When we play together
it is not about playing faster
or louder
than anyone else,
it is about playing
in rapport with each other.

The simplest beat
may be the most powerful,
when we play together.

The slowest beat
can be the most exciting,
when we play together.

In sync together,
we are in a harmony
that goes beyond music,
that reaches into spirit,
when we play together.

Seeing the negativity
in someone else
is like a mirror.

It wouldn’t hurt so much
if it didn’t touch
that raw space in ourselves,
where our own demons hide.

It can be a little epiphany,
if we allow it to be,
a chance to cast off
another layer of denial,
to lay bare our own hurt,
so we can begin to heal,
and meet the world
with compassion,
instead of disapproval.

If you perceive me as your enemy,
please know that I don’t live in your world,
and you don’t live in mine.

Our private worlds are mere shadows
of the world we actually live in,
the world we really share.

In that world,
there is nothing that separates us,
except our worst ideas.

There are people
who are hurting so badly,
that all they can do
is lash out at other people.

They cannot bear their own pain,
or tolerate the possibility
that is was, to some degree,
their own creation.

We could hear their attacks
as cries for help,
if we were willing to let go
of our own pain
at being attacked.

Why do we let pain
separate us,
when it is,
fundamentally,
something we all share?

A human body,
as it passes a certain age,
Is like a good used car.

Though time
has had its way with it,
It retains its essence,
maintaining its functions
despite the myriad indignities
of entropy.

It allows each of us
to do what we need to do,
and go where we need to go,
remaining a trusted vessel
for expressing our own essence,
for continuing to be our true selves,
despite the little ravages of time.

Each person
has their own religion,
which we might call
“The Way I See the World”.

It has only
one priest,
one disciple,
one church -
The Church of Me.

It seeks acolytes
offering agreement,
saying “You are right!
This is how the world is!”

We each become god
in our own little church,
but we are lonely gods,
separated from each other
by our godly doctrines.

We stand alone
with our little truths,
forsaking the big Truth
for the thrill of being right.

Romantic love
is the falling away
of the boundaries you perceive
between you and another.

Universal love
is the falling away
of the boundaries you perceive
between you and ALL others.

You may fall in love,
and out of love,
with a particular person.

But when you learn
how to love everyone,
yourself included,
that can last forever.

I am poised like a hiker
on a mountainside,
a path narrowly winding
between unyielding stone
and yawning emptiness.

I make my way mindfully,
alert to the boundaries and perils
on either side of me,
present to the endless beauty
that surrounds me.

My life has been cluttered
with unnecessary things,
mountains of mementos
of past incarnations
and impersonations,
a plethora of previous iterations
of who I thought I was.

And here I am,
viewing my own history from the outside,
amazed and aghast at how much stuff
my former selves have accumulated,
all in the name of hanging on
to who I thought I was.

Whenever we communicate, we always have a choice:
to do it mindfully, or to suffer the consequences.

In this age
of technological wonders,
it is easier and easier
to share our grievances,
and just as easy
to share our joy.

Each message we send
is like an impulse
coursing through a vast mind
that spans the globe,
surrounding us,
engulfing us,
its collective thoughts
insinuating themselves
into our own thoughts.

We are like the neurons
of this world-wide mind,
each of us firing
with love or hate,
compassion or anger,
each time we share
our hearts or minds.

We are the conscious components
of an expanding super-consciousness,
growing and morphing
as we feed it.

And our peace of mind,
our spiritual well being,
perhaps our survival
depend more and more
on how we feed it.