for those who come to the gulf of mexico, he is the great comforter.
his warm enfolding arms soothe & support, & his broad white beaches heal &
delight. primal peacefulness laps the sand within the waves that have traveled
untold mystic miles & miles to gently greet all who come for this healing.
the peace is absorbed into the gracious sand to be shared in the swelling,
streaming surges of surf, the soft susurrus of wave whispering to wave.
just to sit on the sand & watch the waves as they slowly roll in will calm
the clamoring heart. searching through the sand can reveal amazing tiny
treasures: dainty diatoms, etched sea glass, smooth water-sculpted minerals
that resemble the magical jewels worn by mermaids. driftwood of all
varieties invites inspection, & rare sea shells are hiding nearby,
just waiting for a curious hand to uncover & discover them.
the gulf feels like a venerable dear friend & a wise teacher who is
always ready for another willing student. i am such a student,
& have been an observer of the gulf since i am a small child. he is
my first teacher & i honor him greatly. the gulf of mexico is
one of Shiva's forms that He takes on to be accessible to all who
may be called to Him, as i was. it is a gentle introduction to
a companion who is as free & available as water & air.
thank You, Shiva, for being manifest in all the great natural things
of this living earth: holy mountains, deep oceans, rivers, fertile plains, huge
clouds & sky wonders of all kinds. there is nothing we can touch that is not
somehow touching You too, Shiva! i am sincerely counting on this fact!
finally i find myself here at this wall with no door, looming
before me so high that i cannot see the top. i have explored
in all directions, roaming relentlessly, & each time i have
come to that wall that has no door. no matter where i journey, the
wall stands tall. i think that i take it with me, this towering wall
that is built from a lifetime's conditioning & propaganda.
i am like a turtle, carrying my protection. i can hide
within it & never be caught in the open where danger can
descend swiftly, like a fierce raptor from the clear blue cloudless sky.
cracks now breach the wall & they are spreading, deepening every day.
i can see light shining through the larger cracks & it flickers most
temptingly in a code i'm called to decipher. in this way, the
wall becomes my teacher, inviting me to heightened awareness.
hence, a wall can make a prison or a fortress, depending on
the point of view. for now, i am simply relieved to discern this
wall & to know that it will crumble & fall when Shiva sees that
the time is ripe for it. until then, please forgive me for all that
i have left unsaid & for all that i cannot unsay today.
i understand that the sun is alive, a great sentient being,
a dear teacher who is surrounded by students, whom we call planets.
this earth, who gives substance for our bodies, is itself alive & in
the midst of its own spiritual unfolding & deep sadhana.
i see also that the human species comes from the quickening
planetary sadhana & our lives reflect the earth's urge to give a
grateful gift to our solar teacher who holds us safe in his body.
he also evolves in his own service to the living galaxy,
spinning in its sadhana like a great cosmic sufi in joyful
fervor with the venerable divine local group of galaxies.
they all gyre together in concert with the vaster galactic dancing
divinities throughout the huge far-flung deep field of untold billions
of galaxies visible to humans through our many instruments.
these immense living congeries of starbeings themselves constitute
a yet greater life unimaginable to flesh & bone lifeforms.
these networks of transgalactic beings express the outpouring called
"the big bang," a cosmic event that has got our full attention.
here we are, human beings peering into the vastest unknown that
we are capable of through our telescopes. we are created thus
by our earth, who gives us these bodies & the burning urge to explore.
oh Shiva! Your expression is vast & varied & the whole of it
constitutes You, spinning in Your dance of creative transformation.
You have given us a beginner's grasp of this immeasurable
existence & i am grateful for the all-embracing overview.
thank You, Shiva, for this immensity of interconnected lives:
transgalactic, galactic, solar & planetary. thank You for
the gods, devas, & unknown others who dance in this great creative
ensemble. we ourselves are an iteration of this grand dancing
cosmic life, kin to planets & stars. thank You, Shiva, for the guidance
& instruction & for being my dance-partner in this brief vision
of one little corner of this vast realm of metagalactic space.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
THIS HAPPENED 