All posts by Oren

Reality Check

The pure & strong reality that animates this body also animates the solar system. May it energize all humanity.

The righteous are in no way better than others, but simply whole, no longer hiding in but emerging from their shadows.

Asking someone to tone down the radiance of who they are is extinguishing their soul, God’s presence on earth, for your own comfort.

May the light be great! Great in its purity! Great in its strength! Great in its sovereignty! Great in its creativity to birth anew..

Let the transcendent reality of Being fully come into this body, imbuing it with the power to cultivate divine habits.

Let the Fire of Love extend, expanding in all directions, setting hearts ablaze, integrating all dimensions into here and now.

(Part II:#9)

Letting Go

Willing to let go not only of the past & what is now, let go too of what will be to truly welcome the new.

Losing doesn’t count as contradiction to happiness, for those who bear the light must continuously make more room for it within.

A toddler’s wobbly legs try to reach a shiny bead on the table & he falls, only to be enamored by a bug on the ground.

Letting go of what he thought he wanted, one more step would have destroyed the life of his true prize.

Let not the dream of heaven ever be trampled, rather let heaven & man dream & create together, united by breath.

(Part II:#8)

Being in the Stream

A stream meanders down the rocky hillside, trickling shadows under a blanket of ice unable to prevent its march.

An small hawk hovers headlong into the wind, only a man’s height from the ground, which he scours with inscrutable vision.

The clouds billow southward from the rushing north winds, & collapse into a bowl like shape with the sun peaking over its golden lining.

The light of the sun is warm upon my face & upon my heart is a lie that is dying to be broken.

With forked tongue this lie hypnotizes me with the words “I never get what I need.” I honor its presence & I laugh.

Everything, absolutely everything around me is teeming with life, with love, with joy if I just open my eyes to really see.

An unmet need can lay still like the blanket of ice covering the life-giving waters pouring down from rocky mountains pristine.

Unfulfilled is the man blinded by self-absorption. I trickle. I hover. I blow the clouds southward to be gathered by golden sunlight.

(Part II:#7)

Sunrise

This moment contains all that was and all that will ever be.

The balance of energy is shifting to brightness and soon the positivity of goodness will outweigh all other energies in the cosmos.

Like a political majority, what a difference consciousness will be when the holy energy of love reaches 51% of the collective.

There is no way to prepare for momentous future other than this moment right now.

Let all darkness depart, for I am here.  I am now.

Let the unreal of this world implode without consequence, leaving all that is true, good and beautiful to flourish.

(Part II:#6)

Indestructible

The heart powerfully emanates the light of love. Only its shell is vulnerable to be broken, lifting away & clearing all shadows.

Never fear vulnerability, for in fully opening your heart, the light you emanate surrounds you with greatness.

A sincere & transparently authentic heart gleams like a diamond, precious beyond measure, emanating light in all directions.

Overflow abundantly! There is no point in diving into shallow waters, and neither can a trickle move a boat downstream.

The heart is indestructible as long as it is full, vibrant, and generously available. Thus, insecurity is bred by selfishness.

All human love is conditional in one form or another. Find & fulfill your own conditions so loving may begin flowing.

In the presence of a shining heart, I see God standing before me. So too are her words precious, golden, feeding my soul.

I welcome you, oh great divine One, into this world evermore, by hearing your sacred voice in all thy sons & daughters.

(Part II:#5)

Seeing

A lifetime is made of unforgettable moments, timeless and powerfully present throughout the decades.

Imagine the people you interact with not necessarily as what you see, but how they were in their happiest timeless moment.

Notice how your tone of voice & attitude changes when you speak to the happiness within a person rather than to externals.

Seeing the best in people brings out the best in you.

(Part II:#4)

First Dreams

What are the first dreams you’ve ever remembered?

My dreaming life started at the age of about three, during the developmental phase psychologists call “Night terrors.”

The first nightmare was remembered as physically climbing over the side of my crib and seeing that my house was on fire. I opened my parents’ bedroom door and tried to wake them up, but they wouldn’t budge. So I had no choice but to go out and face the fire on my own. I went into the living room and saw that, instead of flames, the whole house was lit in a red glow, while the outside was a vivid blue from the moonlight. My eye, however, was drawn to sets of complete skeletons that were hanging from every wall of the house, spaced a few feet apart. Then my eye was drawn to the sofa, where a single human skull was on the cushion. My mind identified this skull as the cause of the family problems, so I charged at it in a brave attempt to vanquish the enemy. However, each time I came within reach of the skull, its power physically picked me up head over heels backwards and placed me back where I started again. After 5 or so attempts, the dream ends.

I find myself wondering: when a toddler experiences night terrors of this type, what is really happening physically? Could a bystander have seen a toddler flipping in the air? Or under full and complete surveillance, would they more likely see a toddler collapsed back to sleep on the floor of the living room? Or something in between? How amazing it would be to somehow correlate the experience of the toddler with some kind of documentation of what actually happened, and show it to them later in case there is ever any recollection.

The second toddler dream is also centered on the house. I wake up from bed to a visitor approaching. He is a masculine presence and I am not afraid of him. He wants to show me something, to teach me about my home. He leads me first to the back yard, and instead of my lawn, the garage, the treehouse, I see a battle field. There are cannons and smoke clearing from recent discharges from them. Then in the front yard, one of these wheeled cannons is sitting right outside my window – not pointing at me, but close enough that I could see the gleam of light on the rim of the barrel. “This house is in a war zone” I thought. It was in the san fernando valley of southern california. I wonder today if any historian could trace activity of say, the mexican-american war to this location?

After weeks of nightmares, my parents apparently consulted amongst themselves or with some experts and decided to intervene, which actually worked but perhaps not in the way they were expecting. They approached me one night before bed and presented me with the first gift I ever remember receiving: A stuffed animal, a golden brown gorilla in a seated position with long arms down to the floor. We (?) named it “Nicolas” and I was told that Nicolas would protect me in my dreams. I enthusiastically went to sleep that night just to see what would happen, and sure enough, a gorilla named Nicolas did visit me. Only it was not to rescue me at a time of nightmarish need. Nicolas was to be my first of many dream teachers. His message to me was “You can do whatever you want in your dreams.” And he showed me how.

In the subsequent years, two periods of time stand out most. At about age 8 I started having flying dreams. These were not very impressive, and more like “swimming through air” around my neighborhood. I had to keep kicking and paddling to stay mobile, or else I would “sink” back to earth! It was fun, though.

Then the dreaming life really got in full gear at about age 10 when I realized that I could plant the seed of what I wanted to dream about. The key image that got my dream life all fired up was of a unicorn. My unicorn friend came to me every night and walked me to a place of rainbows and butterflies, which would start the most amazing adventures. What a change from the night terrors of the the toddler phase!!! The flying, the journeying was so amazing and so intense that all I wanted to do was dream, literally. I got to the point where I would go to sleep at night, dream all night, wake up in the morning remembering where I left off, and eat breakfast. I would go back to sleep during the day (it must have been summer break) – sleep ALL day till dinner when I got hungry, wake up remembering where I left off, eat dinner, then go right back to sleep to continue the dream again!!! I did this for at least 3 days straight!!! Finally one of my friends, Johnny, came over and said “What are you doing, sleeping all the time!?” He got me enrolled in the local popwarner football team with him, the West Valley Eagles, during a recruiting booth at the fallbrook mall. Practice was set to begin on August 1st. That was a day that changed my life. Football became my life for the next 5 years and I completely metamorphosized in its developmental challenges. Dreaming still continued, but now the amazing things were balancing out with the real world as well!

The last childhood period I think is also truly amazing. I was in high school and engaging in daily meditation practice using a guided visualization called “The Healing Waterfall.” I had done this visualization for months and had become quite vivid with it. One day after doing the visualization, I fell asleep and entered into dreamtime focused still on the images of the healing waterfall. One of the steps is to emerge from the healing water and find a new set of clothing just for you – whatever you wanted. I dreamt I was coming out of the falls and was shocked to see that everything became very visceral and lucid as I approached my “new clothes.” These clothes were unlike any I had ever owned or any I could even think of doing this visualization. They were a heavy cotton and they were off-white in color: large-legged pants, long shirt and a shawl-like jacket over it, all uniform in color. The most amazing part was that in between the shawl and the shirt, there was a quartz crystal pendant on a silver necklace waiting there for me. The crystal had a prism-like function: rainbows followed it where ever it went. “Who had given this to me?” I wondered… then looked around. Up in the hills was a man sitting way off, but he was clearly distinct because he wore bright orange robes. A monk. A monk, or some kind of master had arrived to help me? “What is this crystal?” I asked him. “It is your dreaming crystal,” came the reply, “It will help you to do whatever you want in your dreams.” I put the crystal on and immediately noticed a change in the energy and power of my dreaming body. “Thank you so much!!!” I offered as the dream ended.

The most amazing part of this experience was I, about 3 years later, studied on Kauai with a Tibetan Buddhist monk for about a year. He held services and meditation classes, and throughout the year one of the events I came to really look forward to was a retreat. The retreat he scheduled for the end of my year was on the topic of “Dream Yoga.” On the occasion of this weekend, my Tibetan Buddhist teacher dressed up in his bright orange robes. Naturally, on the conclusion of a lesson on “How to visit your friends in dreamtime,” everything clicked. I was almost trembling as I approached him after class. “I had this dream in high school where I received my dreaming crystal from a man wearing orange robes. Was that you?” He nodded.

Co-Creativity

We are made with mind, body & soul, but who can fully utilize all three? This holy temple within contains the whole universe.

Being in right mind means fully subjugating it to a great power within. Only the soul can hold it in serenity & focus.

We pray to God for help & a light shines down from heaven in reply. Is this power God or our own abilities?

The divine created us in perfection, destined to be divine ourselves. Yet we cry instead of praise, destroy instead of create.

A living soul blesses in praise all that is real and thereby enlarges the force of its presence.

The presence of a living soul is magnetically united with the divine, drawing near all that is resonant.

The resonance of a living soul vibrates the core & reduces to swirling vapor the foundations of anything unreal.

The vibrancy of a living soul magnifies in the power of co-creativity so all little lights unite to a great flame.

Silently perceive & ride upon the prayer of others, that one’s own highest dreams are then empowered to the same degree.

(Part II:#3)

Smile (Performed Live at the Dome)

(E-mail subscribers:  clicking on the title will take you to my website where you can hear the recording)

Performed with Keith Anderson (harmonica), Michael Gaeta (Udu Drum), Patrick Padden (Fiddle), and had a bunch of kids dancing on stage with me.

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D, C#m (Verses) | Em, Bm, Em, Bm, D, Amaj, Bm (Chorus)

Something in the breeze that’s warmed by sunlight makes me smile, the light of love upon you blowing. Something in the trees that dance and sway upon your kiss, the winds of love lift our wings up in the sky. Something in the ocean rolling softly makes me smile, mother earth rocks you gently. Something in the sunlight sparkling dancing on your waves, sliding down a mountain of water onto shore.

Smile and rejoice in the day that the day that the Lord has made. Hear the laughter of the children dancing, helping me singing. Something’s glowing, one thing knowing.

Something in the soft strong warmth of your hug makes me smile, the light of love surrounds you gently. A cold wet nose panting puppy kisses on their faces, the joy of love toss a ball and watch in wonder. Something in the melting of moist chocolate on my lips, sweetness of love fills you tingling. Something in the sparkling shining eyes of a child, angelic innocence reminds us who we are.

Smile and rejoice in the day that the day that the Lord has made. Hear the laughter of the children dancing, helping me singing. Something’s glowing, one thing knowing.

Mother and Son

The bond between a mother & son is deep & irreplaceable.

He grows in her womb, alights in her embrace, & delights in every glance & word of affection. She is the queen of his heart.

Yet society demands her away to a cubicle or nursing wing and he to a school, the first of many trespasses eroding sacred bonds.

While apart, mother & son never completely stop thinking about the other, for their very cells long for reunion.

Eventually, praise & affection gives way to institutionalized upbringing. Yet he never stops unknowingly craving his mother’s love.

As puberty sets in, the difference between a young man fulfilled & one unsaturated in his mother’s love could not be greater.

With deficit he strives to “earn” the attention of his beloved to fill the void, never content to stop and “just be” in the assurance that his true love will find him on her own.

Fulfilled, he knows who he is in her eyes, finds himself trustworthy & therefore so too is the love that he finds in the world.

May all mothers be empowered to love their sons as much as they originally wished. May all sons find true love in the world without even seeking it.

May the blue lotus of my crown ever-widen in sweet heavenly scent, that the divine mother may be drawn near in delight.

(Part II:#2)