a Japanese moment

It’s Haibun Monday at dVerse tonight and we are prompted by Toni Spencer to write a free for all Haibun. Here’s how she set up the challenge.

That being said, today is a Free For All…meaning, you pick the subject upon which you wish to write.  There are rules of course – (1) The haibun must be non-fiction (2) The occurance must have actually happened to you (3) You are to write one to two tight paragraphs and (4) End it with a season based haiku.

So here goes.

The photo is by me and taken on the walk described below. A Gallery of pictures from the walk  can be seen here

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The drive to Broughton gave me an inkling as to what we may encounter on our walk. The fells were covered with a fresh dusting of pure white snow and the sun was beginning it’s descent into the Western sky. I parked the van and my companion Adam, a quiet and thoughtful young man from Hungary, and I, began our walk. We climbed away from the main path, the John Buchan Way, and headed for a higher vantage point with a view westwards. In the presence of this silent fellow, I became aware of the heaviness of my own breathing. Deep snow and falling temperatures made the final part of our ascent all the more difficult but the reward was a view that was pure Winter. Tinto Hill, a distinct feature of this landscape, was now cloaked in mist and snow covered and looked somehow to have been transported from another continent. It was breathtaking.

Japanese winter

echoing the words of Basho

here on Scottish fell

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Hopeless Haiku

The other day my inbox had a new ‘Buddha at the Gas Pump’ interview….I get these on a regular basis along with poetry from ‘A Year of Being Here’ and thoughtful quotes from ‘The Ripples Guy’

I don’t always follow the link to the interviews…I always read the poems and quotes.

This day my instinct was to check the interview as well.

So I did. It was interesting. It was annoying. Challenging too.

It was Rick Archer with Unmani?

I looked around for other stuff by her and found  this video talk by her. It’ll also provide some context to the work below which flowed as a stream of consciousness after watching the video. True scribbles.

I am posting this as a piece of artpoetryhaikuthematic.

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This is what it is

not going to get better

only the present

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time to stop looking

it is a hopeless journey

nothing to be found

    ~~~~~~~

a mystic said this

no teacher is needed

the buddha is dead

    ~~~~~~~

one step at a time

i realised i was lost

life opened my heart

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i have had enough

the truth is that i don’t know

it is time to die

     ~~~~~~~

letting it all go

every last idea

there is no more hope

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terrifying now

now that has no way forward

or now no way back

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spiritual path

is a road to nowhere

let go of it all

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writing these haiku

i am just following thought

is this the now now

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At the Heart of the Matter

Haibun Thinking

This week I have gone with a ‘Quote Prompt’ late in the week and an apology to all group members for not getting round to reading your entries…crazy busy week about to get even busier…I may be Awol for a few days but will try and get round all the work at some point.

Today you are you!

That is truer than true!

There is no one alive who is you-er than you! ~ Dr Seuss

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I am standing at the edge of a drum circle of 60 people. I have just completed an orchestration sequence, following on from the instructions of my Mentor and Teacher, and brought the session to a close.”Bring us to a close using orchestration with an emotive context and content” He had said. In other words leave them feeling complete, fulfilled, enlivened and connected to one another. Oh and do it with finesse because this is your Certification celebration. Show us what you got Paul. The silence was enormously affirming. As were the mile wide smiles. Mine was the biggest. Working in service of the circle is who I am. It is my core. My unwavering ever-present eternal self. It’s what I am here to do and I do it in the knowledge that connections are deepened and life is affirmed. Always. Moments like this are few and far between, when the deepest knowing is present. When everything in the universe is as it should be.

Did I choose this path/

or did it choose me somehow/

The answer  is YES /

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Certification provides a standard of recognition for individuals who have participated in the VMC leadership trainings. Certified Drum Circle Facilitators will have achieved a high standard of facilitation skills and VMC core community building values into their DCF practice.

Through achievement of certification, Drum Circle Facilitators will gain international recognition for meeting standards of excellence in facilitation skills, leadership and community building.

To be eligible for VMC Certification, Facilitators must complete:

• One week-long VMC Basic Intensive Training
• One VMC Mentors Experience (advanced leadership training)
• Evaluation process: self-assessment and peer-review over 12 months practice
• Certification evaluation by arrangement at any Facilitator Training
• Complete 4 essays

Facilitators certified by VMC will receive the following:

• A VMC Certified logo for professional use
• Listing on the VMC website
• Professional references from VMC upon request
• Potential for selection for facilitating VMC events

Where’s the one?

Ligo Haibun Challenge~ Quote Week

Here are the two choices presented this week.

‘If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.’
Lao Tzu

‘Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.’
Lao Tzu

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The groove was strong. Late night drumming. No rules here. No leader. Twelve people in rhythmical harmony, dialoguing and improvising. Dancing hands. It sounded like a rolling wave. It felt like we were connected by a set of  invisible threads which combined to fashion a kind of star shaped cosmos between us. Our own temporal universe. A worm hole through which all things, not just us drummers, were connected. We sat on this ever evolving groove for hours. No one trying to lead, to control or to dictate. All ears open. Connection.Deep and real. Then it happened. We arrived. Together. Instantaneously. Not knowing how. At that place. Silence. No one could explain what had just happened. How we had just stopped on the same beat! No one cared. We just knew. We were there.

rhythmical journey

universal vibration

to stop on the one

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Walking

Haibun Thinking~ Freestyle Prompt

One step forward. Then a breath. Another step. Another breath. So it goes. Walking mindfully. Just do. Breath and movement as one. Nourishment for the body and for the soul. Nowhere to go. Only here. Just be.

Walk with intention

to nourish the deepest parts

Do be do be do

block

Welcome to another Friday with a new Līgo Haibun Challenge!

The prompt words this week are: Siberia or South America.

As always, choose one for your haibun. And in this prompt, we’d  like the word included in the haibun.

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Sometimes there’s just nothing. Staring silently at South America and Siberia. Nothing. No inspiration. No stories of travel to either place. No deep and meaningful insight. Just a bit of sneaky alliteration.

Inspiration blocked

Silence falls heavy and dull

Winter wind blows on

Photo by me

Carpe Diem Haiku

Carpe Diem Goes Back to Its Roots #4

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai host Chèvrefeuille from time to time invites us to return to where it all began – the roots of haiku, remembering the classical rules:

1. Describe a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water; so present tense;
2. 5-7-5 syllables;
3. Use a kigo (or seasonword);
4. Use a kireji (or cuttingword);
5. Sometimes a deeper spiritual or Zen-Buddhistic meaning;
6. First and third line are interchangeable and last but not least
7. No Self, avoid personal or possessive pronouns (I, me, my); it’s an experience not how the poet feels about it.

 

Words fall into place 

 

Frozen Haiku for the now 

 

Here is that moment