You live in a Universe

that exceeds your perception of it

You may see it, taste it

hear it or feel it

And while it contains all those things

It is more

To name the Universe

is an attempt to limit

limitlessness

Yet there is a part of us

that speaks

And that part needs names

So let us call this Universe,

Reality

with the understanding

there is more to it

Then we can ever name

There is also a part of us

that wants to be free of naming

Wants to be free of detail

free of manifestation

A part that only wants

the underlying mystery and magic

of Reality

The historical conflict between these two parts

these two engines of the mind

Is perhaps the result of a misunderstanding

We often feel it would be best

to be one and destroy the other

But who would cut off his right hand

because he wants to be left handed?

Who would willingly blind himself in one eye

or deliberately destroy one foot?

Who wants eternal Daylight

or forever Darkness

Why then should we seek only to name Reality

or to end all naming?

It is in the balance

that we find the universal harmony

Perhaps this dichotomy

is part of the natural human heritage because

We perceive this Reality

through the filters of our human brains

the Left and the Right minds

The Left brain understands

Logic and Language

The Right brain understands

Love, Magic and Religion

The Left analyzes and dissects

The Right synthesizes and creates

But who would want only one or the other?

Who would want rainbows of only one color?

All mystery and manifestation within us

arises from our perception and reflection

of the Universe

But the Cosmos is not obliged to reside

only within our grasp of it

Who can truly say

there is no more?

Who can limit the limitless?

. . .

You have been told there are

Three dimensions, perhaps Four

Things are not Black or White but Grey

such dogma denotes limited thinking

Believing thus you bleed

all color, texture and taste from Reality

We live in a multi-dimensional Universe

Unbound in its responses

to our eyes

hands and pallet

Our waking and dreaming mind

And still extending beyond

Perhaps when you name a thing ugly

you limit the beauty you can find in it

Perhaps when you name a thing bad

you limit the good that you can see in it

Is this a really balanced perception?

We may limit our perception

but we can not limit the Universe

Living is balanced by Non-living

Arduous is balanced by Easy

Day by Night

Love by Fear

Light by Darkness

Hope by Despair

Heat by Coolness

Earth by Fire by Water by Air by Earth . . .

None of us can expect an endlessly easy life

we all must touch Reality

Or spend our lives trying to hide from it

But when overwhelmed by one extreme

remember the other is not far away

You will discover that Reality is balanced

but not perfectly symmetrical

Such Cycles are a means of Balance

Everything happens

It just doesn't happen all at once

That's why we have Time

. . .

Let us consider for a moment

the two aspects of Balance

There is static Balance

where all things stop

all motion stops

no sound, no heat, no matter . . .

Nothingness

And there is dynamic balance

such as a man walking

the middle of a curving road

Know the difference

You can not control a thing

by only stopping it

Control comes from directing the motion

of things

When Balance is achieved

Is it possible to act

without doing anything?

To dance without moving?

Is it possible to be taught

without a teacher?

To have without holding?

To Act outside of Fear or Anticipation of reward?

Is it possible

to let things appear in the distance

move to this place

and let them go

While perceiving the balance

of this motion within Reality?

It is said that our current aspect of Universe

Began in a great explosion

or rending of nothingness into which

one tiny seed of energy became everything

The speaking side of the mind

sees the Wonder of this

The mysterious side of the mind

sees God

A beginning

a middle

what of the end?

Is this not in keeping with Balance?

The Past and the Future

fuse in this Instant

Anon

While the Matter/Energy of this Cosmos

remains balanced

The possibilities are without limit

The Universe is

the Well of first things

A storehouse of new and old things

ever evolving, growing, changing

The Universe is an ever opening flower

And You are part of the Dance

You are not divorced from it

how can you be an unnatural thing?

Are your atoms from somewhere else?

Is your pattern so bizarre?

You are human and share

in the heritage of human beginning

middle and end

How could it be otherwise?

Inside of You . . .

you are a universe

There is the infinite circular ring of You

surrounded the receding

Great out-there

and filled with the vast

Great In-here

The Universe touches your universe

at every points

and all points beyond

You can paint your walls

any way you like

Or you can learn

to see the subtle colors

already there

Hold to the center of the Universe

If you talk of it

and do not dance with it

you will become confused

If you paint it with all the pigments known

and do not reflect it

you will become murky

If you follow the rituals of others

with infinite attention to detail

you will become disillusioned

But if you face each moment

with an open hand

an open heart

an open mind

You will be the Master

of the Moment

And a life is built

of such moments

It is said that the Universe

is running down

But is in this degradation of energy

lies the integration of Life

Human life is the water

that runs uphill

Notice how beautifully

Order arises out of Chaos

without breaking any of the True Rules

The vast open spaces within the Universe

contain an indeterminate number of worlds

The Universe is always pregnant

giving birth to the New

This birthing is the rising up

from the ashes

The fresh breeze of Spring

within the depths of Winter

It is always present within you

How will you use it?

. . .

It is said

That which is not born can not die

Is that wisdom?

Is that eternal?

Perhaps . . .

But each moment is born

used

and passed to the past

If these moments are of no use

why do we build them?

Each is special, different

unique

Not a thing to be wasted

If you waste the moments of your life

you will end up

with a bunch of wasted moments

The Past touches the Future

As this moment

this instant

this Now

Anon

Right now

The waters of the Sea

are transformed into the mist

And in this same instant

the clouds are congealing and twisting

And in this same instant

the rains are nourishing all things

And passing through caverns

creek and riverbeds

Running away

away to the Sea

All in Motion

all in Balance

as it should be

There are myriad other examples

of this balance in process

and you should take time

to name them and see them in your mind

Do this and you will never grow bored

You must keep you mind ductile

In living

remember the Earth, the Air, the Fire

and the Rain

I know we have much fancier names than these

But you get my drift

Keep things simple

in your mind

Children have such complicated minds

to be truly simple

you must be older

Confront your adversaries

with your understanding of the Truth

Examine your own motives

seek counsel in wise people

Be Fair and Just

They are people too

and people generally will not do

things that they feel are wrong

If a person does a bad thing

he will have to lie to himself

Saying

"I have the right to . . ."

Or

"He hurt me and my honor demands . . ."

This is an attempt to avoid responsibility

to make the other an object

which can be destroyed with impunity

It is a lie

Try to avoid making such lies

But when the Truth is manifest

as it always must be

Forgive you opponents

forgive your friends

forgive yourself

Odds are its all non-sense

though it wont seem so at the time

Chose a vocation that you enjoy

Avoid over zealous competition

Commerce, like Life, is a process

not a means to an end

Avoid comparing yourself to others

Each of us has many attributes

and envy is not a nice one to have

Father and Mother your Children well

Any civilization

which does not prepare a place for

the children

Has about one generation

to realize its mistake

--

Le poeme et le poete

Le spectre et la chair

comme un