General

The sun simmered red as it slunk towards the jagged horizon.  Tomorrow I would have to report to jury duty, but I had heard that it is generally not in the court’s best interest to spend their time and resources to track down people who don’t respond to their summons, so I could probably get away with blowing this off.  Sure I might show up for jury duty and be found exempt after some initial questioning and I know that serving on a jury is a civic duty and part of what keeps the American judicial system honest, but it is also inconvenient.  I thought of Maya Angelou when she said, “You only are free when you realize you belong no place you belong every place”, and maybe I belonged on the jury.  However, I could have this all wrong, as freedom and belonging seem like opposites…

When my marriage ended, it was not a pretty sight.

My wife never saw it coming. She thought she had me so trapped there was nowhere for me to go. Marriage was not about bliss and joy it was about servitude and abuse. Which was my experience and I admire those who find it otherwise.

Leaving was not easy, there were children involved, and the financial side of it would in time cripple me.

But there were other factors, such as belonging and freedom.

I left to save both myself and my children. No one should live in an abusive relationship. The impact on my children was devastating, and it took many years to repair that damage as three of my kids were teenagers when all this happened.

They knew what was going on and understood why I had to leave but being young they also wanted a mum and…

Reena’s Exploration Challenge #Week 49

This week’s challenge: Your piece can be your piece – poem, story, anecdote, memory, quotation, or anything else – whatever ghosts or monsters or gods it invokes inside you.

What is it that lives inside our bodies, and drives our actions? Is it a god, a monster, or a ghost?

Are we all part of superconsciousness which allows us to differentiate between right and wrong?

Why do our actions show the opposite?

Why do some people go out of the way, leave their comfortable life, and serve the downtrodden going to live the most inhumane life?

Why do some people do heinous, gruesome crimes in spite of knowing the punishment they will get?

Do every person fifty-fifty percent, side by side, the demon and an angel and the one who is nurtured most empower us?

Long sessions 

of meditations 

Satsang(the company of pious people seeking…

विषाद भरा यह मन मेरा :

नोंच लूँ आसमाँ के तारे तमाम
नोंच लीं थीं तुमनें जैसे ख़ुशियाँ मेरी

तोड़ डालूं इस घर के शीशे सभी
तोड़ दिए थे तुमने जैसे सपने मेरे

जला डालूं इस जहाँ के वुजूद को
जलाती हो ज्यों हिज्र की आग में

मिटा दूँ अपनी हर उम्मीद-ए-ख़ुशी
मिटा दीं जैसे तुमने सब यादें मेरी

सोचता हूँ

जीत जायेंगें मेरे ये ख्वाब-ओ-ख्याल
या बचा लेगी मुझे अच्छाई मेरी

In response to:Reena’s Exploration Challenge #Week 49

What is it that lives inside our bodies, and drives our actions? Is it a god, a monster or a ghost?

I think that within us are elements of each of the above.

As humans, we are susceptible to emotion, and we can swing as easily as the wind can change direction.

We are also very greedy which suggests an overinflated perception of ourselves.

We are one of many on this earth, yet so many of us believe the universe revolves around our particular needs. Maybe that is the epitome of being human.

I know I have demons inside of me. When life is tough, I hear my ‘unworthy demon’ at work trying to convince me of the futility of my thoughts and actions. This demon held court within me for a long time, but in the most part, I have been able to shuffle him off into a quiet…

“Monsters are real and ghosts are real too, they live inside of us and sometimes they win.”  In Stephen King’s horror novel, ‘The Shining’, Danny’s dad becomes the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the off season hoping to cure his writer’s block, and then strange things begin to happen.  Five-year-old Danny Torrance is a ‘shiner’ (aglow with psychic voltage), this allows him to detect spirits and he begins to have terrifying visions as the hotel takes on a life of its own.  Danny has the ability to read minds and mentally converse with others who read minds.  Danny he sees glimpses of danger before and after it happens thanks to his ‘imaginary friend’ Tony.  In the movie ‘Sixth Sense’ a troubled, isolated boy named Cole Sear is able to see and talk to the dead people who are walking around like regular people. They don’t see each other, they…