Ponies and Poets – “Superabundant Being”

Ponies and Poets – “Superabundant Being”

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of being present with wild ponies on the Atlantic beaches of Assateague Island. It was a lovely beholding of the beauty of a natural, scenic place. And then no sooner had the ponies wandered off, then I too wandered off in my mind and was taken by petty concerns about the people on the beach and the upcoming traffic-filled drive home.

So I return (after forgetting once again) to the central idea in the Work, which is being present to one’s life. We call the state, self-remembering or the third state of consciousness, but it is the same thing. This state - of being right here in my shoes, where I am sitting, looking out of my eyes - is so close, yet so elusive when I am distracted by my identifications or my wandering mind. Fortunately, I have the transcendent works of certain poets as my muses to remind me to remember myself and to implore me back to the eternal now. I cannot take the ponies with me in my pocket; they are not portable like a volume of poetry.

Be−and yet know the great void where all things begin, the infinite source of your own intense vibration, so that, this once you may give it your perfect assent. – Rainer Maria Rilke

The Bohemian 20th-century poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, wrote beautiful psychological and mystical poems, revealing an intense understanding of the moment and the human condition. Considered by our teacher to be an awakened being, Rilke speaks in a way that is immediately personal, intimate, and penetrating in its modern language and constructs, yet his message is universal and uplifting.

Rilke’s poems and prose revolve around fundamental door-opening esoteric ideas, and point out the responsibility of being a human with the potential to become more than a human. That responsibility is heavy as voiced by Rilke but not burdensome, for it conveys this unique climbing-out-of-ourselves opportunity that you and I have to transform our ordinary lives into miraculous moments and a state of true enlightenment. The moment is not out of reach. We don't need ponies to be present.

As someone whose life is dedicated to the Work, to raising the state of my consciousness, and to supporting my fellow students and those around me, who could be a more transcendent and accepting speaker for our aims and desires than Rilke! He speaks directly to me across time and space, and he can speak to you too. He praises the beginner, the solitary, and all of us who wonder about big ideas. And what is bigger than Now.

Look, I am living. On what? Neither childhood nor future grows any smaller. . . . . Superabundant being wells up in my heart. – Rainer Maria Rilke

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Wild Ponies on Assateague Island, Maryland.