Bodypsalm for Alchemy of a Life

Posted in BODYPSALMS, LINKS on March 31st, 2012 by Celeste

You are being shaped into a rare color
greens, ultramarines, golds, and ambers
the shards of your own life
are sculpting you through the raw
elements of change, loss, and surprise
you are being tussled for a purpose
being rounded for beauty

Don’t look for symmetry
let asymmetry guide you
only in brokenness does the light
illuminate to brilliance radiating
inside you as alchemy

Look how you love the shapes and hues of
weathered sea glass
and throw back to the sea
ones which are not ready
as wind, water, salt and waves
create new pieces out of broken glass
you are being recreated
for luminosity and lightness

The practice of attending
has its own slowness
and relentless tenderness
softening you from the inside out –
be the compassion
on all the changes you incur
and let the colors of your heart
transform into shades of lavender and green

May creation have its way with you
through all that is unpredictable
and rest in the tides
of a waterway
guiding you to the shoreline
of a new life.

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Bodypsalm for Lemon & Ginger

Posted in BODYPSALMS, LINKS on December 7th, 2011 by Celeste
Artwork by Dobee Snowber

Artwork “Cameo” by Dobee Snowber

give in to the weight of your body
let slowness seep into you
tiredness wash over you
till the call of rest
clothes you in a garment of releasing
into sweet fragility

the deadlines will wait
sip lifelines as your tonic
sink into cushions, couches,  beds –
everything that is supple and soft

hot lemon and ginger
is not only for your cold and flu
but to warm the soul
feeding your being with the fluids of grace

give in to not concentrating and accomplishing
taste the silence of an afternoon at home
where the one bird on the rooftop
speaks in a voice
that only stopping can comprehend

you are called to not only
restore your physical immune system
but the immune system of spirit
where the still small voice
within you is clear and radiant
once again.

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Bodypsalm for the place of in-between

Posted in LINKS on October 22nd, 2011 by Celeste

you live in the place
where you are home
and not at home – in this world
and not of this world. This is the state of
being human, for we come from somewhere,
we live in the where, and we don’t know
where we are going

we are in the state of travelling
the province of traversing,
whether you step on a plane
or go on a trip, our lives are a continual
trip from one point to another
and this is not pointless

for it is the place of in-between
where the ripeness lies

the heart lies open to be discovered
over and over again
peeled back as the fresh apple

you are being called to be peeled back
be under the skin and let the skin off
and celebrate the spaces in your life
where you are caught in between

between health and unhealthy
between singleness and coupledom
between employment and unemployment
between peace and hesitation

it is all the journey
and this is what we were made for
we are constantly wanting to arrive
yet arrival happened as soon as
you departed from your mother’s womb
and you have also been departing
since you arrived

therefore:
embrace the trip of your own
exquisite life, as only you know.

Bodypsalm for celebrating your sexuality

Posted in LINKS on June 8th, 2010 by Celeste

Dory by Dobee Snowber

You are a juicy orange
papaya split in half
mango on fire
wrapped in the luxuriousness
of a wo/man with flesh and heart
tender and strong
waiting to be honored
by your own deep soul.

It is the life-force
energy of life itself – eros of day
the pulsing blood of vibrancy
running through your cells
enlivening the fabric of your being
which is the ground of your sexuality.

Here is the template
to embrace your own temple
the widening one of love
living in your solar plexus
connected to the creation of the universe.

It is not the breasts, chests,
vagina, penis that holds your sexuality
but what rises within you
and works in harmony
with your dear body

You can so easily confuse the
outer as the source of beauty
and the entrance to sexual aliveness
when you are being awakened
from a much deeper center
and your sensual knowledge
calls you home
to the delight of presence
the wind on your chest
the expanse in your back
the thrill of naked feet in sand
places of release
invite you to sense from the inside out

Belief by Dobee Snowber

now is the time
to love back your body to itself
live in a state of open
where the cords of fire
will rip through your body
and you will know
the deep gift of your own vitality
feeding the heart of sexuality
where all of life is a bedroom
to be awake to each moment
loving each breath

in this place  is an ancient shrine
located deep within your own crevices
calling you forth to your own juice
the desire is already within you
it only needs to be honored
for its pure nature
it is what calls you to the divine
to  yourself and to the other

and it is not your hips or pelvis
which is sexy, but how you let
the energy of life soar and dance
through your pelvis to say yes
to its own truth

here is your ground
here is your flight.

Bodypsalm for the Subtle

Posted in LINKS on May 24th, 2010 by Celeste

There is a vast universe
awaiting in the subtle
qualities of texture and hints
of an afternoon breeze
and the marks on your hand
the unfolding of an hour of silence
scents of wild roses in spring
morning shadows dancing on the wall
mist and fog become a welcome adagio
to the space between mountains
crossing your path with a slice of tenderness

Dare to take notice to the infinite
wrapped in the inconsequential
the tiny moments that emerge
let emptying be a spiritual practice
the listening of rain
an act of ecstatic hearing
a rush of fresh air in the lungs
a tango of breath

Meet the dried branch
with a new hospitality
every object has its wonder
in the essence of imperfection
Celebrate the natural order
the essence of things
and lie down in the meadow
of your own worries
and let the stillness of night
speak to your heart.

Know there is another way
working beneath the grand schemes of your life
uncontainable as the mist at sea
guiding you in a new season
where what is perceived as small
has capacity to move mountains

Bodypsalm for Interruptions

Posted in LINKS on May 11th, 2010 by Celeste

You’ve been stopped in your tracks
the track record isn’t happening
the dreams and path you are on
have come to a halt
now is a place of being marinated
into a time of grace
a chapter of listening to your deepest dreams

the pace you have been keeping
has been an endeavor
in sustaining yourself as a superhero
the happenstance is an interruption
whether it is sickness, accident, loss or change
Here is something else asking for attention
it has the flavor of
the slow turning of a season
the unfolding of a spring lilac
the time of the great unfurling.

There are many ways to perceive
your present situation
it can be a place of mold
or a sacred space to stop
and attend to a way of being
where your limitations breathe
you into slowing down
and dive into deep seeing  – deep listening
to what has been asking for your presence.

Nothing is as it seems
your eye is in the formation of bearing light
this is what the world needs
and your bodysoul is aching for
Turn and twirl into the
ancient knowing of your own heart.

Here is the invitation for infinite mercy
and enduring com/passion
for not meeting your own goals
in your own specific timing.

There is a timing of the universe
bearing the depths of who you are and will be
releasing into blue comfort
a sea of silence
the door to what you do not know.
Shift the paradigm of knowledge
may your unknowing be your great gift
and entry to what can never
be taken from you
the sweet taste of the divine
loving you from the inside out
and returning you to what animates
your very essence.

May 10, 2010

Bodypsalm for Bodybeginnings

Posted in LINKS on April 18th, 2010 by Celeste

Bodypsalm for Bodybeginnings

Each day the tall cedar tree outside your window
unfolds its branches to the sky
an act of surrender
open hearted to breathe
for a new day

Await each breath as if it was pristine
your lungs living in the glory of
inhabiting air for the first time
everything is old today
everything is new today

all your issues remain
family, finances, relationships, work details, and
the endless domestic disasters
but there is a spring
rising within your torso
you know it by its pulse
the energy where you cry yes
to this tiny alive moment

let the morning birds sing inside your chest
and cultivate body beginnings
new ways for fingers to touch earth
glances for being a lover in the world
finding ease through baby steps

the big deals – the big problems
will be with you
but there is something else arising
a ripe heart – a softened soul
an eternal arm embraces your weariness
and calls you back once again
to body beginnings.

Bodypsalm for openings and closings

Posted in LINKS on April 8th, 2010 by Celeste

Bodypsalm for openings and closings

Every closure is an opening
not just because an ending is a beginning
but because the heart has more expanse
than you know
and it beats with openings and closings
in the physical and spiritual realm
as soon as there is a closure
you can be captivated by (re’s)
rethinking, reprocessing, regressing, reloving
as humans we recircle
time and time again
and here
we replenish

loving and leaving
is never a straight line
it is a destination with curves
and does not include a traveler’s map
its nature is rough terrain
one does not need to journey far for a pilgrimage
when you embark on the road of letting go
it has its own stoplights
places you are held back
to relish in the pause

just when you think you
had it all sorted out in your life
you may be rerouted
into a geography of grief
and questions which ache to be resolved..

but this is the land of no quick answers
it is a topography of questions and quest
it is too easy to think
if we just do a little more  processing
the door will be completely
open to the mystery of the heart’s lost love
whether that is disappointment, divorce or death

but all doors go to a wider love – a wider country
that has been waiting patiently as a lover
we are being called to the land of the Be/loved
where we will learn to BE
and be loved

Here
there are no closures
only openings
yet our ticket
is most often
one of those closures
that recreate
THE OPEN.

Bodypsalm for Internal Weather

Posted in LINKS on March 26th, 2010 by Celeste

Bodypsalm for Internal Weather

Listen to the breezes
of your own soul
the weather of your own heart
has its seasons and sometimes
all in a day – melancholy cobalt blue,
ecstatic fiery orange, calm forest green
the whole palette of the rainbow.

You’ve noticed the magnificence
of rainbows after tropical rain
carving an arc of wonder
across the breath of sky
in the tropical air it is a daily occurrence
but home it is intermittent
yet never loses its raw beauty
all the colors are necessary to sip astonishment

The hues of your own internal weather
make up the gorgeous of you
if you could look from afar
you would take notice
but you are often to close
to the emotion to honor its
place in the arc of your own rainbow

So when the grief is there
let it be, with all it pungent
taste rolling through your tears and bones
know your ability to grieve
is your ability to drink joy
and when joy comes, let it dance
in the feet of your heart
and honor its ability to build
red fire in your sternum
and when melancholy comes
let the blue sadness draw
you into the garden within
and let cobalt silence soothe you
and when your despair
greets you at the door knocking
know that des/pair has a pair
a twin, which resides in hope
if not felt it underpins
the longing for the invisible

and it is the invisible
which calls your attention
summoning up all the colors
to be formed in a canvas
which is your own unique life

Praise be for internal weather
that reminds/rebodies you
to the reality that what is wider
holds you in the winter of your woes
and sustains you in the fall of your freedom
and seeks always to listen
with the beat of the Beloved
to cherish  all the ways
we are alive to
the life-force running through us.



Bodypsalm for Waiting

Posted in LINKS on March 22nd, 2010 by Celeste

dsnowber waitingAFTER GLOW by Dobee Snowber

Even when we don’t desire it God is ripening.  Rilke

There are many seasons
each has its own texture of waiting
when the season arrives you know

When the rains or first snow descends
you do not look for
your bathing suit or take out
the box of gloves and winter hats
when the burning sun reveals her face

It just is – and all the waiting
for the season does not
help its commencement
it is a quiet knowing
the state of weather changes

So it is with the art of waiting
a long arc of patience
fueled from within
the well of not knowing
a resting in the unknown
trusting in the timing
for all ripenings.

You cannot rush the tomato’s growth
if  picked before its time
the bold red juice will not split open
surrender to the duration of your own  growth

Not all things grow in the same time or cycle
nor does any human being grow in the same fashion
physically or inwardly
There are some seasons in life
that have made their way with you
and others you are still living

in the in-between of waiting
is a fertile riparian zone
an edge which is the center

When one ripening comes
another will need to come
waves of birth, death and renewal.

Relationships too have their own timing
of comings and goings, but always
it is about your own ripening
that Beloved is concerned with.

Trust in your own inner journey
know your soul is being wooed to the depths

 Embrace the rhythm of your own spiritual path
the advent of waiting is an avenue for joy
and patience is a return to
a long inward glance of the great silence
which holds all things.

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