(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed)
Some persons caught up in the counter-culture of the late ’60’s and ’70’s felt that all materiel prospects were void and society’s status quo, miserable stagnation. Thus, as if in a life and death battle, they intensely felt compelled to search out meaning and happiness on the spiritual quest, appearing as their only hope. This free verse poem, inspired by the months I spent in the redwood forest in Muir Woods in Marin County [near San Francisco, California], condenses the background feelings of my spiritual search that culminated in Krishna bhakti and continues to unfold to this day, some 49 years later.
While the dynamics of my mood in writing this poem in 2011 was much softer than is expressed in this poem, my current mood has a similar quality in terms of inspiring action. The power of my original spiritual search gives me energy today, and has sustained my spiritual life all these years. I am inspired to remember that pivotal time of my life. It reminds of the power of urgency in fueling our endeavor to act for our dreams and goals, and what is required to make radical life changes for a higher purpose. I was so determined (for the first time in my life for anything!) to find the real purpose of my life and to make sense of what appeared to be a mad, pointless, world.
I was willing to forgo everything else to be successful on that pilgrim’s journey. By the grace of my current cancer I am putting forward a more mature, subtle, but no less powerful, determination toward my life goal of service to others by speaking and writing, based on my life experiences. I’m inspired to remember the feeling and dynamism of that time of new beginnings, and to create another new beginning for myself. And as I have, so can you, whatever your age!
(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed)
Some persons caught up in the counter-culture of the late ’60’s and ’70’s felt that all materiel prospects were void and society’s status quo, miserable stagnation. Thus, as if in a life and death battle, they intensely felt compelled to search out meaning and happiness on the spiritual quest, appearing as their only hope. This free verse poem, inspired by the months I spent in the redwood forest in Muir Woods in Marin County [near San Francisco, California], condenses the background feelings of my spiritual search that culminated in Krishna bhakti and continues to unfold to this day, some 49 years later.
While the dynamics of my mood in writing this poem in 2011 was much softer than is expressed in this poem, my current mood has a similar quality in terms of inspiring action. The power of my original spiritual search gives me energy today, and has sustained my spiritual life all these years. I am inspired to remember that pivotal time of my life. It reminds of the power of urgency in fueling our endeavor to act for our dreams and goals, and what is required to make radical life changes for a higher purpose. I was so determined (for the first time in my life for anything!) to find the real purpose of my life and to make sense of what appeared to be a mad, pointless, world.
I was willing to forgo everything else to be successful on that pilgrim’s journey. By the grace of my current cancer I am putting forward a more mature, subtle, but no less powerful, determination toward my life goal of service to others by speaking and writing, based on my life experiences. I’m inspired to remember the feeling and dynamism of that time of new beginnings, and to create another new beginning for myself. And as I have, so can you, whatever your age!
The time of existential crisis and spiritual focus in my youth is providing me spiritual momentum scented from the lotus flower I discovered in the redwoods, pushing me to change the course of my life again fueling now by my current healing protocol and living alone in Vrindavana, India, if I focus on my divine purpose with humility, enthusiasm, spiritual development and prayer. By facing my mortality and accepting and using my inner “shadow self,” I have found passion, and purpose to share what I have learned. As I walk my talk, my path is illuminated as I give what I love. Power means the ability to act.
Thus, I continue walking up the bhakti-yoga mountain, step by step, worship by worship, holy name chanted by holy name chanted, lecture by lecture, blog by blog, book by book–all guided by spiritual adepts, inner guidance, life coaches, intention, and prayer. There is no question now of returning the way I came, from the “Valley of the Shadow of Death,” as that road is closed to me, due to some unimaginable good fortune which has prompted me to my current life direction. Onward and upward! (reposted from 10-9-2011 and slightly revised)
A Lotus in the Redwoods
Pensive on a mountain top
looking through modern civilization
almost covered by smog
adrift in a sea of uncertainty
atomic threats and toxic chemicals
no charted course appeals
provided answers are shallow
all paths appear pointless
unlimited choices dull the brain
walking among the living dead
complacency dressed as a virtue
the status quo bewilders me
worldly recommendations disappoint
sensual thoughts and desires frustrate
dogs chase their tail repeatedly
smashed dreams and vain hopes.
In the midst of random chaos
where calamities surround me
indifference threatens my survival
out of my bleeding heart
a lotus in the redwood forest
revealing a divine purpose
now covered by madness
Nature’s order reveals The Law
a reason for doing and being
beyond the fast track to dying
yet death impels the wise
on the path of lasting Truth
the Secret of joyous living
awakening the mystic journey
finding meaning in misery
leading to the soul’s home.
Hidden force guides me
a script long ago decided
the spiritual path emerges
when all other doors close
Krishna’s holy name empowers
ten thousand lasers drill
cracking miles of concrete illusion
causing the soul to shine
blessed by gurus and sages
forced to surrender, then choosing
going forward or lost again
staying in Krishna’s embrace
He carries my lacks
preserves my progress
everything serves the goal
the quest of Divine love.
Vrindavana Healing Video Blog #3