“A Wise Man Once Said”
By: Forrest Rivers
A very wise man once said:
“One who knows does not speak
And one who speaks does not know”
Clearly, I do not yet know
So hear me speak now as a fool….
“I am separate from the whole”
The wise man chuckles to himself
And scribbles this message to me on paper
So as not to break his vow of silence:
“You shall transcend the limits of your own mind
And be free when you see that you are just a part of it all.”
“The Network”
By: Forrest Rivers
Like the connected roots of trees
Like the cells within our bodies
Like the cycle of the seasons
And like the movement of the Cosmos
We are part of a vast and mysterious network
Where all seeming parts
And polarities
Merge back into One again…..
Seen through an untrained mind
Water is only water
Flowing by without much notice
Seen through an awakening mind
Water is sacred water
Flowing with purpose from an unnamed source
But seen through the realized mind
Water is the essence
Of everything and nothing….
One without a second
No illusion of “I” and “them”
The whole cannot be made separate
From the fruits of nature that are born….
Presence and attention
Will take you far
And deep
To what is
This experience NOW.
Forrest Rivers is a writer and teacher who lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. His new book, COVID-19 and Humanity’s Spiritual Awakening is now available on Amazon HERE
“Earth Viewed from Space”
By: Forrest Rivers
If only we could view the Earth from the perspective of an astronaut in outer space. Then, we might finally marvel in wonder at this vast blue sphere of awe that we inhabit. Among the first things to be noticed from space would be the miraculous interrelation of all Earth’s land masses and oceans. We would profoundly see that both expressions of creation form a mosaic of incomprehensible unity and perfection. As we continued to stare off in admiration of our Divine Mother, indescribable waves of love and compassion would fill our souls with faith and understanding. We would instantly recognize that all the wars and greed; and all the famines and disease are products of the illusion of separation. We would then feel this burning love and compassion grow into a space of wisdom as vast as the Universe itself. We would come to know that all forms are projections of the One Universal mind.
“Interfaith”
By: Forrest Rivers
“Interfaith”
Listen now as Krishna speaks
Through the wisdom of your third eye,
The Rastas’ focus is on “we”
But firmly rooted in I and I,
Native souls find God in Earth
The water and trees are our true guides,
Look to Christ when you are weak
Jesus hears your inner cries,
The Buddha taught to look within
And be present all the time,
Mohammad spoke of eternal bliss
In the now and afterlife,
It is God’s pure knowledge which all faiths seek
Let us embrace this common tie—-
And work for peace.
“Sub Ek”(All One)
By: Forrest Rivers
The form and the formless
The senses emerging and then withdrawing again
The breath rising and falling
The Earth’s transcendence ends where it begins
No mind but inside and outside all emotions
The union of energy and matter undefined
Without an origin before the act and nameless when it sleeps
Beyond the range of all perceptions and limits
Pure creation
You are:
Pure creation
Beyond the range of all perceptions and limits
Without an origin before the act and nameless when it sleeps
The union of energy and matter undefined
No mind but inside and outside all emotions
The Earth’s transcendence ends where it begins
The breath rising and falling
The senses emerging and then withdrawing again
The form and the formless.
