Showing posts with label Moody Blues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moody Blues. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Moon Phases

July Buck Moon



"Cold-hearted orb that rules the night,

Removes the colors from our sight.

Red is gray and yellow white

But we decide which is right

And which is an illusion."

- The Lament ( Nights in White Satin), 

   Moody Blues



"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected

on the water. The moon does not get wet,

nor is the water broken. Although its light

is wide and great , the moon is reflected even in a puddle

an inch wide."

- Zen Master Elhei Dogen


"I am but a finger pointing to the moon. Do not look at me;

look at the moon." 

- Author unknown


Inspirations  

A lifetime ago, sitting in the dark night, gazing at the 

magical, mysterious glow of the brilliant ball

illuminating the sky ,  I didn't know what to think-


so I  prayed.


The relationship with the moon began.


He was there at the end of a day of confusion,

a day of stress or grief and even days of peace, love and joy.

Some mornings he was visible through the growing brightness 

of the the dawn. 

Somedays clouds would hide its presence,

but I was learning the truth.


The belief that this orb was more than an accident

hanging in the sky began to grow. 

He was a in me and me in him.


(Astrologists, mythologists as well a theologians , navigators of

the earth and the mind, philosophers, poets and scientists

 have studied and tried to comprehend

our relationship to the moon and its purpose.).


A brief history of the moon.

* 4.6 billions year ago a solar nebula collapsed and much of the material

fell forming a young sun

* Much of the dust became rocks 

* Some rocks were big and became planets (protoplanets)

   - One of these became the earth

* The young earth was struck by Mars-sized protoplanet

* The impact of this collision produced the Earth's moon.

* Over a billion years, a remarkable relationship developed between

   the Earth and its moon.* 

* Their nearly perfect alignment has allowed the moon to

   influence tides, ecosystems and perhaps our observations 

   (including werewolves), while  philosophers, astrologers, poets and scientists 

   continue to study the orb's influence on life on earth.


It is written that  the moon's  distance and the angle of the 

his orbit are finely balanced that even the modest changes could

place Earth's long-term stability in serious jeopardy. 

There are multiple scenarios describing how changes 

in that relationship might affect our planet 

No thing lasts.  


Some suggest that the forthcoming July "Buck Moon" 

carries sacred and psychological significance -

- 'shedding and renewal, 

- regeneration,

- inner strength

and deeper spiritual grounding.


Is all of this really some magnificent

accidental coincidence and speculation ? 

Our earthly and celestial origins - mutual.

Perhaps it is no surprise then that 

this connection and wonder  continues  ....


The Writing: 


Moon Phases


Midnight companion

shining through the black heavenly shroud.

Celestial consoler , 

dark-sky influencer, 

intervener..

Perpetual listener 

and spark igniter -

flame of truth,

 subconscious liberator.


Hemingway's conviction:

  " The night is for rest" 

Debunked!

The "I am" wakes in the dark night

The universe's cathedral illuminated

Waves roll.

The reflection glides-

selfless phases 

for every time,

For every thing .


Who am I without you?

Who are you without one 

to receive your glow 

while guiding the tides?

Without this planet

you would not exist.

Without your presence

 - I am not .


- JF Sobecki

------------

Second Chance Dance Playlist Songs plus

July 1 , 2026 -

For your listening pleasure and contemplation:

Click the link below

( Click on the link below to listen and be )

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB8FrnVEQMJC6dJTMsRGJl3yBWtvRc8MK&si=FtOit8r7YXHB_3k8

Coda:

One more short reflection and prayer

https://youtu.be/S0d9ck3sRw8?si=rq06XF-k3xwBhNM4

Whether you "believe" or not...this might be interesting:

* Research indicates that even with significant differences

the major religions and spiritual practices around the world 

they share the following common perspectives and themes:

- Compassion and love - how we treat others

- promote human welfare and reduce suffering

- Practice loving kindness all ways

- All life ( existence) is connected.

- A good life is measured by your kindness to others

- Seek truth, wisdom and understanding

- Be grateful , present and aware of each moment

- There is a higher purpose in life than materialism

- Service to and care of others, be selfless ( especially those 

   who cannot help themselves) 


"One day I will find the right words and they will be simple."

 - Jack Kerouac 

"If this is well written and to the point , that is what I desired, 

if it is poorly done , it was the best I could do." 

- 2 Maccabees 15:38-39 

AMDG 

Copyright 2026 JF Sobecki LLC All Rights Reserved








Thursday, November 30, 2023

Questions :An Advent Contemplation


"I will honor Christmas in my heart

and try to keep it all year."

- Charles Dickens


"Mankind was my business. The 

common welfare was my business;

charity, mercy , forbearance,

benevolence, were all my business. 

The dealings of my trade but a drop

of water in the comprehensive ocean

of my business!"

- Marley's Ghost to Scrooge - Dickens



Charlie Brown asked Lucy why she was so happy. Lucy explainers

 how it was "Christmas" and how it was the time of year to 

"Spread joy , caring ,compassion, giving and love , and working 

for peace ." Charlie Brown  wondered out-loud ,"Why do we do 

these things at Christmastime and why 

can't we do these things all year round?" Lucy yells at 

Charlie Brown "What are you some type of religious fanatic?!"


The Inspiration :

In one of the few credible local newspapers remaining the pages in a recent edition were filled with ads as to the best sales for the best products that one really "needs" to get as presents for their loved ones during this holiday season . In between those color-filled pages were pictures and stories of the horrors of war and violence , famine in countries that seem to be from some faraway planet, debates and quotes from public figures who proclaim that they represent the truth about spiritual matters and why their religion is the only correct path, and how elected officials threaten physical harm to others who don't agree with them and on and on. 

Without warning right in the middle of the OpEd pages is an old picture of President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter, who had just passed , sweating as they worked at building a home for the homeless their post political office years . The caption on the picture read " Faith in Action."

On the same day as reading a digital world news report there was a short video vignette of an aging great grandfather holding his new born great grand child as the great grandfather wept whispering to the infant, "I am so sorry that I didn't do more to leave you a better world to live in. We really blew it ." 

This pilgrim author wondered , " Have I tried enough ?"
-----------

The Writing:

Questions : An Advent Contemplation

Oliver wondered while Cockburn conjured 

Purpose or rationalization ,

Commandments or subtle suggestions ?

Sometimes confused sheep wander as

A few somehow are lost in the most verdant of valleys

Gifted to every creature hoping for nourishment and serenity.

How is it that some of the most enlightened 

Of the most erudite of the Mensa membership

Not only get off course leading seekers 

Away from the truth as the answer that has

Been burning brightly within all ways?

Have the pieces of the cosmic  puzzle confused

Wandering sentient spirits seeking significance 

Of their place in this mandala ?

Hasn't all of Mother Nature ,the essence of the divine,

That eternal magnificent spark,

Graced every aspect of creation in all ways?

Is not this experience and space

Sanctifying all with the ever-present answers to

The great questions ? 

-  JF Sobecki

__________ 

The Poems and Such:

"Poetry is a gateway into intuitive consciousness. It knocks on the doors

 of the heart and the heart opens" 

 - Mirabai Starr

"Poetry is an Act of Peace . Peace goes into the making of a poet

as flour goes into the making of bread."

- Pablo Neruda

Some Questions You Might Ask

Is the soul solid, like iron? 

Or is it tender and breakable, like 

the wings of a moth in the beak of the owl? 

Who has it, and who doesn’t? 

I keep looking around me. 

The face of the moose is as sad 

as the face of Jesus. 

The swan opens her white wings slowly. 

In the fall, the black bear carries leaves into the darkness. 

One question leads to another. 

Does it have a shape? Like an iceberg? 

Like the eye of a hummingbird? 

Does it have one lung, like the snake and the scallop? 

Why should I have it, and not the anteater 

who loves her children? 

Why should I have it, and not the camel? 

Come to think of it, what about the maple trees? 

What about the blue iris? 

What about all the little stones, sitting alone in the moonlight? 

What about roses, and lemons, and their shining leaves? 

What about the grass?

- Mary Oliver

 God's Grandeur - GM Hopkins ( Read by Stanley Kunitz) 

https://youtu.be/vpEaCp8iiSc?si=u7YUv8gsN6Y2tond

"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is no room for him
at all, Christ has come uninvited."
- Thomas Merton
_____________

The Music:

Running To Stand Still - Bono (U2)

https://youtu.be/8EAuep7vUdQ?si=DmW0oIUrA45iIxt6

Getting Ready for Christmas Day - Paul Simon

https://youtu.be/5Q_y4IqeQe8?si=-vClhAIG1HEr-aLi

I Believe in Father Christmas - G. Lake
https://youtu.be/U6-PAKOt7sM?si=WN98L1Kuqhu8u6P2

Do They Know it's Christmas - Band Aid
https://youtu.be/j3fSknbR7Y4?si=KBREFAwqEehkRW1D

Questions - Moody Blues
https://youtu.be/NP9iOqdxS8c?si=dLWlvQRRa9dq7svh

Nothing But a Burning Light - Bruce Cockburn

https://youtu.be/FrhECC6msak?si=hMZXZG8TCI6Vli-o


Videos for Meditation For Readers:

What are we meant to be?
What is our responsibility to our loved ones and the world?

To be or not to be - Alternatives (Shakespeare)

Scrooge - The Full Movie 1951
https://youtu.be/oPDNKbdW9P0?si=KQUfHaEfYGDi964V

CODA: Something more to consider

As I come of Age - S. Stills

How do we share the spirit of peace, love, compassion and mercy?

Have a Blessed and Peaceful Holiday Season.


Two  not-for-profits that keep the spirit alive year round.

Family Promise - https://familypromise.org

World Central Kitchen - https://wck.org
------------

"Everything that we preach is what we need to hear."
         - Bono

"One day I will find the right words , and they will be simple."
- Jack Kerouac

"The most important thing is not why we write but how we write.
Write dangerously , Beckett.." 
- James Joyce ( From the new biopic on S. Beckett " Dance First.")

For my girls and their families.... 

AMDG

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved JF Sobecki LLC







Calvin & Hobbes










Saturday, December 31, 2022

The Art of Being and No Intention


 




"One life but we're not the same

we got to carry each other, carry each other.."

- U2






"I should be content

to look at a mountain

for what it is

and not as a comment on my life."

- David Ignatow


"We plan, God laughs" - Yiddish Proverb


A New Year's Plea


Lord, let me stand in the thick of the fight

Let me bear what I must without Whining

Grant me the wisdom to do what is right

Though a thousand false beacons are shining.


Let me be true as the steel of a blade

Make me bigger than skilled or clever:

Teach me to cling to my best, unafraid.

And, harken the false gospels, never.


Let me be brave when the burden is great,

Faithful when wounded by sorrow,

Teach me, when troubled. with patience to wait

The better and bright tomorrow.


Spare me from hatred and envy and shame,

Open my eyes to life's beauty:

Let not the glitter of fortune or fame

Blind me to what is my duty.


Let me be true to myself to the end,

Let me stand to my task without whining,

Let me be right as a man , as a friend,

Though a thousand false beacons are shining.

   - Edgar A. Guest ( found in a collection of his poetry printed 1925)

___________________


The Art of Being and No Intention


An original member of the band recalled how the pilgrim

Was thought of as the student  with "Aptitude with Attitude."

The "undeclared" pilgrim sojourner believed he was

That cork "floating over the raging sea,"

No course charted or a grand vision of Ulysses.

Often distracted, the pilgrim wandered this way and that,

Not considering how the wind and mystical currents -

Were taking him to be precisely where he needed to be.

On the inhale present to mystery , and

On the exhale the holy longing could fade as

Disorientation and discouraging doubt disrupt the passage.

Almost 28,000 rotations of the earth completed

Since that eternal spark launched his soul's innocent vessel,

From the womb fists ready for the fight, 

You know, just in case,

From the first light injustice and ignorance 

Appeared flourishing in all aspects of the world .

"Where was that unconditional love? 

What happened to the magnificent

Promise of perpetual sanctifying peace?'

No control while relying on faith 

Seemed at times to stop everything within and around him.

Then that secret sacred voice, without speaking ,

Simply and unabashedly penetrated his spirit.

"Let go and just be. You are the author of your own story

Remember 'The treasure is where your heart is' .

No matter where you are

Or what you do or say

It is how you love and serve others that matters."

 - JF Sobecki

____________________-


"Wherever you go there you are."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

-------

A few musical pieces....       

The Boxer - Kraus, Colvin and Douglas (P. Simon)

(Thanks to Lou P. for the inspiration )


There is a Mountain - Donavan
https://youtu.be/zil3-EDye1g

                          
Nights in White Satin/Late Lament - Moody Blues

One of These Days - N.Young

One - U2

One Fine Day - D. Byrne*

Simple Gifts - Yo-Yo Ma/Allison Kraus
https://youtu.be/baNueuDCue0

'Til I Die - Beach Boys ( B. Wilson)
https://youtu.be/87D8-rXTT0M


Night Riders Lament - JJ Walker
( Just because - for all those who follow their own spirit)
https://youtu.be/3wOrfKtAK2Y



Ulysses(ending) - Read by Dame Helen Mirren (Alfred Lord Tennyson)


amdg






Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved
JF Sobecki LLC *











* Quaker