My personal favorite is by the Japanese Zen Monk Dogen from the Genjokoan-
"To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever."
I had a period of time, some would call it a break down, I referred to it as the breakthrough. The mystical experiences unfolded. On occasion id hang off the edge of my bed and just write dark, mysterious meanderings of mind.. the places I’d gone. Then one day I wrote a piece called The Creator.. they usually came from nowhere. It was within that ‘cheerful’ piece to me that it made sense…
To live is to die and to love is to lose everything. It’s finding the centre that sets you free..
The freefall into the abyss of being..
THE CREATOR
she bumped into her creator in that moment, or perhaps the lifetime, between the stretching and waking.
So, having been found, they sat awhile in that glorious field of flame and feather. The field she’d imagined so vividly and tasted the words, through her passage of wanderings..
They chatted for times, making daisy chains out of rainbows..
And finally, as the sun rose, the creator whispered the tiniest of secrets, of the everything that is the breath of the moment of the spark of life..
To live is to die and to love is to lose everything… it’s the finding the centre that sets you free…
The creator got up, popped on she’s crown of all wonder; slightly askew: just enough for her to straighten it with the slightest of touches….winked and was gone..
as the stretch turned into waking… she smiled, because finally, that was it… it was that simple, after being utterly illusive for so many lifetimes.
…..it’s just the nurturing of that tiniest spark of faith that will lead us to the centre of it all and take us back home.. to the ME…
Thank you for starting my day with an expansive theme. These are wonderful selection’s. I find your quote by Emerson particularly immersive. For some reason it led me to the following…
“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny mad idea at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea and possible of both accomplishment and real effects. Together, we can laugh them both away and understand that time cannot intrude upon eternity. It is a joke to think that time can come to circumvent eternity, which means there is no time.”
I loved this! When writings resonate deep within, we sense it! This makes more sense to me than all the preachers insisting that the path to eternal life, somewhere out there and up above, is believing in a set of doctrines. Some believe that their set of doctrines is the right pathway to secure it. We are living eternity right here, right now. The work of eternity is to help others and ease their earthly loads so they can experience it too. Thank you!
Loved your words...I always enjoy your writing,beautiful photographs,and the cool artwork.A lot of the poetic quotes really resonate with me...this time it was the Edvard Munch...such simple,true words...Thank You for this!
i love you for what you offer so brilliantly, sideways, straight forward, sometimes knocking at my backdoor and always, always teaching, reaching, poking and waltzing into this holding, old-ing soul. Thank
Bravo! It's true. I found eternity when I asked my friend, Richard, who worked all his life in sales, a question. Yes, eternity was in his answer. Alas, I don't go to eternity anymore and don't ask him things. I just don't have the time.
Well this was exactly what I needed this morning. As always the pieces you choose are wonderful and each author offered profound philosophical insight into the idea of eternity. Great way to start my Monday!
Thank you for these!
My personal favorite is by the Japanese Zen Monk Dogen from the Genjokoan-
"To study the Way is to study the Self. To study the Self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever."
I had a period of time, some would call it a break down, I referred to it as the breakthrough. The mystical experiences unfolded. On occasion id hang off the edge of my bed and just write dark, mysterious meanderings of mind.. the places I’d gone. Then one day I wrote a piece called The Creator.. they usually came from nowhere. It was within that ‘cheerful’ piece to me that it made sense…
To live is to die and to love is to lose everything. It’s finding the centre that sets you free..
The freefall into the abyss of being..
THE CREATOR
she bumped into her creator in that moment, or perhaps the lifetime, between the stretching and waking.
So, having been found, they sat awhile in that glorious field of flame and feather. The field she’d imagined so vividly and tasted the words, through her passage of wanderings..
They chatted for times, making daisy chains out of rainbows..
And finally, as the sun rose, the creator whispered the tiniest of secrets, of the everything that is the breath of the moment of the spark of life..
To live is to die and to love is to lose everything… it’s the finding the centre that sets you free…
The creator got up, popped on she’s crown of all wonder; slightly askew: just enough for her to straighten it with the slightest of touches….winked and was gone..
as the stretch turned into waking… she smiled, because finally, that was it… it was that simple, after being utterly illusive for so many lifetimes.
…..it’s just the nurturing of that tiniest spark of faith that will lead us to the centre of it all and take us back home.. to the ME…
Thanks for these! I would also add Arthur Rimbaud's piece on Eternity from a Season in Hell:
It is recovered!
What? Eternity.
It is the sea
Mixed with the sun.
My soul eternal,
Redeem your promise,
In spite of the night alone
And the day on fire.
Of human suffrage,
Of common aspirings,
You free yourself then!
You fly according to. . .
Hope never more,
No orietur.
Science and patience,
Retribution is sure.
No more tomorrows,
Embers of satin,
Your ardor is now
Your duty only.
It is recovered!
What? Eternity.
It is the sea
Mixed with the sun.
https://drunkenlibrary.com/2015/09/19/a-poem-from-a-season-in-hell-arthur-rimbaud/
Thank you for starting my day with an expansive theme. These are wonderful selection’s. I find your quote by Emerson particularly immersive. For some reason it led me to the following…
“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny mad idea at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea and possible of both accomplishment and real effects. Together, we can laugh them both away and understand that time cannot intrude upon eternity. It is a joke to think that time can come to circumvent eternity, which means there is no time.”
Excerpt From
A Course In Miracles
Anonymous
I loved this! When writings resonate deep within, we sense it! This makes more sense to me than all the preachers insisting that the path to eternal life, somewhere out there and up above, is believing in a set of doctrines. Some believe that their set of doctrines is the right pathway to secure it. We are living eternity right here, right now. The work of eternity is to help others and ease their earthly loads so they can experience it too. Thank you!
Nicely done. It also helps to be well fed to experience the kinds of transcendence written about here... and a fresh cup of coffee.
😂😂😂😂😂
Or Woody Allen,
“Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it.”
Shame about Woody. He really is a genius. Just ask him.
Boy this comes in handy today and most days! See if you can cut it tighter to fit on license plates....
Tio Mitchito
Don’t worry today is eternal I might say.
It doesn’t feel any other way
Yet afternoon arrives with an easy stroke,
the water forms all around you
like memory,
https://open.substack.com/pub/michaeldriver/p/occasional-poems-8ed?r=nzesm&utm_medium=ios
I needed this today. Thank you for posting this. It gives me time to ponder how my life experiences is part of the Eternal life force.
Great collection. I consistently appreciate these offerings immensely.🌺💦
Loved your words...I always enjoy your writing,beautiful photographs,and the cool artwork.A lot of the poetic quotes really resonate with me...this time it was the Edvard Munch...such simple,true words...Thank You for this!
Thank you, I loved these poets and writings, the eternity is the present..
i love you for what you offer so brilliantly, sideways, straight forward, sometimes knocking at my backdoor and always, always teaching, reaching, poking and waltzing into this holding, old-ing soul. Thank
Such sage, embodied wisdom for these increasingly virtual times...
Bravo! It's true. I found eternity when I asked my friend, Richard, who worked all his life in sales, a question. Yes, eternity was in his answer. Alas, I don't go to eternity anymore and don't ask him things. I just don't have the time.
Well this was exactly what I needed this morning. As always the pieces you choose are wonderful and each author offered profound philosophical insight into the idea of eternity. Great way to start my Monday!