And everything together, all the voices, all the goals, all the striving, all the suffering, all the pleasure—everything together was the river of what is, the music of life. And when Siddhartha listened attentively to the thousandfold song of the river, when he did not fasten on the suffering or laughing, when he did not attach his mind to any one voice and become involved in it with his ego—when he listened to all of them, the whole, when he perceived the unity, then the great song of a thousand voices formed one single word: OM, perfection.
~Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
One time, while looking in a mirror in the candle light, faces roared across the surface; as though on a movie screen, the film sped up. Faster and faster they appeared and disappeared until my head hurt from watching so many images fly by. Old, young, black, white, yellow; hats, turbins, shawls, berets, bandages, cloaks, hoods, fierce eyes, grim, stern, laughing, smiling, loving. Faster yet and all became a blur. I closed my eyes and heard the roar of the ocean and finally fell asleep.
We rest knowing that it all comes and goes with haste, with deliberation, with certainty but that which I truly am is, always; expressed from the heart in multi-hued magnificence. Magnificent because it is everything. And previously I had dared only chip timidly at a corner of the stone that loomed over me, silently demanding to be chiseled away until only the truth remained. What was the fear that prevented my boldly hammering away at the façade? Was it the fear that there might be nothing left when the process was complete? If only I had realized how very simple it is to embrace nothing as though a long lost friend; the source of liberation and knowing Self.
Every day is a miracle, a mystery, an opportunity to discover something previously unknown. Being in the flow delivers us to the doorstep of the unexpected, what is in the moment, a miraculous opening of the heart—the heart crying out to the world in love—alive and listening. The vibration carries across the vast landscape of human experience soothing, caressing and cradling all into one exquisite expression and that is the eternal OM.
Let the heart lead in this dance of life so that each step is movement in harmony and peace. We listen without hearing. We listen with the heart and are transparent so that when the wind blows strong in late autumn days we are lifted into flight, set free to join the dance that has always enticed us, always moved us even when we have been most reluctant to take that next step.
Cards for November
We may look like the 4 of Pentacles, holding on to what we have, reluctant to let go of that which is familiar to us but beneath that tenacious grip we have, on what we think is reality, is a knowing that would catapult us into oblivion, to our greatest joy if only we would take the emergency-brake off.
Almost the antithesis to the 4 of Pentacles is the Page of Pentacles, a young person who ever so lightly supports a large coin in his hands. He has no beliefs to which he is attached and stands open and ready to receive whatever the Universe sends his way. He is optimistic and ready to act upon the opportunities that come his way.
The major arcana card Strength VIII, is an indication that courage and confidence accompany us all along the way; that the heart is most reliable as a guide through the trials and tribulations of finding our Self. The beast within has been tamed so that we might successfully approach any challenge with calm assurance.
As November proceeds, we become adept listeners. The closer we are to our hearts and the sound of acceptance, of willingness to follow the rhythms that lie therein, the closer we are to recognizing our selves as that essence and the knowing that there is nothing else to do but Be “that”.
Thanks for all the giving and also for the receiving!
