The focus of "The BeZine," a publication of The Bardo Group Beguines, is on sacred space (common ground) as it is expressed through the arts. Our work covers a range of topics: spirituality, life, death, personal experience, culture, current events, history, art, and photography and film. We share work here that is representative of universal human values however differently they might be expressed in our varied religions and cultures. We feel that our art and our Internet-facilitated social connection offer a means to see one another in our simple humanity, as brothers and sisters, and not as “other.” This is a space where we hope you’ll delight in learning how much you have in common with “other” peoples. We hope that your visits here will help you to love (respect) not fear. For more see our Info/Mission Statement Page.
Earlier this year Thoithoi O’Cottage started a new literary journal, rather ambitious in its goal to deliver an international panel of talented writers. I’m pleased to announce his effort here, however belatedly. One of the things I love about this growing collection of works by creatives from diverse backgrounds is the extraordinary pleasure of reading English in its many-colored manifestions: Indian; British, Asian, American. Clearly, however we may use our language, which has proven so versatile, we share a love of beauty, courage, and purity of spirit. Such delight. With this publishing effort, Thoithoi salutes the creative spirit in all of us.
Thoithoi is a writer and translator living in India. His personal blog is Lake Bard (http://lakebard.wordpress.com/). Please take some time to link through and enjoy the journal – Cottage Reader – and to visit Lake Bard. Jamie Dedes
The question whether the world needs another journal of art, culture, literature and philosophy, etc. added to what it already has more multitudinously than we can devote our whole life to the reading of does not hold us back from launching our long-dreamed-of journal, because the answer, of course, is an emphatic ‘YES’. All of us read the journals and magazines of our own trades, and many of us contribute to a few or several of them, but that’s clearly not all, because we know that the world has not ended—perhaps not even history—and our élan vital incessantly continues to drive us, forcing us to live creatively where we are, allowing life’s mostly-held-back vital property of growing/developing rhyzomatically in as yet unthinkable directions and proportions to commit itself to being and becoming. This does not necessarily mean that every act of living following every other act of living is new…
This lovely piece (peace!) from Genie at “Palestine Rose.” When I reblogged this post of Genie’s on “The Cat’s Meow,” Genie wrote this in response to one comment: “With a sad heart and shaky nerves from not sleeping well since the attack on Gaza, I find refuge in knowing there is a cure for war and hatred. I am glad I wrote the poem before ‘israel’ attacked Gaza full scale, it helps remind me that on a personal level we must all be gentle as lambs and strong as lions. And as Savannah, said so eloquently: ‘Thank [Goodness] for the ability of animals to show humans what acceptance and appreciation of differences can do to enhance every life.'” I recommend regular visits to Genie’s blog. In spite of all that is going on in her homeland, you will find peace and beauty in our heroic poet, “Palestine Rose.” Jamie Dedes
Our dear artist-friend, Paula Kuitenbrouwer, shares her thoughts on homesickness and being at home wherever you are. Be sure to link through to her site and enjoy her “Mindful Drawing.” J.D.
Here Shakti Ghosal writes of his shock and pain at the loss of the family home due to a gas leak. At first he asks – as we all might – “why me?” and then he asks – as perhaps few of us would – “why not me?” Now seems a good time to share such pondering here on Bardo. In a world that still wars and copes with increasing numbers of “extreme” weather events – this is an experience too many people currently have in common. No matter the cause – weather, war, faulty building practices, or fire – there is overwhelming pain: financial ramifications, a sense of dislocation, a loss of family treasures, records, and even the loss of life … In metta for Shakti, his family, and all the people who are rebuilding their lives after the distruction of their homes. Jamie Dedes
What do you say when you leave your home for work and come back to find it gone? What do you say when all that you have lovingly acquired over the years lie broken and anguished in the space-time continuum which was once your home?
***
It was the summer of 2006. My wife and I were hunting for a new home. So when we came across 1C- V2 at Muscat Oasis Residences, it was love at first sight. Built into the curvature of the complex, 1C- V2 was a duplex apartment allowing comfortable living space coupled with great poolside and mountain views. So it came about that as we moved into a spanking new home, 1C-V2 also embraced us, resplendent in its new furnishings and trappings. Come weekends and party time and 1C-V2 would be all welcoming as it waited for the guests, with its lights and shadows.
My young friend Nae’s life is dark with cancer and chemo but, as you can tell from the colors and poems on her blog, she has a radiant spirit. These days are difficult for her and today she asks for our prayers and metta. Please take a few minutes from your day to visit her blog with a few words of support and some time for prayers (or whatever is your spiritual practice) on her behalf. Thank you. Jamie Dedes
I have one more chemo treatment, then I have a 3 week break. At that time, I go for a PT Scan which will tell us whether the cancer is gone, spread or whatever.
The last couple of tests (different ones) have shown the cancer getting smaller. So there is a possibility that is shrinking. We haven’t actually seen pics of it yet.
Anyway, basically I will have to wait and see what the pt scan says before we know what is next for me–surgery, more chemo, or who knows what. I only know I do look forward to a break from the chemo.
The chemo is getting more and more difficult for me, leaving me weaker and so sick. I often wish for an end, even if it means my life to end. Well, I do not want to whine about myself. I am asking…
A dear lesson offered in story and photograph by the talented writer/blogger/world traveler, Naomi Baltuck, whose daughter is attending college just down the road from us. The link will take you to her blog to see the whole piece. Naomi is the author of a novel “The Keeper of the Crystal Spring,” which is available in English, German, Spanish and Italian. Her anthology of storytelling , “Apples From Heaven,” is an award winning collection. Jamie Dedes
A friend said to Hodja Nasruddin, “Look at all these dandelions! I’ve tried pulling them, poisoning them, starving them, digging them out by the root. Nothing works. I am at my wit’s end!”
“That’s a shame,” said the Hodja. “They are not a problem for me.”
“Really? Please tell me your secret, my friend!”
“It is very simple,” said Nasruddin. “I have learned to love them.”
Dandelions are native to Eurasia, but have traveled all over this world. In France they were called “Dent de Lion,” or “Lion’s Tooth,” because of their toothed leaves. In England they were, “Piss-a-Beds,” for their diuretic properties. In Germany, Russia, and Italy they are “blowing flowers.” In Catalan, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania they are “milk flowers,” “milkpots,” and “sow’s milk,” after the flower stem’s milky sap. In Finland, Estonia, and Croatia, they are “butter flowers.” In China, they are “flower that grows in…
I can’t think of anything more perfect as a guide for living than this particular quote. Thanks to Diane Owens for sharing it on her blog … where you will find a wealth of other gems. Jamie Dedes
Mandolinist, composer, educator and writer Marilynn Mair, posts a poem on her blog once a week. It’s always a treat: sonnet, villanelle, decima, rondeau, or pantoum … It’s an event I look forward to. This one is from her 208th week of blogging. Jamie Dedes
“Success” … where are we on that spectrum between vision and delusion … such is the exploration of Shakti Ghosal an Indian Engineer and Business Management professional currently living and working in Oman. Jamie Dedes
“When your life flashes before your eyes, make sure you’ve got plenty to watch, be it vision or delusion.”
Anonymous
Success is such an empowering word. We think of it and we think of…. Happiness….Self esteem….Superiority….. facets which enthuse, inspire, pump the adrenalin. Success seems to be what we live for. What our parents and teachers always exhorted us to do. Scholastically, materialistically, competitively. Success brings forth visions of wealth, power, intelligence and with these the ability to control the outcome of events. All those external trappings. What the world judges us by.
But as I think of success, I also see within it the other paradigm. Of increased self awareness and self development. Of a positive intention and an alignment with a higher purpose. Of that mysterious inner process which ensures personal integrity and a commitment to values. The aspect of success as exemplified by Mahatma…
Paula Kuitenbrouwer’s piece – shared here yesterday – on the near death of a beetle resonated for me on a number of levels. This is the result. Jamie Dedes
As if Paula’s art isn’t delight enough, here she treats us to a story of nature and connection. Her opening line is pure poetry and she shares her garden’s tranquility in the soft colors of her drawing. She’s one of my all-time faves. Paula is a professional artist and her art is her living. Please be respectful of her drawing. It is copyrighted and not to be republished without her permission. Jamie Dedes
Colin never disappoints. I think you will enjoy this thought provoking piece with which we restart “Into the Bardo.” For the foreseable future, this site will be a simple digest of some of the finest work to be found online and which I think you will enjoy. It’s a slow start, but I hope a good one. Jamie Dedes
The dynamic concept of the Figure of Eight was introduced in my Blog ‘Somatic Markers’ dated 16th November.
The bottom half of the Figure of Eight represents the ground of our being—core self—that which we can become more aware of in meditative exercises of one kind or another: the rush of blood in the ears, the crackling of knee joints, the tingling in the right big toe (notice it now…), the sense of suspension in the limbs when you imagine that all motion has been stopped, the place we go to when listening to the slow movement of a Mozart Piano Concerto—α-wave intelligence.
The ascent into the top half of the Figure of Eight takes us into β-wave intelligence which is needed to sustain everyday living during which there’s a tendency to forget that everything depends on the natural functioning of the Core Self where the laws of one’s own…
This is a story that make its point in a charming and memorable way. Its oft told on blogs and in emails, but not always with the charm invested by Kate. J.D.
A professor stood before his philosophy class with a large empty jar and and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar, of course the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things like your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favourite passions — things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else –the small stuff.”
If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.Play another eighteen holes. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked,” he said.
“It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a cup of coffee. “
Kate ~has been blogging as subtlekate since December of last year and in that time she has garnered an impressive array of awards. She’s a doctor and a mom and says she’s “very much in love with a sexy bald man.” She lives by the sea in Australia. Kate writes quite a bit about writing and reading and is participating in goodreads 2012 reading challenge.
Ann shares a quote from Dr. John Gardner, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understand, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success and failure is of less account.”
Meditation is to be aware of the activities of the mind – the mind as the mediator, how the mind divides itself as the mediator and the meditation, how the mind divides itself as the thinker and the thought, the thinker dominating thought, controlling thought, shaping thought.” Krishnamurti
Photo credit ~ photograph form the Library of Congress George Grantham Bain collection. Under digital ID ggbain.38863. No known restrictions on publication.
Yesterday, a professional musician read aloud The Prayer of St. Francis. The man wasn’t performing for the crowd. He was reading as though the prayer had been written for him.
The intonations and musicality of his voice lured me into loving the words. I questioned the opposites contained in the prayer. Are they better served verbally? Or silently?
Does an effective “channel” speak love or just show it somehow? How is it easiest to receive vibes of pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy? Is it best to transmit consolation, understanding and love with an act of invisibility?
People who personify the virtues listed in St. Francis’ prayer are rare, but Susan Boyle came to mind. Did she have years of invisibility? Did it magnify her beauty?
The prayer says, “It is in dying that we are born…” Being, instead of being seen, disciplines the ego and makes room for giving.
I wanted to know: How can I construct my own invisibility?
This question first arose in the early 1970s in London, Ontario. I joined the London Little Theater Group and was given the role of a seductive secretary in a murder mystery. I was overjoyed until I realized my character was murdered in the first minute of the first act. My only lines were repeats of phrases spoken by my lover/boss. I was taking shorthand while he dictated a letter. I didn’t even have to do a dying scene. The lights went out, a shot was fired and when the stage was lit again, weeks had passed.
That kind of invisibility was easy. The mystery revolved around my character and I didn’t have to do a thing. I sat bored and impatient backstage, waiting for the end of the performance so I could do curtain call with the rest of the cast.
Stan, a professional actor who had retired in London, was a small, quiet man with powerful stage presence. His role in the play suited him – a quiet, polite, detective who matched the cunning of a yet-to-be-famous Columbo. His role required a deftness that caused players, and certainly audiences to forget he was on stage.
“How will Stan ever be invisible on stage?” I asked the director.
“It’s one of the most challenging roles for any actor,” he said. “It’ll be especially tough for Stan because everyone likes to watch him.”
“Does that mean the other players have to do a good job of distracting the audience?”
“That’s important, but Stan can’t count on that. What if the other players don’t pull that off? The story relies on his shadowy observations and impeccably timed responses.”
During rehearsals, I popped in, did my one minute on stage and left. I didn’t have a chance to ask Stan about invisibility. He was continuously engaged with fellow cast members.
We had a packed house each night of both weekends. I wanted to watch Stan in action, but had to stay backstage. It wasn’t until the cast party that I finally had a chance to pose my question.
“Stan, apparently you mastered invisibility every night. I’d love to know how to do it. Is it the opposite of acting?”
“It’s a wonderful and artful challenge. It’s customized with each play, each cast and each setting.”
“But how do you do it?” I asked.
“I think myself into a state of not being available. I’m absolutely still. I don’t draw attention to my character in any way. I work with the timing of the other actors as I blend in with the scenery, the movements, and the mood. I imagine myself small until it’s time to step back into the spotlight – big as life.”
“So…you are turning your visibility off and on in accordance with what’s around you?”
“Yes. For me, being invisible requires more acting than being center stage. It’s draining. It is the most intense, yet rewarding, acting I have done. It’s terrifically fulfilling.”
Here I was, yesterday, listening to a professional musician invisibly read a prayer. I listened to Susan Boyle sing the St. Francis prayer with the power of coming out “big”. I remembered a gifted actor teaching the art of invisibility.
Am I any closer to knowing how to channel the virtues named as opposites in the prayer?
I’ll have to see how invisible I can be. However,I’ve learned one thing. An act of invisibility is a supreme act of giving. Self-willed or not. Both have purpose.
AMY NORA DOYLE ( souldipper) ~ has been blogging since 2010, always write-on-target with the topics she chooses to address and her not insignificant gift of story. She is appreciated as much for her insightful comments on blogs as she is for her indefatigable efforts applied consistently to the subject and spirit of the sacred. Amy is also an intuitive. Amy’s work in the ground of the sacred derives from “a life-changing trip to an incredible country, South Africa, the longing in my soul to release concepts about the magnificence of ordinary life has blown the typical writing blocks, corks and stoppers.” The inspired and inspiring Amy lives with her cat in a house on an island in Canada. Be sure to stop and visit her on your trips around the blogospher.
The BeZine 