath tree canopies and streams of light,
It is easier to be love.
In the fire of ignorance,
I can be love.
As the mist of the waterfall clings to my face,
It is easier to be love.
As my ego strives to ‘be right’,
I can be love.
As I gaze upon the dew-coated lilly,
It is easier to be love.
As surprise pulls at my harmony,
I can be love.
As my sight is dazzled by diamonds in the snow,
It is easier to be love.
As I allow my awareness to wander,
I can be love.
As the mountains sway alive with the wind,
It is easier to be love.
As I prepare my ego for its ultimate disappointment,
I am love.
Infinite Tide
I have spent a couple of days contemplating what the Circle of Love meant to me. In truth words cannot capture what transpired. Yet, I did write a poem. Perhaps this will serve to convey a little of what I experienced and experience still.
Infinite Tide
I looked into the heart of love,
And You gazed back at me.
Like a seeker, drunken, devoted,
We were beyond that sparkling sea.
Amongst the lines of blue mountains,
Was the thirst that I had brought.
Often I would achingly know,
That it was You that I sought.
Yet You pour this Oneness through me,
Me, lover’s goblet to be seized.
Overflowing awe and rhapsody,
Tumbling tears amidst Your breeze.
I see You, everywhere now,
Through heart cracked open wide.
You, my sea, those eyes,
Us, riding Infinite tide.
Transition
It has been a while since I was inspired to write a poem. But this one flowed after a meditation and a deep moment of peace.
Know the Flow as you go, my brothers and sisters and in light.
Transition
I trust that you will remember,
how Divine you really are.
As you transition to the fullness,
beyond the seas, the lands, the stars.
Did you live each moment,
being the change you wished to see?
Return to Oneness is delightful.
I am sure you would agree.
The thought of transition stirs me.
Not stirring saddened heart.
I know not to truly mourn you.
for we shall never be apart.
Yet regardless of who you tried to be,
I cannot help but shed these tears,
For the beauty of transition has,
meaning through all reflected spheres.
Surrender
I have been working on this poem for over a week now. Recently I’ve been contemplating the idea of surrender from the spiritual vantage. After some wandering I’ve been left with the impression that surrender may be the most important choice we will ever make, assuming we ever make it.
Know the Flow as you go my friends!
Surrender
Would you labour under illusion,
that control is always good?
That it’s dangerous to let it be,
as if God misunderstood.
Let’s consider our control now, and
the workings of the world.
Did your force of determination,
make the budding leaf unfurl?
Did you wake up early this morning,
and cause the sun to shine?
Does the Universe need reminding,
to make the tide sway on time?
We do not need to remember,
how to make children grow.
Or instruct the wind on blowing,
Or make birds sing and crow.
The universe runs complexity,
with aplomb in spite of storms.
So why would we be afraid,
of such reflected forms?
It may sometimes be a little hard,
to find good within the bad.
We may wonder why it’s happening.
Healing lessons to be had.
Try to see tough learnings as what is,
rather than what could be wrong.
It is not the why of happenings,
that helps us grow and be strong.
Living requires our humility,
not thinking what we should know.
All will be revealed in time,
Just surrender to the flow.
Like ending a game of tug-of-war,
we stop and let the rope go.
Surely this is how we surrender?
Trusting, beginning to know.
Begin to trust in the Universe,
release preconception of how.
Discard all clear expectations,
shred all your treasured pictures, right now!
Perhaps you will see that what led you,
was the dance of mystery.
And what you once thought as failure,
was luring you to be free.
The truth is that we don’t always know,
what is our best interest.
So you think that you’re smarter than God?
Most assuredly you jest.
Controlling the uncontrollable,
is surely doomed to fail.
Paradox, mystery of
knowing the end of the tale.
To surrender simply rise each day,
and say, “thy will” and not “mine.”
Release the attachment to knowing.
Surrender to the Divine.
I don’t know what’s to happen today,
I foresee changes to face.
Situations will lead me to paths,
new journeys destined to grace.
My greatest unfolding will be found,
on a journey of being and soul.
Where love is possible today,
transformed events of the whole.
When is the right time to surrender?
Every moment, every day!
Each event an opportunity,
To love in a bigger way.
We remembered when we were born,
and will again with our death,
that we must not forget to surrender,
with every living breath.
If you have the power to change things,
then sure, go right ahead, but
learn to recognize situations,
where Divine door has been shut.
When we feel we are bailing against
the tide with struggle and fear,
then these are the times to surrender,
lest our struggle consume our cheer.
If life doesn’t flow or feel at peace,
if weight has consumed splendor,
if you want to change what cannot be changed,
then it is time to surrender.
Forgiveness
Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting upon the idea of forgiveness. A dear friend of mine and I were recently talking about a challenge they are facing in their life. After some discussion on this life lesson, and an effort to seek the cause beliefs, I asked them if they could forgive the person in question.
They reflected on what I had posed to them and then truthfully admitted that they did not believe that they had a clear image of what forgiveness is (a testament to their honesty and our friendship). I thought about this and realized that such ideas are so personal, so subjective, and so abstract in some ways that it is easy to assume that people have a comparible understanding.
And so I felt inspired to try and see if I could capture a more accessible description of forgiveness. For you see forgiveness is as important to this experience as dying is; in some ways forgiveness can be likened to the letting go that is required of us when our time has come to make transition. I have penned a poem, quite a bit longer than my typical verse, that is likely a sketchy effort to capture what forgiveness is coming to mean to me. And as for whether it helps my friend or not remains to be seen. But little harm can come of this effort regardless.
Know the Flow as you go
Forgiveness
When they hurt us they weren’t at their best.
We could offer the gift in our mind.
They’re greater than sum of their errors.
They themselves also wounded in time.
Perhaps frailer than the wind that blows,
across oceans and shores that now dance.
Humanity in mistakes will show.
But the strongest forgive and entrance.
Forgiveness happens inside of us.
Much like pain in feet as we hike.
We don’t have to forgive behaviour,
only the person, regardless of like.
Like the beauty of countryside seen,
What is behaviour without to me?
An eye for an eye, insanity.
Fleeting revenge will never set free
Lowering ourselves like falling fruit,
feeling guilty for what we thought wrong.
Lashing out to shout of this hurt,
As if such mode were graceful bird song.
Were I to cry for fruit so fallen,
for but a moment of need within,
Nothing wrong would there be in this sharing,
Any longer is living in sin.
It can be hard to forgive, sometimes
easier to let be and ignore.
Passive stream of trickled misery,
Realized of challenge now set in yore.
Like the path not once have I trodden,
forgiveness can feel so unknown.
Easier in blame and projection,
than to consider the seeds that I’ve sewn.
Ironically selfish in action,
forgiving matters more to those,
who’ve been wounded than done the wounding,
Letting go is the truth that knows.
Would you squeeze amidst the thorns,
of the wounds and upsets of the rose?
Would you become a servant of self,
be slave to the scent in your nose?
Take back your power to live, now
flourish beyond offending descent.
Empower yourself in transcendence,
Cast aside victim’s cloth and repent.
We are here in this life to make,
mistakes unrelated to aim,
to get lost in the vagaries of moments,
but not losing ourselves in blame.
Human is to do what we do,
make mistakes and forgive and be kind,
even in the face of the terrible,
letting go lest we live as the blind.
Forgiveness is more than a season,
or path of beginning and end.
It is maintenance of spiritual Truth,
Less the falling of leaf, more a trend.
The Why of a Lie
I was thinking about the search for truth earlier. This search has been going on for a while. However, as I got to thinking about truth I also found myself thinking about lying as well. If I needed to tell a lie to protect someone would that be acceptable? Is my young daughter ready to hear all truth?
It then occurred to me that telling the truth without compassion could actually be brutality. And from there a poem was inspired. It’s been a while since I wrote a poem. I’m suspecting that I’m getting more picky about what is worth publishing on my blog.
Know the Flow as you go.
The Why of a Lie
The callous would use truth as a weapon,
Something to break faith and trust.
Yet truth without any compassion,
is only brutality thrust.
Yet I would wander through wilderness,
and let trickster come to me.
Disrupting my old preconceptions,
disguising what I need to see.
Strolling with them for a little while,
I might behold natural lie.
Seeing the fire within their style,
hidden what, within their why.
I consider their words as we tread,
and look to bloom of nature.
I can hear their truth and give a nod,
considering past and future.
In the past I’ve heard politicians,
and leaders pitch point of view.
Such chambers echoing factual, but
lost higher spirit of truth.
Can we keep knowledge from poisoning
when we can’t handle the truth?
The why of a lie is essential,
knowing that there’s much to lose.
Beginning
As I prepare for this next phase of my life I am spending time in contemplation. Over the past year (and 100+ blogs) I have occasionally mentioned that I am becoming a Practitioner. Perhaps more for myself than anything else I thought it would be a good moment to clarify what that means to me.
What is a Practitioner? After a few years of studying I am beginning to understand. A Practitioner is a spiritual coach, someone who has taken the time and dedicated themselves to the Truth. In understanding and embodying this Truth in all that they think, say, and do a Practitioner then makes the conscious choice to offer this understanding to others. A Practitioner recognizes the God in all. The idea of omnipresence is taken literally, and has deep meaning to a Professional Practitioner. It means that not only does the Practitioner recognize the Divine in themselves, but in others as well.
A Practitioner carries this Truth (or least strives to) in their thoughts all the time. Thoughts become words, which become action. In this state of service a Practitioner then meets others that are drawn to them. When finding themselves in a darkened room the Practitioner carries a light with them. Their faith of God, not in God, supports them to seeing the perfect idea of God in all those they meet.
When a Practitioner meets another, this knowing of the Divine in all is the basis of everything they think, say, and do. One of the specific services a Practitioner can offer is affirmative prayer. A Practitioner does an affirmative prayer for themselves, knowing that action of thought is all that is required to allow the Divine to shine through. A Practitioner deliberately and clearly works with the Divine. They understand that through Divine or Cosmic Laws (sometimes called the Law) that their mental thoughts produce an equivalent in the world around us.
Over the past few years I have been learning the science of affirmative prayer, the techniques and processes that operate in accordance with the Law (the part of God that makes it so). I am beginning to understand the art of affirmative prayer, understanding that as much as the skills can be learned and taught that a conscious awareness of the Divine as I experience life gives me insight into God, and the Law.
As I take this next step and become a Practitioner-Intern I am beginning to see things differently. My entire life is gradually, sequentially, and inevitably becoming focused on seeing a perfect spiritual idea called God in all that I meet. As I work with the Law, having the faith of God, it works with me.
Beginning
I know I am beginning,
Yet I am here a while more.
Not quite ready to vanish,
or chart a path from this shore.
Belief clipped wings are loosened,
I now beat my wings to love.
No cage to be demolished,
now drunken amongst these doves.
The scent of roses now call.
I inhale, your Oneness clear.
I point to a timeless Truth.
I now see through your fears.
The dove would flee the winter.
Yet foolhardy dove I be.
Flying over clues of Fall,
inspiring, support, and free.
(c) Copyright 2010, Carmien Owen
If You Have Ever…
Some days are magical. Today I had the joy of being able to read and study spiritual ideas and concepts all day. I found myself very connected to Source. At one point the flow was so evident that whilst studying a section in Practitioner studies on money I had not even finished the section when an email with work from a client came into my inbox. Sometimes we really are ready for instant manifestation – my advice is to not start thinking of elephants while in this state of consciousness though! It’s not so much trying to ignore the elephant in the room that really concerns me, than it is managing to breathe with the smell should it happen to poop!
At any rate I finished a poem I had been working on for a couple of days. I cannot point to a specific part of my life or event that this poem relates to. Rather, it is a statement of where I have been, where I am, and where I am going. Within it is a Truth that resonates for me. I hope it does for you too.
If You Have Ever
If you have ever seen beauty
you may rest assured my friend,
that behind perceived projection,
is a beginning, not an end.
If you have ever heard the wise,
let this Truth counsel your heart,
beneath the shoulders they stood upon,
is not an ending, but a start.
If you have ever felt sorrow,
know that source will never cease;
fuse compassion with your knowing;
let your heart bubble with peace.
If you have ever wondered why
you came to this living place,
you might marvel at how dust
can have conjured reason and faith.
If you ever have surpassed form
and let Divine nature unfold,
then truly you are beginning
to know a world beyond this world.
Copyright (c) 2010, Carmien Owen
Building Discontent
After a big break (the holidays can do that) and some intense time with family I picked up my journal again. One of the discomforts of spiritual practice is that once you’ve tasted the benefits of it it is hard to ignore it for too long.
Perhaps I’m going through this divine discomfort so that the urgency for change within me can build?
Building Discontent
What is this excitement;
my fear without the breath?
Hardly building change within,
when the urgency has left.
Shifted through dependance,
past direction via a chart.
From high concepts in my mind,
to the wisdom through my heart.
Each step a greater freedom,
fulfilling joy through each peak.
Beyond penultimate freedom,
to the essence that I seek.
Copyright (c) 2009, Carmien Owen
