Dream Clouds
I found an old notebook from 1987 which holds several pages of my writing practice, all unformed stories. Like a painting, I see a wash of words seeking to form something tangible that can grow and be understood, with a fair amount of meaning. Not all in this notebook will achieve that goal, but I was able to lift some words from one page and create a poem which gave me a measure of delight. I felt like I was reaching back in time, finishing a thought, signing it, and then, letting it go.
She Didn't Get The Winnebago She knew a man who won the Readers Digest Sweepstakes, understood it to be true, it could happen, but still, I thought it a hoax and threw all those letters in the wastebasket when they arrived. She said, hey, it only takes a minute. Aw, I don’t care. I don’t live on dreams like that. I don’t know the ideal amount of money to be made, or have a thought of the ideal home or car. So, I guess I would never make it selling Amway. But we tried once, in North Carolina. The man came over all excited with his great sales pitch, saying if we sold enough we could work up to a Winnebago. He had invited more people, so the room was full. We went around and were to tell what our dream was—tangible only— something you could buy. I was sitting in the last chair, near the kitchen. The list had turned to dream homes. I said sheepishly, I don’t have a dream home. There was silence. I felt people’s sadness and embarrassment as they looked down at their laps. I thought then that there was possibly something wrong with me but as hard as I could try, I could not build that dream home in my mind. I guess that’s why I never worked up to that Winnebago. ©Janis Dehler
“Let Your Life Speak.”
An old Quaker Saying
“Life is a process; we are shaping it with every thought. Isn’t there a saying, ‘You can’t take it with you – money, prestige, possessions, power? The only thing you can take with you is your thoughts – in fact , you can not leave them behind. Therefore, the Buddha says, work on your thoughts.”
Eknath Easwaran, The Essance of the Upanishads
It is -10 with wind. My thought today is of warm sun and kayaking on a calm lake. Enjoy your gentle thoughts wherever you are!
On Going Resource List
- The Gene Keys: Emracing Your Higher Purpose by Riuchard Rudd
- Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Inform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
- A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
- Energy Speaks: Messages from Spirit on Living, Loving, and Awakening by Lee Harris
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create an New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme
- The Mastery of Love, Don Miguel Ruiz
- Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
- God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, by Mirabai Starr
- The Four Agreements: A Toltec Book of Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz
- Mindfulness and Grief by Heather Stang
- How We Live Is How We Die by Pema Chödron
- The Bhagavad Gita, Translated by Eknath Easwaran
- St Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation by Mirabai Starr
- Wild Wisdom Edited by Neil Douglas-Klotz
- Earth Prayers From Around The World, Ed by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon
- The Tao of Relationships by Ray Grigg
- Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue
- Unconditional Love and Forgiveness by Edith R. Stauffer, Ph.D.
- Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III
- Art & Fear by David Bayless & Ted Orland
- Quantum-Touch by Richard Gordon
- The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Persons Path Through Depression by Eric Maisel, PhD
- The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
- Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
- Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living by Janis Amatuzio
- Personal Power Through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
- Violence & Compassion by His Holiness the Dahlai Lama
- Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Devotions by Mary Oliver
- To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue
- Meditations From the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison
- The House of Belonging: poems by David Whyte
- Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
- Soul an Archaeology Edited by Phil Cousineau
- A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
- Listening Point by Sigurd Olson
- I Sit Listening to the Wind by Judith Duerk
- Dancing Moons by Nancy Wood
- The Soul of Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks
- Keep Going by Joseph M. Marshall III
- Arriving at your own Door by Jon Kabat-Zinn
- The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
- The Hidden Secrets of Water by Paolo Consigli
- Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaran
- Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
- Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
- I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown
- Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron
- When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
- On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
- Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
- Joy in Loving, Mother Theresa
- The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
- Let Your LIfe Speak by Parker Palmer
- Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh
- The Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
- Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson