quote: “…..Beloveds of the Lover as Love itself!”
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haiku: old monk, misty morn
haiku: old monk, misty morn
misty foggy morn
all sings on bird heaven hill
old monk treads wet earth
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 27, 2021
video and photos by Herb Stone
quote: “Life is ever expanding spheres, evolving…..”
poem: grace can only be received with an open hand and held humbly with a light touch
poem: grace can only be received with an open hand
and held humbly with a light touch
old man chuckling lightly to himself;
the notion of ‘aging gracefully’
a boondoggle to his mind
all empty busyness and waste of time
this holding on for dear life,
with a stranglehold on ‘grace,’
to our youthful foolishness
with a denial of our falling up
now, as I begin to see more clearly
the thread of life running ahead
yet never disappearing
to an end I do not know where or when
sensing this falling upward
in a cloud of unknowing
as one’s status, health, energy,
influence, and appearance wanes
falling upward with an authentic grace
freely given towards our Truth of Self
and the Authenticity of Belonging together
and eldering in community of liberation
more spirit than body and mind
lamenting, visioning, lifting up,
radically accepting and loving,
laughing eyes on the thread running ahead
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 25, 2021
photo: the author at Draper Coastal Dune Lake
in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
Reflection: Invitational Presence, Noticing Who Notices, Opening Our Hearts To One Another, Belonging
Reflection: Invitational Presence, Noticing Who Notices, Opening Our Hearts To One Another, Belonging
How do we express our Highest, Most True Selves into the world and authentically belong together in mutual relationships building soulful communities?
Much of my poetry is my effort in exploring and arriving at answers to this very question. Certainly that is the central theme in my recently published book, ‘The Poetry of Resistance and Transformative Healing” https://herbstonejr.com/books/
One master teacher, in her book, ‘Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home,” offers this sage advice: “If you are doing your part to brave the beautiful values that are coursing through you into the world, then all that’s left for you to do is to notice who notices. Don’t dismiss the invitational presence in others. Keep these ones close by noticing their gifts in return. Practice at opening the heart, yours and theirs, through fierce inquiry and the expression of truth.” Excerpt from Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home by Toko-pa Turner (belongingbook.com)
Beloveds, let us do the hard work of fearless self inquiry leading to Self Truth, the courageous expression of these our highest values, noticing, opening hearts, and coming together in invitational presence building authentic communities, and coming home in mutual belonging together.
Love one another!
poem: nature’s tableau vivant
poem: nature’s tableau vivant
just at the edge of the clearing
where the woods begin,
sun dappled leaves stir
and the shadows flutter
the rabbits suddenly disappear
the wren suddenly silent
the stillness only punctuated
by the crows clamor
crows flying through shadow and light
cawing little dive bombers,
the stealthy fox perchance near
deep in the darkest shadows
this frozen moment of nature’s wilding,
a theatrical tableau, the artist vision,
the poets verse seeks to capture
nature’s tableau vivant vitale
a theatrical tableau, the artist vision,
the poets verse seeks to capture
nature’s tableau vivant vitale
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 20, 2021
art image by Claudio D’ Angelo
poem: a story of our saving grace
poem: a story of our saving grace
fleeing the city and civilization,
traumatized, seeking solace,
she who lost her husband and young son
in the gun violence of a mass shooting,
takes up residence in a remote wilderness cabin,
cut off from the world, off the beaten path,
depending solely upon her self-reliance
her first winter here, the nature of the wild slowly
wearing her down, she cries out in the dark void
“it’s not working,” weakened and dying, she lays,
until the stranger stumbles upon her helpless,
near death, nursing her back to health, standing by her,
no questions asked, accepting her self isolation,
teaching her how to live alone in the wild
after the stranger does not return for a long while,
she hikes into the small town nearby for the first time,
finding him dying of cancer at home on his death bed,
he confesses his own trauma of killing his wife and
young daughter while driving drunk many years ago,
she now understanding she is not alone in her grief,
that wounds and healing shared, grace upon grace we are saved
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 18, 2021
Author’s note: This poem is inspired by my seeing
the movie ‘Land,’ a film by Robin Wright about
severe trauma, survival, human kindness, grace,
and healing
image ‘Cabin in the Wilderness’ unattributed
poem: writing is a lifeline
poem: writing is a lifeline
arising, my core flame
burning low, a small ember
weakened and weighed down
sitting quietly,
with little spark to spare,
rallying a bit in the silent stillness
working on my poetry
like the breath returning
stoking my inner flame
prana’s flow
chakra’s balancing
life force energizing
my writing seeks meaning
and purpose deeply
connecting me to my inner core
and a lifeline of belonging
united in community with Beloveds,
I write as my life depends on it
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 15, 2021
image Chakra Energy Centers
unattributed
Author’s note: The Svadhisthana Chakra, our
second chakra at the bodys sacrum, is represented
by the color orange and the element water, and it
is our energy center of creativity and self-expression.
Balancing this chakra, through breathing, pranayama,
visualization, and other techniques increases our
appreciation and creation of poetry, art, literature,
dance, theatre, music, and other forms of self-expression.
It is a conduit of inner vision and outer manifestation
of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Chanting
the sacral chakra’s mantra ‘Vam’ properly helps
balance this chakra. The mantra is chanted as a vibrational
tone and not spoken as a word. Check a source such
as YouTube to learn how to intone the mantra properly
for optimal effect.
poem: liberation for the people
poem: liberation for the people
in a world too much with us
so rapidly changing and chaotic
filled with misinformation and lies
the people’s souls are troubled and restless this world where
politics is so partisan
that lying tyrants
are supported over truth and justice this world where
we are so deeply divided among ourselves
and as far from the divine as possible
leaves us adrift trying find a hold this world where
the bodies of the dead float in the Ganges
lie in the hot streets
and burn on funeral pyres in parking lots this world where
industries refuse to pay living wages
then label workers as lazy and malcontents
for refusing to accept deadend jobs this world where
local news is a litany of gun violence and deaths
and the weather, even on pleasant days,
is always a threat thanks to reporting of ‘Storm Central’ this world where
consumer products are unaffordable
and /or in short supply
due to fragile infrastructure and personal hoarding this world as we know it on the ground
with affliction and dis-ease
a pox upon our body, mind, and spirit
beloveds, wherein does our hope lie a wise sage once said
“we cannot become gods though we may become divine”
through healing our afflictions and suffering
with discriminating intelligence and unity consciousness liberation for the people
both worldly and divine
immanent and transcendent
True Selves belonging in authentic communities bipartisan governance for the people
dignified, quality healthcare for the people
living wage work for the people
ethical journalism for the people
sustainable economies for the people
authentic communities for the people
visible hope for the people
wholistic healing from within for the people
liberation from oppression for the people Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 14, 2021 quote by BKS Iyengar, father of modern yoga, author, teacher image ‘We the People’ poster art from Amplifier
so rapidly changing and chaotic
filled with misinformation and lies
the people’s souls are troubled and restless this world where
politics is so partisan
that lying tyrants
are supported over truth and justice this world where
we are so deeply divided among ourselves
and as far from the divine as possible
leaves us adrift trying find a hold this world where
the bodies of the dead float in the Ganges
lie in the hot streets
and burn on funeral pyres in parking lots this world where
industries refuse to pay living wages
then label workers as lazy and malcontents
for refusing to accept deadend jobs this world where
local news is a litany of gun violence and deaths
and the weather, even on pleasant days,
is always a threat thanks to reporting of ‘Storm Central’ this world where
consumer products are unaffordable
and /or in short supply
due to fragile infrastructure and personal hoarding this world as we know it on the ground
with affliction and dis-ease
a pox upon our body, mind, and spirit
beloveds, wherein does our hope lie a wise sage once said
“we cannot become gods though we may become divine”
through healing our afflictions and suffering
with discriminating intelligence and unity consciousness liberation for the people
both worldly and divine
immanent and transcendent
True Selves belonging in authentic communities bipartisan governance for the people
dignified, quality healthcare for the people
living wage work for the people
ethical journalism for the people
sustainable economies for the people
authentic communities for the people
visible hope for the people
wholistic healing from within for the people
liberation from oppression for the people Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
May 14, 2021 quote by BKS Iyengar, father of modern yoga, author, teacher image ‘We the People’ poster art from Amplifier
haiku: a summer’s day eternal sunshine
haiku: a summer’s day
eternal sunshine
eternal sunshine
the lake smooth, serene
paddling to the hermit’s hut
deep peace abiding
Herb Stone
here&now worling poetry
May 11, 2021
photos by Herb and Cathey Stone
‘YOLO Boarding on Draper Coastal
Dune Lake 2017’
‘YOLO Boarding on Draper Coastal
Dune Lake 2017’
