Lovers Garden has invited me in again for a poem or two. Lately I've been needing to express myself and this garden is where I plant the seeds of my love...

Love has changed its face
as sure as the moon changes phases
Certain it will change again
And I'm willing to do the same

No longer fear it, I welcome change!
Yet looking back I cry over yesterday
Today, I am, what I was not then
What I've become tomorrow will take away

What a ride, this constant change
Friends come and go but one thing remains
My love deep inside of many faces
ready to burst out and run the races

And for as long as I know how to recognize it
No matter what it looks like, I will know
As surely as the expected tidal waves
Love will save the day.

Love Lit into my Heart
A warm surging circulation
A flame burst into a smile
Do you know
how that feels?

My smile of Love
Touched every Heart I met
Smiles spread around me
as sure as Sun beams
Reach out to the
furthest shadow

And
My step was Love
My touch
My words
My giving
All Love

I was Love

And Believed

The Sun
could fill my Heart forever

And Now
was felt
the very ends of Eternity
And All
that was
Was All that should Ever Be

Until

The Moon
whispered
Suspician
Jealousy
Betrayal

Fear of the Darkness

I denied
I clung
I grasped
Claiming the Sun
as my Own

As if
It could ever
Really be
a thing to Have
to Hold

For Love
as a Blessing
as a Smile
as a Song
is Gifted
is Cherished

And spreads its Smile
on its way to
EveryWhere

Remaining
in Hearts

Brave
and Open.


~

What better time for Love
To spread its wings

For the world is lost
the world, it is sinking

What better place for Love
to sprinkle its chrystalyn droplets

For the earth is in pain
disease invading the planet

What better reason for Love
to be heard in song

For the heart of humans
have hardened like a stone

What better time for Love
to show its face

For our eyes have cried
to long from disgrace

What better moment for Love
to come and stay

For I could use it now
to get thru this day...

Very nice, Rachel

Yes, surely what better time?

Thank you Rachel.

And you, too, Lisa. Beautiful.

Love,
Greg

, Greg.


Is there Heart in the World?
Can it be found?
Disease, death, abuse
Surrounding
Drowning
All around.

Are there still star-lights
in Your Eyes?
Heaven in Your breath?
Are Your words
a gift of Truth?
Love flowing
from Your chest?

And do You feel
a Wonder
in the small center of it All
The place where Love
was created
Long before the Fall

This Heart exists there
Many, many more
Legions of Lovers
Heaving, enthralled

with Sacred Wonder

with dim Light pulsing
through a dimness of Hope

Breathe it in
Exhale
Flow
the language Asail

Compressed so protectively
in what it fears to give
Dormant
and waiting
for a time
it may live,

freely
openly
in faith and trust

Again.....

in a World
For the Giving
To the Givers ~
No end.

There IS heart in the world Lisa
where every newborn's little fingers reach out

where a passerby drops a dollar
in the frail hand of the homeless

where a teen gives his seat
to the elderly woman

There IS heart in the world Lisa
where a friend forgives another

where a stranger says goodmorning
and you know he means it

where a couple adopts a child
to give it the home he wouldn't have had

where many will go out of their way
to help someone in despair

there IS heart in the world Lisa
where a waitress smiles while pouring coffee

where a lover brings flowers
after his long hard day

where children peacefully play

there IS heart in the world Lisa
where doctors volunteer their skills

where teachers give that extra time
to help their students succeed

where people gather to support
those less fortunate those in need

where one man risk his life to save another

there IS heart in the world Lisa
and where there is but one man who has it

God will spear this planets doom
that One can be you or me or anyone

it takes One with heart to save the world...

Beautiful poetry, Lisa and Rachel!

Love, Connie

Thank you
for your beautiful and thoughtful words, Rachel.
Yes, if you drop out of the media's black influence.....long enough to tune into what's real and surrounding you.....
you can feel it There.

~Lisa

thanks too, Mom

Part I, Part II,
Do Part III with glee,

But there's more, Part IV,
Needing to turn side ways to get out the door,

Part V,
All about staying alive,

Along comes part VI,
I'm in such a fix!

Will I ever finish Part VII,
May have to quit and go to heaven,

It's getting late in Part VIII,
Better get a move on my fate,

Whew! Part IX,
Finished just in time,

Ops! Part X,
Got to do it all over again

There is Beauty
Held intimately for my very Own

No one else may know
the colors of emotion
that spoon this Heart
Within

Pinks and tender Blues...
the softest Green
Love ever grew
Darling,
a hidden world
of feelings
I have felt
only for You

Such Beauty
doesn't fade
with the worried
air of Time,
held protected
and new,
right Here
Our Love
Resides

That tender
first Impression
I hold forever Dear
Alongside Care
that drives One
to Giving
Even
when Darkness
Overwhelms
The Dreams
Two had wandered
The Wilderness
Wild Hearts
had Roamed.

Just some words to share on this
Leo Moon Sunday.


This kiss of Trust
Thy gift to me
Forlorn of the Wiser
We need not Be.

"Open Up"
he whispered dear
Never had I felt
Words gift Life
Trembling the moment
Tucked Fear and Shame
Out of Feeling
Away from Sight

Hesitant only
From nudity clothed
A lifetime of layers
I dare not unfold

"Open Up"
Promise of Sun
streaming from his eyes
All I reflected
Shone brilliant
wandering those skies

Without thought of storm
Of breaking
Or shattering

Given in Faith
Such innocence
never presumes
to ForeSee

Gives each Heart
a clean slate
and always a Chance to Be

Trust in Love
cares not
if vanquished
by Fate

Shall never
be broken
by cruelty or hate

Yet Opens
Forever again
As a bloom
Yet to know the Sun

A clean slate
of its Own Heart

Its Journey
forever
UnDone.

That's beautiful, Lisa.

Love,
Greg

Thanks, Gregory

I have been thinking a lot of this lately. A whole Spiral could be composed on the subject I suppose.
It seems in this world there are those who have a difficult time opening up.....until trust has been formed.....or what One believes is the moment of Trust anyway. And there are Others who Trust first and will believe in the other person first unless proven otherwise.

It's the Ultimate Gift really......although in this world it seems to have many misperceptions.
Trust is mistaken for Gullibility when they are two very different things.
Gullibility is to charge head on into something without Knowing,
whereas Trust is giving of One's Own Heart, even in Knowing.
Knowing of the Hurt it could bring......of the dissappointment One may feel. Yet still believing in the goodness that One instinctively Knows exists. The Potential.

Let's see.....examples........well, I have a friend who everyone always feels the need to warn me against. She's a whore......she's a this or that......I do not listen to what other people tell me about her.
She's always been kind hearted and generous with me (Leo Lady).......That's the person I know and have Faith in. No one on this Earth could convince me otherwise.
I will have Faith in her goodness forever..........not because I am gullible, but because I Believe in her.
For I Know very much that she has a Good Heart.......that's all that matters to me.
Nothing anyone else says could change that for me.
If one day she proves me wrong.......hurts me.......I'll still know that she was moved to do so because of insecurity....because of falling into Human enticements she has no strong Will over.

But for now.......she gives of her heart and I give mine and I have a beautiful friendship I wouldn't know otherwise.

Trust could possibly be the most beautiful gift someone could give someone else. It is saying "I believe in You."
Perhaps when it may seem that no one else on this Earth could do so. IT's a chance. Both ways a very immense chance........but what is life without belief? What kind of person could One be without striving to emulate Hope?
What point is there in living a life without Faith?
Having a child........thinking of how one hopes to present themself in order for the child to have the innocence of believing in the world is a powerful inspiration.
Children........when they grow........they search hypocrisy......they know instinctively by your actions.....your energy.....

I don't know........but I'm thinking the greatest thing I could gift my child is an expample of Trust.
Many kisses and bandaids........for it isn't the easy Path. But it is a gift of Life that is sorely in need in this World.

Lisa

Yes, it's true, isn't it? It is hard to trust in today's world, and we're constantly being warned not to trust, not to be gullible, keep our guard up. And it's hard to fault that advice on a practical level, with the visible evidence of rising crime and corruption all around, scam artists nearly everywhere you look, the decay of business ethics to the point where greed and fraud are virtually the norm ...

It could be argued that those of us who trust are fools!

And yet, trust is the basis of all human society. Civilization could not even function if trust were not the rule and broken trust the exception. To the extent that we come to believe that mistrust should be our "normal" attitude toward others, to be replaced only after trustworthiness is proven, to that extent we have regressed as a society. When trust is no longer the basis for human interaction, force and fear are its only replacements. We can only arm ourselves in defense against others, or "get them before they get us."

Sadly, that attitude is only too prevalent in the world today. And that is a self-reinforcing downward spiral: it's only natural to mistrust those who mistrust us, and vice-versa.

So how do we trust, especially when we've had the experience of seeing our trust backfire? I think your example was a beautiful one ... we simply choose to trust, based on our own experience, unless and until we are shown that the object of our trust does not deserve it. Of course that does not mean leaving ourselves wide open to devastation, or placing our trust where intuition and common sense dictate otherwise. But we CAN choose trust rather than mistrust as our "normal" attitude toward others, and in my experience we will more often than not get what we expect.

I think I told this story here on the forums years ago, but it bears re-telling. When I ran a Kung-Fu and T'ai Chi school years ago, we rented a large old two-story building. I lived on the ground floor, as did several of my senior students, and the entire second floor was an open practice studio. We had a lounge set up in one corner of the studio, with chairs and a sofa, a stereo, bookshelves stocked with volumes on philosophy and martial arts, and a display of martial arts practice weapons that we used for training, along with some fairly expensive swords and other paraphernalia acquired for collection and display. The upstairs studio had its own separate entrance from the outside, and it was never locked. The school was in a small, friendly town, and it simply never occurred to me to lock it. Over a period of time, some of the students began to worry about that, especially as our collection of books and display weapons grew, and suggested that we begin locking the studio. I didn't think it was necessary, and said so, but since the students were financially supporting the school I acquiesced to their wishes.

So, several students went out a bought a lock (the door didn't even have one!) and installed it. And guess what happened? Yep, that very night, after nearly two years of having no trouble whatsoever, someone broke the lock and robbed the studio!!

Without a word, the students removed the lock ... we never spoke of it again, and we never had another speck of trouble!

That was a huge practical lesson to me that I've never forgotten. We DO attract what we fear, and the lack of trust (like the lack of love) is a manifestation of fear.

Firesong playfully accuses me of having "a pathological sense of goodwill" ... and, yes, there have been occasions where that's come back to bite me. But those occasions are by far the exception rather than the rule, which says to me that trust should be the rule rather than the exception.

Love, trust, compassion, goodwill ... all these qualities require accepting a certain degree of vulnerability. But in my experience that vulnerability brings far greater rewards than penalties, and without it life can become a pretty shabby experience.

Love,
Greg

That's an amazing story, Greg.
That could both be a lesson on how we attract what we fear and also a lesson in clinging to the material things in life.
It seems like as soon as those material possessions became a concern and something to be prized and held onto is when the reminder of what's truly important and to be valued came.
Instant Karma.

I love your thoughts on Trust and agree very much.
Like you said.....it doesn't mean 'leaving ourselves wide open to devistation'. I believe most of us have good instincts when it comes to people. Most often if we listen right away.....we know instinctively if we should trust or not.
(sometimes when I first meet someone I get a flash of the Lost in Space Robot's slinky arms jerking about wildly ---"DANGER< DANGER, WILL!" )
The first impression....if heeded.....will protect you from a lot of needless hurt.
But if you have good instincts about someone.....that they are goodhearted.....judgement should come from their actions and I believe it's important to give that person a chance to shine their potential. And of course if their actions disappoint, then it is only self-protection to withdraw trust at that point.

I wish I could express these thoughts better, but the little guy is needing me at the moment, so perhaps later.
It's challenging these days to form a thought, let alone follow it through.

~ Lisa

I loved both of your thoughts on trust, Greg and Lisa.

I think it's true that most of us have good instincts about people we encounter in life. I have gotten stung badly only twice in my life and both of those times it was because I went against my instincts and decided to trust anyway. I think I've mentioned on the threads once before how I generally approach people from the direction of trust first until they give me reason not to trust them. While Butch, my husband, approaches people from the opposite direction in that he doesn't trust anyone unless they prove themselves to be trustworthy. I am not sure which point or direction of approach is the best but I guess the latter is the safest.

Quote:

---

We DO attract what we fear, and the lack of trust (like the lack of love) is a manifestation of fear.

---

That's so very true, Greg. The two, lack of love and lack of trust always seem to go hand in hand. I think that the fear that causes both is the fear of rejection. All human beings fear rejection. That fear is the one that has to be overcome if the world is ever going to be a better place. It is that fear that causes people to build walls between themselves and others and prevents love from being spread throughout the world. It also manifests itself in ways like going along with the status quo and conforming to what is considered the "norm" in society and groups rather than being one's own person and thinking for one's own self. The number one reason that people don't speak out against things they may feel are wrong from a moral viewpoint in our society is the fear of being rejected for being different than the so-called "norm" in their way of thinking and seeing things. It is why a lot of people will turn their heads away from some of the worse evils and do or say nothing. "Don't rock the boat" is the saying that goes along with the fear of rejection.

Since we all fear rejection and we attract what we fear that explains why there are very few of us who haven't been rejected by someone at sometime in our lives. And unless we overcome that fear we might as well get used to being rejected.

Me? I keep talking anyway. I keep expressing myself even if I get ignored. Who knows? Maybe someday I might say something real profound.

Love, Connie

Hi all,
I was drawn into reading this thread - very interesting and insightful. yep - that's my dad, the pathological pursuant of believing in the goodwill of humanity. Well, I wouldn;t say he's pathological, but I can remember even from a very young age, Dad always insistenly carried this belief - that what you think holds true, without ever doubting for a second otherwise. Thoughts turn into things.

And yes, there is that wonderfully poignant life-lesson story about the Kung-fu school ( I always get a kick out of hearing about that time - imagine a bunch a hippies settling down in rural Louisiana in the seventies to teach Kung-fu, metaphysics, and the art of picking mushrooms!) - But, it leads me to bring up one of my Dad's other major philosophies he lives by - which is balance. Which is what I wanted to bring up here. He taught me that the universe is existing on a delicate balance of energy - yin/yang, good/evil, masculine/feminine, dark/light, sun/moon and so on and so on. When a person's own inner energies are afflicted or out of balance - is when we attract another extreme out of out balance energy to complete a missing dynamic.

It's something I'm looking into now, in regards to experiencing a more whole, full-filling relationship, instead of always seeking to satisfy an unconscious desire to recreate this dynamic. Weather is the masculine side (sun archetype) or feminine side (moon archetype) of yourself that attracts itself to you, when it's not unified within you - you play the role of the opposite and can get into some very messed up behavior. Marion Woodman, the Jungian analyst, has written a lot about this and says that key to satisfying our hunger for wholeness on both an inner and outer level - is by focusing on this 'inner marriage' of the masculine and feminine principles - which, of course, relates to everything in humanity. From how we relate to others in our various dealings, our success in life, how others treat us, and the energy that we attract.

So, yes, it is balance that we must live by. Sometimes I think as much as my Dad believes in the good, positive side of human affairs - he is sometimes woken up by it's shadow side, which won;t be ingnored. A reminder that we also have a shadow side, and a darkness within our light. But if we come to understand how it manifests within ourselves, and balance the energies - then we won't attract such extreme examples of it, like really ugly, gross negative stuff.

So, that said, I wanted to leave a short poem I wrote about this (after therapy last week!), since I read some beautiful poems here. It's pretty bad, but, I think it's safe to share it anyway.

The beauty in motion
is the spirit of her dance
Calm and smooth, expressing
that wildness inside
Endlessly searching, to ponder
on life's mysteries, the cosmic
forces that create us.
The piercing power of the sun
inspires awe, reflecting her brightness
is the sultry, compelliing,
hidden glow of the moon.
Nature embraces her, as
a gentle, knowing sage
delivers the nectar for her nourishment.
Tending to the seeds to blossom and awake!
In divine unification of yin and yang,
she steps into the endlessly flowing
river of spiraling passing moments,
calling out to her to love and create.

Love,
Layla Isis

Greg, that was a story that hit home, really good, I got a lot out of it. I had not read it before and glad you shares it again!

That is really quite beautiful, Layla.
I believe I understand what you mean......how you can forever seek qualities in others that you haven't identified yet within yourself. What you may believe is your opposite may be that part of yourself you keep subdued but wish to explore and express. Until you find it and open that part of yourself you are projecting your own needs and expectations on others. Sometimes if you are aware of this, such a relationship may help you grow and balance into a better person. Otherwise, you go on searching endlessly for something you'll only find within. Is that it?

Your Dad is very much loved here.....You are very blessed to have him, and it appears so is he.

There you are, Natalie. Write any poems lately?

Lisa

Dear Rachel and Lisa,

I have read this thread several times and thank you for your beautiful expression.

Rachel: Do you think this True Love thread is a key to your Linda dream?

Isis: Pat was talking about "IS IS" on her H.O.M.E. thread in Creating...

Gregory said: "Love, trust, compassion, goodwill ... all these qualities require accepting a certain degree of vulnerability. But in my experience that vulnerability brings far greater rewards than penalties, and without it life can become a pretty shabby experience."
Yes, because defensiveness is a form of fear and defenselessness is a state in which fear does not obstruct Love. Defenselessness is the true courage to reject fear.
Love,

Thank you Lisa,
Yes, that is a more articulate and specific way of expressing what I was saying about attracting the types of people who possess qualities you haven't identified yet within yourself.
I guess, as you say, the key is to continually strive to become more and more aware, bringing what's in the subconscious into the conscious, which is the definition of transformation. But, do you ever find yourself on a path, which you consciously understand is maybe the wrong choice, recognizing the fact that there are subconscious forces at work, which are drawing you into something for the purpose of growth, but maybe at the expense of some serious pain and conflict? I find that I am usually focused on the internal, transfixed on the inner, deep waters of transformation (all my intense eight house concentration of energy) - though, my heightened internal awareness doesn't seem to prevent me from making the wrong choices sometimes. I guess after enough of these experiences, we finally learn and realize we don;t need these darker, more destructive pursuits that are so intoxicating at times.
Couldn't we just skip over this process?

Love,
Layla Isis.

P.S. Yes, I am very lucky to have my dad!

And I am very lucky to have my Layla Isis!

That was a beautiful poem, sweetie, and very insightful.

Nope, can't skip the learning process even when it's painful. But the important thing to remember is that it is the learning, not the pain, that is inevitable. (Which is really what you said more poetically!) Sometime life has to hit you upside the head to call your attention to what needs to be learned, but once you know that, you have the option of choosing your own classroom to learn the lesson, rather than waiting for it to clobber you again!

Have you read The Chemical Wedding by Christian Rosenkreutz? If not I'll try to dig up a copy to send to you ... it's one of the major alchemical manuscripts from the 14th century, and it's about spiritual transformation through that internal union of the masculine and feminine that the Jungians talk about (Jung drew a lot of his insights from alchemy). Right up your alley, I think!

Love,
Dad

I like that analogy of choosing your own classroom, Dad. I'll work with that... Sounds much better than being clobered upside the head with your lessons.

Yes, that book does sound like it's right up my alley!!
birthday's coming up...hint, hint. What more does an Eighth house Virgo want for her birthday than a deep book about spiritual transformation and alchemy?
But, first - your birthday next week! Why do Virgos always tend to be born in the same families - I've seen this a lot, actually, where there are loads of Virgos in one family - they like to travel in packs! yet, they are somehow the elusive hermit, as well. Curious.

Lots of love ,
Layla

Oh, you mean the old show-business gypsy hermit syndrome? Gee, what's curious about that?

Actually, I think that's more an expression of the combination of Virgo with strong Pluto/Scorpio influences, which is a characteristic of our particular Virgo-dominated family. Grandmama had Scorpio Moon trining Cancer Pluto in mutual reception (!) and all three of us have underworld Pluto in the traveling 9th house!

Yeah, shared family influences are really fascinating.

Love,
Dad