As I write, there is a single candle burning in front of me, its flame dancing in the corner; the light bouncing off the wall behind it and beside it sends tumultuous shadows dancing across the wall. A selection of beautiful music accompanies the swirling shadows. At the heart of the candle, at the very … Continue reading The Flames of Life
By coincidence, all day today, I was working at my part-time job, which places me in a position of interacting with a large number of random people, and as I am naturally inclined to be social, as the opportunity presents itself, I try to engage each one in a brief conversation, mostly as a polite … Continue reading Celebrating Life and Love
"When someone enters your life unexpectedly, look for the gift that person has come to receive from you. I have sent you nothing but angels. Others see their possibility in the reality of you.” --Neale Donald Walsch from his book series, "Conversations With God." Have you ever been momentarily captured by the strains of a … Continue reading What I have Come To Understand
The moment our eyes aligned I instinctively held my breath; Ordinary time collapsed and condensed While I read your face. Our smiles blossomed simultaneously Like silly twins looking in a funhouse mirror; The sweetness of your spontaneous response was met With an avalanche of reciprocal harmony. Days passed with no encounter; Hours dragged and pulled … Continue reading Your Web of Joy
Le Moulin de la Galette’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir There is a thread running through the coincidental events of late in my daily travels. As I notice them, I try to integrate these events into my broader perspective; being careful not to place too much emphasis on any single coincidence when attempting to decide what the … Continue reading The Dance of Memory
Since I personally have direct experience in being away from home on military assignment during the holidays, I felt compelled to share with you an excerpt from an historical exchange, which took place at that time, by way of excerpts from two important letters, written while I served overseas in the winter of 1975, between … Continue reading Letters Between A Young Man Serving Overseas And His Mom at Christmas
From one perspective, the month of December signals the arrival of that part of the year after the crops have been harvested, the trees and vines have yielded their ripened fruits, and the leaves have all withered and fallen to the ground. The light of day is at its shortest duration, and the longest periods … Continue reading Majesty and Misery, Miracles and Mystery
Watching out my window this evening as the sky slowly abandoned the light of day, fading slowly into twilight, my heart was following along as the sky darkened. In some ways, my heart knows me better than my mind. Within the realm of thoughts and emotions, thoughts have always seemed to eventually defer to my … Continue reading The Fading of the Light
All Heaven and Earth are still though not in sleep, But breathless, as we grow when feeling most; And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep:— All Heaven and Earth are still. From the high host Of stars to the lulled lake and mountain-coast, All is concentered in a life intense, Where not a … Continue reading All Heaven and Earth Are Still
For many of the early days of the New Year this year, I knew that change was coming. Gradually, as the days passed relentlessly along, I could sense it ever more strongly. Whenever I withdrew within myself, I could feel it approaching. These days, when I am alone within myself, communing with my spirit, my … Continue reading Autumn of My Years
John's Consciousness 