this conceptvessel

2009-09-19T17:42:00.008-04:00

september's journeys

long moments gazing into quiet waters...
soft nights lost in unfathomable dreams...

dear friends, let us meet at the teahouse in the forest, where we may sit together and savor cups of malty yunnan tea. let's listen, as the poet opens to us the heart of the world:

Aunt Leaf

Needing one, I invented her - - -
the great-great-aunt dark as hickory
called Shining-Leaf, or Drifting-Cloud
or The-Beauty-of-the-Night.

Dear aunt, I'd call into the leaves,
and she'd rise up, like an old log in a pool,
and whisper in a language only the two of us knew
the word that meant follow,

and we'd travel
cheerful as birds
out of the dusty town and into the trees
where she would change us both into something quicker - - -
two foxes with black feet,
two snakes green as ribbons,
two shimmering fish - - - and all day we'd travel.

At day's end she'd leave me back at my own door
with the rest of my family,
who were kind, but solid as wood
and rarely wandered. While she,
old twist of feathers and birch bark,
would walk in circles wide as rain and then
float back

scattering the rags of twilight
on fluttering moth wings;

or she'd slouch from the barn like a gray opossum;

or she'd hang in the milky moonlight
burning like a medallion,

this bone dream, this friend I had to have,
this old woman made out of leaves.

- Mary Oliver

resources for the september journey

mary oliver poems on poetseers
natalie goldberg, writing down the bones
james hillman, re-visioning psychology

and remembering tea and friends

tea tao by giovdim...
sanctuary for the senses and the soul.

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2009-07-24T23:57:00.006-04:00

the place where we may dance...

* (for kabir)
july 24, 2009

dear friends!! on these soft summer nights, let us meet at the teahouse, where we may drink darjeeling tea from clear glasses, and listen to the words of the poet...

I am not a Hindu,
Nor a Muslim am I!

I am this body, a play
Of five elements; a drama
Of the spirit dancing
With joy and sorrow.

~kabir~

resources for the journey:

kabir, on poetry-chaikhana (the online poetry teahouse)
and the poetry chaikhana

and remembering tea and friends...

darjeeling estate golden tipped, from stash tea... bliss.

may all travelers find joy!!
and the place where we may dance...
jeanne

2009-07-20T22:22:00.008-04:00

a reverie of water...

the fountain
july 13, 2009

dear friends, i have been away from this place for too long...

today, i began reading re-visioning psychology, by james hillman. he writes so passionately about soul, anima, psyche. in response, i offer this image of the fountain, and these words from gaston bachelard:

"the first dynamic lesson of water is, in fact, elementary: a man asks the fountain, as a first proof of his cure, to revitalize him. our feeling refreshed provides the common everyday reason for this reawakening. ...

"purity and freshness join together... to give a special happiness which all water lovers know. the union of the sensory and the sensual upholds a moral value. the contemplation and experience of water leads us, by many routes, to an ideal. we should not underestimate the lessons taught by original matters. they have left their mark on our mind's youth. they are essentially a reserve of youth. we discover them in connection with our most personal memories. and when we dream, when we truly lose ourselves in our dreams, we submit to the vegetative and restorative life of an element."

~gaston bachelard~
from water and dreams: an essay on the imagination of matter

on these soft summer nights, let us dream...

resources for the journey

james hillman, re-visioning psychology - thank you, joe
gaston bachelard, water and dreams: an essay on the imagination of matter

and remembering tea and friends...

507 yunnan imperial, from specialteas
thank you, theresa, for the tea and conversation.
namaste.

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2008-08-08T12:25:00.016-04:00

new lands...

in this garden...
august 2, 2008

dear friends!! in the garden near the teahouse, on an august night, we may sit and watch as the fireflies dance beneath the stars. in this garden, on an august night, we may talk quietly about matters of the heart, and contemplate the words of beloved poets...

~that lives in us~

if you put your hands on this oar with me,
they will never harm another, and they will come to find
they hold everything you want.

if you put your hands on this oar with me, they would no longer
lift anything to your
mouth that might wound your precious land-
that sacred earth that is
your body.

if you put your soul against this oar with me,
the power that made the universe will enter your sinew
from a source not outside your limbs, but from a holy realm
that lives in us.

exuberant is existence, time a husk.

when the moment cracks open, ecstasy leaps out and devours space;
love goes mad with the blessings, like my words give.

why lay yourself on the torturer’s rack of the past and future?

the mind that tries to shape tomorrow beyond its capacities
will find no rest.

be kind to yourself, dear- to our innocent follies.

forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance.

you will come to see that all evolves us.

if you put your heart against the earth with me, in serving
every creature, our Beloved will enter you from our sacred realm
and we will be, we will be
so happy.

~jelaluddin rumi~

resources for the journey:

jelaluddin rumi, on poetseers
new lands, a photoset on flickr
the awakening heart...

and remembering tea and friends...

tea meditation, from plum village

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2008-06-04T10:53:00.013-04:00

journeys of spring...

happiness
june 3, 2008

dear friends!! hanging baskets of fuchsias greet us as we approach the teahouse. today, let's sit together and listen to the song of the birds as we sip cups of high mountain green tea. perhaps a poet will join us, or a honeybee.

resources for the journey:

zensai: the horticulture of japan, an experience at the cleveland botanical gardens
happiness, on flickr

remembering tea and friends...

tea house, a photoset by giovdim (on flickr)

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2008-03-07T15:52:00.009-05:00

a world of jewels...

the jeweled garden
march 7, 2008

"there is no treasure in the deep mountains; one who has no desire for it finds it."
~zen saying~

let us walk in the jeweled garden, where the birds will sing to us while the trees whisper the ancient teachings. nearby, the teahouse is warm and cups of jade green tea await us...

resources for the journey:

the zen calendar
akira kurosawa, dreams
kakuzo okakura, the book of tea
the jeweled garden, on flickr
winter, a photoset on flickr

and remembering tea and friends...

hialoakapua, a journey with tea, on flickr

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2007-10-20T20:17:00.005-04:00

the garden of the soul...

roses for the poets...
october 19, 2007

dear friends!! today, let us honor the poets who journey into the deep places of the soul, searching for one golden key*... let us honor their quest, and contemplate the words they bring to us...

dedicated to all poets, *inspired by mel-pin's homage to arthur rimbaud.

resources for the journey:

mel-pin, "don't go away, a.r." to arthur rimbaud (on flickr)
mel-pin, on flickr
pablo neruda, twenty love poems and a song of despair
mary oliver, dream work
jelaluddin rumi, translated by coleman barks, the essential rumi

and remembering tea and friends...

the joy of freshly brewed mint tea at aladdin's eatery in lakewood
the beauty of "puerh" by tortuga del desierto (on flickr)

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2007-07-06T12:43:00.002-04:00

the language of the heart...

summer musings: letter from a poet...
july 6, 2007
scanned, assembled and altered image

let us speak only the language of the heart
when we whisper together
our words
will be angels...

dear friends!! today, let us honor the poets whose words have opened our hearts and liberated our minds... including our dear friend rainer maria rilke who advises us to live our questions...

thank you to magic fly paula for the inspiration of her power of words/power of writing...

resources for the journey:

rilke on poetry chaikhana
power of words/power of writing, by magic fly paula
letter from a poet, by conceptvessel
come closer, to read rilke's words...
summer musings, by conceptvessel

and remembering tea and friends...

perfectly pear white tea, from celestial seasonings
send a postcard, from celestial seasonings

may all travelers find what the heart seeks...
love and best wishes,
jeanne

2007-06-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

submersion...

soul of objects: submerging...
june 2, 2007
scanned, assembled and altered image

a reading from rabbi lawrence kushner:

the first mystery is that there is a mystery.
a mystery that can never be explained or understood.
only encountered from time to time.

rabbi kushner also writes: "throughout all creation, just below the surface, joining each person to every other person and every other thing, in one luminous organism of sacred responsibility, we discover invisible lines of connection."

resources for the journey:

rabbi lawrence kushner
jorge luis borges, the aleph and other stories
liev schreiber, everything is illuminated (dvd)

and remembering tea and friends...

zhena's gypsy king chai

may all travelers find joy!!
jeanne

2007-03-10T09:05:00.001-05:00

clarity ...

conceptvessel and mel-pin
clarity (the gift of a small bird)
scanned, assembled and altered image
march 5, 2007

a small bird, a sweet anam cara, has arrived from across oceans, bringing a song of clarity... words of light... and a warm embrace from my dear friend, the alchemist mel-pin...

each day since the arrival of this soul bird, i climb the stairs to the third floor sanctuary in my home... to ask the secret questions,* to listen for the one precious word that i have forgotten*...

slowly, my heart begins to resonate with this sweet bearer of clarity...

*the soul bird brings these words from melina, words that rest in my heart...

resources for the journey:

mel-pin on flickr
letter's lives group on flickr
the mystery of friendship

remembering tea...

spring cherry tea, from the republic of tea

may all travelers find joy!!
love and best wishes,
jeanne

2007-02-25T06:22:00.001-05:00

the alchemy of the heart ...

magic of tea (the emergent flower)
scanned and altered image
february 23, 2007

during these cold winter nights, it is good to cultivate the gradual flowering of the heart...

may all beings be happy...
may all beings know joy...
may all beings be free of suffering...

resources for the journey:

loving-kindness meditation from buddhanet
tricycle magazine
the warmth of your heart

and remembering tea and friends...

flowering loose teas, from numi

with loving-kindness,
jeanne

2006-12-26T12:54:00.001-05:00

the soul of tea and friendship ...

magic of tea (the generous fishes)
scanned and altered image
december 14, 2005

the delights of sharing tea with friends...

through an alchemy of the senses and the heart, these objects with which we live become imbued with meaning... and become the material of our reveries and dreams...

a legend of tea:

stories say that in 2700 b.c. emperor shen nung, scholar and herbalist, discovered the magic of tea while sipping hot water under a wild tea tree. as he sat a drift of leaves floated into his cup from above. he sipped, he thought and he discovered, much like the tea drinkers of today.

from tea time world history

resources for the journey:

alain stella, et.al, the little book of tea
mmm. teacakes! from stitchwitch, on flickr
the soul of objects, on flickr
tea time world tea history
tea resources on conceptvessel.net

and a tea for the journey...

darjeeling estate golden tipped from stash

drink deep!!
jeanne

2006-11-24T17:07:00.001-05:00

the nature of ecstasy...

autumn reverie: ecstasy
scanned, assembled and altered image
november 20, 2006

... a vessel/portal of roses and light... inspired by hildegard von bingen's canticles of ecstasy...

a reading from jelal al-din rumi:

this moment this love comes to rest in me,
many beings in one being.
in one wheat grain a thousand sheaf stacks.
inside the needle's eye a turning night of stars.

resources for the journey:

sequentia, hildegard von bingen: canticles of ecstasy
jelal al-din rumi, the essential rumi, translated by coleman barks
autumn reverie: ecstasy on flickr

and remembering tea and friends...

organic red mellow bush rooibos, from numi

may all travelers find joy!
jeanne

2006-11-18T08:15:00.001-05:00

transcendence ...

autumn reverie: transcendence
scanned, assembled and altered image
november 10, 2006

a reading from sri chinmoy:

my poet-child, I want you to sing with me:
i barter nothing with time and deeds.
my cosmic play is done.
the one transcendental i was.
the many universal i am.
i am the soul-flower of my eternity.
i am the heart-fragrance of my infinity.

resources for the journey:

hildegard of bingen, a feather on the breath of god
thomas moore, the education of the heart
poet seers

and remembering tea and friends...

redbush chai from yogi tea
lifestyle: living in harmony (from yogi tea)

may all travelers find joy!
jeanne

2006-11-11T07:03:00.001-05:00

our passing ...

autumn elegy: belonging
in memory of walter leedy
scanned, assembled and altered image
november 10, 2006

a reading from rainer maria rilke:

you, you only, exist.
we pass away, till at last,
our passing is so immense
that you arise: beautiful moment,
in all your suddenness,
arising in love, or enchanted
in the contraction of work.

to you I belong, however time may
wear me away. from you to you
i go commanded. in between
the garland is hanging in chance; but if you
take it up and up and up: look:
all becomes festival!
~
rainer maria rilke, translated by stephen mitchell
on poet-seers

resources for the journey:

walter leedy's cleveland state university faculty page
postcards from cleveland
rilke on poet-seers

and remembering tea...

zhena's ambrosia white plum

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-11-02T19:44:00.001-05:00

the alchemy of connection ...

letter to melina (in an october sky)
scanned, assembled and altered image
october 22, 2006
[images are portals]

letters are flying... a message to mel-pin in athens, greece... from conceptvessel in cleveland, ohio... part of the letter's lives group project on flickr...

a reading from the spanish poet antonio machado:

what the poet is looking for
is not the fundamental i
but the deep you

resources for the journey:

letter to melina (in an october sky) on flickr
next letter, by mel-pin (her alchemical image of my letter)
mel-pin's photostream on flickr
letter's lives on flickr
friendship-companions on the path, the winter 2004 issue of parabola

and remembering tea and friends...

classic india spice tea from yogi (brewing as i write)

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-10-15T13:22:00.000-04:00

reflecting this afternoon...

... on the metaphysics of writing ...

embracing the wind horse
a collaboration with nathanael archer
scanned and altered image
october 7, 2006

letters are flying... from france to ohio, from nathanael archer to conceptvessel, comes this graceful drala, a blessing...

nathanael includes this translation in his letter to me:

~
in order to join heaven and earth
may the ultimate, unchanging warrior
always protect you.

may you have a long life,
freedom from sickness
and glory.

may your primordial
confidence always flourish.

may the virtuous mark
of excellent wind horse
always be uplifted.
~

i embrace this beautiful correspondence. i embrace this auspicious wind horse.

resources for the journey

nathanael archer, letter to conceptvessel on flickr
nathanael archer, outils-tools/objets-objects image set on flickr
letter's lives group on flickr
todd shimoda and l.j.c. shimoda, the fourth treasure (a novel)
paperblanks journals

and remembering tea and friends

metaphysical cup/book of objects,
a luminous image by magic fly paula
"the tea history of são miguel" (the azores), from chá gorreana

love and best wishes, jeanne

2006-10-03T16:06:00.000-04:00

reflecting this afternoon...

... on the alchemy of the senses and the heart ...

the soul of objects (serving tea)
scanned, assembled and altered image
october 2, 2006
(images are portals)

a golden tray for serving tea... a small pleasure... through an alchemy of the senses and the heart, these objects with which we live become imbued with meaning... and become the material of our reveries and dreams...

my deep thanks to magic fly paula for her book of objects and to shiki for his beautiful image soie de chine which inspired these thoughts...

resources for the journey

gaston bachelard, the poetics of space
paula catão, book of objects, on flickr
okakura kakuzo, the book of tea
junichiro tanizaki, in praise of shadows
loreena mckennitt, book of secrets (cd)

(and more, to come...)

and remembering tea and friends...

organic black chai from yogi tea

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-09-12T23:43:00.000-04:00

reflecting this evening...

... on the nature of reverence ...

reverence
scanned and altered image
september 10, 2006

that which we acquire by contemplation we should spend in love.

- adapted from meister eckhart -

i bought this beautiful small cloth at the jewel heart store in ann arbor, michigan, a few years ago... to place on the small study table which would hold the dharma texts i was studying in the meditation room and at home...

resources for the journey

meister eckhart in the internet encyclopedia of philosophy
jewel heart tibetan buddhist center
the still points in your soul

and remembering tea...

a reading from thich nhat hahn:

in the buddhist tradition, we have the practice of mindful breathing, of mindful walking, to generate the energy of mindfulness. it is exactly with that energy of mindfulness that we can recognize, embrace, and transform our anger. mindfulness is the kind of energy that helps us to be aware of what is going on inside of us and around us, and anybody can be mindful. if you drink a cup of tea and you know that you are drinking a cup of tea, that is mindful drinking. when you breathe in and you know that you are breathing in, and you focus your attention on your in-breath, that is mindfulness of breathing. when you make a step and you are aware you are making a step, that is called mindfulness of walking. the basic practice in zen centers, meditation centers, is the practice of generating mindfulness every moment of your daily life. when you are angry, you are aware that you are angry. because you already have the energy of mindfulness in you created by the practice, that is why you have enough of it in order to recognize, embrace, look deeply, and understand the nature of your suffering.

- thich nhat hanh, from "embracing anger"

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-08-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

reflecting this evening...

... on the portals of the soul ...

an alchemical book of prayer
scanned, assembled and altered image
august 27, 2006

from the conceptvessel library, a resource for the journey: an
alchemical book of prayer which responds to each soul with
the words and images that it seeks... dedicated to all souls...
inspired by magic fly paula, patron of books, and by the flickr
community...

a reading...

... from the irish poet gabriel rosenstock:

from each and every pore

from each and every pore look how the sun beams
on Your eternal dance
the dark side of the moon is bright
if You open Your mouth
stars will escape and chant their hymns for You
You are they
swiftly swans fly backwards
how can i imagine Your embrace
without exploding in Your galaxy?

resources for the journey

an alchemical book of prayer on flickr
magic fly paula's photostream on flickr
poetry chaikhana
gabriel rosenstock on poet-seers
... introduction to the year of the goddess

and remembering tea...

"a chaikhana is a teahouse along the legendary silk road pilgrimage and trading route linking china to the middle east and europe. it is a place to rest along the journey, a place to shake off the dust of the road, to sip tea, and to gather together to sing songs of the divine..."

-poetry chaikhana-

savor the journey!
jeanne

2006-08-20T17:40:00.000-04:00

reflecting this afternoon...

... on the nature of life and light ...

amida (in memory of masumi hayashi)
scanned, assembled and altered image
august 21, 2006

[view prayer wheel, bodhnaht stupa, kathmandu, nepal,
masumi hayashi, 2004]

a mantra:

namu amida butsu
i am one with infinite life and light

resources for the journey

masumi hayashi photography
the masumi hayashi museum
cleveland buddhist temple

and remembering tea and friends...

drinking his morning tea
the monk is at peace.
chrysanthemums.

- basho

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-07-28T08:03:00.000-04:00

musing this morning ...

... on the nature of reverie ...

moving water (evidence of material imagination)
scanned and altered image
july 25, 2006

... evidence of reverie enjoyed in woods and along streams - collected, bottled, recorded ...

a reading from shih-shu:

bream and carp flash their golden scales,
pairs of ducks links wings.
all the while the poet stares this way and that --
caught in a web beyond all speaking.

resources for the journey

gaston bachelard, water and dreams: an essay on the imagination of matter
the cleveland metroparks
"shih shu" on poetry chaikhana

moving water on flickr

and the pleasures of tea

darjeeling estate golden tipped, from stash

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-07-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

reflecting this evening ...

... on the evolution of consciousness ...

the glass bead game (homage to hermann hesse)
scanned and altered image
july 13, 2006

a reading from hermann hesse:

soap bubbles

from years of study and of contemplation
an old man brews a work of clarity,
a gay and involuted dissertation
discoursing on sweet wisdom playfully.

an eager student bent on storming heights
has delved in archives and in libraries,
but adds the touch of genius when he writes
a first book full of deepest subtleties.

a boy, with bowl and straw, sits and blows,
filling with breath the bubbles from the bowl.
each praises like a hymn, and each one glows;
into the filmy beads he blows his soul.

old man, student, boy, all these three
out of the maya-foam of the universe
create illusions. none is better or worse.
but in each of them the light of eternity
sees its reflection, and burns more joyfully.

from "joseph knecht's posthumous writings" in magister ludi: the glass bead game

resources for the journey

hermann hesse, magister ludi: the glass bead game
nobel prize in literature presentation speech (1946)
professor gunther gottschalk's hermann hesse resource page

and remembering tea and friends ...

lemon & ginger herbal tea, from twinings (u.k.)

savor the journey!!
jeanne

2006-07-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

reflecting this evening...

... on the nature of peace ...

trees
by magiceye
july 11, 2006
originally uploaded to flickr by magiceye

a zen saying:

sounds of the valley stream
wash your ears clean;
the canopy of pine trees
touches your eyes green.

resources for the journey

magiceye's images on flickr
universalist group on flickr
the zen calendar
thich nhat hanh, peace is every step

and remembering tea and friends...

alpine flowers herbal tea, from the republic of tea

love and best wishes,
jeanne

2006-07-04T04:34:00.000-04:00

musing this morning...

... on the mysteries of the inner life ...

(images are portals)

gestation
scanned, assembled and altered image
july 2006

there is thunder this morning, and rain... as there was the day i walked the muddy paths to the river to photograph the patterns made by rain falling onto the receptive surface of the water...

the resulting images (and explorations) are here and on conceptvessel...

resources for the journey

oracle: gestation, on conceptvessel
about oracle, on conceptvessel
"hexagram of the month: 3, sprouting" in clarity's i ching newsletter, issue 61 (online)
hellmut wilhelm and richard baynes (translators), the i ching, or book of changes

and not to forget tea...

chinese breakfast: yunnan black tea, from numi

may all travelers find joy!
jeanne