Architecture of the Solstice

In darkness we stumble.

Confusion has no path,

unknowing, no arrival.

Then

a glow

in blackness

a point.

Murky

awareness

twisting

within

murky

awareness

spies a reflection

of its buried spark.

The hearth

of this ignition

is an alignment

of the eye

through

frame

to

distant

blaze.

Due to earth's miraculous tilt

wherever you stand

at the solstice dawn

the glow emerges

due east.

Since the first dawn

the eye

framed this dawn

with stone

with timber

Framed it

with the mind

as if guiding

strands

of heat

into the soul's

dark well.

As if

this elusive moment

could be grasped.

The architecture

of the solstice

is not

in the position

of the stars.

It's in

the alignment

of

the eye.

Turning Darkness to Light

We separate darkness from light. We avoid one and celebrate the other. Yet, year after year, nature carries us from radiant summer days through winter's dark nights. We fight the winter shadows by stringing lights on everything in sight. The glow is cheery, but it blinds us to the gifts darkness hides. If, however, we can rest within the shadows of winter for a while, we will be warmed there by secret fires.

Dividing darkness from light doesn't protect us through murky passages. It cuts us off from energies concealed by nature's mysteries. Only by entering darkness do we encounter the ever-renewing source of light. The secret we can discover there is the secret of creation—radiance is ignited by darkness moving within darkness. We are invited to participate in this hidden act of rebirth during these long winter nights. The inward turn of our minds and bodies reflects the circling of darkness upon itself. Darkness rubs against darkness, potential scrapes potential. What seems to be a cold abyss warms and bursts into light.

Don't try to understand this with your mind. It's logic doesn't reach into the unknowable. During these inward days, let your senses enjoy the magnificent displays of light. And, look beyond them into the shadows. There you can find the true magic of darkness moving within darkness, igniting the embers of the coming Spring.

How Something Becomes Holy

Something becomes holy

by offering it to wholeness.

You offer it to wholeness

by burning it

in the fire

that does not separate

sacred from profane.

Each time you toss

a cherished object or belief

into the flames of life

your gesture weaves

your separate mind

into the memory

of its unified source.

What you offer to life

already belongs to life.

The more you prize

the objects you offer

the stronger the reawakening

of oneness.

Your most cherished object

is the illusion

you are separate.

Burning this illusion

does not diminish you.

It merely removes

false coverings and divisions.

In the rising flames

limitations become spirit

ashes become gems

all things become holy.

Secret Gifts You Give

Look carefully at enough architecture around the globe and you will notice a pattern. There are patterns everywhere. Whether its this panel from a mosque in Paris, the curtain wall of a downtown skyscraper or your bathroom floor, architects and builders cover structures with geometric designs. It's as if a few thousand years ago someone started The Pattern Project and said, "Here's a circle, a square and a triangle. Go out there and see how many permutations you can make." It's as if countless artisans in all times and all places heeded the call and went mad with delight about what they could shape with only a compass and a straight edge. The results are magnificent and there's no end in sight. Without knowing it, each exploration of pattern added to the global treasury of knowledge and wonder. With each new permutation of design, every designer spontaneously enriched the world storehouse of wisdom.

These secret contributions aren't limited to geometric patterns. Whatever you do each day—cook, write, heal, inspire, facilitate, organize, or one of countless pursuits—you are participating in an ongoing project that is deepening and expanding human possibilities. What you discover as the years pass is forming and reforming the world in seen and unseen ways. It grows from knowledge unearthed by anonymous ancestors in the murky beginnings of time and extends through anonymous descendants in the unforeseeable future. Whatever you do, you are not alone in this. You are a member of a lineage that has been pursuing knowledge in your field for generations. No contribution you make, however small it seems, is lost. Every nuance of knowledge enhances the collective awareness of humanity making its way through the world.

As you go about your day, notice how the fruits of this global knowledge project pervade every place you go, every object you use and every person you meet. Notice the multitude of contributions of know how you have made and are making to your home, workplace and community. Notice how the world is made of the patterns interweaving with patterns and feel you connection to the unfolding creation.

Finding Treasure Through Loss

Life has a funny way of nourishing us. In response to our desire to be more, do more and have more, it often yanks the rug from beneath our feet and leaves us with what appears to be less. We scramble to our feet and rush forward only to find ourselves racing toward what appears to be nowhere. Like children deprived of their cookies, we whine and wonder how life can be so mean.

All the while, we miss the treasure being offered to us through loss. Caught in the belief that amassing stuff and attention benefits us, we overlook the wonders that more stuff and attention often hide. We resist the process of revealing gems by stripping away the outer covering.

Certainly loss exposes us to vulnerability and uncertainty. It can be terrifying and debilitating. Yet, if we can willingly enter the openings life brings and allow them to chip away at our preconceived ideas of what is gain, loss can make known a deeper wealth.

Living in Matter As Energy

The world

is not made

of isolated objects.

Pushing matter

into the right arrangement

will never make you happy,

healthy, wealthy and wise.

Adjusting your thoughts,

words, actions, relationships and surroundings

won't reveal the magic constellation

that solves all problems.

Analyze, strategize and implement

all you want.

There's always some flaw,

some unaccounted for defect,

some unexpected side effect.

Trying harder,

thinking smarter,

loving more,

never finds

that perfect pattern.

The world

is not a collection

of isolated objects.

It's a unified ocean

of energy waves

constantly moving.

Attempting to freeze

the roiling sea

is doomed to failure.

Instead,

see yourself

and the world

as a fluid energy.

Ride the already moving waves

of this situation

into the next

and the next.

Dance

with the shifting forces

flowing

through the one body

of life.

Swim in the never final

always fresh ocean

of ever unfolding wonder

of living

in matter

as energy.