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