Category: mind

resistance

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, Daily reminders, gratitude, heart, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, spirituality, Surrender2 Comments

resistance

sometimes the mind
resists dropping
into the heart
defiance?
fear?
I push back my chair
step outside as dawn
brightens the sky
the morning chill
kisses my ears
sparrows chirp
squirrels stuff seeds
into their cheeks—
inexorable,
day has come again

this simple act
out of my chair
into fresh air
sniffing lemon flowers
pungent sweetness
fingering pea pods
my heart settles
and pluck returns
I can meet this day

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

resistance

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, Daily reminders, feelings, light, mind, Musings, notes from self, Poetry, spirituality, thoughts, writing3 Comments

resistance

when I feel the noose
of time, when meetings
and appointments loom,
it’s hard to drop in
and down, find the pool
of open unknowing

I have no idea where
to start, the snake
in my belly
coils tight
my mind becomes ice
and words won’t flow

my gaze lifts to the window
first light reveals
the onyx outline of trees,
the doe munching roses
and my world settles down—
shrugging off an outgrown coat
resistance slips to the ground

breath frees up,
snake falls sleep,
I become
tree, air, burgeoning light
deer and fragrant flower
mind melts into poem

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

entanglement

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, Daily reminders, feelings, gratitude, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, pathless path, Poetry, simple pleasures4 Comments

entanglement

ablaze with gaudy
aloe vera, their
bright sherbet flowers
asking hummingbirds
to sip—over the decade
one plant became ten

behind, an outburst
of iris, delicate and fancy
stand in dawn’s light
begging for bees

we’re all entangled
needing each other
a delicate balance
that calls for repair
none stands alone
independent of others

plants and animals know
without knowing—
it’s coded within
bury an acorn here
another there
squirrels sow forests
without thinking

thinking’s the problem
root cause of the trouble
if I presume myself
separate
then I am—the cosmos
reflects comprehension

instead
let’s celebrate the tangle
that weaves us together
honor the kinship
that binds

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

eavesdropping

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, Daily reminders, feelings, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, spirituality, thoughtsLeave a comment

eavesdropping

have you eavesdropped
on yourself? watched
your meddling mind?
from my hinterlands
I can report that it’s
a wayward place

thoughts arrive and leave
without warning
some are even savage—
wanting to sting the one
who just stung me—
but, if I don’t grab on,
don’t choose
to make them mine,
those thoughts
will wash away

I watch them go
and in the evanescent space,
that precious emptiness,
there is an opportunity

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

stop thinking

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, Daily reminders, gratitude, joy, light, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, Silence, spirituality, thoughtsLeave a comment

stop thinking

I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence,
and the truth comes to me. —Albert Einstein

I can’t “stop” thinking
the mind just runs
a banal and ceaseless train
yet I can slip beneath,
dive into bracing light
thoughts will play up top
I let them romp

once beneath
viewpoint fades—
such reprieve!
I rest in that light’s sling
sway in solitude and be,
just be
restored, refilled
with streaks of inspiration
I drift back up
accede to thought again

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

wonder stone

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, Daily reminders, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, writingLeave a comment

wonder stone

she rests on my desk
cedar green, flat
and smooth
tumbled for weeks
with coarse to fine grits
she acquired high polish,
tiny pits on one side

when I’m anxious
or can’t find a word,
my hand reaches
to finger the stone
my thumb loves the flaws
searches them out
like a friend in a crowd

stone, cool to the touch,
her smoothness soothing
the pits make me pause,
take a breath—
why she?
that cool sensation
so like Mom’s hand
on my young fevered brow

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

depth finder

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, Breath, consciousness, Daily reminders, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, spiritualityLeave a comment

depth finder

it lives inside my heart
this true-north clue
I scour depths
with flippers
scuba gear
and curiosity

when goggles cloud
with thoughts
I rinse with brine—
dive down, alert
for knowing’s confine
none is found

when air gets low
I stroke back up
rejoin our lively days
then strap on
tanks and delve
down deep again

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

shake loose

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, Daily reminders, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, spirituality, sufferingLeave a comment

shake loose

when I feel
weighed down,
regretting the past,
asking what’s next,
filled with if onlys
and what ifs—
I’ve fallen out
of the present
and back into time
with its missteps
and worries

eventually I notice
the burdens—
suffering’s swamp
and my drowning—
it wakes me,
shakes loose
the mirage
I slip out of time
and land with
kerplunk!
right back here

breeze dusts my skin,
plum clouds
waft their scent,
hard rain
pelts my face—
these rinse my mind
of what’s done
and what’s looming—
then I start fresh
in this amaranthine
now

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

no effort required

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn Awakening, awe, consciousness, Daily reminders, heart, mind, Musings, Non-duality, nonduality, notes from self, Poetry, simple pleasures, spirituality, SurrenderLeave a comment

no effort required

rain softens the earth
deer fatten with fawn
iris buds swell
unending cycle
life is outpouring
it simply happens
no effort required

noticing, too
even while we sleep
sometimes wide
often close in
yet never ending
our ears are awake
no effort required

why don’t we choose
to be with what is
the creature we are
with a skin suit
that breathes
and responds

I slip out of my thoughts
into sensing
presence is here,
here each moment
feel my heart
while it’s pumping

the past cannot change
the future’s unknown
this hereness
this now
stay with this
no effort required

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.

need

On By Amrita Skye BlaineIn awe, Daily reminders, heart, joy, light, mind, Musings, Poetry, Silence, simple pleasures, writingLeave a comment

need

what I need to write a poem:
first light brightening the east
before dawn lazes
over the field
a door to close
my mocha within reach
wide expanse
of computer monitor
the alluring white page
calling, calling
begging for words

no journal and pen for me,
the endless cross-outs
that force rewriting
just to make it legible—
I choose cursor and backspace
cut, copy, or paste
swipe and delete
and ergonomic keyboard,
so my arms don’t ache

and the light, the lovely light
birthing a fresh day
opening the way for words
still, deep quiet settling
around me
an empty calendar helps—
too much pressure
and words flee to find
you, lucky you,
happy with paper and pen

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.