“TOWER IN THE SKY and THE SECRET JOYS OF THE SOUL” a poem about seeing all of life as a divine school for learning how to Love
TRANSFORMATIONAL POETRY For The SPIRITUAL SOUL by Chinmayan
THE DAWNING LIGHT—Daily Journal of Transformational Writing
Volume 8, Issue # 505 for Saturday, March 23, 2024
JOURNEY Of The HEART Section # 505 Poetry and Love Songs written by Chinmayan to keep on doing the inner work of spiritual growth and building your own magnificent tower in the sky…
All images in this issue courtesy of Pixabay
TOWER IN THE SKY
And The Secret Joys Of The Soul
“We are all faced
With a series of great opportunities
Brilliantly disguised as
Impossible situations.”
—Charles Swindoll
Today I realize
All my life
I have been building
A tower in the sky.
The foundation was laid
When I took hold
Of the dharma ideals that
Have lifted me higher.
The walls began to take
Shape when I wove together
The dreams and aspirations
That have guided me.
Windows came into being
When I began to need a
Clear view of the world and
To let it into mine.
Stairs appeared as I
Progressed from level to level
Through painful confusions and
Periods of light filled revelations.
So now I stand on the top
Of this magnificent tower,
That continues to grow ever higher
As I strive to fully live each passing hour—
November 16, 1986
And I know that it will always
Continue rising as I rise, giving
Me an ever higher view that
Expands what I see and understand.
As I get older in body and
Length of days, my life is a
Process beyond control of continuous
Challenge, blessings and grace.
As I learn how to love and
Become more loving, I am
Slowly letting go of selfishness
And discovering the secret joys
Of the soul that only Love
Can reveal as gifts to me and mine—
I now care more about taking care of
Than trying to get cared about as
I realize that every one and every
Thing I love is temporary and will
Fade away to be left behind some day
Except for this soaring tower in the sky.
March 23, 2024
Still Mountain Retreat
I discovered the first part of this poem in a rain soaked, heavily damaged long forgotten journal from 1986…and while transcribing it from the barely readable pages, spontaneously wrote the second half tonight, weaving the two halves together over the 38 years between them to create this one poem that moves me to tears as I realize its true meaning….
A ROUSING, UPLIFTING SONG WITH A POWERFUL MEANING FOR YOU…by Peter Rowan, who is one of my Dharma brothers who met Kalu Rinpoche at the same as I did and has been a life long student of the Vajrayana…Peter is one of the highly respected masters of Bluegrass Music who tours America to this day.
This song, “Across The Rolling Hills” is about Padmasambhava, a highly realized and powerful Buddhist Maha Siddha from India who brought the Dharma to Tibet in the 8th century. He is widely revered to this day because in order to bring the Dharma to the people, he had to duel and defeat the Bon-pos, who were dark magicians who were versed in casting spells and doing terrible things. Padmasambhava always won because everything he did was based in sincere desire to serve and uplift the people.
This song is about Padmasambhava coming to Tibet and traveling to every part that needed to be liberated from old dark ways, climaxing with Peter chanting Padmasambhava’s mantra:
OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG!
Enjoy! Song complete with lyrics so you can sing along!
“Across the Rolling Hills” by Peter Rowan with Lyrics
Padmasambhava, the legendary Buddhist master who introduced the Vajrayana (“The Diamond Path”) to Tibet in the 8th century
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“Your greatest service to humanity is to attain your own Self Realization!” Ramana Maharshi
“When you change the way you think about things, and the things you think about change”
—Wayne Dyer
“I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” —Ram Das
“When God is the center and focus of my life, everything else falls into it’s rightful place.”
—Chinmayan