Turning Inward

In solitude sit in the stillness of silent meditation
In the calm wave of awareness
recede the senses
and turn within

Move the awareness to the breath
Allow everything around to quiet down
Move through all layers of the self
     The shell of the body vanishes
Consciousness is left with only sacred
Oneness

There are no more utterances of the self
For one is at One with the purity of the
Divine Majesty
All awareness vaporizes and there is just
the steady flow of Holiness all around

Pure beauty forever more
     resting in all of Eternity

John Rettger
Poem received on 06/29/11 while in
nature with Bella Luna; her and I
seemingly connected through the beams
of the starlight
above

Krishna Krishna Krishna

Krishna Krishna Krishna
You greet me warm Monday morning
and clear my vision as I wipe the sleep away
from my eyes

Your presence in my life is like
a key fashioned of gold and opening me
up to the freedom of your loving possibilities

As I sit in silent contemplation a smile suddenly
comes as I enumerate the times when I called for you
    and no matter the time you came
ablaze like the burning bush before the eyes of Moses

You command me not other than to love, be loved, and accept
the ever-changing current of life
for both the beauty and despair and remind me
that underneath every stone, ocean, emotion and action
you reside
waiting and seeking me to discover and open my heart
to you

Krishna Krishna Krishna
there is no other devotion than
this devotion I feel and dedicate to you
   Guide me through the dark night
   Let me not serve the ego
   Or any cause other than moving all toward
Awakening to the Divine Love that is You

O Krishna Krishna Krishna

Jai Jai Jai

-john

The Knowing of Krishna

what i seek most is liberation through the knowledge of you, Krishna
for when i sit down and catch a glimpse of the far reaches of sorrow
I suddenly feel your presence redirecting me to the majesty of the breath,
   for i know in a world of unknown
the season winter changes and yields away this frozen despair
to the sudden bloom and vibration of springtime leaves
thrown into my view with the song
of the ancient sparrow
suddenly my perception is opened into the sun
and alas my mind is settled into the blissful valley of this

To Krishna

Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. from the Bhagavad Gita as written by Lord Krishna

the following poem I offer as inspiration on the path of yoga and was written after reflecting on Lord Krishna's teaching quoted above; the poem was offered to me through silent meditation in Reverence and Grace on the image of Krishna

In the still of this present moment
I intentionally bring my mind to stillness
in the image of You, Krishna

I have no hesitation in turning over any pain
or joy to You

You are the majestic night star that hangs
and glows overhead

Krishna there is no other moment beyond this One
where I continuously dedicate this love and life
to You
   so that I may live in Freedom and Light

By Your grace and peace I live
aligning with the deeper truth
that You are in my and in all hearts

Whether I am on the mat or off
writing words or thinking thoughts
my mind adrift or present
I know You are there
constantly guiding me back

Breath by Breath
You guide me
    Back to You
    Back to Now
    Back to this
Divine Dancing Singing Joyful Play
that is You

Alive Here Right Now


Jai Jai Jai

In practice Images Arise and Pass...

The other week I found myself supine with the gaze turned inward
the breath grounded and united with body
the next breath in led to a scene of a vast and expansive field
out in the expansive vista, far in the distance-
     came into my view Krishna moving over the land
     blowing wind through his flute
moving along images of the sacred cattle grazing over the grass

from where I sat on the hillside I could sense the rising tingle
up my spine and a warm flow of energy

it was the in-breath that deepened the experience and hung
in the sky was both the sun and moon- they simultaneously
radiated over the field

it was the out-breath that truly settled me in deeper, calmer, moving
me toward surrender

it was only for a moment when I could feel the heart chakra expand
and the warm expanded to meet my limbs and everything else
all around

all images faded as i slowly prepared to release the pose...

john

establishing divinity

As I sat in contemplation tonight, after a period of reading, these two words (establishing divinity) appeared in my consciousness. I sat and softened into them and what arose was the remembering that it is both important to 1. accept experience, and also 2. cultivate positive experience. Patanjali wrote about this in the context of "cultivating wholesome thoughts". I agree with this, and I would like to broaden thoughts to all of experience. For in psychology, behavioral modification is equally as important as cognitive restructuring. In simple terms, you can engage in positive, joyful experience, just as you can cultivate a mental image of a joyful, positive experience. Both can move one's beingness in a positive direction toward the Ultimate (the experience of connection with something profound), which is had in the present moment. Thus, the cultivation of positive experience, in my view, happens through present moment awareness.

This is the state of mindfulness.

Intentionally directing oneself toward direct here and now experience. For me, the harmonic tapping on the keyboard keys as I type, the music playing in the background, the tightness in my back and shoulders from sitting at the computer. The glare of the monitor slapping up against my glasses. This type of anchoring of the being to the moment. The engaging of oneself through the body to the innate holding onto the life world that the body has. Firmly rooting consciousness in body- I believe this to be the path toward liberation from suffering. And yes, often liberation is found in and through suffering. In and through are aspects of the prefix "trans", thus moving oneself through the various aspects (mind, body, spirit) of existence, one touches the transpersonal. It is through this realization that suffering and bliss are both states of being. As such, they can be cultivated just the same.

Namaste,
John

My yoga website!

check out my new yoga teaching website:

John Rettger Yoga