nomadman108

[nomadman108]

Don't Stick Your Feet Out

Just now (as in earlier today) I had some perfectly natural, normal, and expected thoughts about my prayer life. If I’m to be honest though, and perhaps a tad overly tough on myself, the thoughts I had felt slightly ridiculous given my professed commitment to praying constantly, and my supposed understanding of the meaning and function of prayer.  In other words, there I was again: putting some…

[nomadman108]

Sounds and Vibrations

Today’s post opens with what I think is called an oxymoron (funny word that) No need to repeat here that I am a hermit; there you go, I repeated it, but it’s true nonetheless: I am a hermit. The oxymoron bit comes in when I make another obvious statement to the effect of, as a hermit I very much prefer to spend the vast majority of my time right here where I am right now:  in our…

[nomadman108]

Cause and Effect: A Poetic Sharing

Greetings my friends, and welcome Another poetic sharing today. My resolve, my prayer, to write more devotional poetry does indeed seem to be bearing fruit, and I am deeply thankful. With gratitude and with humility I make this offering to You. Love and Peace CAUSE AND EFFECT Every moment is a cause in which lies a potential effect Spiritual growth. This is the effect. Yet, as we grow, our…

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The Hermitage Surrender is a key issue for our community of Hermits. Surrender in the sense of, to put it really simply, how to just go with the flow; how to recognise that the universe moves as it does, and how might we fully realise that while we do what we can, playing our part, in the final analysis, life unfolds as it does. Like I guess, most people we often have trouble accepting the…

[nomadman108]

Let's Talk

I feel like talking more … Sorry. Start again. It’s not what it seems and, well rather than get into it now, just read on a bit and all shall become clear. Anyway, there’s an old joke that goes like this: One friend says to another friend: ‘How come you’re always talking to yourself?’ To which the second friend replies: ‘Well, you see, I always like to talk to the most intelligent person in the…

[nomadman108]

A Plea for Forgiveness

It was way back in the earlier days of this blog, sometime in 2022, that I wrote a post about our community’s liking for snacking on plain toast by choice. It’s our more or less regular late evening, before bed, bite to eat. Perhaps accompanied by black tea, as I described in that post. As I also point out in that post, I do actually enjoy plain toast. It’s not that I no longer like jam or other…

[nomadman108]

A Short Rant About (and Addressed To) Mind

Lately I’ve been dwelling on thoughts and other mind stuff. A lot, and in both senses: mind stuff won’t leave me alone; and the nature of that mind stuff has had me thinking about it all, as well. Of course, it’s the way mind works – especially as one makes the effort to calm the mind, still the thoughts and move beyond them to that little place of stillness and silence. It seems the more one…

[nomadman108]

I Want to Sing Praises: A Poetic Offering

Occasionally, on this blog, I have had the good fortune to be able to share with you a poem I have written. I say occasionally because, at best, I am an occasional poet – or rather than take on that label, it’s better to say that sometimes words in some kind of poetic form emerge. From time to time said poetic emergences could be called devotional. Devotional in the sense that my words seek to…

[nomadman108]

Sun, Waters, Sky, and Me

Varuna and Surya. the Hindu deities of sky and all Earth’s waters (Varuna), and our sun (Surya). These names resonate for me. I like how such great natural phenomena fundamental to our existence on this planet, can be ‘personalised’ in this way. I find that having acquired symbolic or representational names for sky, water, and sun, has allowed me to somehow relate to the inherent giving and…

[nomadman108]

Mindful? Full of What?

Anyone who has tried to meditate for more than a minute, knows very well that the mind right away jumps into overdrive, trying its hardest to keep us nice and distracted; anything but quiet and peace is the mind’s aim. Speaking for myself, all I want to do is get rid of that mind altogether. But, I know, that would be a mistake. I may not like how my mind behaves sometimes, but I do actually…

[nomadman108]

The Dharma of Keeping

A curious title for a post, I thought as the words popped into mind. And it’s one that could be hinting at, pointing towards, any number of ideas, topics, or whatever. In this case, however, it is really quite straightforward: The title refers to a three-line quote I rediscovered when I was transferring notes from a full notebook to a new one the other day. Actually, ��three-line’ quote may not…

[nomadman108]

A Little Bit of Self Knowledge Hard Won

You know, for all my prayers; for all my mental discipline – efforts at mental discipline – for all my meditations, chanting, and other practices, I still just talk way too much for my liking, and often it feels like it’s only talking for the sake of talking. I still just open my mouth and let come out any old thing that keeps the noise going. Oh, it’s worse than that: sometimes when I talk it’s…

[nomadman108]

Contemplation: It's a Gift of the Moment

Earlier today I took my camera out for a walk. Which is to say, I had an intention that the walk would be more than exercise for the body (very much needed as it is), but also an opportunity for my eyes and heart to open up a little to the tiny part of the world I was to pass through. I also hoped that my mind would join in so that I would be able to actually recognise what I was seeing and…

[nomadman108]

Who Brings the Bins in?

Wheelie Bins Waiting in the Burbs Do they really? Who needs to be more kind? How would I know? I mean, I could say, but I won’t – I can’t. It’s not my place, or my right to judge what someone else needs to do or not do. I find it hard enough to look at my own behaviours and to tell myself what I need to do or stop doing. Actually, I sense a question coming on, but I think we’ll leave it for…

[nomadman108]

Reaching for Freedom?

Reaching for Freedom Reaching for freedom is what I called this photograph that I made today. But, is it really? I  mean is the plant actually in reality ‘reaching for freedom’? Well, thus far, science can only tell us something like: This plant is programmed by its DNA to grow upwards towards the light. Another climbing plant, in another place. Kind of looks like a painting, but it’s…

[nomadman108]

Tripping On the Sidewalk

Walking home, returning to the sanctuary of the hermitage, I fell over. Or to be exact, I tripped. It’s not the first time I’ve tripped in my life, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Mind you, I’m not supposed to be making speculations about the future; after all, I may never fall over (or trip) again. Let me share with you how I came to find myself lying on the ground, fully conscious…

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Where? & When? Here & Now

There, dear friends, right there, in the title are our next two W questions, as well as the answers to both. The answer is brief, succinct, right to the point, yes indeed. But somehow to me it doesen’t seem very helpful, a bit vague. Here and now. Let’s look at this tricky little phrase. On the face of it Here and Now has an obvious meaning: if we choose to think on it in the spirit of our…