Rocks are some of the wisest creatures on Earth.

 

I believe rocks are some of the wisest creatures on Earth.  They teach us to take the long view, to be centered and solid, to be unselfconscious in our giving, to be still enough to allow our spiritual lives to crystallize.  Without rocks, who would counsel us to ground ourselves in a realm deeper than the frenetic, insane pace of modern society?

Photo: Pegmatite rock with red feldspar; Horsetooth Mountain Park, Larimer County, CO; March 1, 2014

The feast of snowy diamond loveliness is all one finished unit of divine beauty.

 

 
"I rode to the very end of the valley gazing from side to side, thrilled almost to pain with the feast of snowy diamond loveliness. It is all one finished unit of divine beauty, weighed in the celestial balances and found perfect."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Snow-jeweled Ponderosa Pines; Arthur's Rock, Lory State Park, CO; March 2, 2014

Sponging Up the Enchantment of the Landscape

"The scenery was enchanting, and we allowed our bodies ample time to sponge it up."

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Ice on Brainard Lake, with Mt. Audubon in the background; Indian Peaks Wilderness, CO; March 3, 2014

We are the means by which the Great Mystery and the Sophianic Earth become conscious of their own beauty, goodness and majesty.

A chief reason for humanity's presence here on Earth is our capacity to experience awe and wonder at the great mystery of life.  And not for ourselves only but for the cosmos as a whole.  Ultimately, we are the means by which the Great Mystery and the Sophianic Earth become conscious of their own beauty, goodness and majesty.

Photo: A misty Arthur's Rock, shortly after a fresh snow; Lory State Park, CO; March 2, 2014

I glowed with wild joy!

 

"I glowed with wild joy!"

The Contemplative John Muir

Photo: Windstorm near Brainard Lake; Indian Peaks Wilderness, CO; March 3, 2014

Each moment has its own unique beauty.

 

The experience of beauty helps us remain in the sacredness of the moment.  On Saturday, the trees were all frosted.  By Monday, there was hardly a drop of snow to be found!  Each day has its own beauty, and a mindful attitude enables us to discover the awe and wonder of each moment.

Photo: Frosted Ponderosa Pine needles; Horsetooth Mountain Park, CO; March 1, 2013

A storm of exalted beauty and riches

" . . . a storm of exalted beauty and riches."

John Muir

Photo: Windstorm and Engelmann Spruce, Brainard Lake, Indian Peaks Wilderness; March 3, 2014

Our task is to concentrate and thus manifest the splendor of God.

"Everything visible is visible because of concentration.  The breath in hot weather cannot be seen; in cold it can.  Cold concentrates it.  A prophet's duty is to concentrate and so manifest the splendor of God."

Jelaluddin Rumi

Photo: Moist air condensed and concentrated on Narrowleaf Cottonwood trees, with Arthur's Rock in the background; Lory State Park, CO; March 2, 2014

Each thing is exploding with divine fullness.

"He will take away the veil that hides the splendor of each thing that exists, and you will see that each thing is a hidden treasure because of its divine fullness, and you will know that each thing has already exploded stilly and silently and made the earth more brilliant than any heaven."

Jelaluddin Rumi

Photo: Snow-frosted Ponderosa Pine cone and needles; Horsetooth Mountain Park, Larimer County, CO; March 1, 2014

All things are frosted condensations of vast, transparent awareness.

 

Today as I walked through a wonderland of snow-frosted trees, I got to thinking about the correspondences between the external landscape and the inner life. If the sky stands for the spaciousness of interior divine awareness, I suddenly realized that when all beings mysteriously appear out of that expanse, they sparkle with shimmering radiance, manifesting themselves as they really are - as frosted condensations of vast, transparent awareness!

Photo: Arthur's Rock, Narrowleaf Cottonwoods and Ponderosa Pines; Lory State Park, CO; March 2, 2014

Hope for the future occurs in the NOW!

 

People who pursue spirituality often talk about the importance of living in the here-and-now. But an attitude of hope for the future ALSO occurs in the Now. After all, every stage we seem to attain on the spiritual journey is simply the jumping-off point for the next stage, and that will be the pattern for all eternity. It is THIS truth that helps keep us humble and grounded.

Right now, I am REALLY looking forward to warm weather. This morning, it was 7 degrees. By Thursday, the high is supposed to be in the mid-60s. Spring is definitely on the way, slowly but surely. I hope you enjoy this photo from LAST Spring!

Photo: Thimbleberry, with Horsetooth Rock in the background; Horsetooth Mountain Park, Larimer County, CO; June 1, 2013

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God and the world have a reciprocal relationship.

 

"What is done in the world is transformed into a reality in heaven, and the reality in heaven passes back into the world.  By reason of this reciprocal relation, the love in the world passes into the love in heaven, and floods back into the world."

Alfred North Whitehead   

Photo: Clouds above Bierstadt Lake at sunset; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; February 24, 2014

Finding Spiritual Water in the Desert

 

Water in the desert is symbolic of the fact that spiritual dryness and thirst are themselves already an experience of union with God. We eventually awaken to realize that thirst and desire have a kind of subjectivity to them; we are "gripped" with a sense of longing and dryness because there is Someone on the other side Who is their ultimate Source. In other words, our thirst for God is God's thirst for us. When spiritual thirst grips us, we intuit that it is actually coming from an Other - from the Beloved!

Photo: Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT; May 26, 2013

A person should measure his wealth in terms of the knowledge and love of God.

 

"A person should measure his wealth in terms of the knowledge and love of God."

Thomas Yellowtail,
Absaroka (Crow) medicine man and sun dance chief

Photo: Lichen-covered quartzite boulder, a thawing Lookout Lake, and Medicine Bow Peak; Snowy Range, WY; June 7, 2013

Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn . . .

 

"Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning . . . , and under every deep a lower deep opens."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo: Snow patterns and clouds over Bierstadt Lake; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; February 24, 2014