Thursday, September 27, 2018

The dream of unworthiness


The invitation of the heart is not into transcendence, but into mystery. Into subtlety and depth. Into the earthy, muddy richness of the embodied world.

Not to leave here for some other reality or dimension, but to finally realize that spirit and matter were never two; that while they appear separate, upon inquiry that display is revealed to be translucent.

To perceive the sacred in matter, infusing form, as well as the materiality within spirit; to see that they are each crafted of the same substance. What we call that substance is a secret word that is placed inside each human heart and must be discovered in the fire of primary experience.

Buried in the chaos, hidden in the mess, disguised in the tender body, watery emotions, and this majestic brain are the silver and the gold and the sun and the moon. In the heartbreak and shakiness, in the confusion and uncertainty, even in the core of the dream of unworthiness, the soul is awash with the substance of love.

This “love” is not a feeling that comes and goes—a sweetness or peace or even contented happiness—but is that fiery, relentless activity that keeps the stars from falling out of the sky.

Even in those moments when we fall apart and forget, love is at work behind the scenes. Love has no bias for “forgetting” and “remembering,” only in deeper and deeper invitations into the mystery. For it has embedded itself into the very core of the forgetting, the ground from which new and more creative remembering may emerge.



Photo: the glory of Maroon Bells c/o US Forest Service



My latest book – The Path Is Everywhere: Uncovering the Jewels Hidden Within You – is now available 


The next book, The Unfolding Heart, will be published by Sounds True in early 2020, details to come

The next event is The Healing Shame Retreat: Spiritual Awakening and Unraveling the Core Trauma of Unworthiness, April 24-29, 2019 at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, with co-facilitator Jeff Foster - details to come