Hidden does not mean inaccessible. In fact, love loves to be generous. This is one of the most astounding facts. “Ask and ye shall receive.” Yet who asks? “Knock and the door shall be opened.” Yet, do we knock?
One thing I have learned about being embodied is that the more open I am, the more I have to self-regulate. My system can’t manage all that I sense. Then the challenge is that I may stop asking and knocking on the door for divine help. Each day I pray that above all I will remain open to flow and support of Divine Intelligence.
Blessings on you if your cup is full. And Blessings if you are seeking you know not what. The Hidden Monastery supports both.
My website is one of the Hidden Monasteries. What you see below are hidden under the tab called Hidden Monastery Arts. Each tab is a secret door unto itself. You can easily overlook it if you are drawn to the “drop down” menus. I’m hiding all kinds of resources on my website. You could take an hour sometime when you are resting and make a pilgrimage that supports your mystical spirit and imagination. Need something to support a retreat or spiritual offering? Come to the Hidden Monastery.
Click on the Hidden Monastery Arts Tab and this is what you will see.
InterPlay Dance, Voice, and Storytelling
The Four Movement Patterns
The YouTube Channel
Poetry and Prayer
We all have keys to the Hidden Monastery. As real in one’s heart as any space, people know the Hidden Monastery as a place whose foundation is Love, whose rooms and vistas are found round the Earth.
While anything ephemeral causes suspicion which leads to overthinking, don’t miss the door to the hidden monastery. Enter it and you may find sheer play and visionary encounter, those golden forms of intelligence that open the doors and windows of Holy Mystery.
Our storytellers, dancers, singers, and artists know. As told in Kazakhstan,
“It was the seventh day. God had finished making the world when he realized he had forgotten to give human beings their brains. So he filled a jug with brains, called an angel and said,’Go and give human beings their brains!’ The angel flew down to Earth and found so many people that there were not enough brains to go around. So the angel gave each person a drop of brains.
When God looked down on creation he saw war, jealousy, hunger, and tears. ‘Human beings have only got a bit of brain each,’ he said. ‘I need someone with a whole brain to sort them out.’ So God made one more person and filled that person’s brains right up to the top. He filled those brains with stories, songs, poems, and sparkling words. He sent the storyteller down to Earth, to tell, and sing wisdom into foolish human hearts.” (Utne, Mar/Apr ’04)
Imagination gives you a whole brain and body to unlock the relationship with Divine Presence. That Realness is never imposed. It arises spontaneous and free. This is why any practice that promotes healthy spontaneity is so beneficial.
To enter the Hidden Monastery you need to open your heart. How do you do this?
It helps to look for an inspiring friend.
Friendship turns on the lights.
Wherever Two or More Gather
the hidden arc and open field of love arise.
Your friend could be an animal, a loved one, an ancestor,
a tree, a guide, an impassioned throng of disciples
or a direct encounter with the Ineffable Hand.
This is why they say Love Your Neighbor.
Its your way to the Gift.
Another way is to notice any sacred space you discover.
Bow to it when you leave and each time you arrive.
Once initiated by Love you will see life’s turmoil more clearly.
You may feel a restless desire.
You may go in search of Love’s many rooms.
Or you may sit on your own stump and meditate.
Why not devote yourself to silence, song, practice,
teaching, study, and acts of joy and service?
Curiosity will lead as you walk or sit.
It is vital to keep your spirit of play alive.
Don’t be distressed if Great Love causes you aches of
loneliness, confusion or debasement.
Nothing compares once you eat from the Monastery garden.
You may feel crazy from this,
occasionally unconsolable and even depressed.
Remember that love arises spontaneously.
Keep your heart room ready and open.
Keep making room.
One day the Way will grow easier.
You may decide to move right into the Monastery,
to tend it with care, at one with its everydayness,
forever amazed that just by wandering down a hall,
into a garden, or under the night sky you’ll
suddenly find yourself lost in Glory.
I did.