January 19, 2025

This Sunday, I offer you a question: Who's in charge? Those of you who knew Dr. Larry Morris will recognize that question as Larry's favorite response to people who shared their difficulties with him as they passed through the greeting line on Sunday mornings. Sometimes he was met with confused uncertainty, or a concrete societal answer, like "the judge", or my "boss", but those who came regularly to a Sunday service, learned the answer he wanted to invoke was simply "God", or a variation like "my Higher Power", or "the Universe". "Who's in charge?" is a reminder to return to spiritual ground, no matter what the situation may be, or the surrounding opinions and interpretations of others.

To be clear, this phrase is not about cause, but rather about resolution and healing, pondering the causes of events is another kind of meditation; there are layers of belief and perspective in our search for cause. In the world of science and particularly medicine, if we are investigating a possible cure, it is certainly helpful to investigate cause. But when we turn to the unfathomable vastness of the cosmos and the larger field of Earth and human intelligence, we simply cannot know all. When there is a pull within us, we wonder and we sense meaning, and our capacity to weave faith is activated. To turn to and to trust, to surrender to a greater Good, to give way to that which you sense, is to realize both your personal limitations and your capacity for the transcendence we name spirituality, God, or simply: The Good.

This week collectively includes snow storms, fires, a controversial inauguration and government shift, Martin Luther King Day, and the living events of your personal life. Here, in L.A. County, life is on the move with the incredible skill, bravery and dedication of Fire Fighters, support staff, government officials, FEMA, social services, local clubs, and so many more. I am awed by the recovery staff and those who are still in the field. Yet, we don't know what the winds will bring this week, so I will have to wait a few more days to schedule my next Zoom talk. Who's in charge?

There are chains of command in every field, but ultimately, the human world, the world of nature beyond humanity, the microbial world, the world of weather and the changing movements of life are their own mystery within The Good. Martin Luther King wrote: "If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream." "My obligation is to do the right thing. The rest is in God’s hands." "In a real sense faith is total surrender to God."

(Susan Nettleton)

https://hillsidesource.com/.../2018/4/10/rigid-or-flexible?

https://genius.com/Amanda-gorman-the-hill-we-climb-annotated https://allpoetry.com/If-I-Were-In-Charge-of-the-World https://allpoetry.com/.../15794790-Who-Is-In-Charge...

January 12, 2025

Last Sunday I wrote of unexpected sanctuaries. In retrospect, I am beginning to understand that my encounter with the rustic Madonna shrine at the nearby monastery was preparation, strengthening me for the week ahead. I mentioned the haze that had begun to engulf the L.A. skyline as I sat at the shrine. That haze was a forerunner to the treacherous Santa Anna Winds sweeping down the San Gabriel Mountains last Tuesday night, igniting the Eaton Fire about 5 miles from my neighborhood. Monday had brought the weather report of high winds, and tree limbs banged about through the night. Tuesday, I knew I had to be cautious, but with errands to run and grandchildren to collect, I entered the day, maneuvered the streets and flying branches, and was home by 6 p.m. Checking my phone, I saw I had missed messages from the police and fire departments warning of escalating fire threats. At 8 p.m. my phone buzzed with an emergency SME to leave the area; a fire was raging through nearby Eaton Canyon. At first I thought it had to be a mistake caused by recent changes to my phone service. I decided to ignore it for a bit, do a little online search for information, and check in with family. But some other part of me kept pulling at me to pack. I began loading my car when a policeman with a speaker mike, drove through the streets warning everyone to leave! By 9:00, I and my family were packed and leaving L.A. County for a distant motel.

If you have followed the news, you know the Eaton fire has destroyed an estimated 6,500 buildings. And the Palisades fire, the first in what has become a series of fires sweeping Los Angeles County, including Hollywood, has flared again with further destruction. I am writing this from a hotel room, although I will be returning to my home later today.

What is the message here from a spiritual perspective? Given the timing and the political division, the fires have turned into further political battles. Given the social media culture, it has been difficult to sort out truth and necessary information from deliberate lies, conflicting announcements and misinformation. But these conflicts now seem like a kind of annoying (although potentially dangerous) epiphenomenon, that is, the undermining undertow obscures the heroic strength of community and kindness. Kindness promotes community. Community arises from recognition of our commonality; we identify, we recognize, understand, what it means to go through a time of threat, of fear, of loss. This week I have witnessed incredible acts of kindness and generosity of spirit. There are threads that connect us, not just to one another, but to the natural world as well, and it's shifts and adaptations--the winds, the droughts, the rains, the fire. I encourage you this week to expand your sense of community and the thread that weaves community with kindness and belonging. Even as the world shifts and changes, It is still One. (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://onbeing.org/poetry/after-the-fire/

https://allpoetry.com/.../16400958-After-The-Fire-by... https://allpoetry.com/.../15179079-Like-Others-by-Jane...

January 5, 2025

New Year's Day gave my neighborhood a sunny blue sky, even though we were under a poor air quality alert as a haze settled across the San Bernardino Basin, and "no burn" restrictions were in place. The sunny blue sky won out over the alerts and I decided on a morning uphill hike up to where the street ends at the gates of a nearby monastery. The climb is pretty strenuous for a city sidewalk "hiker", but the way down is fast and easy. I expected the gate at the top to be locked, but this New Year's Day, it was wide-open, with no one around. Past the gate, a road winds upward, disappearing into a thicket of trees and obscuring the buildings from the street where I stood. On either side of the entrance road, there are open fields with dried grass and marked with gopher holes everywhere. About 30 yards to the east, you can make out a small, rustic rectangular shrine with a wooden sunscreen "roof" and three sun-bleached, rudimentary benches marking the border. A lovely, weathered stone Madonna in prayer, stands on a small brick wall; her robe curves downward, flowing to frame a fading, ambiguous angelic figure, with up-stretched arms.

I had forgotten about the shrine, but seeing it across the way, on New Year's Day, 2025, it called me to walk further and visit. So I did. I sat on the weathered bench facing the Madonna, as my gaze was drawn beyond to the view of the valley below. The smog had definitely filled the valley, giving a ghostly image of Los Angeles skyscrapers. Yet despite pollution, if you sit without judgement, it is an awe-inspiring sight. And I knew I was here to meet the Madonna in quiet prayer. For me, forgiveness and gratitude are two sides of the same "coin" and my New Years Eve, has traditionally included forgiveness, while New Year's Day brings gratitude. The essence of my prayer at the shrine was gratitude for the year that had been, as well as for the year ahead, and gratitude that, unintentionally, I had entered a spiritual refuge on a morning walk.

I thought of a time in Kyoto, after weeks of visiting the 1,000 Gold Statues of Kannon, the spectacular Golden Pavilion, and so many other Buddhist temples and zen monasteries, I aimlessly wandered through a quite Kyoto neighborhood and came across an obscure corner temple with a solitary Buddha. The small yard surrounding the temple was unkept, with wilting grass and weeds. There were broad steps leading to the "stage" where a towering Buddha statue sat in peaceful meditation. No one else was around. For the first time that summer, I was moved to unabashedly sit on the floor and meditate facing Buddha. There, I was no longer a tourist. I was not a minister, nor a Buddhist; I was just me, encircled in reverence and deeply at Peace.

Somewhere near you today, there are places of Peace, hidden sanctuaries in unexpected places. Before life pulls you further into the busy month of January and 2025, find a quiet space--outside your usual orbit. Sit, pray, meditate, receive and renew. Have a quiet talk with God. An unexpected encounter with Good is it's own sanctuary, awaiting your recognition. Let Goodness guide your way. (Susan Nettleton)

for Poetry: https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/douglas-malloch/sanctuary/

https://thepoetryplace.wordpress.com/.../the-place-i.../

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../StoneGateTem/index.html

December 29, 2024

This last Sunday in December, 2024, brings spiritual focus to "Letting Go". Having already transitioned from autumn to winter, December moves to its annual closure, and by our Gregorian Calendar, the year's end. Mid-week, we enter 2025. Even though a spiritual perspective may bring us a sense of timelessness--or as Evelyn Underhill expressed it, "the leisureliness of eternity", or a practice of being in the present moment, realistically, we give meaning to time and meaning to a new year. We are grounded in time and in the structures of global daily life, that reach across and unite countries and cultures. Even though other cultures have additional traditions and dates for New Year celebrations, the global world of Commerce recognizes December 31 as New Year's Eve, and we collectively review and release the old year. At midnight, in succession around the globe, we welcome a New Year. This week, consider what it means to let go. Or perhaps, simply, to Let.

Here in Southern California, the school semester ended December 20 with a short final day, and Winter Break began. I was picking up grandchildren, and parked near the school, waiting for the bell in my usual spot. It was a lovely, clear morning and my eyes swept the mountains ahead, but my vision unexpectedly settled on a curb-side tree, just a few feet from where I sat. It was a majestic old Sycamore, with its signature large starry leaves. Most of the leaves were brown, but a few still flashed red. What struck me were the tiny stems, fragilely holding each separate leaf, as if the leaf could drop at any moment. And each leaf was a perfect floating star. I suddenly realized that the tradition of crafting stars to hang on Christmas Trees developed from such a sight. Suddenly, there was an unexpected wind gust, and the stars began to dance! None fell, at least not then. The wind came and went, came and went, and the stars shimmered and leaped, dancing with the gusts. Spellbound, I realized nature is always offering a glimpse of the mystery, beauty, and awe of life. Right there, in a car, parked on this suburban curb, Life was dancing.

This week is our time to let go. The Sycamore leaves, too, are now letting go. Yet, their letting go is not separate from their process of growth; the roots of that tree are growing. Spiritually, in "letting go", we are nourished; we make room in the heart of our inner life for growth, for stronger roots in a larger frame of Understanding and Being. Our minds may divide the process with "step 1: let go, release, forgive" and "step 2: plan your goals, clarify your resolutions", but really, our finished 'leaves' fall away, as new life is already emerging. Let it happen. Let the old fade and the new form. Let go to Life that renews Itself. Let. Happy New Year! (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://hillsidesource.com/freshstart https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54327/to-the-new-year https://wordsfortheyear.com/.../in-blackwater-woods-by.../ https://yourmindfultribe.org/.../u4uz0vy8ceorbknfz5b6q3w0...

December 22, 2024

Last night was the Winter Solstice, and today begins the gradual increase of daylight. I have been reflecting this month on the undercurrent of spirituality in December that is more than just the social/commercial holiday of Christmas, or the Holy Days of the birth of Jesus. Archaeologically, there is evidence that humans celebrated the solstice as far back as the Neolithic period (10,000 to 3,000 BC). And the actual date of Jesus's birth is unknown, but many scholars and theologians agree it was not in winter, based on the references to events and seasonal activity in the Biblical stories. This year, Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light, begins on December 25, as well. It changes dates because it is based on a lunar calendar, whereas the birth of Jesus was formally established during the Roman empire, coinciding with the Roman Winter Solstice celebration dated in the Julian Calendar, as December 25. There are lovely dimensions to this history, with the miraculous light of Hanukkah and the birth of Jesus as the "Light of the World."

My focus on the Solstice is simply the wonder of living it: Humans discovered this repeating pattern of sunlight that slowly lengthened, achieved a balance with night, then slowly shrank again to a brief balance, expanding long again, in seemingly solar inhalation and exhalation. Over time, they constructed an understanding of the cycle, and eventually developed a mathematical formula to calculate dates and angles of the sun that allowed them to precisely capture the sun's rays in temple ceremonies. Amazing! Yet my real point here, is that we are Living on this earth, in movement with the solar system and beyond. We live with and in the Solstice, and Hanukkah, and Christ, with and in the mysteries of Mohamed, of Krishna, of Buddha, Quan Yin, the Blessed Mother Mary, and so many more visions and stories. We live in a world of intelligence, in the human mind that can grasp not just the solstice formula, but so much more. Our knowledge can be used to dismiss the spiritual, or in deepening amazement, feed the mystery. The more we weigh and measure, the more questions we raise....questions of how and why. The solstice still feeds the mystery; and the mystery brings awareness of the Sacred.

So this week of incremental return of light, consider the Sacred. There is a paradox to exploring the Sacred. We think of the Sacred as that which needs care, spiritual respect or reverence, often with a fixed idea of how we handle and address the Sacred. Some protocol that must be followed. But the purpose and value of the Sacred is the FEELING it creates in us. We know the Sacred through the feeling. Do you feel the Sacred in Hanukkah? In the birth of Jesus? In the Solstice? This week consider what you name Sacred--objects, places, teachings, spiritual practice, or person, or the stars above. What and who is Sacred to you? What is the feeling called forth in you? Let your response deepen your inner life. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://allpoetry.com/.../14880598-Winter-Solstice-by...

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../WhenWorld/index.html

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../All.../Light/index.html

https://hillsidesource.com/christmas-vision-2007

December 15, 2024

This Sunday, as we move deeper into December, we head toward the peak of dark nights for 2024. Saturday is the Winter Solstice 2024. In my theme of the spiritual undercurrent of December, I have been encouraging you to reflect beyond the traditions of society (inevitably involving money and giving) to a deeper spiritual practice and awareness. Consider your inner life first; then find the correlates to that inner life in expression in the outer world. Of course, there are traditions that do draw from our shared sense of spirituality, but here I am inviting you to personal contemplation of, and experimentation with, your own depth, expressed this week in Calmness.

As daylight shrinks and night expands, we can meet with a revelation: we live in wondrous, oscillating balance. The principles of balance and oscillation are aspects of the "Cosmic Dance". When we look up at the moon and stars, or at the rising or setting sun, there is some deep part of us that grasps the balance and movement of the solar system. That balance and movement includes us. We are a part of it All, and that recognition is the source of Calm. The ancient Taoist master Lao Tzu wrote: "All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small." And, "Is not the space between Heaven and Earth like a bellows? It is empty, but lacks nothing. The more it moves, the more comes out of it." Such paradoxes may at first be difficult to understand, but we know we are living in this Vastness that has its own order. The greatness of the Sun's light ebbs and flows with the season and earth's movement in orbit around the sun. The moon has its own orbit around the Earth, "rising and setting" at different points on the horizon in it's own wobbling path as the Earth rotates. Today is the last full moon of 2024. Let it open you to life's balance, and bring a sense of calm.

Calmness is not just a mental state. Calmness is one of those states that synchronizes the body with the mind. Practicing muscle relaxation, loosening both muscle tension (both large and small), slowing and quieting the breath, bring mental calm and clarity. You take your muscles and breath with you wherever you go. Some places are more physically calming and quiet than others--but this season offers so many opportunities to practice calm relaxation-- no matter the challenges of noise, spaces and crowds.

Consider calmness a strength. Sometimes we get caught in anxiety as a kind of motivator for action. We can stir ourselves to a frenzy, mentally rehearsing the worst outcomes as away to mobilize ourselves to act..."if I don't do something...but then again, what can I do, what do I do?". The mind is pushing, trying to fuel us to action. But instead of taking action, we escalate to panic mode. Panic mode disorganizes our reasoning, and freezes our judgement and ability to generate options. Most significantly, we lose sight of the larger spiritual reality and no long sense the still small voice inside that actually can and does guide us. Try calmness instead. This week, give yourself permission to be calm. Calmness is Power. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../CentralCalm/index.html

https://www.best-poems.net/naomi.../over-the-weather.html...

https://hillsidesource.com/.../2018/6/23/what-do-they-need

December 8, 2024

This Sunday, I invite you to dive more deeply into the spiritual undercurrents of December. Along with the practice of kindness, consider fluidity and simplicity this week. These two aspects of spirituality support each other. By fluidity, I mean moving through life as a flow or stream of activity--the movement of events, people and other creatures, nature, ideas and consciousness--we are all in the river of life, and it is flowing. We can be carried by it, adjust ourselves as things change, or we can fight against it. Sometimes the river seems to stop, the flow is so gradual it is imperceptible, yet we are being carried by it none-the-less. The idea of life as flow, is ancient and aspects of it are found in many religious and spiritual traditions. The essential question is whether or not we can trust the order of Life in that movement, as the Highest and Best, as the Good, as the Allness we name God.

On a practical level, fluidity is adaptability, If we trust the movement of Life, then we are able to "shift gears" when situations and conditions demand it from us. Realistically, we don't always know what is the best way, with choices presented to us on so many different levels of life--choices and actions that impact relationships, health, finances, as well as our spiritual practice. We all, sooner or later, face unexpected events and shifting conditions that require change. One of the mantras that comes to me in meditation when there are upheavals in my life, is simply: "The River of Life is Flowing". The me, this means the Spiritual Well never runs dry. Never. We are always nourished by that River of Life. We draw from it what we need. Answers and solutions come.

Simplicity as a partner to fluidity, is highly adaptable, because we no long create unnecessary complications. Yes, certainly the social order can generate a lot of complicated situations, sometimes deliberately designed to be overwhelming! Once we realize that, we can shift our acceptance of a way that flows in simplicity. Sometimes that requires us to break a task down into smaller bits, so that each bit is do-able until the task is done. Sometimes we can cut through directly when our own resistance to change gives way to acceptance, and we grasp a simple solution. All of this is an aspect of your spiritual life, when your spiritual life is the core of meaning and direction for you. December is not known for being a simple time, but perhaps this week you can see it differently. Watch the flow, move and shift, adjust, keeping your way with a different kind of ease--simplicity. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.poemist.com/william-stafford/ask-me

https://allpoetry.com/Stream-Of-Life

https://hillsidesource.com/your-guidance-for-me-poem

December 1, 2024

Today we enter December. Even with the weather, the end of the year deadlines, the commercial pressures to spend and give, and anxiety around what January 2025 may bring, this month still carries a spiritual undercurrent. Despite bickering, threats and division, December's spiritual atmosphere holds the promise of a collective longing: Peace on Earth; Good Will to All. December's spiritual undercurrent is not exclusively about the Christian celebration of Jesus' birth; there is no established fact that proves the actual date of Jesus' birth. Some portion of Hanukah's 8 day celebration, as well as ancient pagan rites, have for centuries been held in December. The December solstice was central to early human recognition of the cyclical movement of warmth and light in an annual progression. The cycles of the solar return add to our capacity for awe and wonder, and set the field for spiritual awareness. As the light of our 24 hour day fades quickly, and darkness expands and extends further and further, consider how that alters your personal awareness of your world.

Most Americans have the modern ease of electricity, lighting and heat, food, water, shelter, and systems of safety, work, and entertainment. But not everyone has. Consider those who struggle within your own system of family and friends, neighbors, city dwellers and in the world beyond. It easy to lose that thread of spirituality when cold, dark winter arrives. Then again, we can grow so accomplished or busy with our modern conveniences, that we too, no longer register the mystery of the seasons, and the miracle of night and day in rotation. When we no longer take the time to contemplate the stars of December, we lose our spiritual thread as well.

So this month, I invite you to practicing a new awareness of the mystery of December. Consider, this particular week, a way to bring more warmth and light into your world, as counter balance. I offer a counter balance to the fading natural light, as well as, a way to soothe any darkening of your own psyche, and a way to lift the emotional life of others. This is not about trying to rescue the fallen, or fix the broken. Rather, this is about discovering a gentleness that eases into this season. Try the counter-balance of kindness. This is kindness for it's own sake.

Kindness includes action that is helpful, without any fussing over it, or judging, or expecting another's gratitude. Kindness overlooks the flawed response. Kindness isn't quite the same as Love, but it is a step that opens you to your capacity to Love. It is an awareness that life can be a struggle that is eased by connection, support, and shared awareness. "We are in this boat together", includes those we encounter only once, fleetingly. Yet. our kindness carries impact. Reflect on it, meditate with the feel of it. Most significantly, practice it for a few days.

Kindness includes being kind to yourself, your mistakes and your limitations, your demands on yourself and life in general. If you are kind to yourself, it is easier to extend that kindness to others, even to the way of things, so that life is no longer a combative struggle with the elements, the traffic, the bills.... Kindness includes "doing" and/or "giving", but it is also a look, a gesture, a smile, an unspoken softness. This week, try planting this seed of "Peace on Earth, Good Will to All". (Susan Nettleton)

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Dalai Lama

for poetry:

https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=2330

https://www.best-poems.net/.../what_i_have_learned_so_far...

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse...

November 24, 2024

This Sunday, many Americans are already on the road (or in the air), traveling with a shared destination--not a shared place, but an event, Thanksgiving Day with a social time of feasting. As family and friends share the holiday meal, Thanksgiving brings an echo of ancient harvest festivals that have taken place around the world for centuries. The theme of Harvest also resonates with our dependency on Nature; food--the fuel for our bodies--arises from Nature. We have learned to gather, plant and cultivate, combine and cook, and even genetically engineer food, yet we remain dependent on the natural world, as a part of the natural world.

Thanksgiving reminds us that we are an evolving species. As much as some people long to stay rooted in the traditional Thanksgiving story of American history to highlight the peaceful sharing of food at the harvest feast, that story too has evolved. We now have counter holidays in remembrance of the wars that raged as settlers arrived to occupy land that had been the home and sustenance of native Americans, bringing devastating consequences and suffering. On the West Coast, Unthanksgiving Day takes place on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay (since 1975) and on the East Coast, in New England, the holiday-as-protest is named "A National Day of Mourning" (since 1970). Both serve to honor the lives and traditions of Indigenous Americans, and educate non-natives on both the history and current struggles of Native Americans.

The Wonder of American Thanksgiving is that these events will all be taking place on Thursday, not as spurious eruptions, or calculated political disruptions (there is over 50 years of tradition in the Thanksgiving counter-movement). All these events together are a sprouting and growth of our need to acknowledge the Harvest and collectively digest the Truth. Across the globe, people still war over land. Yet, war is destructive not just to human lives and cultures, but to Nature. We depend on Nature and Nature's phenomenal diversity; we depend on our neighbors; we depend on one another; we depend on differences, movement and counter movement, and we depend on Truth.

Gratitude is the heart's awareness of Good. It is not about the intellect. We don't have to fabricate gratitude, or justify gratitude--we let it rise in us, naturally. If you find yourself grumbling this week, let it be. You are not going to be grateful all the time. We struggle with life's twists and turns; we struggle with the curve balls and the counter movement. But when we do take the time to settle and let ourselves stop, turn inward, and remember that we live, move, and have our being in a vast, vast Field of Being, beyond the measures of our social order, we find Peace again, and we are thankful. Enjoy the Fall Harvest, wherever it leads you. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://allpoetry.com/Gratitude-To-The-Unknown-Instructors https://readalittlepoetry.com/.../at-least-by-raymond.../ https://gladdestthing.com/poems/poem-without-a-categoy

November 17, 2024

Today's post is a section of this morning's Zoom talk, "Spirituality, Plain and Simple", by Dr. Susan Nettleton, which will be posted posted on the website hillsidesource.com later this month.

"Spirituality is about a sense of connection to something greater than the self we regularly experience in daily life, and leads us to seek or find purpose, meaning, and connection with THAT. Religion has the tone of a more formal codification of spirituality with very specific rules of behavior and practice, beliefs and usually hierarchical organization, and clear obligations lived in community. Differentiating religion and spirituality is a contemporary construct that has become more popular as western culture shifted away from traditional practices and beliefs when they have seemed out of sync with our changing lifestyles and cultural understanding. Today, post election 2024, it's really hard to say, except to acknowledge religious conflict.

Our focus on the plain and simple today aims at the individual, but inevitably leads us back to our place in the whole of life, which carries the whole of human society and culture, as well as the whole of nature. I realize that collectively, most people are exposed to religious teachings at an early age by the surrounding culture. Depending on where we are raised, we i develop our ideas as aspects of culture; even if you are not brought up in a specific religion, most of us are exposed to it. Here I'm trying to get you to differentiate what you were taught v.s. what came to you from within yourself-- outer exposure versus inner discovery. Part of plain and simple is the reflection on early spiritual experiences that were probably not named as such. My earliest memory on this level was a kind of self-soothing discovery, at least that's how I would explain it from the psychological level. But having worked with so many people from various backgrounds, and heard so many early childhood stories, along with life turning points, I see there is a pull in us, toward the larger reality, that we can call a spiritual movement or perhaps primal memory that is the unbroken link, thread, to the Greater Whole, direct and spontaneous. My own early memory was at night, falling asleep with this kind of worked-through-puzzle, that I was laying in bed and my head touched the pillow and the pillow touched the sheet, and the sheet touched the blanket, and the blanket went to the floor and the floor touched the walls, and the walls touched the ceiling, the ceiling touched the light, connecting ceiling and floors to the hallway, and ...well everything, everything was connected, woven--the inside wall to the outside wall, to the ground and grass which ran to the pine tree. I was next to the tree, because I was touching the pillow ...It was a realization of the interconnections of everything....by then I was asleep. Now, it reminds me of that quote "This Is It and I Am It" (see link below),written by poet and filmmaker James Broughton. In his autobiography, he wrote of a childhood vision that introduced him to his muse, Hermy. Hermy announced Broughton would be a poet, and if he followed the game of life well enough, he would become "a useful spokesman for Big Joy."

Now it would be easy to dismiss either childhood experience as altered memory or dream state, but my point here is to look at innate spiritually. Why not talk in terms that include personal experience that is not influenced or "contaminated" by cultural shaping? I'm quite sure, no one in my family told me about unity of form, ever. And Broughton's experience was meaningful for him. To me, plain and simple spirituality is a return to direct experience.

In his book, The Song of the Bird, Anthony De Mellow writes of sitting with a Teacher who's sermon that day was only one puzzling sentence, "All I do is sit by the bank of the river, selling river water." De Mello comments,"I was so busy buying the water, that I failed to see the river". Life is flowing, always. What we need, what sustains us, directs and guides us, is flowing. But we are so busy trying to find our answers, have a breakthrough, or a demonstration, to use a New Thought term, we miss the given directive. (Susan Nettleton)

For some of today's poetry: https://poetrynap.com/this-is-it-by-james-broughton/

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../traveler-your... https://hellopoetry.com/poem/14511/just-now/