The Fall

[douglas]

it felt as if I was falling

falling in to a void

deep within the universe

 

and as i fell

i could see the luminosity

of outstretched hands

fading

as i tumbled deeper and deeper

in to the secret depths

of the cosmic womb

 

and i was at once myself and everything

limited and omnipresent

captive and emancipated

fearful and at peace

 

and i fell past millions of memories

and visions and experiences

which had all mingled over time

forming the fabric of my physicality

both ephemeral and eternal

human and divine

 

and i fell past eons of light and darkness

through mists containing stars and galaxies and planets

 

and i thought

 

am i falling or suspended

are these secrets flowing and floating

past me

is there a centre or an end

to all of this space?

 

and then i saw the brightest light

shining below me

 

its radiance was overwhelmingly beautiful

splendid

filling up my eyes with brilliance and wisdom

revealing the mysteries

inherent in every form of consciousness

across the entire spectrum of the universe

 

and i fell in to swirling winds of light

toward the eternal one

the source

 

and i saw a face as large as a supernova

smiling at me

 

it was my face.

[Aleksandra]

Doug, the poem I saw as a reflection of you. As a dreaming with opened eyes... musing...

 

as i tumbled deeper and deeper

in to the secret depths

of the cosmic womb

I love how this sound and how is expressed:

 

and i was at once myself and everything

limited and omnipresent

captive and emancipated

fearful and at peace

 

The simplify end, talks a lot.

 

I loved this poem

 

Aleksandra

[dr_con]

Douglas,

 

Well, for once (and this is personal opinion, not an objective crit;-) I have mixed feelings about this piece- While the images are direct and to the point, they also are very common- For me, what sets your voice is its personality, by which I mean unique personal vision, this 'felt' oddly generic for someone with your considerable talent.

 

Also, I have a great deal of contention with the ending, not that the experience of 'I am god/cosmos/universe' is not a profound and valuable experience- I have just found it to be, too often, a major stumbling block to 'spiritual' progress- I can't count the number of times, individuals with similar visions have simply stopped, until the Mystery cracks their head open once again (Including, of course, myself)

 

I really did enjoy the direct approach to a transpersonal subject, but do have hesitations on the lessons learned, which as I said, is a strongly personal opinion, although it does not reflect on you, rather on this particular piece- Anyone who can become the non-dual self in the birds eye, when running around a lake obviously 'gets it'

 

Much Grace,

 

DC

[goldenlangur]

Hello douglas,

 

Love the dream-like tone of this poem. With the poet the reader descends through the physical layers to a point where the body and spirit, the earth and heaven, the longing and the fulfillment elide in a blissful union. Particularly love these images:

 

and i fell past millions of memories

and visions and experiences

which had all mingled over time

forming the fabric of my physicality

both ephemeral and eternal

human and divine

 

 

The meeting of 'past millions of memories, visions and experiences' gives a sense of time being suspended and the poet entering a reality beyond the human condition, a satori moment of pure light.

 

 

Thank you for sharing meditative work.

 

 

 

 

goldenlangur

[douglas]

Oh, Dr Con! How you made me laugh and laugh with that last sentence of yours! Too funny for words and that little face just finished me off completely!!!! HA HA!

 

Thanks so much for your crit, no matter how subjective - I always appreciate your keen eye and intelligence...

 

It was a bit of piece to write - came more from a kind of vision I had while meditating - and by meditating I mean zazen - just sitting in quiet contemplation. I just had this sense of falling/moving, which we are all doing all the time through the universe; a sense of us all being one and not separate, and I was trying to communicate this unity through illustrating the concept that all is contained within a person.

 

All that potential, all that beauty, all that thought, all of that evolution and creative genius - that god is not far away or this complicated abstraction, but right within oneself - we are perhaps cells in the omnipresent's body - and you are recognised and seen - and that this revealing or realisation of god through oneself - initially - helps to expand one's spiritual or formless eyes...

 

Generic?!

 

And Grace to you, Dr!

[tonyv]

The poem reads like an out-of-body experience, Douglas. This part has a profound peacefulness:

and i fell past eons of light and darkness

through mists containing stars and galaxies and planets

 

and i thought

 

am i falling or suspended

are these secrets flowing and floating

past me

is there a centre or an end

to all of this space?

... and the way this part says "everything will be revealed" affords comfort:

and then i saw the brightest light

shining below me

 

its radiance was overwhelmingly beautiful

splendid

filling up my eyes with brilliance and wisdom

revealing the mysteries

inherent in every form of consciousness

across the entire spectrum of the universe

This gives the poem universal appeal.

 

The title lead me to believe that the poem would recount something negative. Instead, it delivered a hit of bliss.

 

Tony

[douglas]

Dearest Tony,

 

Hello my friend. Thank you for your sensitive and kind crit and words. It is always refreshing to hear from you.

 

Douglas

[douglas]

and sweet alex! thank you for your beautiful words and comments too! always great to hear from you!