Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Confusion)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(The Human Condition Photograph)

The Human Condition © 2002 RFHay; Although I would never confuse my "head with a hat," I might easily confuse myself, as the Conscious Awareness I Am, with the emotional states of mind and body reflected in this Battery Park, Manhattan sculpture; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"I as I think" and
"I as I Am" are confused
With one another.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Referential Thought)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Me Against You Photograph)

Me Against You © 2003 RFHay; The "me" against "you" mentality that relative (carnal) mind and thought naturally engenders is clearly exemplified in this image (Note: That's the now defunct Philadelphia Veteran's Stadium across the river); Companion haiku: Thinking creates a conceptual referent I imagine I am.

Thinking implies a
Central referent I call
"Me, Myself and I.

"Thinking creates a
Mental self-referent that
"I" take to be "me."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Relational I)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com and myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Imaginary Creature Photograph)

Imaginary Creature © 2008 RFHay; An imaginary creation of carnal consciousness similar to the one I have been conditioned to believe myself to be since childhood; Companion haiku: The relational I that I believe I am is not really me.

The relational
I thought assumes me to Be
Is not who I am.

The relational
I that self-thought creates is
Other than I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Assumed Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(These Are Not Flowers Photograph)

These Are Not Flowers © 2001 RFHay; As the famous "general semantics" painting of a pipe with the inscription "This is not a pipe!" these "flowers are not flowers," they are a reflected image of flowers that no longer exist; Companion haiku: Self-reflective thought presumes that "I as a think" is the "One I Am."

Relative thinking
Assumes "I as I think" is
Absolutely Real.

Relative thinking
Presumes "I as I think" is
Essentially "me."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Spirit of Truth)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(The Spirit of Truth Photograph)

The Spirit of Truth © 2005 RFHay; "There is a sense, a very real sense, not a mystical but a plain fact of experience, in which the Spirit of Truth, of Knowledge, of Hope, of Revelation dwells in a place like this." (Woodrow Wilson); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

To know anything
Truly, the first thing I need
To know is myself.

© 2007 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Stuck)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Narrow Perspective Photograph)

Narrow Perspective (c) 2005 RFHay; The rather narrow frame of reference this passageway affords to the "inner court yard" is similar to the limited perspective relative thought, sense and feeling impose on one's perception of Being; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Stuck in a partial
Frame of reference the mind
Fosters ignorance.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Perfect Gift)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(The Perfect Gift Photograph)

The Perfect Gift © 2008 RFHay; A laminated version of the Heart Box (formally titled: The Perfect Gift; and alternately titled: Arc of the New Covenant) "rough cut" for me by a UAL Captain I flew with and looks like a wrapped Christmas Present when closed; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

The Aware Presence
Of Being I Am is Born
In the Heart of All.

The "I Am That I
Am" of Moses was born and
Lived in Jesus Christ.

[Rich Note: Here's the Annual Christmas Poem (1982) that some may not be familiar with:

Christmas

With Christmas so near,
It's that time of year;
God's Spirit made real,
God's Love that we feel.

Again born in mind,
God's image divine;
The Joy of His sharing,
His wondrous caring.

The birth of a Son
In whom we are One;
God's Gift from above,
His Life and His Love.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Greatest Gift of All)

[Rich Hay: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Symbolic Gift Photograph)

Symbolic Gifts © 2008 RFHay; It would seem the "Three Wise Men" were the first to have the problem of finding the "Perfect Gift" for One who has "Everything" (LOL); Companion haiku: The Best Gift Ever Given is the Consciousness I Am and You Are.

God's Gift of Being
Consciously Aware as I
Am is the Best One.

Being Consciously
Aware as I Am is the
Greatest Gift of All.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Totality of Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Conceptual Flowers Photograph)

Conceptual Flowers © A concept of these flowers, however scientific, in depth and accurate it may be, can never capture their Totality, which not only includes their beauty and fragrance, but the feelings they evoke in their observer; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

A concept cannot
Contain the "Totality
Of Being" One Is.

An idea cannot
Capture the "Totality
Of Being" I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Secondhand Life)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Stone Buddha Photograph)

Stone Buddha © 2003 RFHay: "If you meet Buddha on the street kill him" is a somehat shocking aphorism that cautions against worshipping "conceptual graven images" (re: anything that can be thought, felt or seen) that are other than I Am and so not Ultimately Real (re: the same yesterday, today and tomorrow); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

The Truth is I Am
And anything other than
That is a concept.

©2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Immortality)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Evergreen Photograph)

Evergreen (c) 2008 RFHay; Trees and bushes that have keep their foliage year round are often referred to as “evergreens” and symbolic of “everlasting life” in many cultures, and doubly so when formed into a circular wreathe symbolic of eternityCompanion haiku: Accompanying.© 2008 RFHay

The Integral State
Of Pure Conscious Aliveness
I Am is Immortal.Evergreen

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Ever-Present Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Living Temple Photograph)

Living Temple © 2004 RFHay; "Lo, I Am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt 28:20); “For ye are the temple of the Living God"(2 Col 6:19); Companion haiku: Only the Aware Presence of Being I Am is with me always.

Only the Aware
Presence of Being I Am
Is Ever-Present.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (If I Am Not?)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Cherry Blossoms Photograph)

Cherry Blossoms © 2003 RFHay; An expression of the Extravagant Aliveness of Being manifesting in and through Nature; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

If I Am not the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Then what Am I?

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (How?)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Cloudy Skies Photograph)

Cloudy Skies © 2007 BKWright; As clouds come and go in an otherwise clear sky, so do thoughts, feelings and perceptions come and go in the Clear Sky of Awareness I Am and You Are; Companion haiku: Can I ever Be other than the Pure Conscious Awareness I Am.

How can I ever
Be other than the Conscious
Aliveness I Am?

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Ground of Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

[The Word (Reprise) Image]

The Word (Reprise) (c)1978 RFHay; It feels like an appropriate time to reveal the "hidden meaning/open secret" that this abstract, which opens Chapter 1 of OOMM, is actually an iconic representation of "I AM" and that the geometry "happened of itself"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Without the Aware
Presence of Being I Am
I would Be Nothing.

Without the Aware
Presence of Being I Am
Nothing would exist.

[Rich Note: Biblically speaking, "In the beginning was the Word (of God "I Am"), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3).]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (I Am One)

[Rich Note; Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Seven Levels of Oneness Photograph)

Seven Levels of Oneness © 2003 RFHay; Although this pagoda appears to have 7 levels, it is really "one thing" seen from a conceptual frame of self-reference that "fragments to function"; and in this case projects "7 levels of oneness"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

I Am One with the
Divine Aware Presence of
All Conscious Being.

I Am One with the
Pure Conscious Aliveness of
Everything There Is.

I Am One with the
Pure Witnessing Presence of
The Absolute One.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Faith In Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Narita Zen Garden Reprise Photograph)

Narita Zen Garden Reprise 1 © 2003 RFHay; Without "thought, memory, emotion, association or perception" is there anything in this picture that is other than "I Am, You Are or One Is"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

I Believe God Is
The Pure Conscious Awareness
Of Being One Is.

I Believe God Is
The Pure Conscious Aliveness
Of Being You Are.

I Believe God Is
The Pure Witnessing Presence
Of Being I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (What Is An Atheist?)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Resurrection 2 Photograph)

Resurrection 2 © 2008 RFHay; Another shot of the natural cross formed at the bottom of "Ground Zero" that is clearly indicative of the "Martyrdom of Life" that an "egocentric, self-referencing world-view" necessarily demands of subscribers; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Does seeing "God as
The One I Am in All" make
One an "atheist"?

Does relating to
God as "Other than I Am"
Make One a "theist"?

[Rich Note: I recently noticed an "atheist tag" (with 25 agreements or 14% of 10 total reviewer tags) on the Amazon.com purchase page for OOMM. Something that raises a question here as to what "particular god" an "atheist" doesn't believe in?]

[Rich Note: I also wonder if those who tagged OOMM as atheistic were atheists who agreed with OOMM's premise of "God as the Aware-Presence, Conscious Awareness or Witnessing Presence of Being I Am"; or Conceptual Theists who believe in a "God that is other than I Am," unwittingly or not.]

[Rich Note: So it is in the spirit of curiosity, I ask anyone who has read anything posted on this blog for the last year and a half to be so kind as to give their own opinion (with or without amplification) as to whether they consider anything that has being offered "atheistic"?]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (With Respect to God)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(One in Many Photograph)

One in Many © 2003 RFHay: Although the "snow, ocean and clouds" in this image all appear substantially different to the naked eye, they are all essentially water (or H2O) in various states of Being; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

One is not other
Than the Conscious Awareness
Of Being God Is.

[Rich Note: Although some might not meet the seven syllable criteria, the following categorizations might all be substituted for "Conscious Awareness" in line two: Conscious Aliveness, Witnessing Presence, Pure Aware Presence, Divine Consciousness, Present Awareness, Cognizant Energy, Intelligence Energy, etc.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Common Ground 2)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(King Williams III Photograph)

King William III © 2002 RFHay; A King William statue inside the gate at Kensington Palace that offers an extreme example of the “outer status differences” relative thinking creates, while ignoring the “inner common ground" of Being Itself; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

I Am not other
Than the Witnessing Presence
Of Being You Are.

You are not other
Than the Conscious Awareness
Of Being I Am.

No One is other
Than the Pure Aware Presence
Of Being God Is.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Overlooked One)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(The Overlooked One Photograph)

The Overlooked One © 2008 RFHay; As Douglas Harding never tired of indicating, although this is how I look to you, it is not how "I look to me" as the Clear Space of Awareness (Witnessing Presence) that is looking (and "has no head"); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

One Is the Knowing
Aware Presence of Being
That Witnesses All.

[Rich Note: "I Am" and "You Are" (as the Fundamental Relative Perspectives of the One Witnessing Presence of All) can be substituted for "One Is" in the first line.]

(C) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Redemption)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.com.]

(AAHHH!!! Photograph)

AAHHH!!!: Although appropriated to "sell soda" in this case, the “Aahhh” sound (esoterically speaking) is associated the Heart (as is the Seal of Solomon) and can be found in most of the Names of God, including “I AM” [Rich Note: When the "I" is said slowly it becomes "Aahh-Eeeeh," with the Eeeeh associated with the Head or Third-Eye]; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Realizing I Am
Aware prior to thought restores
Absolute Freedom.

Staying Present and
Aware prior to thought restores
The Joy of Being.

Seeing that I Am
Aware prior to thought restores
Perfect Peace and Joy.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ky of the Day (Filling the Void)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Filling the Void Photograph)

Filling the Void © 2002 RFHay; The "inner emptiness" I constantly seek to fill with "outer things" is a function of the relative process of mind and thought that blinds me to the "Pure Aware Presence of Being I Am Here and Now"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Present and Aware
As I Am there is no need
For anything else.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Simply Noticing)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Flowers of the Field Photograph)

Flowers of the Field © 2002 RFHay: "The Grass withereth and the flowers fadeth, but the Word (I AM) of our God shall stand forever" (Isa 40:8); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Simply noticing
I Am Present and Aware
Eliminates "me."

Simply noticing
I Am Present and Aware
Maximizes Life.

Simply noticing
I Am Present and Aware
Resurrects Being.

Simply noticing
I Am Present and Aware
Restores Paradise.

© 2008 RFHay

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(No Where Man Photograph)

No Where Man © 2008 RFHay; "Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, Oh, how I wish he'd go away." (Hugh Mearns 1899); Companion Haiku: Simply notice that you are present and aware without any thought.

Simply notice you
Are present and aware
Prior to thinking so.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Who Do You Say That I Am?

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Resurrection Day Photograph)

Day © 2003 RFHay; The other side of the "Cross" is the "Resurrection" that is forever going on in the Individual and Collective Consciousness of All; Companion haiku: Christ manifests as the Present Awareness of All Conscious Being.

Christ resurrects as
The Aware Presence I Am
When I stop thinking.

Christ resurrects as
The Pure Consciousness of God
When the mind is still.

Christ resurrects as
The Knowledge I Am Now
Conscious of Being.

Christ manifests as
The Pure Conscious Aliveness
One Is Here and Now.

Christ manifests as
The Pure Witnessing Presence
I Am and You Are.

[Rich Note: Biblically speaking, "Be still, and know that I Am God" (Psalms 46:10); "I Am he who liveth, and was dead; and behold, I Am alive forever more. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:18); "…Awake thou that sleepeth, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:13,14).]

[Rich Note: Although this is a violation of an "informal rule," more than three seemed warranted in this case.]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Who Do You Say That I Am?

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Resurrection Day Photograph)

Day © 2003 RFHay; The other side of the "Cross" is the "Resurrection" that is forever going on in the Individual and Collective Consciousness of All; Companion haiku: Christ manifests as the Present Awareness of All Conscious Being.

Christ resurrects as
The Aware Presence I Am
When I stop thinking.

Christ resurrects as
The Pure Consciousness of God
When the mind is still.

Christ resurrects as
The Knowledge I Am Now
Conscious of Being.

Christ manifests as
The Pure Conscious Aliveness
One Is Here and Now.

Christ manifests as
The Pure Witnessing Presence
I Am and You Are.

[Rich Note: Biblically speaking, "Be still, and know that I Am God" (Psalms 46:10); "I Am he who liveth, and was dead; and behold, I Am alive forever more. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:18); "…Awake thou that sleepeth, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:13,14).]

[Rich Note: Although this is a violation of an "informal rule," more than three seemed warranted in this case.]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The One in All)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Cross at Ground Zero Photograph)

Cross at Ground Zero © 2003 RFHay; This "girder cross" found at the bottom of "Ground Zero" indicates what happens when we relate to life from a "self-centered perspective" and fail to follow the "Golden Rule" (which makes a great deal of sence -- as does "loving your brother or sister as yourself" -- if "All is Ultimately One"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Relating to Life
As other than I Am is
Crucifying Christ.

[Rich Note: For intellectual computation and triangulation purposes (and for those not theologically inclined) the following key may be helpful: Christ = I Am That I Am = The One I Am = The Holy One = The Anointed One = The Son of God = The Son of the Living God = The Way, The Truth, and the Life = The Light of the World = The Mighty I Am Presence = Consciousness = Aware Presence = Conscious Aliveness = Cognizant Energy = Witnessing Presence = Being = The Great I Am = The First Person Singular of the Present Tense to Be.]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (What's Missing?)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Missing Marble Photograph)

Missing Marble © 2008 RFHay; Like the missing marble at the center of this game, the central referent the mind assumes ("me, myself and I" as "I think I am") is only conceptual and will also be found to be "missing" upon direct examination; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

A sense of lack and
Want is a by-product of
Egocentric thought.

Egocentric thought
Creates a sense of need the
Mind can never fill.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Jailer of Joy)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Grandma's Joy Photograph)

Grandma's Joy © 2008 RFHay; Though Grandma's Laughter and Joy is occasioned by the presence of grandson Josiah and not a joke, the operative principle is the same; Companion haiku: Divine Joy is freed as Laughter when a joke fools Its mental jailer.

A joke fools the mind
As the jailer of Joy and
Frees It as Laughter.

A joke tricks the mind
Into releasing Joy as
The Laughter of God.

[Rich Note: This one was inspired by a short dialogue on "satire, irony and humor" with a Christian theologian named Len Sweet on Twitter, and is amplified by the following insight offered during the conversation: "Yes, and perhaps a joke aims at surprising, stopping and so enlightening egocentric/carnal mind of its deadly, self-preoccupation and in so doing lets the Joy of God momentarily break through the torn veil of self-thought and express as Divine Laughter."]

[Rich Note: Rev. Sweet's follow-up response, "You have 'a heart skilled to listen,' 1 Kings 3:9," is a perfect characterization of the source of insights (rather than the intellect as normally assumed) that no doubt (as indicated in Appendix A of OOMM) resulted from a 1978 prayer that asked God to"show me the Truth that I might share it with others."]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Truth Is I Am)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(The Light of the World Photograph)

The Light of the World © 2008 RFHay: "That (The Word) was the True Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9); Companion haiku: The Truth is I Am and anything else is a relative concept.

The Truth is I Am
And anything other than
That is a concept.

[Rich Note: Biblically speaking, "In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1) and the Word Is (Was and Always Will Be) I AM.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Knowing I Am)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

Standing on the Binders Photoraph)

Standing on the Binders © 2001 RFHay; Who is now witnessing Higgin's (who recently retired from Frisbee chasing) witnessing the Frisbee and slamming on the "puppy brakes"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"Knowing I Am" and
Just "Being That" is never
Enough for the mind.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Missing the One I Am)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Coat of Many Colors Photograph)

Coat of Many Colors © 2008 RFHay; A rainbow requires Light, a Refractive Mechanism and an Observer (normally overlooked), which is a Natural Trinity that reflects a Divine One; Companion haiku: Pure White Light hidden in a Prismatic Rainbow of Many Colors.

Missing and seeking
The Witnessing Presence of
All Conscious Being.

Missing and seeking
The Pure Witnessing Presence
That I myself Am.

Missing and seeking
The Pure Witnessing Presence
I Am Here and Now.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Throught the Looking Glass)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Two Way Mirror Photograph)

Two Way Mirror © 2001 RFHay; There are two basic ways of relating to Reality: (1) One is a seeing "Face to Face, even as I Am Known," as a direct apprehension of Being; and (2) the other is seeing indirectly, "through a mental glass (mirror) darkly (self-reflectively)" or relatively and, in so doing, projecting an innately partial view of Reality and sense of separate Being; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Self-Referential
Thought causes One to miss the
Pure Joy of Being.

© 2008 RFHay

THIS IS IT! (John Wheeler's New Book: "The Light Beyond Consciousness")

HAPPY THANKGIVING TO ALL!!!

For seekers really serious about ending the search (for themselves), but not necessarily for everyone, I can’t recommend John Wheeler’s new book: The Light Beyond Consciousness: Radical Self-Knowledge and the end of Seeking, highly enough. I found it so “Right On!” that I was called to write the following Amazon review:

(1) Destined To Be A Modern Classic, November 25, 2008, by Rich HayTo recycle an old Alan Watts' title, "THIS IS IT"! If you are truly seeking an "unassailably logical exposition" of the "Absolute Truth and/or the True Nature of Being" (to the extent that THAT can be related in relative words), SELF to SELF (ONE to ONE) Communiqués, and "Clear Pointers" to the "Ultimate Reality I Am, You Are and All Is" (referred to by Tony Parson's as the "Open Secret"), you have found It in John Wheeler's latest Offering of the "Pure Grace of Being" in an exquisitely written and beautiful form. This Is Really It!!! Of course, "It's All It," but You already know That. [Rich Note: A Top-Ten, All-Time Favorite after only 14 pages.]

I also enjoyed my Buddy Charlie Hayes’ review (which is actually a “Teaching” in itself) so might that I wanted to share it as well:

(2) John Wheeler IS The Light - And So, Dear One, Are YOU, November 2, 2008 By Charlie Hayes "www.theeternalstate.org" (Enid, Oklahoma, United States):

This latest book from John Wheeler is like a PhD thesis on Non-duality - if there could ever be such a thing... the very idea of a PhD on Non-dual seeing is, of course, an oxymoron as NO words, no matter how well formed and eloquently expressed, can ever capture the essence of our True Nature.

That stated, the essays, dialogues and pointers in this work by one who speaks from your own Natural, Original State, directly from One to One so to say, CAN and no doubt WILL make a huge difference for those readers who are still kind of stuck in seeking for the True Self and moving from book to book, satsang to satsang, website to website - not because of it's elegance, nor because arcane spiritual concepts are explained with more concepts, but because of its stark simplicity. For me, the thing that makes John's pointing to the naked obviousness and inescapable Isness that "we" truly are, with concepts like being, awareness, peace, timelessness, presence etc. starts from the fact - the FACT, NOT the concept, that you and I already ARE what the seeker mechanism, usually called "my mind" ... seeks.

As many have pointed out, FACTS are pretty stubborn. And as John distinguishes in many ways, the FACT of your very already always existence as Being-Awareness-Peace is what all that appears comes from - and this gives these writings a palpable sense that you are Oneness talking to yourself. And the Consciousness-Intelligence - that which exists as this whole production of Divine Light And Shadow - is bringing the self back home to The Self. Gawd, this is a superb book! Yet, as John tends to point out often, reading about non-duality can just become an endless loop-the-loop of conceptual avoidance of a direct and simple message that is best shared One on One. He urges the reader to talk directly with the author of whatever YOUR favorite expression of non-duality or concept-free spirituality.

This is how it happened for me; meeting John after thirty years of futile practices and endless books and satsangs, John Wheeler quickly and kindly answered all my questions and made certain that all my doubts were resolved. The clarity and love of light of John's Being was the final key to unlocking a gate that was never locked and recognizing the clear obviousness presence of the Self that was never lost! If you assume you are a seeker separated from the light of being, and that thought-form were to ask my advice regarding the possibility of recovering the home in freedom that you never left, I would, from this timeless locationless sense of being-living-peace, say, please read this book and then get in touch with John Wheeler to resolve and dissolve any remaining confusion about who and what you are, and equally importantly, who and what you are not.

Let The Light of your True nature set you free from false beliefs and erroneous concepts once and forever. This I wish for you. - With Great Love, Charlie Hayes, author of Paradise Found: Recognizing and Living AS the Infinite Love That You Ar

Hay-Ku of the Day (Overlooking Joy)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Joy Photograph)

Joy © 2003 RFHay: The Joyful Nature of the Pure Witnessing Presence of Being I Am is Being missed in favor of "thinking about thought"; Companion haiku: Missing the Joyful Nature of the Witnessing Presence of Being (I Am).

Fixated on thought
I miss the Pure Witnessing
Presence of Being.

Fixated on thought
I miss the Joy of Being
Beyond conception.

[Rich Note: "Distracted by" or "Attending to" thought would be less pejorative first lines, but also less true for the majority of us.]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Reality)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Transitory States Photograph)

Transitory States © 2000 RFHay; The burning of this church by the British in 1779 and then again in 1865 by the Federal Army after being rebuilt in 1826 is good example of the transitory nature of earthly edifices and relative matters; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

What is Real is the
Witnessing Presence I Am
That Never Changes.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Witnessing Presence)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Battleship New Jersey Photograph)

Battleship New Jersey © 2003 RFHay; A historical manifestation of the innately "fearful and violent nature” of a relative, egocentric, subjective state of mind that fears objective states of itself and sorely misses the Unitary Ground of Its own Being and True Nature; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

The Pure Witnessing
Presence of Being I Am
Is what we all seek.

The Pure Witnessing
Presence of Being I Am
Is missed by the mind.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Being and Seeing)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.com.]

(Hight Flight 2 Photograph)

High Flight 2 © 2002 RFHay; Along the lines of the old "does a tree falling in the forest make a sound if there is no one to hear it" question, would this picture of "high altitude contrails" exist if there were no one present to witness it; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Being depends on
The Pure Witnessing Presence
I Am to Know It.

Being depends on
The Pure Witnessing Presence
I Am and You Are.

[Rich Note: At least from yours truly's perspective, the answer to the question about the "tree falling in the forest" would be: No, such a tree creates energetic vibrations that only become "a sound" when they impinge upon an human eardrum and are subsequently "conceived to be a sound."]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Witnessing Wonder)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Witnessing Wonder Photograph)

Witnessing Wonder © 2005 RFHay; All that is missing from this Beautiful Sunset is the One who is Looking; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

The Pure Witnessing
Presence I Am and You Are
Is the Ground of All.

The Pure Witnessing
Presence I Am and You Are
Looks out from all eyes.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Noticing I Am)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(WIT Archival Logo)

WIT Archival Logo © 2006 RFHay; This Starburst Composite of OOMM Abstracts points to I AM as the Alpha-Omega of All and, in this case, was also used as an icon for an archival website that went up ten years ago; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Noticing I Am
Aware of Being Present
Is Fundamental.

Noticing I Am
Conscious of Being Aware
Is Basic to All.

[Rich Note: For those who might be interested the archives files referenced in the photo caption can be accessed at the following link ( view link ).]

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Noticing Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Appearances Photograph)

Appearances © 2008 RFHay; Although this would appear to be an embodied “person” named Rich with a “dog” named Higgins, that is actually not what It Is or I Am as the One now noticing and re-cognizing those very familiar “conceptual images.”

Conceptually
Speaking, I Am the One that
Notices Being.

Conceptually
Speaking, I Am the One now
Noticing I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Innately Self-Aware)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Frozen Rivers of Life Photograph)

Frozen Rivers of Life © 2002 RFHay; In the case of these Alaskan "ice flows" what seem to be "rivers of frozen energy" are still impreceptibly edging toward their Ultimate Destiny; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

The Energy I Am
Is Innately Cognizant
Of Being Present.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (All I See)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Deceiving Appearance Photograph)

Deceiving Appearance © 2001 RFHay; Although the "standing lenticular cloud" at the center of this photograph would appear to be less dangerous to an airplane than the surrounding mountains, it really isn't; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

All I now see is
The Cognizant Energy
Of Being I Am.

The Pure Cognizant
Energy of All can't Be
"Other than I Am."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Not What I Think)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.com.]

(One Famous and Two Not So Photograph)

One Famous and Two Not So © 2000 RFHay; Steven Segal was kind enough to hang around and take this picture with two "hero worshipping" pilots who both liked his movies and couldn't resist showing it off later; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Not the person I
Think, but the Cognizant
Energy I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Simply Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Degrees of Freedom Photograph)

Degrees of Freedom © 2003 RFHay; In terms of the energy each manifests, the sea has more freedom then the earth, the sky more freedom than the sea and the light the most freedom of all: Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Simply Being the
Pure Cognizant Energy
I Am is Freedom.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Living Light)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(The Living God Photograph)

The Living God © 1992 RFHay; This is a metaphoric, Scripturally annotated, progressive opening of the Heart Box (which I consider an icon of "Christ In You, the Hope of Glory") that seems an appropriate companion to today's offering; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

This Cognizant Field
Of Pure Energy I Am
Is the Ground of All.

This Cognizant Field
Of Pure Energy I Am
Is What "Being Is."

This Cognizant Field
Of Pure Energy I Am
Is the "Living God."

[Rich Note: "The Living Light, The Light of All, The Life of God, The Light of God, The Son of God, Immortal Life, Life without End and Everlasting are other possible "third line" characterizations of what this "Cognizant Field of Pure Energy I Am" Is, Was and Ever Shall Be.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Obviously One)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.gather.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Pretty Picture Photograph)

Pretty Picture © 2008 RFHay; Except as a relative concept of Being, is there anything in this picture that is truly other than I Am; Companion haiku: Can I Be other than the Divine Cognizant Energy I Am?

Obviously One
With the Vibrant Cognizant
Energy of All.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (I Am Is)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Simply Being Photograph)

Simply Being © 2008 RFHay; This empty hammock at the end of a beautiful day seems to be a perfect invitation to kick-back and simply enjoy Being; Companion haiku: Simply Be the Pure Cognizant Energy of Being that You Are.

I Am is the Pure
Cognizant Energy of
All Conscious Being.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (In Essence)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Pure Energy Photograph)

Pure Energy © 2007 RFHay: A beautiful image of the Essential Energy that enables physical life in this "particular" solar system; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

In Essence I Am
The Cognizant Energy
Underlying All.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Cognizant Energy)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(No Body Home Photograph)

No Body Home © 2008 RFHay; Although there are no "physical bodies" apparent in these chairs, the truth is the chairs and the space in which they arise are a continuous field of energy, with the only question being whether it is cognizant or not; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Awareness Aware
Of Itself as Being Is
Cognizant Energy.

Awareness Aware
Of Itself as I Am Is
Conscious Aliveness.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Being Self-Aware)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Manifest State of Being Photograph)

Manifest State of Being © 2001 RFHay; A photo of a manifest state of Consciousness that arose seven years ago that now resurrects in yours; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Awareness Conscious
Of Itself as Such is Pure
Knowledge of Being.

Awareness Conscious
Of Itself as Such is the
Consciousness I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Spinning Wheels)

[Rich Note: Companion image maybe viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Spinning Wheel Photograph)

Spinning Wheel © 2008 RFHay: Mind as a centrally self-referenced field of consciousness is, in effect, an endlessly spinning mental wheel that can never hope to transcend its own relative, self-referencing, circular limits: Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Mind, as a partial
State of Consciousness, cannot
Know Itself as That.

Mind, as a partial
State of Consciousness, cannot
Know Its own Fullness.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (All Seeing Eye/I)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Single Eye Photograph)

Single Eye: The "Great Seal" on the dollar bill is reminiscent of the metaphor of an equilateral triangle in which the "All Seeing Eye" (Eye of God) at the apex sees from Alpha to Omega on the Base (as a representation of All Time) all at once; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

If thy "mental eye"
Be single thy whole body
Will be full of Light.

A "Single Eye" means
A Unified State of Mind
Or Pure Consciousness.

[Rich Note: These came to mind while working on the previous "Being the Seeing" pieces and paraphrase Jesus" Matthew 6:22 saying. More interesting, however, is that when I checked to see how close the paraphrase was to the original (which follows) I found that it was itself a haiku (at least in the KJV and with respect to a 5-7-5 formulation.]"

If therefore thine eye
Be single, thy whole body
Shall be full of light." (Matt 6:22)

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Salvation)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Perceptual Limits Photograph)

Perceptual Limits (c) 2001 RFHay; Can I look at this image directly and without the conceptual, mental overlay of "seer and seen" (or "self and other") that relative thought normally projects (and with which I personally identify); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Being the Seeing
Instead of Seer or Seen
Offers Salvation.

Being the Seeing
As the Conscious Aliveness
I Am is the Way.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Giving Love)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Ankh Cross Photograph)

Ankh Cross © 2008 RFHay: According to wikipedia "the Ankh Cross is a looped Tau Cross and an old Egyptian hieroglyph meaning life"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Conscious Aliveness
Is the Self-Giving Love of
Being that One Is.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (A Priceless Present)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Down With This or That Photograph)

Down With This or That © 2002 RFHay; This sign on a small farm they built a Narita Aiport taxiway around indicates an "impossible mental desire" flying in the face of a changeless "What Is"(re: a mosquito trying to penetrate an iron ball); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Mentally trading
A "Priceless Present" for an
Imagined future.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Love Story)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Lady Liberty Photograph)

Lady Liberty © 2001 RFHay; Liberty with arms outstretched to lovingly embrace the Totality of Being (and All apparent States thereof); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Loving the "Story
Of Me" more than "Being" is
"My" only problem.

"I miss" the "Fullness
Of Being" because I love
"The Story of Me."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Story of Me)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(The Better Part Photograph)

The Better Part © 2007 RFHay; The "Best Part" of the "Continuing Story of Rich" for the last 42 years; Companion haiku: Missing the Fullness of Being because I love "I as I think" more."

'The Story of Me'
Keeps me from knowing the
"Fullness of Being."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Projection)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Open and Shut Photograph)

Open and Shut © 2002 RFHay; Heart Boxes arranged to illustrate "minds open and closed" to Being Consciously Present and Aware as I Am; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"I as I think" is
A self-projection of the
"Aliveness I Am.

"I Am Being here
And now thinking of Being
Other than I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Seeking Oneself)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Rocket Man Photograph)

Rocket Man © 2003 RFHay; This shot of the top of the Empire State Building looks like a “rocket ship” on “The Way to the Sky" (per a Neil Diamond song); then again, the Clear Sky of Awareness I Am "is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart"; Am I seeking the Conscious Aliveness I Am outside of myself?

Conscious Aliveness
Needs no self-reflection
To know "It Is That.”

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Subjective Objects)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Let's Roll Photograph)

Let's Roll!: A bit of "nose art" that appeared on an AF plane after 9-11 that encompasses a number of symbolic "conceptual objects" that most would relate to from a particular "subjective perspective"; Companion haiku: A "me" that relates to "Being" as an "object" must be a "subject."

"Existence" is not
Something "I" can relate to
With "my" Intellect.

An "I" that relates
To "Life" as an "object" is
Itself a "concept."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Being Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Red Sea Photograph)

Red Sea © 2008 RFHay; There was definitely a "collective sense of common humanity" at the Phillies' World Championship Parade today; a sense that at times approached a "trans-personal and/or self-transcendental" level; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"I" can "Be Being"
But "I" can't relate to That
"Self-reflectively."

"I" can "Be Being"
But "I" cannot relate to
That as a "person."

"I" can "Be Being"
But can't relate to "That" as
"Other than I Am."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Non-Relative Truth)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Celebration Photograph)

Celebration © 2008 RFHay; An image celebrating a surprise visit from an "old thinking buddy" (whose love of "Being books" may exceed mine) and a Philadelphia Phillies' World Championship; both of which involve "conceptual relations" to Reality; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"I as I Am" in
Truth can't Be related
To relatively.

Regardless of what
"I think I am," I remain
What I Am in Truth.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Consciousness)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Desert Puffy Photograph)

Desert Puffy © 2001 RFHay; This image offers a beautiful visual metaphor (with the cloud a "thought" and the sky "awareness") for Sri Nisargadatta's response that "Consciousness is Awareness with an object" when asked to differentiate the two; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Consciousness is the
Aware-Presence of Being
I Am Here and Now.

Consciousness is the
Aware-Presence of Being
I Am and You Are.

Consciousness is the
Aware-Presence of Being
That Underlies All.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Freedom 2)

[Rich Note: Companion haiku may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Tower of Babble Photograph)

Tower of Babble © 2001 RFHay: The Biblical metaphor of the "Tower of Babble" points to two things: (1) the arrogant self-ignorance of "I as I think I am" (egocentric thought or carnal mind); and (2) the fact one can't build a ladder to heaven (know the Absolute Truth of Being relatively); Free when "I as I Am" cease to think of myself as Being a "part."

Perfectly Free when
"I" stop believing "I Am
Other than I Am."

Free when "I as I
Am" stop thinking of myself
As other than That.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (How to Be Free)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Coit Memorial Tower Photograph)

Coit Memorial Tower (SF) © 2001 RFHay: How can "Anything" (as a relative state or concept of Being -- re: Coit Tower) be "other than I Am" if "I Am Consciousness Itself"; Companion haiku: Stop assuming a relative relationship to "Reality."

I Am Free when I
Stop relating to Life as
Other than I Am.

I Am Free when I
Stop relating to Life as
A "mental object."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Me, Myself and I)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Gazebo Photograph)

Gazebo © 2008 RFHay; Is there anything "other than I Am and You Are" -- as Pure Being, as Conscious Aliveness, as Divine Energy, as Reality -- in this photograph of a particular "local point" in time and space; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Thinking creates a
"Me" that relates to "Life" as
A "mental object."

Language creates a
"Me" that relates to "Life" as
Other than "I Am."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Knowledge)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Relative Being Photograph)

Relative Being (c) 2001 RFHay; The instant "I think about" what "I am seeing" I lose contact with the Reality of the Unified Field of Conscious Aliveness I Am in which both "seer and seen" necessarily arise; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

I cannot relate
To Conscious Aliveness in
A relative way.

I cannot relate
To that which I Am in a
Relative manner.

©2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Relative States)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(USSR Parade Flag Photograph)

Former USSR Parade Flag © 2008 RFHay; A flag that represented a "Political State of Being" that turned to "ashes" a lot sooner than anyone expected; Companion haiku: Accompanying."

Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust" refers
To "relative states."

Although Being is
Permanent, "relative states"
Of Being are not.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Many in One)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(The Kiss Photograph)

The Kiss: Two of the many polar (male and female) states of "human Being" (in a momentary state of conscious union/re-union), which current photos indicate are definitely finite in both time and space; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

Conscious Aliveness
Assumes many states but is
Limited by None.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Conceived Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Withering Grass Photograph)

Withering Grass © 2000 RFHay; Every "thing" (concept of Being) in this picture would have to be classified as a "finite state" of Being and/or "Flesh" (Re:"The grass withereth, the flowers fadeth: but the Word (The Pure Conscious Aliveness I Am) of our God shall stand forever."); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

A "finite sense" of
Self-conceived Being is now
Mistaken for Life.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Contraction)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Time and Space Photograph)

Time and Space (c) 2001 RFHay; Relative "time and space" are two of the "conceptual things" egocentric thought "subjects me" to as a "human conception" of Being.

Egocentric thought
Contracts the Heartfelt Conscious
Aliveness I Am.

©2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Pointing to God)

{Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Verrazano Sunset 3 Photograph)

[Rich Note: (Photo Caption) Verrazano Sunset 3; The "Conscious or Aware" component of the "Conscious Aliveness I Am" implicitly includes the "Pure Light of Awareness"("...the True Light, which ligheth every man that cometh into the world") -- the Light without which the "Conscious Awareness I Am" could not exist.]

This Heartfelt Sense of
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Is What some call God.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Ignorance)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Point A to Point Be Photograph)

Point A to Point B © 2001 RFHay; Thinking about “getting from here to there,” I often miss the Beauty of Being Consciously Aware and Alive as I Am in any given moment; Companion haiku: Conscious Aliveness Is the Foundation of Life the mind overlooks.

Ignoring the Pure
Conscious Aliveness I Am
In favor of thought.

Minding “this” to the
Exclusion of “that” I miss
Conscious Aliveness.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Name Games)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Verrazano Sunset 1 Photograph)

Verrazano Sunset 1 (c) 2001 RFHay; Conscious Aliveness is a phrase that has both a conceptual and visceral component that seems to bridge (or marry) Spirit and Flesh, Awareness and Sensation, Thought and Feeling, Mind and Heart, and/or Male and Female.]

Consciousness, Being
And I Am are all Names for
Conscious Aliveness.

Conscious Aliveness,
Being and I Am are Names
For the "Living God."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Being)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(First Officer Photograph)

First Officer © 2000 RFHay: The Aware-Presence of the Conscious Aliveness of Being I Am is still Here and Now but the “Airline Pilot” in this picture “ceased to be” in June of 2004, as did the AF Major in Nov of 1987.

The Aware-Presence
Of Being I Am is Pure
Conscious Aliveness.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (All I See)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(High Flight Photograph)

High Flight (c)2001 KRew; As "Everything" goes with today's hay-ku, I thought I'd use my favorite Higgins photo (he's 12 now and recently retired from Frisbee catching); Companion haiku: All I see is a Vibrant State of the Conscious Aliveness I Am.

Everything I see
Is a State of the Conscious
Aliveness I Am.

Everything is a
Vibrant State of the Conscious
Aliveness I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Life's Calling)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Life's Essence Photograph)

Life’s Essence © 2008 RFHay; An expanded version of this Eugene, OR, street mural aphorism might be “Love of Being Consciously Aware as I Am is the Essence of Life”; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

I’m called to Love the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Above what “I think.”

I’m called to Love the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
“Within and without.”

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (What One Is)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(The Unity of All Opposites Photograph)

The Unity of All Opposites (c) 2006 RFHay; The Conscious Aliveness I Am ever circling inward towards the Alpha-Omega Point at the Heart and Center of All.]

"I Am" the "Conscious
Aliveness I Am" and not
What "I think I am."

"I Am" the "Conscious
Aliveness I Am" and not
What the "mind reports.

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (What Can I Be?)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Vibrating Oneness Photograph)

Vibrating Oneness (c) 2006 RFHay; An abstract drawing of inter-penetrating, expanding circles in a Conscious Field of Aliveness similar to "multiple ripples" in a single pool of water; Companion haiku: How can I ever Be other than the Conscious Aliveness I Am.

Can "I Be" other
Than the "Conscious Aliveness"
"I Am" Here and Now?

Can "God Be" other
Than the "Conscious Aliveness"
"I Am" Here and Now?

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Loving Life)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Ever-Blooming Life Photograph)

Ever-Blooming Life; The "Divine Seed" of the "Conscious Aliveness I Am" is blooming everywhere One looks as an Outer Reflection of the "Ever-Expanding, Life, Light and Love" Blooming in One's Heart.

Mindfulness of the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Is Divine Worship.

Keeping in mind the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Is worshiping God.

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Mind Games)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at gather.com/rfhay333.]

(End of the Story Photograph)

End of the Story © 2001 RFHay; Near the end of the day and the story of the tree in yesterday’s image – a tree that became the ivy covered stump it is today; Companion haiku: Conscious Aliveness is Being overlooked in favor of “stories.”

Conscious Aliveness
Is now Being overlooked
In favor of thought.

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Common Ground)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at RFHay333.gather.com.]

(Tree of Life Photograph)

Tree of Life © 2001 RFHay; A "human branch" on the "Tree of Life" in the process of "trimming (or in this case actually bringing down) the tree"; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"Conscious Aliveness"
Is the "Common Ground of All
"That "never changes."

"Conscious Aliveness"
Is the "One Thing" in our Lives
That remains "Constant.'

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (The Law of Love)

[Rich Note: The companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Grace and Mercy Photograph)

Grace and Mercy (c) 2008; This "WWII" Memorial of an Angel lifing-up a "fallen soldier" in Philadephia's 30th Street Station seems appropriate to the subject; Love of Being the Conscious Aliveness I Am is Self-Transcending.

Love of Being the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Is the "Living Law."

Love of Being the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Encompasses All.

Love of Being the
Conscious Aliveness I Am
Includes "You and I."

[Rich Note: This is another one of those pieces for which there are an endless number of alternative "good third lines" and those who wish are most welcome to suggest any that might come to mind.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (First Person Singular)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Smelling the Roses Photograph)

Smelling the Roses © 2000 RFHay; Two firsts (and lasts): Yours truly wearing a beard, "stopping to smell the roses" during a 2000 cross-country road trip with my buddy Jimmy; Companion haiku: If "I Am Being Itself" can anything "Be Other" than "I Am."

If "Being" is "What
I Am" how can "I" ever"Be"
Other" than "That"?

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Self-Denial)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(States of Being Photograph)

States of Being (c)2008 RFHay; Both the "Dead Statue" and the "Live Bush" have Existence or Being in our Awareness, and the "dead and alive" are only conceptual over-lays.

Can “I” deny the
Fact of my own Existence,
That “I Am Being”?

© 2006 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Conceptual Worship)

Worshiping ideas
Above the Awareness in
Which they all rise.

Worshiping worldly
Matters above the Conscious
Awareness I Am.

[Rich Note: (Photo Caption) "Who Is Worshiping What?"; Attention fixed on the outer world of appearance implies a reciprocal self-worship that must eventually be crucified on the "Cross of the Here and Now" if One is to resurrect the Full Potential of Life and Being; Companion haiku: Worshiping self-thought instead of the Awareness of Being I Am.]

[Rich Note: What I give the preponderance of my conscious attention to (which, as a human being, is normally "me, myself and I" as a central referent of an apparent "self-existent world of personal being"), either as a function of love or fear (or variations thereof), I am actually worshiping.]

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (My Self)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com, rfhay333.eons.com or myspace.com/rfhay333.]

(Here and There Photograph)

Here and There (c) 2008 RFHay; The distance between "here," on this end of the log, and "there," on the other end of the log, is only conceptual; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

"My Self" implies a
Conceptual division
In That which I Am.

"My Self" implies a
Conceptual division
In "Being Itself."

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Mental Leverage)

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Me and Myself Photograph)

Me and Myself © 2008 RFHay; A nice visual representation of the “relationship” I assume “I as I think I am” ("me" as the thinker) have with my own “thoughts of being or self-reflections” ("myself" as I think); Companion haiku: Accompanying.

“Self-control” requires
Mental space and leverage That
“I” do not have.

Without mental space
Between “me and myself” how
Can “I” control “ me”?

© 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Duplicity)

For "me" to control
"Myself" I would have to Be
"Other than I Am."

[Rich Note: Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Flying United Photograph)

Flying United; A beautiful motif of flying "Canada Geese" (that leave no "trail, residue or memory" in the Clear Sky of Awareness) that has "Celtic, Taoist, Buddhist and Trinitarian" implications; Companion haiku: I cannot control myself because I Am both Subject and Object.]

[Rich Note: God's apparent nonsensical response of, "I AM THAT I AM," when responding to Moses' query as to the "Divine Name," becomes a perfect declaration of the Absolute Nature of Being when it is translated, "I AM Subject, I AM Object, I AM One, I AM All and, as Such, I AM the Absolute One or Spirit and Essence of All That Is, Was and Ever Will Be (RE: "The Holy One in the midst of thee").

(c) 2008 RFHay

Hay-Ku of the Day (Mental Self-Division)

[Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Which One Am I? Photograph)

Which One Am I? © 2008 RFHay; Eyes closed "I am one thing," eyes open "I am another thing," but what I Am in Truth is prior to all such "self-conceived" states of Being; Companion haiku: "I" cannot control "myself" because "I am" too close to the "subject."

Controlling myself
Implies a "duality"
That doesn't exist.

© 2008 RFHay

Haiku of the Day (28, 29 & 30 Sept Posts)

30 Sep 08

[Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Fancy Uroboros Photograph)

Fancy Uroboros; Intentional or not this depiction of a Western Garter Snake is also an Uroboros which not only represents Infinity but "recycling or renewal of the Universe" (For scientific types: check out The Big Tube Theory at http://www.mu6.com/uroboros).

What makes "me" think I
Can control "my" world if I
Can't control "my" self?

[Rich Note: Given the "777"(numbers some might call prophetic and, perhaps, the Good Lord's way of reminding us Who Is Really In Charge) point" dip in the stock market yesterday, I thought shifting to a direct consideration of "self-control" as it relates to previous observations with regard to an apparent "inner me" controlling an "outer world" (that relative thought supposes and, I would suggest, actually creates) might be appropriate.]

[Rich Note: "Mind and Life" both work as good alternatives for "self" in the third line.]

© 2008 RFHay

29 Sep o8

[Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(State of Mind Photograph)

State of Mind © 2008 RFHay; This image replays a "particular state of my mind" that "came and went" during an outing in Oregon earlier this year (and now, as you look at it, is arising as a state of yours); Companion haiku: Relating to States of the Consciousness I Am as "other than" That.

I relate to States
Of my own Consciousness as
Other than I Am.

© 2008 RFHay

28 Sep o8

[Companion image may be viewed at rfhay333.gather.com.]

(Valley of the Shadow Photograph)

Valley of the Shadow © 2007 BKWright; The play of "Darkness and Light" in this image serves as a lovely visual metaphor for the Primal Duality of "Stillness and Vibration" through which Pure (or Singular) Consciousness entertains (and is entertained by) States of Itself; Companion haiku: Accompanying.

A "Singular Field"
Of Consciousness entertains
Partial states of Mind.

A "Singular Field"
Of Consciousness entertained
By Relative States.

[Rich Note: "Alternating States" also works for the third line of the first piece.]

© 2008 RFHay