IT IS THE HARDEST PRACTICE, TO BE THIS FOOLISH

• Today's suggested practice: Day 17 of seven minutes to ... (see below)

• My playlist while writing today's meditation: Grieg, Lyric Pieces: Heimweh (Gilels) 

• My morning practice: 45 minutes with warm-up, Linking with the Infinite mantra and pranayama, followed by Solving Communication Problems kriya

• My vulnerability practice: I keep stepping off this cliff... called by the music of Her voice, the mystery of her heart... (NOTE: if you do not already have your own “vulnerabity practice,” a powerful way to “step off the cliff of certainty” into the foolish knowing that will show you the way to yourself, and you’d like help, be in touch…)

—Hans Peter Meyer

TODAY'S MEDITATION It was always this way, to know that I was called to risk this illusion of certainty. An oracle speaking, singing something I had to know. And, clear in my purpose, to step off this illusory ground of certainty into the heavenly yet always-testing embrace of Her beauty.

I have, since my grandparents gave me the Struwwelpeter books as a young child, been fascinated by this foolish figure, Hans-guck-in-die-Luft, the fool. He who is led —by his heart? the strange guidance of his oracle? certainly not his head!— to step into the unknown. This Hans, always accompanied, fittingly, by his dogs. His furry angels, in their way another of the oracles guiding him to be beyond himself.

Again this reminder that it is clarity over certainty that guides me. Clarity of vision. Trusting the enigma of my Oracle. The only certainty is that I will experience the gift of vulnerability, acute tenderness, the constant testing of my trust in Her flow, Her benevolence, Her generosity...

I am not a warrior. That trope is compelling. It is the embodiment of certainty. But I do not trust that certainty, certainly do not trust those who dress themselves up as "warriors" to protect themselves from the mystery and magic of their hearts' tender need to open to feel it all.

I am not a warrior. I am a man learning to see how I delude myself with illusions of control and certainty. What one teacher calls the fascism of the body, subjecting its mysteries to the totalitarianism of the mind, its will to banish uncertainty. I am not a warrior but a man learning to be a fool, with all of my heart.

It is hard work. To be so fully foolish as to know Her magic, to be susceptible to the keys to myself that I find in her songs for me, this requires daily and devoted practice. And so, I practice. Daily. With devotion.

To be this fool. This Hans-guck-in-die-Luft. Always this foolishness. Always and forever tested to know Her magic, the treasures my beloved reveals to he who trusts his foolishness.

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONS 🌀For the Masculine: Stop hoping for a completion in anything in life. (David Deida, Way of the Superior Man)

🌀If real change happens, it will have to be filled with keys but no clues. Amid such real change, you’ll not recognize yourself in the disarranged mixture. (Guru Singh and Guruperkarma Kaur, Theta Awareness)

🌀The Conscious Warrior practices the cultivation of wonder and awe. (John Wineland, Precept 7)

🌀I didn’t think I’d ever come to you like this. (My beloved, my Oracle)

TODAY'S SUGGESTED PRACTICE Day 17 of this month's practice, seven minutes to hear the keys to your own foolish knowing....

Please read through first, then ...

• If you don't have the Mera Man Loche on iTunes https://is.gd/uqOxd8 you'll find it here on YouTube:

As yesterday, listen to these words that you likely don't know. Be foolish enough to know these words speaking of longing and sacrifice and devotion and awareness... let them reveal a clarity about who you are, where you are, what your life is telling you...

• Align yourself while sitting. Let your body settle into its weight. Feel the earth below holding you. Feel your spine drawn upward out of  your pelvis, the crown of your head drawn into the stars above. Breathe slowly through your nostrils, deeply into your belly, letting it soften, become round. As you exhale, gently pulling up from your perineum, sex organs, navel and drawing this receding breath up through your body and out through your nose. And again, becoming very clear about this simply breath and body pattern that is the basis for your clarity, your presence in this moment...

• Turn the music on and close your eyes. Your breath will slow, but your attention today is on listening. Bring your awareness to your capacity to hear beyond what you think you hear. Perhaps you'll feel the vibrations of the words in your ears, your throat, your heart... your belly... your sex... Perhaps you don't feel anything, but you hear the tenderness being offered. Receive whatever you are offered...

• As the song ends, relax your eyes and bring your awareness back to your breath. Take three gentle, relaxed breath cycles, without effort, and opening, your eyes again step into your day. With every practice you are tuning to be a more subtle listener... and a more willing fool. Notice how this shows up in your experience of your day. Enjoy!