the eightfold path
deep meditation ~
revelation
terrene is vacant as void is vibrant
sensations, perceptions, objects, subjects
evaporate then wander cofibrant
dimensional world ceases all effects
dichotomised self dwells only on Earth
formless expanse evaporates desires
core awakened eclipse memory and mirth
spirit rhapsodic outside every mire
mind free from flesh revels in pristine bliss
earth wind fire water ether appear veils
disappear cyclical clocks no remiss
raptured crystal core perfumes golden grail
complexities cease, thoughtforms evanesce
anaharta achieves nirvana, naked
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Surrounded by the ocean on all its sides
An enchanting town about four miles wide
This sun-soaked spot is the absolute best
There’s nothing like good old Key West
The clucking roosters will wake you up
And if not, it’s the Cuban coffee cup
A hot breakfast sandwich is ready to go
At one of the cafes you already know
This tropical island, it never snows
So there’s no need for winter clothes
But the heavy winds will surely blow
As hurricane season comes and goes
Gators, turtles, and jellyfish, oh my!
The ocean is as lively as the vivid sky
Key West sunsets are just supreme
Like something painted out of a dream
A town full of rich culture and history
Even in its shadows, its charm is no mystery
Haunted lighthouses and creepy old dolls
If you’ve seen it once then you’ve seen it all
So whether it’s to wine and dine
Or just to watch the full moon shine
It’ll always be a fantastic time
Key West, Florida is truly sublime
Nirvana is bliss; bliss is Nirvana
Whichever it is
It’s not Kim Jong Un’s
Executions by 007-like piranha
Naked in lilacs, naked in spring.
Uniform in the earth, and of self.
Does life permit time, or do we permit it?
Karma is fast, but love is more eloquent,
and I’d rather spend my time
racing towards a curious idealised secret
versus a daily lived experience.
Meditation asks: "Can I be your refuge?"
I reach out to touch dirt, wet, turned to mud now.
Mud squelches out of joy.
I’ve heard others’ worth or pace compared to dirt,
but isn’t that where the source of all life comes from,
where it all goes?
It’s foolish to believe that there is nothing
while there is consciousness.
Pardon my intrusion on yours;
I only intended to make your day brighter.
("First Light", 2006, original oil)
Samsara’s wheel of Life,
Wheel of ignorance and suffering
Is but an illusion,
A mirage of a vast collective
Of veiled ignorant minds,
Like a spinning projection
Of hope and fear,
Above the true wheel.
So what is this true wheel
That turns at the base of reality,
In the heart of each of us?
Let’s just say
It’s not something
That can ever be named,
Yet something actual and changeless
Just waiting to be discovered.
(3/10/26)
It feels like a memory I've never lived
Sinking into the endless holy ground
In the woods first-touched by spring
The dark sky heavy from stars all around
So I turn my head to meet your lips
But I kiss the cold spirit of death
And then the memory turns into lyrics
Those divine melodies we used to whisper
Turn into silent sighs of cynics
Along with sins sleep on clouds in the air
But now the memory sounds like the ocean
When the salty waves hit the shore
What kind of sunny days were these
Our innocent, ancient heart had no pain
God lies on marmoris and next a pile of figs
Their sweet dreamy taste I only hoped to remain
Your mellifluous prayers, ****** of my nirvana wave
I'm sorry I left, but the sea had to be my grave
One night long ago
In the Enchantments wilderness
My partner and I
Way up out of the way
On the Lost World Plateau
Camped under the stars
Between two granite boulders
On a bit of sandy ground
We lit a fire for comfort and mood
And the more practical need to cook our food
And as we lay cocooned at the edge of sleep
A micro-burst of wind came through
And turned the fire’s embers
Into a little tornado of flaming sparks
Spinning out of control before our eyes
In the morning
We woke to a fresh clear dawn
All trace of the fire, wood, ash and stain
Completely removed as if it had never been
And in that Enchanted moment
I had my first true glimpse of Nirvana.
(12/4/25)
Moksha, liberation, freedom, peace
Fly through our imaginations
As ideals, inspiring, yet beyond
The grasp of mere mortals.
Yet being beyond
Is no reason to dismiss as unreal
It is in fact what defines and determines
The liberation.
Our lives are ruled by our body-minds
Habits and hormones, hungers and healings
This is what defines us, but God
Is not our body or our mind.
Thank God, It is beyond these tangibles
Controllable and manipulatable
By forces as capricious as a wild wind
Whipping up the ashes to leave no trace.
And what remains when everything
Has been removed and all is cleansed?
The freshness of a new dawn
Bright, clear, pure, with no need to even name.
(“Something From Nothing”, 2024, original encaustic)
Moksha, liberation, freedom, peace
Fly through our imaginations
As ideals, inspiring, yet beyond
The grasp of mere mortals.
Yet being beyond
Is no reason to dismiss as unreal
It is in fact what defines and determines
The liberation.
Our lives are ruled by our body-minds
Habits and hormones, hungers and healings
This is what defines us, but God
Is not our body or our mind.
Thank God, It is beyond these tangibles
Controllable and manipulatable
By forces as capricious as a wild wind
Whipping up the ashes to leave no trace.
And what remains when everything
Has been removed and all is cleansed?
The freshness of a new dawn
Bright, clear, pure, with no need to even name.
(12/3/25)
The good and true know rest and peace
Simple because without selfish intent
They can lay their burdens down
Moment by moment and so enjoy
The endless journey.
The bad and false know no rest
Because driven by desire
There is no satisfaction
And so their path
Becomes an endless wheel of suffering.
One is like a still pond
In which you can see your clear reflection,
The other a swift rapid
Making waves and turbulent eddies
At every turn.
One knows peace effortlessly
The natural byproduct of life in harmony,
The other knows it only as a dream
Something strived for
But never attained.
(10/26/25)
Be Stupid When It's
Smart To Be.
Why Not?
It's So Easy!
And Smart When
They’re All Stupid.
-Gray Squirrel
10-13-2025
When our lips meld in passions kiss,
we gather highs from nirvana's bliss.
Please check The book from amazon / kindle,
NOTIFICATIONS FROM NIRVANA - ODYSSEY OF A DIGITALLY DISTRACTED DISCIPLE FROM SCROLL TO SOUL
(“The Particle In The Wave”, 2018, original encaustic)
Down to Zero
In the great equation of Life
Everything eventually cancels out
As it naturally balances
And leaves us down to zero.
From the perspective of static
The dynamic is the illusion
From the perspective of dynamic
The static is the illusion.
Buddhism with its notion of a final Nirvana
Takes the former
Taoism with its effortlessly flowing Wu-Wei
Takes the latter.
That is the East, while in the West
This paradoxical duality is expressed
Succinctly by quantum physics
As the wave and particle nature of light.
The reality is always, of course, different
Than what we think, when we’re at zero
And left with what it means to be alive;
In work or play, depending on our view.
(7/21/25)
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