Short Visit To Paradise: By Al Larus

obscura

You welcomed me with closed eyes

On the last evening of September.

When I lit a fire you got warm inside

rousing two flies,

now and then

hovering close to the flames

like sleepy old winos.

Undemanding and quiet

you made me settle down.

I fetched a log for the fireplace

and fell towards eternity

listening to the waves

interrupted by small sounds

from your drying wood.

No speedboats or cries from feeding gulls

in the morning.

No hamburgers and overprized pints.

on the tables by the marina.

Paradise returns with empty beaches.

as undisturbed cormorants turn to icons,

unfolding their black wings

on the rock

below the lighthouse.

Before I leave a promenade

along the narrow road.

A fisherman with lobster traps.

A yawning cat.

A caterpillar.

Alan Larus

“I live in Norway and work with database programming. When I have the time I walk in the mountains, forests and along the sea. I also listen to music and read and write a little poetry and take pictures.”

Illustration by Brian Johnsen.

Paintings by Shawn Hair

Prints of the paintings can be bought at Shawn Hair’s website, TropicalHawaiianArt.com.

Shawn Hair

“I Needed the sun… the light is incredible here.” Shawn Hair recently moved to the Big Island of Hawaii from the Seattle area. In a hideaway made of glass panes and ohia trees Shawn spends his days painting, surrounded by a forest of exotic palms and orchids, under tall banana and juicy star-fruit trees. “It is so inspiring, I will never run out of things to paint.”

Shawn Hair has exhibited and sold his artwork professionally for over twenty years now. His original paintings can be found all over the world. He is currently showing his original paintings in Honolulu Art Gallery, Kahili Fine Art Gallery, Harbor Gallery, and Gallery of Great Things in Hawaii.

Mirror: Image and words by Jan Barendrecht

mirror

surface still

the ocean reflects

light only

the perfect mirror

reflects but itself

Jan Barendrect

Jan Barendrecht is a long time contributor to both the HarshaSatsangh and the Nonduality Salon. He originally hails from Holland, but is now living in the bliss-inducing Canary Isles of Southern Europe. He is also an active proponent of fruitarianism, the ahimsa way to nutrition. For more writings by him, see the nonduality salon website and earlier editions of HarshaSatsangh Magazine.

Freeway Zen – Meditations For Modern Times: By Richard Clarke

sumida

Here is a meditation for modern times written by Richard Clarke, in pdf format. You need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read it. Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free here.

richard

Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke is a student of Nome, who teaches Self-Inquiry (as taught by Ramana Maharshi) at the Society of Abidance in Truth in Santa Cruz in California

The image was taken by Sumida at Sukhothai in Thailand, 2002.

Finding the Heart of the Light: Asking the Right Questions: By Harsh K. Luthar, Ph.D.

bangkok

Human life is a precious gift that is best utilized for the search of the sublime, the good, the beautiful, and the eternal reality which is joy itself. Such words may appear trite to some, true to some, and irrelevant to still others. Certainly, in the middle of the ups and downs of daily living it is easy to become cynical and bitter about the world around us. We have all endured loss in one form or another and there is no one who has not experienced some shock or tragedy at some point in his or her life. If you listen to the T.V. news even a few times a week, it seems like the whole world is caught in a whirlpool of suffering. There are endless disputes and wars going on. Human beings are fighting, torturing, or killing each other in the name of religion, God, race, territory, politics, or just because of their inflated egos which have driven them crazy.

Continue reading

Purification of the Buddhi and Self-Sadhana: By Tony O’Clery

duncan lyons

Purification of the Buddhi, or the individualised version of the universal Mahat, is necessary for spiritual progress. The Buddhi is an aspect of the Vijnanamayakosha or Awareness Sheath, it is the Inner Mind or Antahkarana. When it is turned inwards it pierces through Maya and leads to Moksha or Liberation. When it is turned outward it only succeeds in enhancing the power of the Lower Mind or Manamayakosha. This part of the mind is turned out to desires and satisfaction of the senses. A Buddhi turned outwards is a distortion of its function. For man can manipulate his mind to enjoy the senses, out of season, so to speak. Unlike the animal,which only operates instinctively within its Dharma.

Continue reading