Day: June 8, 2022

I remember waking that long-ago morning

I will never forget

One of those things that happens

Giving feelings of regret

We had been to our property

That bordered Brook Creek

Our group of children,

Parents and grandparents

Having a wonderful time

Picnic and all, including some wine

Traveling down to the water

Required a little finessing

Worth all the effort

The stream was a blessing

Places where warm tributaries

Blended with the cool

Just a lot of fun splashing around

Until it was time to go

That was when grandma

Trying to help the little ones

Slipped and hurt her toe

She thought it would be all right

I only hoped it would

Time went on and her problem remained

That’s when I started the, “what if”, game

Nothing would change what had happened

No one was assigned the blame, so

There was no plead for forgiveness

I wish it hadn’t happened

It really made me sick, but

Sensitivity to things like that

Is part of my astrological makeup

The dear lady passed away

Close to being one hundred

Has been afflicted with dementia

For almost twenty years

I have not seen her in all that time

She wouldn’t even know me, but

I will never forget her or

Waking the next morning

Wishing it all had been a dream

Stanski

May 9, 2022, ^

When I try to stay quiet
I tend to drift off and sleep
I guess it is all right when
Your body is healing, but
I will be glad when I am
Healed.  Physical Therapy
Is necessary and I go to
Professionals twice a week
And rely on my own 
Integrity to do the ordered
Exercises on the other days
I do them inside so I cannot
Hear the music of nature:
Waves hitting the shore,
Wind blowing through trees 
And the songs of the birds
So I may start singing my own
Songs, not that I wrote, but
Songs I know.  I’ll see if that helps
Today the sun shines here
My spirit is lifted
I think of the soldiers and
Police, I pray a prayer of hope
For them and I hope they
Find (Because sometimes 
You have to look for
Beauty and goodness) and
If they find it I pray their
Spirit is lifted.  I pray that
God watches over them
And allows this war to end
I pray that the misery around
The globe turns into joy
Because leaders decided to
Do the right thing and free 
The people to live a lovely life
I pray for prisoners, slaves,
The starving and homeless
I pray for God’s chosen people
I am thankful for the miracles
Of each moment, day and night

Stanski
June 8, 2022, ^

CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
Bhagavan often told devotees to 'Be still'. Did he mean ‘Be mentally still'? 
AS: Bhagavan's famous instruction ‘summa iru' [be still] is often misunderstood. It does not mean that you should be physically still; it means that you should always abide in the Self. 
If there is too much physical stillness, tamoguna [a state of mental torpor] arises and predominates. In that state, you will feel very sleepy and mentally dull. Rajoguna [a state of excessive mental activity], on the other hand, produces emotions and a mind which is restless. 
In sattva guna [a state of mental quietness and clarity] there is stillness and harmony. If mental activity is necessary while one is in sattva guna it takes place. But for the rest of the time, there is stillness. When tamoguna and rajoguna predominate, the Self cannot be felt. 
If sattvaguna predominates one experiences bliss, clarity and an absence of wandering thoughts. That is the stillness that Bhagavan was prescribing.