"Let me take you down to a town called Paradise."
Van Morrison "No Guru, No Teacher, No Method."
In Corrogue there is paradise.
Many mornings during the week I take the highroad. This is the high road between the village of Glenfarne and the village of Rossinver in Co. Leitrim. This is a high road that winds and bends over the mountain. Early in the year I drive slowly. This is to avoid running over the frogs that seem to migrate from one side of the road to another.
On this road I am going on a long drive.
I am on a drive to a town called "paradise." This town is the central town in a place of eternity. In Ireland this place is called "Tir Na Nog." "Tir Na Nog" is not a physical place but a state of being. It is a state of awareness. This is the mythological place where people are always beautiful and never age. This is a soul place. This is the place an Anam Cara will invite you to come to and belong.
Many of my readers know that Van Morrison the Irish singer/songwriter is an inspiration to me.
On the high road to Rossinver, while avoiding migrating frogs, I play his album, "No Teacher, No Guru, No Method." It is on this album that the song "A town called Paradise" is heard. I love playing this song loud. There is no other traffic on this high road except for the odd tractor that travels slow and sure.
This song for me is about my relationship to the Beloved.
This is the central relationship that an Anam Cara commits to. It is the moment to moment awareness of "what is." It is the seeking to know the joy of paradise at deeper and deeper levels of awareness. This is the work of surrender to the "timeless now."
Most of us driving our car are totally unaware.
We enter the vehicle, switch on the engine, and engage gears without very much awareness of what we are doing. We arrive at our destination without any awareness of the journey in between. This car journey is a mirror of the longer journey we call "our life."
When we are alone in our car we have a great opportunity.
We have the opportunity to be alone and aware. We can choose to be totally present to our minds, body and emotions. We can choose not to be distracted by music or talk radio. We can equally choose to play music that lifts the heart and that we consciously listen too. We can buy tapes and CD`s that life and inspire the soul.
Each time we enter the car we can make a commitment to be aware.
Feel yourself sitting on the seat. Feel your hands on the steering wheel. Listen to the sound of the engine. Say, Thank you," to this vehicle that allows you to arrive at the place of your choosing. Remember to be aware of your breathing. Breathe deep into your belly and keep it soft. When you arrive you will feel focused and relaxed.
Stop "thinking about" anywhere else other than this moment.
This moment is the town called "paradise." This moment is forever. In this moment, entered without judgment or compassion, there is beauty. You become as the people of "Tir Na Nog." You become eternal and filled with beauty.
To begin with you will look for this experience of beauty.
You will wish to grab at the experience of the eternal. In the beginning your ego wants this beauty and this experience for itself. It can only imagine the credos it will receive once it has such a prize. The problem (if it is a problem) is to know that you are this beauty and this eternity. Your ego wants it but cannot really accept the possibility of such wonder. It has to disappear in order that the wonder can be.
As Marianne Williamson has reminded us in her beautiful book "Return to Love," we are afraid of our magnificence. We are afraid of our light and not our darkness. We have lost our paradise. We have lost the paradise of being here now.
On the high road between Glenfarne and Rossinver I am practicing entry into paradise. This is a knack. It arrives. It does not arrive. When it is there I know. When it is not there I know. I focus and wait, knowing that infinite patience brings instant results.
Why not take a trip to this town called "Paradise," where you can be free. You can learn to be free of care, of worry, of going anywhere or having to be anyone other than the delight you are.
When travelling on any journey make it a journey of focused awareness.
Become present to the moment. This is the real and only time of your life. Become the presence of the Beloved. Become the perfume of love in action. This perfume is timeless and beautiful beyond any measure your mind can "think about."
One glimpse of "Tir Na Nog" and you will know that a real holiday is. It is beyond re-creation. It is you being aware of creation itself in the timeless beauty of forever loving now.
This is what an Anam Cara reminds you off.
They remind you that you are forever enough. They remind you that the Blessing is already here. They remind you that you are this blessing. Going nowhere, the river flows and the grass grows by itself. Come on down to "paradise" where you are free to be all you ever imagined and more.
? 2005 Tony Cuckson
Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means "Soul Friend." He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony's Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.
Get your free report called "7 ways to it's a wonderful life" at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/ where you will find links to information related to spiritual guidance, spiritual coaching and spirit in business.
Culver prom limo ..Walls as a blockade seem to be an integral part... Read More
You can't help but feel a sense of electricity in... Read More
Be filled with the Spirit.? always giving thanks to God... Read More
Lately I have become aware of a new truth that... Read More
Are you at a crossroad in your life where you... Read More
Human beings originally have three forms of existence. The first... Read More
My wife, our friend and I went to listen to... Read More
Whenever we have the opportunity to make human assessments, the... Read More
One cannot read the account of Benhadad and Hazael in... Read More
If you spend a hundred bucks and buy the right... Read More
Jacob had sent his family on across the river Jabbok.... Read More
Matthew 2:13-15 The Flight to Egypt13 Now when they had... Read More
I beheld the sky and its wonders and saw AstonishmentI... Read More
If any man be in Christ, he is a new... Read More
"A common jar of clay can never become a noble... Read More
Hiking is gaining popularity within the African-American community. We're beginning... Read More
On Shamans and Shamanism ... Shaman, a Tungus (Siberian) word,... Read More
A few men and women are universally successful but such... Read More
How do we feel the fullness of life itself?We have... Read More
I'm not sure Paul had the Japanese culture in mind... Read More
Green Principles: SoulBestABeing aware here now My path is progressive.... Read More
I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency... Read More
The passenger had to be carried onto the plane and... Read More
Paul's encouragement to the Philippians is also our encouragement. Consider... Read More
The atmosphere surrounding the earth is still a matter of... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..We may sometimes consider the difficulty that occurs with our... Read More
Forgiveness breaks all bounds of repression and depression. It liberates... Read More
Let me explain my approach to the practice of ritual.... Read More
Some may ask why in a disaster some people are... Read More
Imagine yourself marooned on a vast deserted island. You have... Read More
I have been thinking a lot about the spiritual growth... Read More
I seemed to have lost my heart. Now this is... Read More
I am beginning a journey starting tomorrow. I have decided... Read More
In the last 2 weeks or so, I have been... Read More
Eden, the garden of ecstasy is no longer available to... Read More
I was originally brought up Catholic, at the insistence of... Read More
Back in 1992, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise co-starred in... Read More
What power do we hold individually in the midst of... Read More
As we proceed further into the 21st century there is... Read More
'Jesus answered, are there not twelve hours in a day?... Read More
What could be a scary thought for some? How bout'... Read More
Until recently, miracles were usually credited to a supernatural power.... Read More
The first hymn of Isha Upanishad says - whatever living... Read More
Being"You have taken yourself to be something that you are... Read More
Ever notice how people dread discussing... Read More
James 1:23-24Anyone who listens to the word but does not... Read More
Hopefully you're reading this article because you're intrigued by the... Read More
Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to... Read More
Feeling restless? Is part of you calling out for change,... Read More
Since the beginning of time mankind has pondered, who God... Read More
Spirituality |