First, Exhale

Words from Ilchi Lee.

Exhale first.

To take another breath, you must first exhale.

When you have breathed out and emptied your lungs,

you can breathe in again.

\Shi\ Beginning, Open, Source #2

Begin Right Now

"Whoever you were, whatever situation you faced a moment ago, nothing from that past can hinder the new choice you make now in this moment."

--Ilchi Lee

Nature Is the Scripture of the Eternal

"Nature is the first and last revelation because it is the 'scripture' of the Eternal. ... the trace of His hand is found in every rippling field of grass or fluttering leaf or silent flower; to read them is to help recover our roots of immortality."

--Mark Perry

"Why are we drawn into the heart of nature? Why do we feel uplifted and spiritually renewed after spending time in some wild place far removed from the ordinary business of men?...

"...it is not only through sacred books like the Bible, the Upanishads, and the Quran that God reveals Himself to man. He also shows us the shining facets of His Reality through the beauties of the natural world; and just as we learn something about the nature of an artist through his art, we may discover the presence of the Creator in His creation. Whether the Absolute was referred to as God, Brahman, Allah, Wakan Tanka, Shunyamurti, Tao, or by some other Name, every branch of human society has, without doubt, seen traces of the One in the many wonders of nature."

--Barry McDonald

Although the writers quoted here refer to God as masculine, it is my belief that God is both beyond gendering yet inclusive of all gender. In my own writing, I refer to God as God, the Creator, the Divine, or other inclusive, gender-free names.

Shi: Beginning, Open, Source

Live This Moment

Awareness of the present moment makes every moment a new beginning, a new opportunity.

Nothing from the past can ruin the newness and sanctity of this moment.

--Ilchi Lee

The Secret of Death Lies in the Heart of Life

From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. ...
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

"Beautiful Evening"/"Beau Soir"

“Beau Soir”
by Paul Bourget

Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses,
Et qu’un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d’être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le coeur troublé.

Un conseil de goûter le charme d’être au monde
Cependant qu’on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s’en va cette onde:
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.

"Beautiful Evening"

by Paul Bourget

When at sunset the rivers are rose-tinted

And a warm breeze shivers across the wheat fields,

A suggestion to be happy seems to emanate from all things

And rises towards the restless heart.

A suggestion to savor the pleasure of being alive

While one is young and the evening is beautiful

For we shall go, as this wave goes:

It to the sea, we to the tomb.

Perchance to Dream...

"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream."

--C. S. Lewis