Essence of Belovedness

Essence of Belovedness

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Essence of Belovedness

At the center of the turning world
exists a silent spacelessness
the centering energy
of the soul
where an internal sun
is ever present
permeating and surrounding
the heart
an infinite well
of immeasurable love
a compassionate wilderness
of presence
a sanctuary of peace
a receptive sea
an all encompassing embrace
a potent coalescence
of all life energy
an eternal radiance
emitting rays of light
emanating in all directions
as the glorious expression
of love and grace
in the world

Naomi

Image by Rassouli
http://www.rassouli.com

St. John of the Cross

O living flame of love

Stanzas the Soul Recites in Intimate Union With God.

Living Flame of Love
by St. John of the Cross

1. O living flame of love
that tenderly wounds my soul
in its deepest center! Since
now you are not oppressive,
now consummate! if it be your will:
tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!
2. O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
that tastes of eternal life
and pays every debt!
In killing you changed death to life.

3. O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep caverns of feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.

4. How gently and lovingly
you wake in my heart,
where in secret you dwell alone;
and in your sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory,
how tenderly you swell my heart with love.

the revelation

i am a seed longing for the sun

i am silence longing for the song of the creator

i am a canvas longing to feel the creator’s hands

i am a page longing to feel the energy forming

i am a sky longing for the spreading light

i am a path luring the seeker to explore where it leads

i am a cup longing to be filled with wine

i am lips longing to feel the lips of the creator

i am a tongue longing to taste and savor the wine

i am a hunger longing for nourishment

i am a womb longing for the flow of the beloved

i am light longing to dance

i am a portal longing for beauty

i am a heart longing for love

i am a soul longing to expand

i am a sea of light

i am love seeking a path

i am you

And God created woman

Painting: Grace of Alpha by Rassouli
And God created woman in the image of love

To me this is an image of the purity
and beauty of the soul
in the infinite circle of love
within the spiritual heart.

This is the circling center
of balance and wellbeing
i carry within me.
this is my church, my temple,
my mosque, my synagogue,
my monastery,
a safe house, a sheltering house,
a house of love, a winehouse
a thriving garden of flowering essence,
of eternally blossoming love,
a house of mystery and possibilities,
mesmerizing fragrance, pulsing life.
it is here where i am surrounded
in the embracing love of the beloved,
truly i am.

In my deepest and truest moments
the energy flows
from this purity when I write.

This gives me an image
of the holy beauty of love
that i secretly harbor
within my own soul.

Naomi

(This speaks so personally to me,
i call it my signature painting,
in that it expresses
a very deep reality for me.)

The Flow of the River

The Flow of the River

All around us the flow of Nature
is whispering secrets.
I used to watch the eagles
soar over the bluffs on the river
as they would catch the wind
and drift and glide
riding the flow of air for hours
playing and flowing
diving into the air
becoming intimate with the wind.

I was drifting on the water
letting the current carry me
as I watched the sky
feeling the water holding me
finding its way around me
settling next to my skin
caressing and moving and supporting me
as I listened to the song
of the river within me.

I would watch the egret standing tall
poised and listening
like a stately sentinel
gracefully balanced
waiting for the river to carry treasures
swimming softly by
and watch in awe
as the miracle of wings
lifted that great bird into the sky.

I loved watching the steam rising
from the water
in the coolness of the dawn
walking along the shore
with the mist curling around my feet
in the morning sun.

Dew was sliding from the leaves
of the trees,
disappearing silently into the sand.
Everything around me
was glowing
with infused light
a sudden beauty displayed each morning
in a new way
a symphony of elements
reflecting each other.

When I awakened early
I was blessed to become a part
of this flowing sacrament of beauty.

Swimming beneath the surface
the light would spread into
gleaming stars
skipping on the ripples above
and moving in an underwater sky
surrounding me
with a ballet of dancing light.

As the sun would set
the cradle of night was filled
with enchanting shadows and colors.
Night blooming flowers opened
sweetening the air
and the sleepy sounds of the water
along the shore
became a lullaby
only the river could sing.

I wasn’t aware the river had become my lover
until I left for a while.
When I returned and saw
its vast winding magnificence
with new eyes
my heart leaped within my chest
beating a rhythm in tune
with this living presence.

I breathed in the fragrance of the river
this cradle of the sun
that had held me so many times
soothing and calming and comforting
still stirring and exciting and stimulating.

I could feel it
waiting with open arms
to welcome me as before
this mirror to the sky
this silvery body of mysteries
that so gently held my secrets
in its beauty

I was powerfully drawn
into the deep wonder of the river
and gratefully melted into its arms
of flowing love.

Conscious Love

The degree to which I can create relationships, which facilitate the growth of others as separate persons, is a measure of the growth I have achieved in myself.
–Carl R. Rogers

This is pretty important to my own evolutionary path. The truth I discover over and over again is that love guides me to a certain place where I continue to listen perceptively, conceptually, and try to hear the other person as clearly as I can. The path of love allows me to enter into beliefs and ideas that are diverse from my own. I truly enjoy sharing with someone who can articulate and express what they believe in a variety of creative ways!
There are crossroads all along the way, where I hear and understand what the other person is saying, but I don’t embrace it, nor do I choose to live by it. It is crucial in my own evolution and in always remaining open to seeking my highest development.
My passionate commitment to freedom enriches my life in countless ways, but it narrows down those friends who may not be comfortable in keeping the doors and windows open to fresh air and fresh views. I sometimes lose the companionship of people I love, because my perspective is upsetting to them. So, do I risk walking under an open sky with all the risks that this implies, or choose to live in a comfortable cocoon within the boundaries of the comfort level of others?
For me, there is only one choice, and that is to live in the freedom of conscious love that seeks the well being of all, living from the heart in the best possible way I can. Conscious love becomes a presence, an emanating energy, and a “conceptual cathedral” or a sanctuary of loving freedom in which I live and move and have my being.
The Christic tradition of a God who loves us so much and who invests so much in creating a place for us to live, that He/She enters into in the human condition to live within us as divine spirit, is the most profound and beautiful truth I have encountered in my lifetime of searching. It is a reality I experience, and I sing my own personal psalms to rejoice in the grace of that experience.
I am ever grateful for my freedom to choose, and I bless all those who are working in so many ways to achieve that for all people!

Blessings and Love Always,
Naomi

The Light of the Beloved

~
O Light of the Beloved!

The mystery of your love is the center
of every existence,
the guiding light that dazzles the eyes,
an expanding awareness that
everything is you.
Your brilliance shines beyond the sun,
beyond the moon, the stars, and all
that decorates the skies.

~

All gather to behold the beauty
and depth of your glowing radiance,
your luminosity that harbors
the healing gaze of love
mingling in the spinning atoms
and particles of light.

~

You are the compass
of the turning world,
the well from which
the water of life is drawn.
Your breath is the purified air
we breathe,
the mystical sea in which we are
cleansed, renewed, and reborn
in the eternal innocence of love.

~

You are a refuge, a shelter,
a sanctuary, a haven of peace.
You are the stirring excitement
of the word unspoken,
the sight unseen,
the heart unopened,
the soul still unknown.

You are the seed reaching for the sun
seeking to manifest face and form and color, the fragrance and beauty
of becoming something new.

~

You are the ultimate lover,
the surprising intimacy of the infinite
expressing every hidden desire,
the explorer of new
and unimagined pleasure.
~

Your belovedness is boundless,
an eternal source of love,
exhilarating energy
leading the way to dreams made real
and to dimensions yet undreamed.
You are the blessed thrill of abundance
and all that is gratefully yet to be!

~
poetic expression by Naomi
“The Light of the Beloved”
visual expression by Rassouli
“Compass of Existence”

New Beginning

New Beginning
*
A great flash of light
has gone out in all directions
brighter than the sun
seen and felt
within every heart
as rays of spiritual light
holy lightning
flaring from the source of all life
*
Open your hearts to be filled
with the light of love
The moment has come
when the cries of centuries
are heard
and love’s answer
is flooding the earth with
the sacred flow of living water
anointing and blessing
every life
*
Songs of lovers
sound out
with voices so sweet
the doors of heaven swing open
to allow the blending
of heaven and earth
to manifest divine intention
to create a family
fully human and fully divine
animating every life
charging every cell
with the glowing grace
of awareness
spreading the light of love
everywhere
*
This is the world
as it was meant to be
This is the chalice placed
in our care
This is the answer
to every prayer

*
painting by douet
http://www.arthurdouet.com
“I am Presence”

O Shams of Every Age!

Dear Shams of every age,
burn our books,
throw our degrees in the pond,
for it takes far too long
to peel away
the layers
of acquired learning
to find the pearl within!

We need the beggar at the door
to challenge our lofty ideas
of ourselves!
We need the lover,
who unties our scholarly robes
to see who we are in the moonlight,
who makes us laugh
at our pretending postures
in the world.

One drop of pure intention
is a magic potion
to cure us of our self-imposed disease
of self-importance!!
One sip from your lips sends us
into an ocean
of spinning wheels of color
of sweet ecstasy!

O heart! Chase away
every ill wind that comes near
the garden of love!
Let the arrows fly
from the graceful curve
of your brow,
that sacred altar
arching above your piercing
gaze of desire!

Seduce me!
Reduce me to a fool,
but make me real,
help me feel all there is to feel!
Breathe your breath
into this hungry mouth
searching for the truth of love.

Touch me with a touch
that burns
with the too muchness of love!
Melt me into a puddle
of tears
to wash the dust
from your wandering feet.

O Love!
Silence my cold ideas
with the warmth of your laughter.
May icicles form
on my lips
if one more empty platitude
seeking your gratitude
slips out
of this foggy head!

O shepherd of Love!
Step across the threshold
of this waiting heart
and languish in the luxury
of a quiet corner,
where no one can speak
above a whisper
of anything
but love.

Sip the sweetness of light
from friends who
seek your well being,
and may the arrow of love
puncture
all inflated balloons
that carry the name
of your fame!

O shepherd of love,
gather the lost sheep
of the world
and hold them to your heart!
Carry us home to
the paradise of
your welcoming arms!
Sing us a lullaby
of love!

Surrendering

Surrendering

Longing lures me beyond
these words,
beyond the limits of this
finite form.

What moving spirit
stirs within
to break the bonds
of this spinning sphere?

How can I surrender to what
my mind cannot explain?
Who dares split this heart apart
with love’s recurring refrain?

What light persists
with such touching tenderness,
softening and leaving me
so helpless to resist?

O divining guide of light,
is it the moon that commands
the pull of earth to release
its hold on this heart?

Thinning into luminous
light and air,
no longer visible, I disappear
into a blazing gaze,

vanishing from sight
lost in the sound of laughter,
mingling with particles
of dancing light.

O beckoning and faceless beauty
silencing my struggling mind,
summoning my soul,
you draw my spirit into your own.

Poetic expression by Naomi
Visual expression by Rassouli
http://www.rassouli.com