Winter on the Cape

Well, we've come through the second snowstorm in as many weeks, but the Cape's moderating weather has saved us again: instead of thundersnow and eight inches of the white stuff, we had mostly rain, high winds, and then an additional three inches of snow. Not too bad. I have been spending my time preparing to teach, reading student homeworks (magnificent pieces of work...) and preparing my new book of poetry. Let's see if I can paste a poem from the new book here:

Angelus

We are ourselves,

sun and moon,

an encyclopedia of taverns,

crevasses, moonridges, craters,

places to hide, nostalgic turns

of event, hardpressed to understand

what is happening to us. We are

walking down the years, catching

them as they stream before us,

herds of time, looping them

with seasons, capturing calendars

so that we can live, God help us.

We see ourselves made, by brass

and tubing, we drip down the

skeleton and gather ourselves

again nearer the earth,

almost done. What has this

life done for me? Filled with

rocks in the belly, it has driven

me harshly, made me hold hands,

broke my hands, tied them down,

set them free, taken antagonist

air and supplied centuries instead,

busted my sail, made me stand

in front of someone, fall down

in front of someone, give up

my alimony, my wreath, my

grave. Now every point of view

a rail gleaming in yellow starlight,

polished with travel,

heated with worth.

We arise from ash

and not the other way around.

And climb upward’s inches

by crystal intent.

Apres the blizzard

Well, the Great Year-End Blizzard has come and gone and we've ended up with...no snow. Though we had some 70 mph or so wind blasts last night, we were well situated on the rain side of the rain/snow line and this time we came out ok. Yesterday, down at the Stopnshop getting supplies, lanterns, wood for the fireplace (the power goes out around here easily...), there was that wonderful friendliness-before-a-hard- time that people get into when we all feel we working together against a common difficulty. Lots of smiles, spontaneous hellos, camaraderie in parkas and hoods. A great feeling. A few texts came through asking me if we were ready for the snowfall and then we were off: spending the day inside, reading, writing, cooking and eating. A good way to get fat if it goes on too long! When we are not conflicted within ourselves, every moment is a good moment, some smooth, some difficult, but interesting and good. (Sometimes scary and good, but still alive and good) Today, we'll probably try to get out a bit, into the thickly-overcast day. We'll walk around with our jackets open, now hardened veterans of a storm we faced together with the local populace and came through fine.

In Buddhism there is something called "mind-to-mind transmission." It's this: you read a poem, or better yet, write one; struggle with the words and meaning, the rhythms and pulse and then, you get it. Then maybe you read a poem by a poet long dead and there it is: a human being bravely, willfully, dealing with the same moment-in-time, the same situation. And you feel ah! that's it. And you are linked with that man or woman forever. You feel them next to you. Silence ensues, rich with fullness of life as it is. Christmas can be like that. We can feel Jesus that way if we are willing to deal with the same things that Jesus chose to deal with: the open and closed heart; love; fear, life and death. This Christmas, go mind to mind with Jesus; heart to heart with the Christ Spirit within your own heart. Bye for now...and lots of love.

Traveling

I'm on the road for the next day or so, headed up to Cape Cod for some retreat time. I'll be revising the Impersonal Movement/2 Manual for the upcoming class and working on my new book of poems, "The Fight of Fists." They had a surprise snowstorm up there on Tuesday (the Weather Channel said "clear and sunny") and we had 14" of snow. More to come on Sunday. Retreat time is very important for all of us. Even if we don't spend time meditating, doing physical exercise and contemplating Reality, retreat time--like Sabbath--is a time for a different take on what is important, what is pleasurable and why we often only reluctantly give ourselves what we need so much. Retreats are a time for a different rhythm.
I wish everyone a good Holiday Season, a happy and healthy new year and a surplus of time to re-examine life in its strangeness, beauty, complexity and simplicity. Bye for now...

Jason Answers a Question from Enlightenment Online

The following question was posed to Jason by a member of our Enlightenment Online community. 

Question:

Hello Jason,

I am interested to hear your perspective on how we can best learn how to listen to our instinct/inner voice among the needs and requirements of life in general. How does one “follow their heart” when he or she is not quite sure what the heart is saying?

Thank you,
Porcelainroses

Jason's Response:

Dear Porcelainroses:

This is a great question and an important one and often a confusing one as well!

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to clear up all the confusion in this answer: I may have to return to it through the medium of a longer video.

That said: We are all made up of many psychological layers and there are many voices competing for prominence in our psyches; voices concerned with survival; childhood voices of loneliness and confusion; strident voices of the one who refuses to feel helpless; instinctual voices; and genuine voices of wisdom as well. In a sense we could say that the investigation into the origins of these voices—which could also be called “ideas,” “concepts,” “prejudices,” “neuroses,” "insights” and “fears”—is the spiritual path itself.

Although people like to think they have immediate access to the highest wisdom through contact with their higher selves or disembodied spirits, it actually takes a long time to either clear the way for these truer voices to be heard, or to let them do their job of coming through loud and clear. Being on the spiritual path means working on ourselves so that we are better containers for the profusion of help we get from all levels and dimensions of existence. I hope this helps a bit!
Bye for now.

Sunday of Sound

Well today Dave Cahill, a wonderful local musician, came over to help me reset up my recording studio which has been dormant for months. I've been in the middle of finishing my new album "An Explanation is Forthcoming," and with Dave's help, I'll be able to start working on music again. (By the way, you can hear some of Dave's music on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/davecahill He's a great singer and wonderful guitarist too...) When he came over to start working on the studio we jammed for a little while: the first time I've jammed in years! It was great. With traveling and teaching taking most of my time--along with writing and practicing--simply playing with someone was a great and unexpected pleasure. In the next few weeks I'll be putting up more music on the Enlightenment Online website (www.en-on.org). I hope you take a listen. Bye for now...

Cold Day Open House

Its still early in the morning here and 16 degrees out but luckily, no wind. The sun is shining and illuminates but does not warm. In the last month or so, I've been doing public talks: two in Europe and then one later today in NJ. (to find out about it to to www.en-on.org and click on the Events Button...). Today's event is an Open House, so it will be a little different: several of the teachers in our school, A Society of Souls, will be there to talk about our programs. I'm going to talk about the spiritual path and some of the misconceptions we all (eternally...) have about it. It you'd like to see videos of me speaking about these topics, you can also find them at the website I mentioned. In any case, winter is coming with a lunar eclipse I'm told, so the darkness that settles in this time of year will be profound. Its a time to reconsider all we've done during the year and have contact with friends and family. Bye for now...