nomadman108

[nomadman108]

Japa in the Dunes

Japa, or the chanting of the names of God or the Divine, is a central spiritual practice for me. In fact, as time goes by, it becomes even more important for me as I try to spend more time chanting than not! With Japa in mind I climbed yesterday to the crest of the sand dune on which our current hermitage is situated, to spend a while with the sea and the dunefield flowers, the birds, and as I…

[nomadman108]

Why do I Pray?

‘Why do you pray?’ I ask myself. It’s not a rhetorical question: I really do want to know; it’s one of those big ‘Who am I?’ kind of questions. ‘I pray because I pray,’ I hear myself answer, sounding as if I am indeed responding to a rhetorical question. ‘So’, one might think (as I well might and sometimes do) ‘you pray without any ulterior motive at all? You don’t pray to get things? You don’t…

[nomadman108]

DAYS OF AMSTERDAM CHANTING: A POEM FROM A CHANT SHARED

Reading the other day about the deeper meanings of the word Amen, a memory surfaced. A memory from the summer of 1971. I was seventeen years old; young yes. I was hitchhiking around Europe, and as for this memory in particular, I was sitting day by day in the Dam Square in Amsterdam. The memory of which we are speaking involves chanting. One day (or it could have been more), chanting, along…

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The Q&A in the Scripture Part 4

A sooner rather than later return to our supposedly occasional series on the Q&A between Uddhava and his cousin Krishna on the eve of their departure from their soon to be engulfed in the nightmare of war hometown. So, why sooner? After all it’s not been that long since our last installment. Well, I was just reading through my notes and the questions and answers we’re looking at today just sort…

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Another Poetic Offering: Birds in the Bushes

‘I like writing reverent things,’ I said to my partner Hermit. I’d just shown her a poem I had written about a walk earlier in the day on the track on the crest of the sand dune near the hermitage. Yes, it’s true I thought later. I do write around themes of solemn respect, deep praise, of love, of appreciation of beauty, of devotional things. About my devotion to all that is Divine – which of…

[nomadman108]

Poetics & Photographs: Shared Note

Namaste and greetings Another poetic and photographic note to share with you today. In the last month or so I’ve written two poems which are about angels. And both connected in some way with rain, or at least impending rain in one and actual rain in the other. Initially I thought to just include the most recent of the two, but as I put my fingers on the keyboard it just seems to be emerging…

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The Q&A in the Scripture Part 3

Welcome to another installment in our occasional series (see links to all previous installments at the end of this post) looking at some of the answers given by Krishna to his cousin Uddhava during a kind of Q&A session that takes place as both are about to leave their hometown which is on the brink of war. Krishna’s returning to Heaven, while Uddhava is heading for parts – and a future –…

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With the current hermitage located not so much on the side of the road, as right on the side of a large sand dune system, you might imagine that I am at and on the beach every day. While almost every day, I walk the track that follows the crest of the dunes in this particular area, I’ve only actually gone down to the beach itself a handful of times. So, yesterday as start to my resolve to make…

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When One Word is Actually Two & Becomes One Again

‘It’s good practis/ce sitting out here.’ So said my partner hermit as we sat sipping post evening meal tea on our little front porch that happens to face exactly due west. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask: ‘Do you mean it’s a good thing (practice) to be doing regularly as in Sadhana,  a spiritual practice? In other words is it a good habit to cultivate? ‘Or do you mean it’s good as a kind…

[nomadman108]

The Q&A in the Scripture: Part 2

Namaste And welcome to Part 2 of The Q&A in the Scripture series in which we are looking at the answers given by Krishna to a list of questions asked by his cousin Uddhava in a scripture called the Uddhava Gita. Remember the scene? Uddhava has asked Krishna a pile of questions about how to live a good life, how to live in the world with discernment. These questions have become urgent because…

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Bright Lights on the Dunefields

Namaste and Welcome friends. A poem for your reading pleasure today. Written in response to an expereience while out walking on the dunes next to the hermitage. I’m including a photo I made a few weeks ago of the exact place where the poem was written, And many loving thanks to my partner hermit for the sketch made in the same area today (synchronistically it was made unknown to me and vica…

[nomadman108]

On a Pilgrim's Way

Today I went on a pilgrimage.Not that I don’t undertake all kinds of little pilgrimages all the time. And even more, it’s not as if my whole life – just like yours and everyone else’s – isn’t one ongoing and continuing pilgrimage. All true; but this one, today, was embarked upon in what might be called, a classic manner: on foot, to a place of sacred significance, and in a spirit of…

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The Q&A in the Scripture Part 1

Welcome to the first in a short – and occasional – series centred on a text containing a kind of Q & A session between Krishna (God) and Uddhava (his cousin). Thirty six questions in all, with which Uddhava asks Krishna how he can live a good and honest life, dedicated to doing right and living the truth. If you haven’t already, it would be really helpful if you read the Introduction post here,…

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New Series Coming Soon: An Introduction

Lord Krishna Namaste and greetings friends Not long ago I started studying an Indian scripture called The Uddhava Gita. It’s quite a lovely book actually: it’s poetic, actually it is a poem, or song, and beautifully written. The title means The song of Uddhava and is an account of a conversation between Krishna wearing his God of the Universe hat, and his cousin Uddhava. The story takes place…

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Sharing a Poem with its Photo

Namaste friends, greetings and welcome Today, a poem and a photo for  you.  I made the photo just over a year ago, and was very fond of it from the start. Then when I put into an editing app, it evolved to what you see today. As well as that, as I ‘worked on’ the image, the little poem, (a kind of freestyle Haiku I think it could be called … sort of!) just emerged and I had to hurry to write it…

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I Confess: I have an Ego

Today I scrapped a planned post that I’d been meditating on, angsting over, and making notes for, over the last several days. And now, I’m thinking about my reactions to this startling event. Startling in that it’s not as if this is the first time. Not even close. So what’s the situation with this not so rare occurence? Let me try to explain. To begin, let me say that I haven’t quite subdued my…

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Reflections on a Word

Henry David Thoreau Did you know that Thoreau, when he was staying at Waldon Pond would sometimes sit on the front steps of his cabin right after sunrise. Often he would look up and discover that it was already  midday or even late afternoon; he’d spent those several hours in a reverie. Being in a reverie is most often described as being a pleasant experience, just like a nice day-dream. It is…