Enter the Temple of Love.

Here you might

unbutton your clothes

and reveal your naked body

…but I, for one, will not be satisfied.

And you will find yourself still here on the step,

locked outside.

This nakedness conceives the world

but is not the creatrix of Love.

So now that you are here,

why not go all the way?

And unbutton the stories

that you have used

to hold the world at bay.

And unbutton the language you use

when you feel afraid.

And unbutton the veil

that you lay across your heart

just in case

just in case

just in case

…you were betrayed.

And unbutton the pretty mask

that you wore to save your face.

Now if you have the courage, my love

Unbutton the future

and the past

And like this, shed all the layers.

If you really want to come in,

there is only one way.

And it’s Now. 

and now

and now

and now

…through the portal of presence

where Love is made.

Beloved, the door is open.

Come in.

Your True Love awaits.

Here, I enter your room

and take off my clothes

These are my defences.

I am sorry if I hurt you.

Peace.

Naked, vulnerable and exposed,

I long to cover myself,

but instead I bow my head

and ask Love to veil us.

I lift my head and see

you hold no knife.

You are naked and vulnerable,

tender like me.

We are both crying.

The ocean has filled our hearts

and nothing is left

of who we were.

I cannot see you anymore.

We are blind to other;

There is only one self, one sea.

And we are surrendered to its rhythm

Always moving, always free.

Oh my Beloved,

I wait at the gate of your holy goodness

Here where your perfume suffuses the world.

Perceiving your source,

let my love for you be like nothing else.

It’s time for me to stay here

and jealously guard this place.

These layers of unconscious that have veiled your sweetness,

they are old and ugly and tired

and they stink.

I will pounce on them like a tiger

and tear them to shreds!

It’s time for the world to know

your untainted sweetness.

It’s time for you to know

your untainted sweetness

in the world.

for aeons, it seems.

Until today…

Today when I realised

that all of this time

I’ve been fighting for something

with about as much substance

as a cloud,

already dispersed.

I’ve schemed and I’ve plotted,

coerced and cajoled…

And all this, for nothing, my love.

Now I see that I am nothing

I have nothing to defend

and nothing to protect.

Now, I can truly rest.

And you, my beloved…

or enemy, or friend…

You may be as you are

and do as you will.

Yes, you, my love, may also rest

or fight with nothing…

as you wish.

lured by the promise of grapes and wine.

When I arrived, I saw my folly

there were no grapes, or wine

and no point in seeking them either.

But then you pointed me to a fountain

a wellspring within

with water so sweet that my whole life opened

in one breath.

And I realised that this thirst for grapes and wine

could hardly be foolish

After all, it led me here…

It seems this heart-compass you gave me

knows its true north well.

Look, I have been unfaithful.

Countless times,

You gave me this

and I wanted that.

Countless times,

I have looked to an empty idea of your greatness

while the living gift of your presence

went unnoticed before my eyes.

Countless times,

I have judged one part of myself…

child, stranger, lover, friend…

as less than another.

But surely, we are all Lovers

lost and found

in the immensity of you.

And none of us is less of you

And all of us

are worthy

of Love.

Oh, Beloved, clean my heart,

for I have sinned

against myself.

I am the ones I have held

in tight circle around me

away from the “others”

I did not want to touch.

I am the ones I have left behind

standing alone and confused

in the cold.

I am the one who sees this play

and I am the one who chooses to say…

Enough!

Look, now I come

crawling on my knees

crying to be received

And I am the one who forgives me

wrapping my self

in this eternal embrace

of inseparable togetherness.

I deliver myself

naked and newborn

into the faithful, loving arms

of this…

This living moment.

working two businesses, parenting, maintaining land and animals, renovating… It’s been rare that I’ve made it to bed before midnight this last week.

… Yet I hesitate to commit myself to this statement: I am exhausted and overwhelmed…. Why?

Well, you know, it’s just not the whole truth. I’m also feeling so deeply pleased, grateful, rich and full… with my work, children, partner, creativity, spirituality, friends and finances – just to name a few!

When I bring my attention to the present moment. Like right now. Fully. Rivet my attention here… That which seemed overwhelming is no longer so.

In the here and now, a spaciousness expands around me and I am spontaneously, naturally aware of the privilege and grace that fills my life.

What about you?

No matter what you are wrestling with in your personal or professional or domestic life… No matter what overarching themes might be weighing you down… No matter what the facts of your day or week or month…

I’m curious: When you bring all your attention here and now, what happens?

Please, share your experience in the comments below.

Turn away from the world.

Fall deeply in love with the Essence of Life

Until you can’t help but find it everywhere.

Is this how the true magnificence

of existence is revealed…

Essence animates form

the way morning light

enlivens the field

as the sun awakens the earth.

if you can trust

the movements of the heart…

But I do.

We rise with the wave of longing

and fall with the crash of regret.

…But this sea is so forgiving.

Do you think it was you

who caused the sky to fall?

No, you are the silent lake

who found the moon in your waters

and thought you had upended the world.

Forget your concerns

about where this wave will crash.

Your pure source gives rise

to both longing and restraint

in perfect harmony

with the unfolding universe.

Yes, even the moon forgives.

She understands this dance

being no stranger to the play of light

in the deep dark mirror of the heart.