Breathing: Volume 26: Chaos and Poetry (Semiotext(e) / Intervention Series) (Semiotext(e) / Intervention Series, 26)

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You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. The possible choices of poems that are also prayers are familiar and abundant. (Czeslaw Milosz’s “ Veni Creator” is one in which a contemporary sensibility is notably present.) Poems holding a dialogue between the self and a personified spirituality are similarly found in almost every tradition. They are especially visible in the work of contemporary American poets. Perhaps this is because a poem of two voices offers, by its inherent structure, not only the record of a transformation, but some haven for skepticism and doubt, even as it apparently resolves them.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. By Mary Oliver from The Paris Review #124, Fall, 1992 The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams The Velveteen RabbitThe essence of life is that it’s challenging. Sometimes it is sweet, and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it relaxes or opens. Sometimes you have a headache, and sometimes you feel 100 percent healthy. From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it together is death, because it involves rejecting a lot of your basic experience. There is something aggressive about that approach to life, trying to flatten out all the rough spots and imperfections into a nice smooth ride. Mary Oliver was an American poet. Rather than the human, mundane world, her work is inspired by nature, as a result of her lifelong passion for solitary walks in the wild. Mindfulness Poetry is a powerful way to cultivate mindfulness. It is an accessible poetry that connects us with ourselves, others and nature. It also provides a space for self-reflection and contemplation. As we grow in mindfulness, we become more compassionate towards ourselves and others. The work of many writers, scholars and poets shows the many benefits of daily mindfulness in our lives, decreasing our stress and allowing us to be present in the moment and appeciate what life has to give us. We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us, that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet.

I really like the poem entitled, “The Great Yes”, by C.P. Cavafy. People make a choice of yes or no to a higher being. For me, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. It is that “right yes or no” that helps you endure and live with inner peace or a life of condemnation in our no. This is a rejection of Christ and it can eventually lead you to a life of despair. What truths can one share with such wisdom in this poem? My yes has allowed me to live out the promises of God. Thank you for the poetry and words of wisdom shared.The nourishing of life, and how it flourishes On death, and why, they utterly know; but not The hill-born, earthy spring, the dark cold bilberries. The increasingly chaotic rhythm of our respiration, and the sense of suffocation that grows everywhere: an essay on poetical therapy. By William H. Murray Please Call Me by my True Name by Thich Nhat Hanh Please Call Me by my True Name

Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, simply known as “Rumi”, was a 13th-century Persian poet, Isamic scholar, Maturidi theologian, and Sufi mystic. The Guest HouseThose who are blessed to write poetry are introduced to a spiritual dimension that many won’t confess. It is the Voice of God that we sometimes can’t identify. However, we know it is not us, not our wisdom and not our knowledge. Poetry takes you beyond your knowledge and into a spirit realm that will and can give you insight. Many of the poems made me really think about how poetry is a part of burden release, emotional outlet and victorious accomplishments. For me, these three lines are the perfect response to Matthew Arnold’s once-famous poem “ To Marguerite,” which insists that each human being is an island: But, no, I’ve been asked to choose, to recommend. The poems I suggest here are this moment’s choices, not “the best spiritual poems” (a phrase weighing nothing in so intimate and personal a context). The “gates” are an equally personal selection of entrance points into spiritual life. Some of the poems are well known, others less so. Each stands representative of many others. Each also, for me, plunges into the heart of the matter at hand, bearing witness in some essential way. Don't get me wrong, the doctors filled me up with pills and good fortunes, telling me I would be fine if I was careful, cautious, a perfect little good girl. And I smiled and took deep breaths even though every breath killed me. So if my lungs are fine, then why am I not breathing? Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh A poem by the late Thich Nhat Hanh, from his collection of poetry Call Me by my True Names.