Leilas 6th, wishes and thoughts
Six years ago today, you came into our lives. A magnetic, dynamic bundle of fiery radiance.
We never know who children are until they show up and begin to express in each ones own unique way. We are each of us, unique in all the world, and yes, you came with your own set of wonderment and qualities many aspire to.
You are so loving and kind, fiercely determined and joyous.
Your presence has made me so grateful to be alive, and to be living close to you. I am honored to watch you blossom and grow. You, a combination of circumstance, spiced up by your own brand of presupposed and learned tendencies that we all come in with, from the great unknown spirit of Universal mystery. Blessed, this one.
Delightful
Magical
Playful
Proud
Inquisitive
I love to watch you dance, practice gymnastics, gaze at the banks of the river in wonder as we float. I love to listen to you talk as you imagine the world around you attempting to understand it all and make it better. I love to watch you light up the room with your smile.
Your joyfulness and enthusiasm as your family prepares for your little sister is truly inspiring to witness.
Happy birthday little one
Not so little
Larger than life
Impacting mine, with a fierce love like no other.. grand parenting, fulfilling the latter years in this journey we call life.
We never know who children are until they show up and begin to express in each ones own unique way. We are each of us, unique in all the world, and yes, you came with your own set of wonderment and qualities many aspire to.
You are so loving and kind, fiercely determined and joyous.
Your presence has made me so grateful to be alive, and to be living close to you. I am honored to watch you blossom and grow. You, a combination of circumstance, spiced up by your own brand of presupposed and learned tendencies that we all come in with, from the great unknown spirit of Universal mystery. Blessed, this one.
Delightful
Magical
Playful
Proud
Inquisitive
I love to watch you dance, practice gymnastics, gaze at the banks of the river in wonder as we float. I love to listen to you talk as you imagine the world around you attempting to understand it all and make it better. I love to watch you light up the room with your smile.
Your joyfulness and enthusiasm as your family prepares for your little sister is truly inspiring to witness.
Happy birthday little one
Not so little
Larger than life
Impacting mine, with a fierce love like no other.. grand parenting, fulfilling the latter years in this journey we call life.
Writings from teachings 4/27/2024
“I have now come to a stage of realization where I see God in every human form and manifesting in form in the sage and the sinner. When I meet people, different people, I say to myself there is God in the form of the saint, God in the form of the sinner, God in the form of the righteous and God in the form of the unrighteous.”
~Rama Krishna 1836-1886
“The many and the one are the same reality.”
Merciful compassion, so Christ like, is the one thing that can change the world.
“One should treat ones mother, father, teacher and guests as forms of the divine.”
Rama Krishna extended this to include the destitute, the suffering and the ignorant. This was radical and visionary in his time. Influencing people of all faiths, impacting the Bengal renaissance. Like Ramprasad, who came before him, they were sons of the divine mother, in this same time there were many women saints.
“A brahmin without this love is no longer a Brahmin,” and so follows a Christian is no longer a Christian unless he follows the path of Christ.
Loving service to ALL. Not above you and me, but along with us all.
“Ordinary existence in the heart of extended family is the supreme worship beyond worship which perceives Mother Reality as every being, every situation, every breath.”
~Ramprasad Sen
The devotional music of Ramprasad Sen 1718ish-1775, Regarded as one of the most notable figures in Bhakta Shaktism, developed the devotional songs to Kali Maa. The devotional music is sung today in mantra chants that stem from the genre of music of Bengal and Baul music in kirtans. This music rooted in compositions of raja melodies for over 150 years. Shama Sangit is what came of this and these mantras are sung in kirtans today.
Ramprasad sang of Kali not as a fierce deity, but as a tender and loving mother. The six systems of Indian philosophy remain powerless to describe her. She is the life blossoming of all the creatures of the Universe.
Ramprasads devotion and story fascinate me. From his time as a young man in Calcutta to his death, where he offered his devotion to Kali and his final breath to the Ganga river.
The super highway to realization is found through Bhakti (devotion)
Rama Krishnas was educated through teachings of Ramprasad and his aspiration was to serve the world, later realized by his disciple Vivekananda, the torchbearer who impacted hundreds of luminaries across the globe. Vivekananda was credited with creating interfaith awareness and religious universalism. This is where all religions are considered equally legitimate. He was an advocate for the rights of women and the repressed.
While this remains part of yogic philosophy, it seems to be forgotten by religious extremists today. Part of the reason I am drawn to these practices vs the Christian teachings I was raised with, is this equality and lack of fanaticism.
We seem in the USA to be cycling away from the reason and humanity that were gifts from men like these, and Christ himself.
~Rama Krishna 1836-1886
“The many and the one are the same reality.”
Merciful compassion, so Christ like, is the one thing that can change the world.
“One should treat ones mother, father, teacher and guests as forms of the divine.”
Rama Krishna extended this to include the destitute, the suffering and the ignorant. This was radical and visionary in his time. Influencing people of all faiths, impacting the Bengal renaissance. Like Ramprasad, who came before him, they were sons of the divine mother, in this same time there were many women saints.
“A brahmin without this love is no longer a Brahmin,” and so follows a Christian is no longer a Christian unless he follows the path of Christ.
Loving service to ALL. Not above you and me, but along with us all.
“Ordinary existence in the heart of extended family is the supreme worship beyond worship which perceives Mother Reality as every being, every situation, every breath.”
~Ramprasad Sen
The devotional music of Ramprasad Sen 1718ish-1775, Regarded as one of the most notable figures in Bhakta Shaktism, developed the devotional songs to Kali Maa. The devotional music is sung today in mantra chants that stem from the genre of music of Bengal and Baul music in kirtans. This music rooted in compositions of raja melodies for over 150 years. Shama Sangit is what came of this and these mantras are sung in kirtans today.
Ramprasad sang of Kali not as a fierce deity, but as a tender and loving mother. The six systems of Indian philosophy remain powerless to describe her. She is the life blossoming of all the creatures of the Universe.
Ramprasads devotion and story fascinate me. From his time as a young man in Calcutta to his death, where he offered his devotion to Kali and his final breath to the Ganga river.
The super highway to realization is found through Bhakti (devotion)
Rama Krishnas was educated through teachings of Ramprasad and his aspiration was to serve the world, later realized by his disciple Vivekananda, the torchbearer who impacted hundreds of luminaries across the globe. Vivekananda was credited with creating interfaith awareness and religious universalism. This is where all religions are considered equally legitimate. He was an advocate for the rights of women and the repressed.
While this remains part of yogic philosophy, it seems to be forgotten by religious extremists today. Part of the reason I am drawn to these practices vs the Christian teachings I was raised with, is this equality and lack of fanaticism.
We seem in the USA to be cycling away from the reason and humanity that were gifts from men like these, and Christ himself.
Grown Children
1/16/2023
What happens to our hearts when they push away?
Not just push, but push with the integrity of their 8 year old, or 13 year old self
It feels like arrows shot at close range
tearing through flesh and piercing the heart
Our children always bear some pain, as we did
from the pages of their childhood, never perfect
torn out and thrown at us one by one
I am not alone
I know I cannot be alone in this darkness
Wadded into a ball and shot like a slingshot
pages from the past
and so I
re examine the past
Vulnerability
traumas relived
Past cannot be re written
the goodness, richness and sacrifices cast aside leaving only the sad bits to rehash
I long to be seen for every bit of it
not just what hurt
A multitude of treasures lie in wait
that trunk must open too
the gems on those pages are ready for viewing
thick with story and wonders galore
Not just push, but push with the integrity of their 8 year old, or 13 year old self
It feels like arrows shot at close range
tearing through flesh and piercing the heart
Our children always bear some pain, as we did
from the pages of their childhood, never perfect
torn out and thrown at us one by one
I am not alone
I know I cannot be alone in this darkness
Wadded into a ball and shot like a slingshot
pages from the past
and so I
re examine the past
Vulnerability
traumas relived
Past cannot be re written
the goodness, richness and sacrifices cast aside leaving only the sad bits to rehash
I long to be seen for every bit of it
not just what hurt
A multitude of treasures lie in wait
that trunk must open too
the gems on those pages are ready for viewing
thick with story and wonders galore
Solstice
12/13/2022
The seeds of wisdom are deeply planted
Protected, sealed within
It is time to nourish and nurture and turn inward
Toward these last days of the deepest darkness
Before the tide turns toward more light at winter solstice
Enjoy these days of inner work
Rest
Soften and sink into them with
the same enthusiasm as the days of spring
an enthusiasm for quietude and restoration
joy in the sweet music of stillness winter brings
absorb the flavors of richness within
as the seed itself is rich with the vibrant lusciousness
of becoming a tree
~Christine
Protected, sealed within
It is time to nourish and nurture and turn inward
Toward these last days of the deepest darkness
Before the tide turns toward more light at winter solstice
Enjoy these days of inner work
Rest
Soften and sink into them with
the same enthusiasm as the days of spring
an enthusiasm for quietude and restoration
joy in the sweet music of stillness winter brings
absorb the flavors of richness within
as the seed itself is rich with the vibrant lusciousness
of becoming a tree
~Christine
New Moon
7/28/2022
Today is a new moon in Leo. New moons are time for new beginnings.
Time to grasp a fresh slate and start anew. Yes, we can embrace every morning as marker to do the same, but the potency of this darkness stirs something deep within the sacred cauldron of the belly where life begins, creativity stirs.
What are you seeking, what seed do you wish to plant? Do you have an intention or sankalpa? Does it need updating or igniting? Today is the day for it. Tonight is the night. Take time when you have time.
Take a seat, close your eyes or find a soft gaze and surround yourself with a column of soft light. Tether yourself to the earth through your central channel. You are safe and held and protected. Your column of light can go down deep into the core of the earth mother.
What is it that calls to you in your life right now?
Allow, soften, do not force anything.
What do you see? Let it grow and imagine it into being as part of you in present time. Believe it is so.
So be it
Time to grasp a fresh slate and start anew. Yes, we can embrace every morning as marker to do the same, but the potency of this darkness stirs something deep within the sacred cauldron of the belly where life begins, creativity stirs.
What are you seeking, what seed do you wish to plant? Do you have an intention or sankalpa? Does it need updating or igniting? Today is the day for it. Tonight is the night. Take time when you have time.
Take a seat, close your eyes or find a soft gaze and surround yourself with a column of soft light. Tether yourself to the earth through your central channel. You are safe and held and protected. Your column of light can go down deep into the core of the earth mother.
What is it that calls to you in your life right now?
Allow, soften, do not force anything.
What do you see? Let it grow and imagine it into being as part of you in present time. Believe it is so.
So be it