Namaste ... to ALL ... Om mani padme hum, I recite many times a day.   It is a prayer and meditation for me.   "Praise!  ... the jewel is in the lotus."   This is just one simple translation.   I invite you to research and contemplate for yourself the beauty of this mantra.  

I would say the traits of love and compassion are the jewel and they are found in the lotus which symbolizes wisdom.  Where do we find this wisdom?

In a novel I am reading, I came across some verses that are quite beautiful.   Within the poem, is the Buddhist mantra.

              

“The dew is on the lotus!–Rise, Great Sun!

And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave. 
Om Mani Padme Hum, the sunrise comes!  
The Dewdrop Slips Into The Shining Sea!”

These lines come from Sir Edwin Arnold's, The Light of Asia, which was published in 1903.  This is a long poem that tells of the life and teachings of the Buddha. 



I found that I could listen to an audio version at this website right here:

https://archive.org/details/The-Light-of-Asia

Thank you for joining me on the pathway to awareness.  And thanks to the computer for enabling us an easy connection. 

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Namaste to you, my Friends and Family ...  I was recently introduced to the writings of John O'Donohue, the poet, mystic, and Celtic spirituality virtuoso.  I read his book Anam Cara which means soul friend in Gaelic.   His beautiful words describe the energy connection that we have with our friends and family.

John O'Donohue (1956-2008)

Here are some lines from this book where he tells us of how our friends help in our personal growth:

"A friend is a true mirror in which we begin 

to get some little glimpse of who we are and 

the immensity that we carry - and that 

sometimes haunts us. Friendship is the shelter;

and it's not a complacent shelter but a shelter 

that settles some primal restlessness down 

within us. It liberates us to get into the dance 

of our own life." 

I have so much gratitude for the support and love that I have received from my friends and family during these challenging times.

                                          Thank you!  

Namaste ... and Happy February ... I am continuing to meditate upon the river of life and work to remain with an impartial and humorous eye when watching the ups and downs of my life.

  

A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive.

"I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."

I follow my breath ... in and out ... in and out ... and in that calmness, I can bring me back to the moment.  Let me watch "me" with love and compassion.  Let me see and feel the oneness of all things.  Yes, I say to going with the flow of life. 

Thank you for joining me on the pathway toward awareness.