a fantasy world

As I grew up, I experimented with many traditional religious patterns. I soon discovered that, too often, form only has been preserved at the expense of content. Many “religious” people, as a result, are more interested in romantic projection and fulfilment of stereotypes than in learning the difficult self-forgetfulness of the exchange of Love with the Other.

They use religion to make themselves feel good, and call it the search for God. They invest all their energy to create a fantasy world where they will not experience any pain.

Maggie Ross, Seasons of Death and Life: A Wilderness Memoir

Following the star

The important thing is not the finding, it is the seeking,

it is the devotion with which one spins the wheel of prayer and scripture, discovering the truth little by little.

If this machine gave you the truth immediately, you would not recognize it.

Ursula K. Le Guin

The spark

Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die

we have the spark that starts the fire.

Rumi

a still heart

In the still heart

that refuses nothing,

the world is twice born.  

Jane Hirshfield

Serene

Before the universe was born.
there was something formless and perfect
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the ten thousand things.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, 25

Sunday Quote: The secret

Those who are willing to be vulnerable

move among mysteries

Theodore Roethke, American Poet, Straw for the Fire