Notes on getting intimate with reality

 The universe always says "as you wish"

It's the basis of our free will

As we are many projectors, the interferences with each other's movies happen.

Like in the cinema, the beam of light is empty in itself 

When we observe it, we notice the impermanence of all the images on the screen, and the stillness of the light

Time is still 

Images, facts, changes ..all seem to move

Learning happens through these images (karma shows when we miss the mark)

Some events are meant to increase our capacity or prepare us for a major breakthrough 

It's a relational based growth of consciousness 

Our focus is precious, and it is our power to write our own story.

(It works as an anchor, or like photography ..focus equals to the selected shots in a storytelling) That's why intentionality is so important.

Why we do what we do. 

Why we want what we want.

In all this impermanence...What can I fully say yes to?

We have misunderstood love for approval and validation, while love thrives in the expansion of resonance and self expression, it is beyond that impermanence too.

Our esteem for someone is at times conditional to their actions and consequences (and part of our shared karma). Other things come to play as our role is shaped by on our biological support system, we embody as human beings. Accepting the role is part of our soul training, it points to harmony and interconnectedness. The reason is done in such a way as life desires to be sustainable. That's the invisible song that designs two birds' nest for example, beyond their individual existence.

Reality exists beyond the impermanence of all the individual projections. Only with purity comes clear vision for the person. A larger view can show a scope we haven't seen before. 

If someone complimented my reasoning, it wouldn't be so  flattering, as I know the Devil's favourite distraction (sin) is vanity. Is there a craving and an attachment behind, or perhaps something they hope for themselves? Maybe this is ok too, if it is so. We are all feeding on something.

If someone only would say "She's liberated", in that I could stand still. We would look at the same beam of light, empty of images.

How does the bird know its song?

How and when I came to know what I write?

The other side

 

The other side

Tina Dickow

Lyrics:

I had a dream last night

The worst in many years

Had me biting on my pillow

Had me waking up in tears

I was knocking on a door

I'd been knocking all my life

Expecting great things on the other side

On the other side

Expecting great things on the other side

There was a beam of light

I sensed the time was near

I was getting all excited

Saw my future bright and clear

The lock gave out a roar

And the door slid open wide

I was free to walk out on the other side

On the other side

Finally free to walk out on the other side

That's when the dream got frightening

I was not at all prepared

For the empty hall that met me

And the truth that lived in there

The castle and the king

And the diamonds in the sky

Were nowhere to be seen on the other side

On the other side

No, there were no lights on the other side

On the other side

Yeah, the lights were off on the other side

Now, if the dream is right

And if I'm thinking clear

I guess I should be thankful to have woken up right here

And not half-way up a ladder into an empty sky

Not looking for a better place to live my life

No, I think I'll just stay and live it on this side

Ettore Fobo legge una mia poesia

Ettore Fobo, amico di anima, penna e mitorealismo.

Ho visto il video che ha postato sul suo instagram mentre ero alla fermata dell' autobus, qualche notte fa al ritorno da una serata con amici.

In quella fermata, mi è sembrato di essere sospesa in una bolla di realtà, al di là dello spazio e del tempo, dove le parole che sono state mie, non sono più mie. Appartengono al mondo, a chi le fa sue. 

Ettore, il tuo pronunciare ad alta voce ciò che io ho scritto in silenzio, mi ha fatto venire la pelle d'oca...anche per le pause, il tono e l'espressione.

Penso a qualcun altro che ha letto quella poesia, ma non coglieva i riferimenti dentro essa e ha ammesso di non capirla. Ettore capisce proprio. Ogni parola. Lo vedo dal suo "punto di emissione". Rende reale ciò che è mito.

Sono connessioni come queste che mi fanno venire voglia di scrivere. 

"Dall'infinito per ora è tutto."

Con gratitudine,

M.

Winter celebration - NVC London Winter gathering

Today I have offered for the first time a sound bath at the NVC London Winter gathering.

As Ceri said "Winter is a time to put things down and let them ‘compost’. Nature needs this quiet winter time to rest and restore. We are an integral part of nature." 

So it's time to reflect....

To let go...

And trust that life is continuing its course...

I'm touched by how easily things have come to happen. NVC, a context I truly love; Ceri asking me if I wanted to offer a session; a cozy space in Hammersmith facing the river and full of pillows and blankets... 

Leading others to immerge themselves into a vibrational energy I'm creating, with my own hands and intuition...it's Magic. 

Thanks to David Spofforth for introducing me to sound baths.

Thanks to NVC for teaching me leadership skills, to find confidence for creating offerings, and reminding me that it's also ok to fail, if it happens so.

We read this poem right at the beginning:

It's Okay to Fail

Just a little reminder to you all

Do not fear to stumble or fall,

For failure is not the end at all,

It's a chance to learn and rise again,

To find your strength and grow within.

Each setback is a lesson learned,

A chance to grow and be discerned,

From every misstep, a new insight,

A chance to make things right.

Embrace the journey, the ups and downs,

For each experience will shape and round,

The person that you are meant to be,

A champion of resilience, tenacity.

So do not fear to fail or fall,

For greatness comes to those who answer the call,

To rise above and strive once more,

To push beyond what came before.

So go ahead, take that leap of faith,

And know that you will find your place,

In the halls of those who dared to try,

And found the courage to continue on the ride.

May winter be kind to all of you.

Three minutes of truth

Finding a music that speaks true feelings 

(And watching him summoning them through an empty room.

Is this pianist inside a human heart? )

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

How it was composed:

None shall sleep

 As we see the final Supermoon of the year, known as the Cold Moon, drifting past the Pleiades (a Seven Sisters' eclipse)....

...it's not time for sleeping, rather a time for music spheres.

 Better to watch a pair of eyes reaching eternity in the last note :)

None shall sleep,

None shall sleep!

Even you, oh Princess,

In your cold room,

Watch the stars,

That tremble with love

And with hope.

But my secret is hidden within me,

My name no one shall know,

No... no...

On your mouth, I will tell it,

When the light shines.

And my kiss will dissolve

the silence that makes you mine!

(No one will know his name

and we must, alas, die.)

Vanish, o night!

Set, stars! Set, stars!

At dawn, I will win!

I will win!

I will win!

---

Nessun dorma" is an aria from the final act of Puccini's opera Turandot. It is sung by the unknown prince, Calaf, who has fallen in love with the ruthless Princess Turandot. After successfully answering her three riddles, Turandot refuses to marry him, so Calaf proposes his own challenge: if she can discover his name before sunrise, he will forfeit his life; if she cannot, she must marry him. The aria expresses his certainty of victory, as the princess has decreed that no one in the kingdom may sleep until his name is revealed.

Franz Liszt ‘Liebestraum No.3'

The piece of classic music "Liebestraum No. 3" (dream of love) is based on a poem by the German writer, Ferdinand Freliligrath, entitled "O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst" (Love as long as love you can). The poem is about unconditional mature love, and warning that love lost is miserable.

I found the poem's translation below on this website.

Reading the poem really contributes to feel the music.

O lieb’, so lang du lieben kannst!/O love, as long as love you can, 

O lieb’, so lang du lieben magst!/O love, as long as love you may, 

Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt,/The time will come, the time will come, 

Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst!/When you will stand at the grave and mourn!

Und sorge, daß dein Herze glüht/Be sure that your heart burns, 

Und Liebe hegt und Liebe trägt,/And holds and keeps love

Solang ihm noch ein ander Herz,/As long as another heart beats warmly

In Liebe warm entgegenschlägt!/With its love for you

Und wer dir seine Brust erschließt,/And if someone bears his soul to you

O tu ihm, was du kannst, zulieb’!/Love him back as best you can 

Und mach’ ihm jede Stunde froh,/Give his every hour joy, 

Und mach ihm keine Stunde trüb!/Let him pass none in sorrow!

Und hüte deine Zunge wohl,/And guard your words with care, 

Bald ist ein böses Wort gesagt!/Lest harm flow from your lips!

O Gott, es war nicht bös gemeint, -/Dear God, I meant no harm, 

Der andre aber geht und klagt./But the loved one recoils and mourns. 

O lieb’, solang du lieben kannst!/O love, love as long as you can!

O lieb’, solang du lieben magst!/O love, love as long as you may!

Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt,/The time will come, the time will come,

Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst!/When you will stand at the grave and mourn.

Dann kniest du nieder an der Gruft/You will kneel alongside the grave

Und birgst die Augen, trüb und naß,/And your eyes will be sorrowful and moist,

– Sie sehn den andern nimmermehr -/– Never will you see the beloved again –

Ins lange, feuchte Kirchhofsgras./Only the churchyard’s tall, wet grass.

Und sprichst: O schau’ auf mich herab,/You will say: Look at me from below,

Der hier an deinem Grabe weint!/I who mourn here alongside your grave!

Vergib, daß ich gekränkt dich hab’/Forgive my slights!

O Gott, es war nicht bös gemeint!/Dear God, I meant no harm!

Er aber sieht und hört dich nicht,/Yet the beloved does not see or hear you,

Kommt nicht, daß du ihn froh umfängst;/He lies beyond your comfort;

Der Mund, der oft dich küßte, spricht/The lips you kissed so often speak

Nie wieder: Ich vergab dir längst!/Not again: I forgave you long ago!

Er tat’s, vergab dir lange schon,/Indeed, he did forgive you,

Doch manche heiße Träne fiel/But tears he would freely shed,

Um dich und um dein herbes Wort -/Over you and on your unthinking word –

Doch still – er ruht, er ist am Ziel!/Quiet now! – he rests, he has passed.

O lieb’, solang du lieben kannst!/O love, love as long as you can!

O lieb’, solang du lieben magst!/O love, love as long as you may!

Die Stunde kommt, die Stunde kommt,/The time will come, the time will come,

Wo du an Gräbern stehst und klagst!/When you will stand at the grave and mourn.

Back to the cushion

It's 4 weeks in a row that I don't miss a meditation.

I say it with shyness as I am aware of the danger of spiritual pride...also for fear of failing, to be honest.

They say it's part of the process: accepting that sometimes life gets on the way, and we will fall short and skip a meditation.

However, I know how important it is to validate ourselves and celebrate life when it matches what we aspire for. Also, it's just true. I meditate everyday for 4 weeks (damn, did I just make it difficult to say?!)

The 36 weeks long Samatha meditation course is holding me accountable. My reporting teacher is an Assistant Professor of Islamic studies...and probably born as a Greek Orthodox. Our course teacher is an English professor of Buddhist studies. I went to a Dervish dance the other day and I met by chance another teacher of Samatha meditation: he said never happened to him before (being Samatha a niche small world) to randomly meet another practitioner. 

For me it makes sense. The spider web has got connected points. Since I am getting more deliberate about the threads I am laying down and what I am perpetuating moving forward, my web has a pattern: I know which thread to step on, which ones to avoid (this metaphor is not mine, but is by from Danielle Lynn). Resonating people are stepping into my life.

Gerry is one of them, as we share a rare idea of photography, we practice Non Violent Communication and Buddhist meditation.

In his work Transpires Gerry has realized a way for people to have eye contact without facing eachother, by using mirrors, and recording all on camera. The result of those videos has been displayed in very large screens in an experiential room, so that the visitor feels completely immersed in the connective human experience (breathing, eye contact, micro facial movements..). Many visitors have reported that they felt seen there.

As we bring our cameras (and our teas!) to a place dear to me, Linh Son temple in Beulah, London... In today's photographic adventure, I get deeply inspired by Gerry's piece of work.

Deep seeing = deep listening

I have been sitting in the temple's garden many times to meditate surrounded by all those statues, which actually have scary faces and deep emotions.

Still, my mind has not retained a clear image of them. My attention was not clear. They were more like a background to my main experience, my main character. Today I decided to give them the most caring and generous quality we can offer to anyone: attention (as Simone Weil would say!)

So I stopped in front of each of them and I placed myself in a position so that my camera would meet (the beam of) their eyes. This created a magic experience. In fact in seeing, we are also seen. I mysteriously felt mutuality, and with some more years and NVC in my pocket, I wasn't troubled by the strongest emotions of some statues.... In fact, I was familiarising with them (meditation means getting familiar with...) perhaps wondering which need was behind their emotions:)

A statue not looking at me:

Same statue looking at me:

In this specific case the act of offering, feels directed towards me only in the second photo. Eyes direct intention. Even if they belong to a person made of stone!

The experiment is fascinating for me. It's relational.

I remember over 10 years ago I used rush in front of the statues. Timid... almost afraid anyone could see me paying them SO much attention. And now, I stop, I take an image. I don't even need much time to get "to know them". I enjoy the diversity of emotions they represent within me. I don't dismiss, I don't avoid. 

In order to engage I do...

Positioning. (In martial art, in love, war, life... Photography... Where and What you stand for)

That's the important bit.

Framing it from below, from the position of the dragon..

Or from the position of a witness of a revelation, participating this man's dismay:

Once you can be met, it's easier to meet. Especially teachers.  ...Life teaches.

Once it gets cold, Gerry and I go inside, in the indoor temple. Removing shoes is the ritual of entering into a sacred place.

We find out it's a special day and the temple is active up to 10pm with activities. 

We stay for one meditation only. I keep looking at the big bell the monk has hit at the beginning of the meditation. It's my intention to leave the room only when the bell will be perfectly still. When I signal Gerry it's time to leave, the monk hits the bell for ending the meditation.

In the temple a young Vietnamese nun gift us with apples.

At 4pm we find a Thai restaurant 

At 6pm we drink hot sake in a Japanese place.

In London, we have been to Asia today.

On the bus on the way back I wonder....what really is boredom?  I liked this definition:

https://youtu.be/74jCg8J01Wc?si=O6Pa8ijQ-E0ZvmOy

Boredom is like a filter: once removed we find the presence of our true nature.

For reference. This is the best book on meditation found so far:

Back to bed now. 

Back to cushion tomorrow morning.

Non Violent Global Liberation in London

Hello readers,

 if you are close to London, don't miss this event !! 

Meet with Miki Kashtan, Emma Quayle and Verene Nicolas

 Friday 24th October 5.30-8.30pm 

Elephant & Castle, London

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/engaging-with-deep-divergences-with-nonviolent-global-liberation-in-london-tickets-1823137546479?aff=oddtdtcreator&_gl=1%2A64191u%2A_up%2AMQ..%2A_ga%2AMTk4MzAzNzc0MS4xNzYwNTIwNzI3%2A_ga_TQVES5V6SH%2AczE3NjA1MjA3MjYkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjA1MjA3NDUkajQxJGwwJGgw

 It will be an evening of discovery, learning and togetherness around practices to engage with divergences. 

The sovereignty of Good

I am sitting on my train to work, reading Iris Murdoch's book "The sovereignty of Good". A young lady comes standing next to me, holding her coffee cup just above the book I took from the library.

I feel a bit tense now, and I realize it's not much about the fact that I don't want the book to be stained. It is about the care I feel Iris' words deserve, against the frivolity of coffees. I find myself moving away the book a little bit. Her writing is so valuable; the price written in the back cover is only a silly symbol, a joke actually. What a strange thing to hide a diamond within a common object, behind a little price. A coffee can be drunk, consumed, gone, replaced everyday with a new one. While we might need to come back to Iris's words a few times to fully grasp them, her reasoning is one of a kind, and leaves a mark. She's the one leaving a stain after all, if you let her.

I am surprised to find out that Iris is "someone who gets what I mean" (it would be more correct to say, I get her or so I believe...) especially on regards to art, and a self less art as I have come to intend it after years of inner struggle about my own position (criticism?) towards current photography, photographer's personalities, the media-induced styles and all the same fashion-induced topics (if not propaganda).

She has inadvertently held a mirror on the importance I give to morality behind all that. I refused to call that inclination of mine in that way as I perceived a negative connotation on the word morality, as a form of external rules, not integrated, often used by people for judging. That's it. Actually Morality when integrated and genuine, coming from experience, (from meeting the karma's consequences for example) is discernment and care for impacts. That's why integrity  has functioned a less charged word for me, and still, by becoming easy for me is dismissing some importance. We need confidently affirm the importance of morality in this world, especially now. Not as a empty conduct of good actions, but as a widen look to our own motives and responsability of choices...as a way to care. 

 The Via negativa (not doing the evil) is a necessary starting point, but not the end of a moral choice. Morality is not passivity, quite the opposite. It's making good use of our life time. 

The Via positiva (for me) is to dig enough deep, "to come out to the other side" where all is integrated and peace is found. For example only naming the needs behind my feelings, validating them, has allowed me to soften the impact of some experiences. To find out what matters and why. Embodying a new compassion towards the self when it's less than perfect, and understanding Karma (this concept probably deserves a post on itself) has allowed me to fully know that God/Good is always operating beyond all, and we may just not see it because of our preferences, filters, obscurities.

For now, for the sake of my notes, here a passage on art by Iris Murdoch. 

Purity is in seeing with clarity; it's also true the other way around. Seeing with clarity brings up purity and liberation.

https://youtube.com/shorts/uaFfLYpH7E4?si=DkzGaW6PeSIoRJvw

I just heard in an Italian mass this passage:

"What is inside you—be generous to give it to others, and everything will be clean for you." Which I found more fitting than (see below translation) the idea that the giving is a charity about "money/stuff to the poor", . It's more about the availability to offer the gifts we carry within, with vulnerability and courage. Especially when they come from purity/clarity in seeing.

Luke 11:37-41

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

31 Miles for Nature

For this October I have decided to join Greenpeace's "31 Miles for Nature"

The challenge is to Walk, run, swim or wheel 31 miles in this October to raise money for Greenpeace.

Here my team:

https://fundraise.greenpeace.org.uk/fundraisers/earthangels

21 days to go...

A few people are hard to hold in human arms.

A madman

A soldier

A saint

A philosopher

Beyond good or evil, they all have renounced to some aspect of humanity...they have come so far from their mother, their original species. 

They long for arms beyond this world... And still, deep down, they need a mother.

In some moments, unseen, they become like babies, so they can feel held in such arms. When they are loved, they cease to be defined.

Dear Moon

 

My photos in exhibition in London

 "Alice project: The Wonderland in a school of Sarnath"

Location: Riverside Studios in Hammersmith

Dates: from now, up to 8th September. 

On ardency and training the heart

 Video

20:45 beautiful definition of ardency...the way we care about something 24:17

25:52 taking care of the mind... The most precious.

32:27 reading

38:44 strengthen the ardor, by reflecting on the rarity of the opportunity of having a mind

39:25 the only things that actually belong to us are are our actions and their consequences.

44:09 reading from the Satipatthana Sutta

48:01 how are you living harmoniously?

Video 2

https://youtu.be/hl1rZpJdO68?feature=shared

16:04 detached receptivity allows the intuitive wisdom to arise.

18:00 mother Theresa. What she says when she prays to God? Nothing, she just listens. What does God say to her? Nothing, he just listens.

20:07 SEEING - practice mindfulness of seeing

24:37 mindfulness, to not get caught up in proliferation. It also serves to balance what factors are in excess or deficient.

25:27 in the 5 faculties, mindfulness is in the middle, as it balances faith and wisdom.

52:44 our practice is not just for ourselves alone

A. Brahm

 Caring for life

For its vulnerable cracks 

The Tree, the middle, the Floating Bridge of Heaven

 "the Tree in the middle of the Garden."

(The middle is anywhere...)

"The Heart of Aikido"  by O Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba

A volte non è facile. 

 La comunicazione non violenta insegna che non bisogna evitare il conflitto, ma trasformarlo in energia di vita. Bisogna credere che sia possibile tenere in alta considerazione i bisogni di tutti...che esista questa interconnessione. 

Aikido insegna a piegare gli attacchi, a difendere l'avversario dal male che potrebbe farci. 

Non nega che la violenza esista, ma rifiuta di praticare la risposta violenta. In questo, è probabilmente l'arte marziale più spirituale del pianeta.

E mentre l attenzione si sposta sul ki, sull energia nel ventre, sul centro di gravità del corpo...capisco il senso dell' embodiment. 

C'è una maturità emozionale che avviene con la pratica e il tempo, specie se non l'abbiamo ricevuta. Va cercata come un tesoro nascosto nel giardino.

Al centro del giardino c'è l'albero della vita, dice la Bibbia, che se un uomo ne mangia il frutto, diventa come gli dei.

L' immortalità è istantanea, ora.

La centralità non è (solo) su un piano orizzontale, ma anche verticale.

Questa dimensione tra cielo (paradiso) e terra che il maestro Ueshiba descrive. Che la croce disegna.

Per un attimo, essere indipendente dalle cause, dalle conseguenze, dal pensiero, dall' emozione, dalle condizioni. E fare l'azione.

Un ponte sospeso...

Presente

Vivo.

Aikido insegna che è il minimo attrito contro la vita

La giusta leva, la spada dell'integrità,

La più alta intenzione,

A fare il mondo armonico.

Dentro e fuori dal dojo.

Questo è Budo.

Chiarezza di visione

 

"La chiarezza di visione la conquisti

quando sai qual è il Dio, la dea, che ti guida e per cui

combatti ogni giorno. Il tuo Dio, il tuo

Eidolon, il tuo ideale ...cioè il tuo progetto.

Se hai chiaro il progetto poi ogni cosa che fai è illuminata dalla chiarezza di visione.

Ma il tuo progetto ti deve essere così presente al punto da perdere la sensazione dell'Io di questa

ristretta gabbia mentale che è l'individualità.

 Che poi è la gabbia del limite, perché la tua vera identità è essere uno con l'universo, non con il tuo piccolo io...

quindi devi unirti così profondamente al tuo ideale al punto che quando ti guardi allo specchio non vedi te stesso, ma vedi il tuo stesso progetto. 

E il tuo progetto ti deve essere presente in ogni momento in ogni momento della tua giornata, in ogni

respiro.. allora riesci anche ad avere

Costanza in quello che fai, presente in ogni momento il tuo progetto...ma senza attaccamento per la

realizzazione finale, perché ogni momento del cammino che ti porta alla realizzazione finale del progetto deve essere goduto a pieno... 

e allora devi stare presente con tutto te stesso in

ogni istante del percorso e veramente godertelo fino in fondo.

 In questo senso devi perdere la percezione che le tue azioni abbiano un fine.

Un evento non accade per generare un altro evento. L'evento ha un valore in sé e te lo devi godere fino in fondo. 

 Se rimane in un sentimento escatologico (per cui ogni evento deve avere un fine in un altro evento) crei ansia, crei ansia nella mente, crei ansia nell'organismo, e l'ansia ti separa da quello che è il linguaggio universale che è fatto di momenti...eterni momenti.

E poi ovviamente l'ansia ti fa perdere la costanza.

La costanza non è la conseguenza della motivazione. 

La Costanza è data dalla chiarezza di visione

 e la chiarezza di visione è data dall'amore incondizionato, totale, per il tuo progetto."

Selene Calloni Williams

Transcript from:

Les Sauvages

 For two violins. Jean Philippe Rameau.

...out of the silence

You can make a promise

It will kill you to break

That way you'll find

What is real and what is not...

    - David Whyte, "All the true vows"

https://youtu.be/2sPC8HsXxik?feature=shared

Dark grow the days