False smiles show
what you are not,
and what still awaits...

You say:
It is a breeze
moving the meadows of Eden.

But you have not done
the essential work;
your soil is untouched,
no sweat has been given.

No one can show you
the serpents within.
But all is not lost!

As a stomach grows sick,
then bloats and expels,

so too must the heart —
sick, full of pride —
swell then be emptied,
before it can learn.

Muddy children
kick up puddles.
Thirsty earth
drinks and sighs.

Tired mothers
Lean in doorways.
Some laugh
and others sigh.

There is a sense of Me
which experience cannot grasp.
It simply shines—
the awareness of Me.

When birdsong dances
through spring’s first light.
A cradle stills
And shatters the night.

From the quagmire of hell
to the peaks of love,
within all experience—
I Am.

I am within all experience.
or is all experience within Me?

See the table.
        You are not the table.

Feel the body.
        You are not the body.

Notice thought.
        You are not the thought.

All is seen.
         You are the seeing.

All moves.
         You are still.

What is aware?
         I am.

Let go of everything.
        Even "I am."

What remains?
        Silence...

You are That.

Who has ever suffered
with a peaceful mind?

You suffer
when you see the world
inside out,
back to front,
and nothing as it is.

When you believe
your hardships,
your sorrows,
and your never-resting mind—

When you feel
you have no choice,
as if you’re living
in a never-ending hell—

Go still inside,
and you will find—
you cannot suffer
with a peaceful mind.

You lit the fire of my heart,
to shine Your light aloud!

But my selfish fears
blocked Your light,
and cast these shadows—
dark as night.

May Your Love
burn me raw.
May Your Truth
replace my lies.