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Here
is
one of W.B Yeats most well known poems. It was my mother’s favourite and it has become
one of my favourite poems. The interpretation I give here is a personal interpretation and
I hope that when you read this poem or listen to it that you will be reminded of its invitation
to listen cross the threshold to an empowered way of living your life.
The poet begins “ I will arise now and go to Innisfree.” The place that he intends
to go is to the Island of Freedom, Innis meaning island. This is a metaphor for the state of
someone free from the tyranny of the separate sense of the self. There is to be a rising
consciousness that is the only way to become truly free. This choice to arise and go into
the NOW will make you an outsider. You will become an island living away from the mainland
that is the collective idea that you are simply a body living in time and space between the
time bound idea of a self living from the beginning that we call birth and ending with
the experience of death.
The words “I will arise and go now” could be the words of a Zen master. They are a powerful
statement of intention. They are stated and related to the only time there is. This is
the present moment and it is the portal to the world of the timeless and the doorway
to the experience of real freedom. The movement toward becoming an island of freedom is the
proper uses of the personal will. It is a will that is disciplined to be present to
the NOW and to moved from the experience of presence. The experience of presence in the
eternal now is true freedom.
Are you willing to be present to the true freedom that is the experience of this now
and which over time will bring you a peace that comes dropping slow?
This is not simply a peace that is the absence of conflict but a peace that you live and
you live your life from within. It is living life from the deep heart’s core. It is a
peace that invites the unity of opposites and the unity of opposites within you.
The ability to assert an intention such as “I will arise and go now” requires that
you learn the the art of loving and are focused on it and the ability to claim your personal
power. The personal will needs to be aligned to the will of the Universal otherwise there
will not be enough energy to make the crossing from the separate sense of the ego self to
the island of freedom which is the direct awareness of the true self and your true freedom.
The proper use of the will that gives rise to the personal empowerment and congruity
requires a committed and disciplined practice. This is some form of spiritual practice that
you engage in each day and which through personal practice invites a willingness to become one
who is present to the purpose of Love, one who Love’s message is intended to be expressed
through you. It requires that the one who would have some true sense of peace give rise
to within themselves a true commitment to living the presence of their life in this
present moment that is NOW and not time in the future.
To find the peace that comes dropping slowly requires that you practice patience and you
practice the art of surrender to the present moment. It requires that, in the words of
another poet T.S. Elliot, that you stop being distracted by distraction and give up any
kind of addictive behaviour. It requires you to heal the unloved aspects of yourself that
take your energy away and are kind of internal Dementors. This is called shadow work and
is the work of bringing to light those unloved aspects of yourself.
The island of freedom, the peace that comes dropping slow is an inner experience. The
island of Innisfree might be sitting in the middle of Lough Gill close to the town of
Sligo in the west of Ireland, but that is not where the poet wants to take you. Poets
take you beyond. Their landscapes are inner experiences of the creative power available
to the knowers of true peace and the experience of the timeless within and the ever present
life eternal.
It requires a kind of Zen discipline to allow this peace that comes dropping slow. Then
you can go to your inner island sanctuary and you can build the cabin of clay and wattles
made, which is your living from and in the house of the heart and living from where you
feel the power of the deep heart’s core.
Thank you for taking time to view this video that invites awareness of the power of poetry,
the power of storytelling, song lyrics and other related practices for living what the
poet Mary Oliver referred to as your one wild and precious life. For more information on
how you can use poetry, mythological stories, song lyrics and other practices to empower
your life I invite you to visit my website http://www.thewayofchakrahealing.com or by
clicking on the link below. There you will be show a map that you can follow that will
allow your to live the wonder tale you are her to live and to share with the world for
the highest good of all.
I leave you with an invitation from one of the worlds great poets Mevalana Jelaluddin
Rumi. I begin my storytelling sessions with this poem that reminds you of your magnificence
and the revelation you are here to become.
You were born with potential You were born with goodness and trust
You were born with ideals and dreams You were born with greatness
You were born with wings You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings Learn to use them,and fly.
Goodbye until next time. This is Tony Cuckson from The Way of Chakra Healing wishing you
well, wishing your the knowing of your true Self