"During the months of May and June, 2003, I offered 7 retreats, several
public satsangs and over 70 private sessions in New York City, at
Kripalu Yoga Center and in Sweden and Denmark.
The following is a song I wrote for the many people who attended these
events. I was deeply moved by their willingness to be present with
whatever arose and to trust in the unknown."
THE FEAST OF THIS MOMENT (a song of gratitude)
welcome to the feast, it’s just begun.
it’s a celebration for everyone,
a chance to meet the moon and sun within you.
there’s space for every part of you,
regardless of your point of view.
come and share the old and new together.
bring to the feast your tender child,
bring to the feast the meek and mild,
bring the jaguar and all your wildest creatures.
bring the one who’s been abused,
and the part of you which feels confused.
bring the pride which has refused forgiveness.
bring your beauty and strike the gong,
enter the field beyond right and wrong,
bring the ones who long to be received now.
invite the one who’s so afraid,
invite the child who never stayed,
invite the part of you which played perfection.
come to the feast, oh come and start
to know the truth you kept apart,
bring to the feast your total heart and being.
bring the one who’s crying in pain,
bring the dancer in the rain,
bring the one who’s vain and sometimes selfish.
bring the parts you left behind,
bring the one who’s hard to find,
bring the lonely and confined fixations.
all are welcome here today.
i long to hear what they each say.
this feast of the moment may just last forever!
invite the beast who has no name,
who all these years you could not tame,
in mercy’s presence, even shame will turn to gold.
bring the nun & the monk you deified,
and the lover’s heart you crucified.
invite them gently, to abide together now.
bring the betrayer and the betrayed,
bring the wisdom you have not obeyed.
yes, come to find Who made what can’t be broken.
this is a feast of day and night,
where we receive the fragrance of light
while leaving behind the plight of past and future.
bring, yes, the one who wanted to die,
whose heart is sepalled within the sigh.
there’s space for every cry and song of creation.
we’ve come to remember who we are,
to marvel at the falling star
that reminds us how far we’ve been from home.
bring the child who wanted to hide,
the one you lock so deep inside.
even bring the voice which tried to silence you.
bring the boy who played in the streams,
whose only friends were deep in his dreams.
invite him now to surf on beams of laughter.
the sadness he carried all those years
which turned his thoughts into so many fears
are transforming now, into tears of understanding.
bring the girl who was taught to believe
that pain was the only gift she’d receive.
deeper than pain, her Heart can perceive the truth
now.
she tried so hard to therapise
and then she tried to analyse
her purest being which has no guise or garments.
invite the one who tried to transcend
the haunting memories that would not end;
who tried, but failed, to bend the spoon of childhood.
bring the fear you tried to cage,
the explosiveness that turned to rage.
invite the tyrant who wants to wage each war.
bring to the feast the exhausted mind
which searched for years, hoping to find
a way to change and leave behind all suffering.
let us open now to this blessed day!
and trust that there’s an effortless way
to Be who we are while giving away our burdens.
let’s close our eyes and open to grace,
see, without seeing, our original face
and know, deep within,our place in this creation.
it’s a caravan of no despair!
it doesn’t matter what you wear.
you’ll see that love is everywhere around you!
around, within, above, below,
in the breath itself, it’s not fast or slow.
kiss the earth and throw to God your sorrows.
feel the butterflies in your womb,
the cobra rising from the ancient tomb.
we’re the tapestry on the heart-loom of existence.
there’s something waiting deep inside.
a radiant aliveness unable to hide.
it’s the ever-abiding current in our center.
it’s "the pearl beyond price" deep within,
it’s the essence of both yang and yin,
what we are, have always been & will always be!
it’s the golden light in the polarbear’s fur,
the star that shines in every "him" and "her".
it’s the gentle purr of the white siberian tiger.
it’s the sea turtle eating what you thought was pain,
the woman in the desert who you thought was insane,
who turned out to be the sanest, wisest shaman.
it’s the diamond he gave you from the other side,
the forgiveness from your sister who long ago died,
it’s the nectar of love residing in us all.
purusha, buddha, quan yin, and tao,
tatanka weanska, to you i bow...
coming home, without knowing how i came here.
"blissful sobriety" is one of its names,
a pristine clarity that plays no games.
it’s a quiet spark within the flames’ bright center.
it’s a powerful force,
an effortless current, ofcourse:
an invitation to divorce the mind’s dilemmas.
to dyhani ywahoo and ma ananda mayi,
to every bodhisatva in their suit and tie,
to the 5 year old child who asked, "Why do stars grow
in spirals?"
i bow to ramana and papaji too,
gangaji, faisal, pema and norbu,
to family, friends and lovers, who show me the
pathless way.
