20 seconds wisdom

Wisdom

A Rich Life

GETTING CLEAR

Good you are here on the earth we the humans are just destroying. To save it, it is nor enough to do more of this and less of that. IF we say: we should … in order to save the world. It’s pedagogy. It’s shit (sorry for the word, I just don’t believe it’s worth even discussing it). Then you have to ‘motivate’ people, manipulate them. Go for marketing, media etc. Take away their freedom. The real question is not on the level of doing and planning to do. It’s on the level of being. Being clear, pure and poor. Then you are free. Being free you are simply not manipulated. There is no room for it.

In one of his German sermons Meister Eckhart (Selected Writings, Pinguin Classics, p.203) asks what a poor person, a not externally, but internally poor person, is. ‘A poor person is someone who wants nothing, knows nothing and has nothing.’ (My translation). Sounds radical. It is. I want to go into this one after the other.

1. Someone Who Wants Nothing.

Wants no acknowledgement, no honor, no success, no sexual partner … (please put in what comes to you at this very moment). And if any of this comes along anyhow, without your wanting striving, accept it with a shy smile, hoping that you can stand it. But if you want it, you destroy your own freedom and with it the sense of what you want. You orient yourself, your planning, your actions to attain something. And then, when you get it, you cling to an empty shell … off you go into slavery.

Here we come to the point of self-motivation. If you want something that only has a sense if it comes free, you sacrifice your happiness to your self-construct. You live in a constant assessment of wanting- not wanting, good – not so good, all of it determined from outside. You live outside – in with the ego-construct as arbiter. It is a very judgmental, negativistic arbiter. No freedom, no happiness is possible. But deep down it’s simple. Just go to the level of being. Your being. For this, it’s good to have a little help from your friends.

ALL CONNECTED

The daughter of the valley

sits on her favorite rock

she feels the wide valley

sees all beings with her third eye

the falcon flies low

he sees the daughter of the valley

with pure love, he wants nothing, asks for nothin

he flies low, guarding the valley, holding the space

feeling the presence of the falcon

she sees the lion, sees the wolf

her shoulders are strong

her flute fills the valley

she sees the river so low

the shepherdesses have to go

high into the mountains

they ask the daughter of the valley

for a song.

Your Living Space

The living space is the space of your active presence. It’s a dense, meaningful space, an extension of your inner space. Having this quality, your living space is, from the inside out, part of the overall living field, though you don’t need to know it. What is more, you can’ t know this space, you can only feel it’s there. You can trust it, but you can’ t construct it, ‘make’ it. You can only accept it and let the knowing drop.

That’s why Meister Eckhart says a poor man is

2. Someone Who Knows Nothing.

So you can’ t know this living space, only be in it and in the very core be it. This very moment you are in the realm of deep knowing. In this realm you are your true being. Your self-construct will not like it at all, will do everything imaginable to get you away from this space (pain, calling it crazy, negative judgments …). Your self-construct is right, because in this realm every self-construct dissolves. In the beginning you have to hold this space for a while, for your self-construct has a lot of power and cunning. What is more, being in your own living space is the condition that you can hold the space for others. ‘I’ will come back to that.

Double Kiss

Slow cozy circles

embedded in deep pelvis dreams

the snake feels waves of wisdom

rubs her skin at the holy bone

slowly the snake connects sparkling cell light

weaves it spark after spark

into the loving spiral

unfolding the stream

the heart welcomes the warm waves

coming through the solar plexus door

sends out a song of joy

laying the head on the reticular cushion

the snake receives your inner smile

with a double kiss.

Such A Rich Life

Life is on the move. You can’t possess your living space. If you live it, live in it, that’s the only important thing. Everything flows to you, you just have to be there and be deep. Then all possessions are more like a loan to enable the life you are meant to live. In going into it, you sense which possessions empower your inner freedom and which hinder your deeper knowing.

So as another point Meister Eckhart says a poor man is

3. Someone Who Has Nothing.

But if you strive for possessions, the possessions possess you. They weigh you down. They hinder you to be in the stream. To let go. To be. Living at the intersection of the living space and the surrounding field, you become the intersection. The field supplies you with what you need. If you are honest to yourself you will know which belongings are enabling and which are hindering you. If you try to isolate your own living field without accepting and accessing what it is part of, you might construct a nice, individualistic place with borders all around. But it will dry out sooner or later, because cut it off the sphere it actually belongs to. If you accept to BE the intersection between your living space and the surrounding field, then your power, your inspiration, your deep knowing, your purpose can flow freely. It’s wonderful, it’s blissful, but you really have no control. You are free, free to follow the inner wisdom that is given freely. It’s a rich life.

Sailing

Lazy clouds move over a blue sky

under the wings of the falcon

a soft warm wind levels the gravity pull

looking down, the falcon is the whole valley

he sees the stream, feels the flowing

embraces the sheep on their pasture

he follows the heartbeat of the daughter of the valley

giving her his free flow

they sail as one

even the wolf has his way of sailing

giving his strength

sailing free.

Something outwardly complex, but in the core very simple begins to appear. It’s a whole with four parts. The heading ‘Open Gem’ came. I didn’t like it that much, because it sounds a bit pretentious to me. But it came back repeatedly, so there it is.

• Coming up

Short texts trying to find words as hints to inner feelings, deep knowing, that is outside the realm of words. Very much like the ’20 Seconds Wisdom’, but even more body-embedded.

• Try-it-your-way

Small ‘exercises’ that I tried, proposals that should not be followed. These ‘exercises’ have at least three layers, 1. Translator: Read it, translate it into your own inner feeling, adopt it, and let it go. You can do this anywhere. (Coming into Los Angeleees, hey this is better than keys) 2. Initiator: From your feeling a movement impulse is initiated, you give all your awareness into it, open up and see where you are drawn. (Never enforce anything) 3. Inspirator : Everything in your body has it’s spirit as part of the whole, is connected and loves to convey some of it’s wisdom – so just be there, don’t understand, just listen.

• In a Poetic Mode

Using rhythm and poetic hints to express something that cannot be said directly.

• Words from Afar

In never look for quotations, but sometimes the wind carries them to the right place. The four parts may not appear every time, but their potential is always there. The ‘meaning’ is in between, in a deep knowing, in the feeling of an unnamable presence. It’s yours. If it appears be thankful and humble. Please don’t try to put it in words.

P.S. Für die Deutschsprechenden. Das Englische ist in der letzten Zeit immer mehr zur Sprache des Tiefenlauschens geworden. Es ist ist so oft an der Grenze des eigentlich nicht mehr Sagbaren, dass der Versuch der Übersetzung wegen des dabei notwendigen Formalisierungsschritts zumindest für mich kaum noch zu vollziehen ist. Es wird auch einfach viel zu anstrengend. So muss ich das leider lassen. Ich bin aber sehr gern bereit, auf alle Fragen einzugehen > Johannes@poeticwave.ch

So here are the first three.

THE OPEN GEM 1

Coming Up

Attune to the Knowing

You turn to your inner space, you don’t want anything; maybe there is a vage feeling that something wants to convey itself. First you just open yourself to inner listening, then at one point you are guided somewhere, another meaning of deep listening opens up, it’s broader, somewhat like the inner ear and the inner eye united … then this new form of deep sensing is drawn somewhere – you don’t sense, the unnamable sense is given to you. Be alert, receptive, but don’t understand it, don’t give it a meaning. There is no need. Just be the humble, open bowl of receptivity. In this bowl the knowing is there. If you can get a glimpse of it just be thankful. Try to say in touch, but don’t force it, love what’s there. I think we will go into this again.

One Tear

A soft wind

touches the bridge

the pilgrim smiles

from the corner of his eye

a tear falls into the river

the river shines.

Try-it-Your-Way

Sit on a flat stool. Get still. Feel a gentle breathing. Imagine you are sitting on a compass rose. Feel your pelvic floor. Direct your attention to the East. Then very gently, slowly to the North, then to the West, then to the South. Let your awareness linger just above the pelvic floor. Don’t do anything. Just wait, very still, wait, let your feeling be drawn wherever it might be. Just be the quiet witness. If something like an inner movement appears, just try to keep the image it conveys. Enjoy the feeling. Bahauddin

When you begin to surrender, forget yourself. Become senseless with no motive, so you can be blown from east to west and back without knowing anything, or caring either. It would not be surprising if in such mindlessness your essential being went hundreds of miles without you being aware of it.

(Inside the realm of the above inner movement, this hint of Bahauddin has still a deeper ‘meaning’ for me, that I can not jet express. I hope it has one for you too.)

OPEN GEM 2

Please remember, deep knowing appears from in between and from deep down. It doesn’t appear where something designated already is.

The Eye of the Pilgrim

The pilgrim follows

the flight of the falcon

his heart rejoices

you see his smile

the pilgrim sees

the daughter of the valley

he feels the beauty

of her feelings

he bows his head

his heart filled with bliss

and wonder

deep down his smile

he is no sage

he just follows his inner guidance.

This light is within.

Some hills south of Basel are full of cherry trees. It’s time for a hike.

Kirschblütenzeit

Warmer Wind

Kirschblütenzeit

Blütenblätter fallen

Ein weisser Teppich.

Cherry Blossom Time

Warm wind

the time of cherry blossom

the petals fall

a white carpet.

Every sage loves beauty.

Words from Afar

One desert wind brings doubt. Another hope and confidence. There is always call and response. An atheist asks, Where is God? Show me the place. A ridiculous demand. Place does not apply to the creation done with the divine presence. Location is not a quality of God. Bahauddin p. 38

Try-it-Your-Way

Lay on your back. Get quiet. Let everything drop. Just be there. Feel your breath. Notice how it goes down the back of your neck. Listen to the waves going down in your pelvis. Follow these waves. Now get very still. Go below these waves. Is there some sort of luminosity, some sort of brightness? This deep space has no extension, it’s just pure space. Don’t want anything, just be, drop deeper. The ‘space’ you are ‘entering’ is the space of God in you.

OPEN GEM 3

Attune to Life

Attune, but don't attune to something specific. You would have to isolate this 'something'. Attune to the flow as it is now, in all its complexity. Be part of the complexity; breathe the complexity until it feels like streaming. You feel the character of the streaming and the part you play in the flow. Now you are ready to do what is up. Do it and follow the flow. Enjoy the waves.

Attuned in Perfect Harmony

Warm wind coming up from the desert

the falcon breathes the terrain below

feels every change in the wind

gliding with all he senses

he hears the distant flute

the daughter of the valley

plays sitting on her stone

the fire in front of her is low

the snake curls up with a lazy pose

feels the smile in the back

of her long neck

all senses attuned

the falcon and the snake

swing in perfect harmony.

Words from Afar

'The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.' Remember Bahauddin? This is from the antique Jewish wisdom teacher Jesus, John 3,3.

Try-it-Your-Way

(Please remember the tree layers – Translating, - Initiating,- Accepting inspiration)

Lay on your back. Drop into the floor. Be in perfect harmony with the floor below you and the air around you. Be in the space between the pelvic floor and the diaphragm. The lemniscate, the laying 8 is a potent evocation of infinity. Be aware of this fact. Imagine the lemniscate being there in free flow without scratching the pelvic floor or the diaphragm. The middle of the lemniscate is somewhere in the hara region. It floats somewhere between the abdominal wall and your back. The lemniscate floats freely. In what direction is the flow? How is the hara responding? Feel the deep peace. For me this little evocation/feeling exercise is something like an emergency exercise when I fall out of my presence. But please remember, this is a potent evocation and it wants to be honored.

Love Johannes

Trust.

You are not important, your presence is. What a relief.