Words of wisdom for all those in search of the enlightened life that leads to the divine.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/17/12/0e9f4196-e8a2-4098-8583-5fff87762f8b_possessions_speak_podcast.m4a

Possessions speak to us all day long.That book you purchasedBut have never readSays“Read me!”And the empty shelf Says “fill me up with more.”Some possessions warm and nurtureWhile others distract, dissuade, and even harm.If we are not careful, the things we ownCan siphon off our strength.Or they can build us up,Make us better.So choose carefully what you ownAnd don’t be afraid of letting goOf a thing When it no longer serves The purpose for which it was purchased.

Possessions Speak

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/14/17/a4ab2de5-d4da-4d4c-bd8f-08d9fd064711_not_all_who_wander_are_lost_podcast.m4a

They say that not all who wander are lost,And that’s true of me, I think. I wander, wander,Never sureExactly where I’m going,But also not without a rough idea.The inner light points in a directionAnd I begin to act, to move step by stepToward the place where it feels that I should go.And I trust the way to open up before me.And it does. That’s the miracleThough it does not comeWithout the workOf exercising faith.I relate to the albatross and its endless worldwide journeys.It is said that the albatross can travel ten thousand milesTo bring home one meal of oily vomit for its chick.Yeah. I think that’s it. Ten thousand milesTo find one little treasure,One morsel To regurgitate here upon the empty page.I find myself wanting to expand upon this work.To share more of what I see and feel,More of the people that I meetAs I wander, wander,Round the world.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/13/12/37542446-65e0-49dd-aab5-6b626ecef741_choose_your_story_podcast.m4a

A discussion of &#34;Choose Your Story&#34;It is possible to serve the lightFor your own sake?To be Dark inside,Filthy with secret prideWhile outwardly stacking upYour achievements, Allowing othersTo laud your name, And never once realizingThat your soul is lost,Not in gross immorality,But in the actor’s gameThe hypocrites play.Listen closelyTo yourself.Is your story one of redemption?Or is it the hero’s myth?They are not the same story.I have a deep distrust for the latterAnd an unfailing affection for the former.So don’t tell me how you slew the dragon.Tell me about the dragon inside of you.That’s the story I long to hearBecause he lives inside me too,And it is all I can doWith the help of GodTo find my way.

Choose Your Story

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/12/12/874be18f-f4b5-4638-93f4-9312e1fc5607_to_go_out_and_come_back_home.m4a

There is the part of me that likes to go outAnd there is the part of me that likes To come back home.And both play a part in the strange way That I support my family,My family.And you are part of my family.I go out, and I come back home.And I share the wisdom that I’ve found from the roadWith the ones I love, the ones I love.I love you, and I pray For you in your own journey.Perhaps one day, you will grow upTo go out and come back homeAnd share your wisdomFrom the road.And the cycle goes round and round,You are my children. And one dayYou will have childrenOf your own.

To Go Out and Come Back Home

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/12/12/0e3011ff-3714-4922-928c-6e879890aabf_raymond_lessons_11_-_all_day_long.m4a

Lessons from Raymond, the homeless man Who helped prepare me for the road.To view previous lessons, find my playlist entitled: Raymond Lessons. Lesson 11: All Day Long I almost didn’t mention this oneBecause it contradicts Something else That Raymond said.But it has become applicable.You see, I was skeptical When he impliedThat everything came to him without asking.Sometimes, maybe. But always?And so I asked Raymond,Do you ever have to panhandleTo get the things you need?“Yes,” he said.“How much?” I asked.“All day,” he said. “Every day.”“Oh…” I said. And I didn’t like that answer.Because now it appeared that our good fortuneWas a special providence, and thatI would not be able to escape The work of asking.

Raymond Lessons 11: All day Long

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/10/23/36ebead5-15ad-4d8d-96d3-a19917cc6223_enough.m4a

Many changes are afoot.I stand on the brink Of, yet again, a leap of faith.And somehow, it feels as if These little thoughtsMight just not be enough,As if I should be, do,Something more…Something more…And I wonder,Is it enough?What do you think?Might the world feed me and my little tribeIf I just keep showing up…showing up?Soon we will find out,Won’t we?

Enough

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/9/23/914c9224-7faa-4b16-9e12-3877e67c06ef_the_weaver_of_dreams.m4a

I weave your dreams from autumn leaves Turned brown and drifting downwardToward the emptiness Of summer skiesWhen the snow flurriesUpward toward the starlit heavensAnd the moon looks down Upon the restless hopesOf careworn soulsWho daren’t BelieveThat anythingCould be so real As the grind of wheat upon the wheels of time.And the feet of those who’ve gone beforeIn the dusty tracks of themWho couldn’t findTheir way.

The Weaver of Dreams

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/8/14/22732b1b-14c3-4754-8ab9-d27167411a87_a_prayer_for_oneness.m4a

Today&#39;s poem... and the subject for today&#39;s episode.I wonder, If I were someone else,Would I be just like them.I can&#39;t help but thinkThat to some degree, I would.That makes me think that it&#39;s just meWalking around and being everyone.So many people can&#39;t help but be themselves,Just like me, just like everyone.I wish that I could be A better friend to themAnd in turn, a better friend to myself.God help me to see it deeperTo feel myself in the othersThat I meet each dayI pray.

A Prayer for Oneness

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/6/12/8be326a7-7441-4db8-be0b-2906c5685a40_what_people_want_discussion.m4a

Taking a new format for these podcasts. Today I discuss the thoughts that precipitated the poem of the day: Note to self:People want what they want,And some graciously give,God bless them.But when it comes to making a living,It may be better me to focus on what others wantNot what I want. Sell them somethingThat they are already looking for.And then use the surplus To graciously give.One day, the world will changeTo an economy of gifts.I look forward to that day.But in the meantime, it’s a balance.We work. We sell the people what they want.And then we give of our surplus property.It is an imperfect system. But it works.And perhaps we can use it as a tool To shine a light on the coming world of gifts.

What the People Want - discussion

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/5/19/e29dc1fd-c76d-4e13-b7e4-ed086bcd3226_we_three.m4a

I am the roots of the treeThe thing unseen.I amThere but you can’t see me.You think that it is you,That it is he,But it is weThree.Remember. Oh, remember.And when you think that you’re aloneDraw deep from the unseen place that lingersIn the memory of what you were before you sprungUp from the ground so many years before.There we were together.And thoughYou cannot see me.I have never left you and I never will.I am the source, the wellspring of your deepest desires. And one day, when you’ve grown tired of living,And fall down hard to the unforgiving soil.There I will wait to meet you deepIn the hollowed end, That is beginning.Thank youFor letting me nourish you.I am the roots, and I love youAnd though you think that we are separated,We are not. We cannot be, we three,Are knit together in onenessAlways.

We Three

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/4/18/6abf6768-f3e2-4d0a-a825-57ac87227387_slow_down_and_visit_meaning.m4a

I have to slow down and visit meaningOr it escapes me. I have to ask myself,Do I find meaning in what I&#39;m doing now?I ask it all the time, of myself.And to my surprise It often says, Aye, there&#39;s meaning.And that&#39;s classic, to find it In the most unexpected ways and places.But it&#39;s not enough to find my meaning I have to see it in others also.I have to hear the stories.I have to watch theirSacred paces.And the sight, the sound, of itRestores my faith in meaning itself.And as, like a flood, it washes over me,I am restored to the unnameable meaning of it all.

Slow Down and Visit Meaning

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/3/13/3a2eb45f-a565-4b84-981c-431dc2ae4eb9_always_an_option.m4a

There are those who try to deny hellBut I am not sure why.There are thoseWho choose hell in this lifeWhen the light shines the day long.I can’t imagine that the next life is so different.But I also can’t imagine That the light doesn’t shine brighter there.But that means that the darkness Must also be deeper,The contrast more stark.There is always hope for those who want the light Though they flounder and fail to find it.I do not worry about them.But there are also thoseWho do not want the light.They seek out the shadows.They revel in causing pain.And you cannot force a soul to heavenThough you extend the hand of mercy the day long.

Always an Option

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/2/11/79078580-5464-4c98-a94f-6021f1ded5fb_his_love.m4a

I wish that I could give the world His love,Not a system of belief,But the Man Himself.For I am cradled in his kindness.My home is in His heart-And though I wander O’er the earthMy pillow a stone,My shelter rain,I am at homeIn Him.It makes me think of thoseWho have no homeIn the love Of One.It makes me want to wrap them upIn the harbor of my heart,To clothe them with acceptance,Peace, truth, and kindness,And to free them, Like birdsTo the belief that they are loved,How is it done, I wonder,When I, myself, Am yet like sparrows?It seems so little to love.And yet it, so often, has been The only thing I had to give.

His Love

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/9/1/12/f1fb3b12-5403-44c3-b9ae-841385d39e69_bring_them_back.m4a

Old friend, the world that you have chosen,The spoil that you have taken,Sits rottingUnder your canopy.“But I could pay,” you say,“I could pay. And here is the receipt.”Fool! You believe that you are the hero,The saver of the day, the victorBy the thickness of your pocketbook.And what’s more, that you have escapedThe eye that sees all things,When in reality,You have dealt treacherously.You have whisked away the heartsAnd the very souls of menFor your own pleasure.Bring them back, I say!Bring them back!Before, with fierce anger,I come into your house to repay.And your family is stripped from you,Your pocketbook emptied.Your soul ravaged Of solace,And you left desolateAmid the furious windsOf the desert of the soul.Old friend, we are still friends.But know that you can’t go on this way.And I mourn to see the future that awaitsIf you do not swiftly change your ways.

Bring Them Back

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/31/12/c4285c92-bc38-4999-bc59-2018aa7e7c0b_more_than_good.m4a

If the world will ever find peaceGood people will have to stop fighting.It is not enough for good people to be good.Being good has a blind spot. It makes you thinkThat you are justified in fighting for what is right,In making war in defense of truthAnd to preserve your freedom.But freedom doesn’t need to be preserved.It lives within the heart of those Who can’t be persuaded Not to speak the truthEven when the enemy rages And the tyrant oppresses.So be good. Speak the truth.But also be kind. It is the way That leads to peace.

More Than Good

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/30/11/1b01076c-138c-4432-9455-3cdca6946e0d_overseas.m4a

Some news.I am going overseas.I don’t know how I’ll get there.But I’ve never known how I’ll get there.And isn’t it strange that I could know such a thing?And yet I do.How long will it take me to get there?I don’t know.How will I support myself when I get there?I think I know. More on that to come.But in the end, God only knows.And how long will I be there?A year, a month, a day,A lifetime?God only knows.One thing I know.My path is a surprise.And the joy is walking it with HimWherever he leads me. That’s enough.

Overseas

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/27/12/7620e5ab-958c-41cf-8474-7ca34eab09eb_do.m4a

If I were to just actAnd stop thinking quite so muchI think I’d be better off.So long as our intentions are good,I don’t know that it matters that muchWhat we do so long as we do.Do, do, do. In all things, do.That’s what bodies are made for.Do the best that can be doneUnder the circumstancesAnd then move onTo another do.I wonder if it’s the long-term That gets us thinkers into trouble.We try to make choices That we can’t yet make.I am sure there are someWhose problem is the oppositeWho get themselves into troubleBecause they don’t think quite enough.But for those of us whose addictionIs trying to work it all out beforehand,The antidote, it seems to me, is DO.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/26/23/d198b4cc-5f87-4122-951c-b8e997495bcb_raymond_lesson_10.m4a

Lessons from Raymond, the homeless man Who helped prepare me for the road.To view previous lessons, find my playlist entitled: Raymond Lessons. Lesson 10: Keep writing. Tell a story. Disappear. This one surprised me.It came in the days that followed.Raymond had given me 2 books,One deep, the other bubble gum.Couldn&#39;t get past page 40 in the latter.Couldn’t put down the former.The author of the latter Was all over.But I could not find a single wordAbout the author of the former,It was published in 1939,And the writer had disappeared from historyTo spite the fact that his bookWas one of the most meaningful, Well-written, and moving stories I’ve ever read.And in those two books, Raymond’s message Came through crystal clear:Tell a story. Tell it well.Move the people,And then disappear.Don’t try to be great.Just try to tell a good story.It’s enough.

Raymond Lessons 10: Keep Writing. Tell a Story. Disappear.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/25/17/914ee5cd-f8aa-4a23-b33c-8a847ec5b12c_the_carefree_scavenger.m4a

I will gather the apples before they fall,But not my apples, your apples,If you&#39;ll let me.You planted the tree with good intentionsBut we all know how that goes.And they&#39;ll soon go to waste.I&#39;ll also clean your windows,Mow your lawn,Walk your dog,If you let me.You planned to do it all,But we all know how that goes.I&#39;ll even take out your garbage If you let me, so longAs I can rifle through your trash.You bought that stuff with good intentionsBut we all know how that goes. And I can make a living of your waste if you&#39;ll let me.And what&#39;s more, don&#39;t put it past me to waitUntil you&#39;re bothered By the unused scrap of landAnd are ready to let it go for a song.I&#39;ll sing the song if you&#39;ll let me.And pound out a golden paperIf you&#39;ll let me, if you&#39;ll let me.I am the care-free scavenger.My life is easy, risk-free, almost.Because I know how that goes.And I am willing to work and wait.

The Carefree Scavenger

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2024/8/24/10/bc9411d7-a06f-4816-b43e-91124dd8de03_rewriting_the_past.m4a

You can create another version of the past That serves a better future.When you do something you regret,Rewrite the experience in your mind.And give thanks for God’s graceIn helping you to choose the better partEven though you did not choose the better part.Be descriptive in your re-writing,Enough that gratitude wells upFor making the right decision.See it. Feel it. Resist the tendency to disbelieve.And you will actually create another reality.Yeah…out of fantasy. But your brain doesn’t know that it’s fantasy.It experiences those good feelingsAs if they really happened.If you do this consistently,Sooner or later, you’ll discoverThat you start doing the right thingSo that you can experience more Of the feeling you feltIn your made-up past.It is a strategy for the weakWho wish to be made strong through belief.

Rewriting the Past

Words of wisdom for all those in search of the enlightened life that leads to the divine.