[bookbaristas]

after work strolls to #threelivesandcompany 🤓 (at West Village)

[soracities]

Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red

[lilakitty]

[juraszirdzinsh]

“Cal. Have you no visions that you cannot name?

Ar. A picture should extend beyond its frame,

There being no limitation

To bright reality:

For all their declaration

And complexity,

Words cannot see.” - A Dialogue between Caliban and Ariel by John Fuller

[lachantefleurie]

may 29th: absent minded swaying hips and barefeet, the rhythm of Puerto Rican reggaeton, the setting sun through the leaves of the singular tall blooming tree, crystal glasses of coconut water and rum, the sky growing deeper and darker, filling with the sound of cumbia at night, the gusts of storm winds blowing a rain of white petals that fall and cover us, staying caught in our hair and our drinks, my cousin’s little fingers picking blossoms from my curls, “nights like this are like Mayaro and Toco”, the stories about the glint of cayman eyes at night and the way girls have been going missing through the island, I wonder (with the same strong limbs I had since I was a girl) if I would go missing too, the dogs bark loudly–not vicious enough to sound like home–but our hearts are still filled with the sound of the sea as conch shells

[almoststardust]

Without habit, the beauty of the world would overwhelm us. We’d pass out every time we saw— actually saw— a flower. Imagine if we only got to see a cumulonimbus cloud or Cassiopeia or a snowfall once a century: there’d be pandemonium in the streets. People would lie by the thousands in the fields on their backs.

Anthony Doerr, Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World (via almoststardust)

[luthienne]

And let me purify myself                                          —to look at you,                                      to look at you (I said)

William Carlos Williams, from Paterson (via soracities)

[otherealm]

When you are overcome with resentment and aversion to suffering, your resistance is indeed an affliction. When you feel ashamed, depressed, and defeated by your suffering, it presses you down, causes you to contract. But if you can learn to separate your resistance to suffering from the actual pains and difficulties in your life, an incredible transformation takes place. You are able to meet your suffering as though you were a wagon receiving the load being placed on it. Paradoxically, the effect is that your load is lightened, and your life can roll forward, whatever its destination.

Ajahn Sumedho (Dancing With Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering)

[thecalminside]

Wisdom is not a product of thought. The deep knowing that is wisdom arises through the simple act of giving someone or something your full attention.

Eckhart Tolle (via thecalminside)

[vjeranski]

PAUL P.

Untitled, 2013 Ink on paper 11.81 in x 8.66 in 30.0 cm x 22.0 cm

[juraszirdzinsh]

“ Journal Entry, Oct. 24, 1992 I repeat my favorite affirmation aloud for five or ten minutes: “Now I'm out-of-body." As I drift off, I intensify the affirmations in my mind. I awaken to the sensations of strong vibrations surging through my body. Immediately I focus my full attention on the idea of floating to my bedroom door. Within seconds I feel myself lift and float to the door. Then, with a sense of exhilaration, I walk through the door and into the living room. As I look around, I realize I'm in my first (densest) energy-body and have a sudden overwhelming urge to explore. Almost shouting, I verbally make a firm request, "I want to see more." Instantly, a sensation of rapid motion draws me inward. I feel as if I'm being drawn into a vacuum, and in seconds I'm in a new environment. I'm startled and blinded by the intensity of the surrounding light. When I instinctually attempt to shield myself from the radiation, I realize that my body is without form -- no arms, or legs, just energy. I try to comprehend that I have no shape whatsoever. I seem like light without a distinctive outer form. My vision is endless. All around, pure energy emanates; there are no shapes or forms, just radiation of light. I'm drawn to what appears to be a column of pure white light. As I move closer to the light, the sheer power of its radiation is overpowering. I stop and try to adjust. The energy is so intense it feels like the outer parts of me are being burned away. My entire outer self -- my thoughts, fears, and concepts -- is being incinerated by the light. At first, I try to shield myself. I surround myself with thoughts only to realize that they too are being burned away by the intensity of the light. Unsure of what to do, I instinctively release and surrender myself to the light. At that moment, the light enters me like a warm liquid permeating my body and mind. My entire being is filled with light, and every part of me seems to resonate at a new frequency. I relax and enjoy the sensation of pure energy flowing through me. Deep within, I realize that something of extreme importance is before me. There is something else within the column of light. No longer afraid, I have an overpowering desire to know and understand the light. I move closer and try to peer inside. The pure energy and power are beyond words. I feel like I'm standing next to a blazing white sun that radiates waves of light. Somehow I know that I'm safe, and I slowly move forward and touch the light. An intense surge of energy flows through my entire being. I'm suddenly immersed in an ocean of pure knowledge. I'm flooded with memories of all I've been, all I've done, all I am. Everything is now. I'm overwhelmed by the absolute simplicity of it all. For the first time, everything is clear. Everything we need and are is already here. For the first time, I realize that we have separated ourselves from our source. How foolish we are. We focus on decaying molecular forms when true reality is always here, patiently waiting for us to open our eyes and see. An overpowering feeling of love, a deep feeling of compassion for everything that is, permeates my being. I realize that we are all interconnected in an ocean of living light. The separateness we feel is but the dense illusion of molecular form. My awareness comes alive with the realization that my mind and its capabilities are but another temporary vehicle of expression. We exist beyond thought, beyond linear cause and effect. I'm overwhelmed by endless waves of pure knowledge. My mind is filled beyond its limits, and I realize that this is more than I could ever hope to remember. I scream out, "I will remember this." Instantly I'm snapped back to my body and attempt to open my eyes. I'm unable to move and realize that I'm in a cataleptic state. Slowly, I can feel a numbness and tingling spread through my physical body. After about a minute, I can move my fingers and toes. I lie still and review the experience with a feeling of awe. I absolutely know that the column of light was really me -- not just another part of me, but the pure me, the very essence of all that I am. Is it possible that we really are that incredible? Now I feel separated and alone; yet, at the same time, I feel connected to something far greater than I've ever imagined. My mind races with realizations, more than I can begin to comprehend. I now recognize that we as human beings have a natural tendency to attach labels to everything we experience and to filter it according to our physical concepts and beliefs. I wonder if all shapes and forms are really our minds' interpretation of something else -- something that exists beyond all form and substance; something so pure and ethereal as to be beyond our minds' ability to classify and interpret. It's possible that our recognition of this is a major step forward in and of itself. Maybe the constant infighting between different religions, faiths, and sects would finally come to an end if we only recognized that all religious beliefs are the physical interpretations of mortals. It's absolutely clear now that God does not care about our personal theology. Our physical beliefs are all rooted in temporary forms and substance; they are all but a passing moment in time. What really matters is experience, spiritual experience. It appears that the purpose of the entire universe is experience -- firsthand, gut-wrenching, personal experience. Nothing can replace it. It's now clear that personal experience is the road to wisdom that we all share. “

William Buhlman, Excerpt from "Adventures Beyond the Body"

[quiet-root]

Crying leads you through concentric rings of sadness. You close your eyes and travel outwards through a vortex that draws you towards the saddest thing of all. And the saddest thing of all isn’t anything but sadness. It’s too big to see or name. Approaching it’s like seeing God. It makes you crazy. Because as you fall you start to feel yourself approaching someplace from which it will not be possible to retrace your steps back out–it’s much too large and ancient. There are too many parts of other people in it for one person to absorb. Grief is information.

Chris Kraus, from Aliens & Anorexia (via quiet-root)

[soracities]

There was something I wanted to say about the body. (The sun, that swollen increment, a dark burr in my mouth–) That the body is a tent stake. That the figure I am chasing through the late short grass is mine.

 Alix Anne Shaw, from ‘I Go for a Walk in the Evening While the Body Stays at Home’, in Guernica (via soracities)

[viperslang]

my husband with the heart of a papier-mâché piñata my husband with the heart of a siberian tiger’s jaws

Scherezade Siobhan, After Mad Love (Published in Peculiar Mormyrid)

[reitsc-deactivated20221203]

[vegaofthelyre]

Introduction to the Body in Fairy Tales by Jeannine Hall Gailey

[juraszirdzinsh]

Meditation has the potential to literally transform the world. In 1978, what is known as the “Maharishi Effect” took place when a group of 7000 individuals over the course of 3 weeks were meditating in hopes of positively effecting the surrounding city. They were able to literally transform the collective energy of the city which reduced global crime rates, violence, and casualties during the times of their meditation by an average of 16%. Suicide rates and automobile accidents also were reduced with all variables accounted for. In fact, there was a 72% reduction in terrorist activity during the times at which this group was meditating. Almost 50 studies have been done further confirming the benefits of global meditation and it’s direct impact on everything in the world, even so far as to have the results published in the Journal of Crime and Justice in 1981. We know meditation has endless health and psychological benefits, but it is now being explored by politics and sociology because of its undeniable energetic impact. For example, a day-by-day study of a two-month assembly in Israel during August and September of 1983 showed that, on days when the number of participants at a peace-creating assembly was high, the intensity of an ongoing war in neighboring Lebanon decreased sharply. When the number of participants was high, war deaths in Lebanon dropped by 76%. When the study was repeated in Wales, they got amazing results. In 1987 Merseyside had the third highest crime rate of the eleven largest Metropolitan Areas in England and Wales; by 1992 it had the lowest crime rate. 40% below levels predicted by the previous behaviour of the series. There were 255,000 less crimes in Merseyside from 1988 to 1992 than would have been expected had Merseyside continued to follow the national crime trend. The secret of the Global Maharishi Effect is the phenomenon known to Physics as the ‘Field Effect’, the effect of coherence and positivity produced from the field of infinite correlation—the self-referral field of least excitation of consciousness—the field of Transcendental Consciousness, which is basic to creation and permeates all life everywhere. Meditation takes your consciousness to the implicate levels of existence where your intentions have consequential effects on the explicate level that we interact with before it even manifests. Consciousness gives rise to the material. The key idea is that all of existence emanates out of a field of universal consciousness, called the Unified Field or Super String Field. “I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other ongoing social or psychological research program. It has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution. This work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike.

David Edwards Ph.D., Professor of Government, University of Texas at Austin