Dorothy Walters - The Moment
Ivan M. Granger July 20th, 2009
The Moment
by Dorothy Walters
“We Must Die Because We Have Known Them”
(Title of a poem by Rilke, taken from the
sayings of Ptah-hotep, ms. from 2,000 BCE)
And not once,
but many times over,
again and again,
how we disappeared
into that deep well
of darkness, shuddering beneath that load of silence,
clinging to our narrow ledge.
Yet the darkness, sometimes,
unfolded as light.
Our atoms dissolved in it,
each separate molecule opening
into a radiant disk of feeling.
How still we became,
witness and thing seen,
spectacle and observer,
each point admitting an untrammeled flood.
— from Marrow of Flame : Poems of the Spiritual Journey, by Dorothy Walters
/ Photo by tiny white lights /
Yesterday, my wife and I had brunch with Dorothy Walters and Elizabeth Reninger. A delightful conversation with lots of wisdom wrapped in laughter. Inspired me to share one of Dorothy’s poems this morning…
(Don’t forget to check out some of Elizabeth Reninger’s excellent poetry, as well!)
—
This poem by Dorothy Walters so beautifully evokes the state of awareness of the sacred experience.
how we disappeared
into that deep well
of darkness, shuddering beneath that load of silence…
The silence she is talking about is a psychic silence, a stillness of mind and quietness of awareness that is so all encompassing that your personal sense of identity disappears. It can be like diving into a “deep well” of silence.
Yet, for many mystics, within that “darkness” we find ourselves infused with a dazzling light.
I especially like her description of how “our atoms dissolved” in that light, “each separate molecule opening / into a radiant disk of feeling.” She’s got it — right there. Each part of ourselves, every cell and sinew, every tremor and thought, opens to itself in delight, and we discover that we are that which causes them all to shine and hum as a whole.
And the final verse: the stillness, the unity of observed and observer, the two recognized as one, sharing an “untrammeled flood” of bliss.
Beautiful!
|
Dorothy Walters
US (1928 - ) |
Dorothy Walters is a retired university professor who, at age 53, experienced a dramatic Kundalini awakening which, as she says, completely transformed her life. She had no guru or teacher to guide her through this process, navigating through the new world that opened itself to her by following inner guidance and instinct.
Ms. Walters lives and writes in Boulder, Colorado.
Subscribe (