Saturday 30 September 2017

Shadow Un-boxing...


"Only the shadow knows...."
Knows what?
That it can 
Be profoundly influential
Without an awareness
"It" actually exists..

The discovery 
Coming out from 
Behind the shadow
Is not easy 
First of all 
Because of 
It's unconscious nature

Beyond that
As awareness deepens
That which is revealed
Isn't necessarily
That which 
Will be revelled in
Not necessarily 
On one's 
Tell me 
a little about yourself 
"Resume."

A useful distinction
Is awareness
Followed 
By taking responsibility
Without an ongoing
Identifying with 
What is then 
Discovered

If self-admonishment
Becomes activated
That in itself
Might be considered 
In the light of 
Illumination 
It must be considered
Unhelpful 
To consider oneself
Limited by these
Shadow aspects
and certainly
There are 
Further shadow elements
In operation
If one considers themselves
Superior to anyone 
That hasn't undertaken 
This self-examination

Disdain 
And claims of 
"The Unconsciousness" in others
Self-righteousness 
And 
Claimed specialness
More an invitation
To seek further
The shadow 
Than any true 
Mastery
Nobody is of 
More (or less) 
Value to Humanity

What is gained
By upholding
These shadow ways of being?
What is 
In it for you
If you insist
You see more of 
Me, than I can see 
of myself?
Just as likely
Avoidance of self
In claiming to see 
Another

It would take 
Someone that has
Very thoroughly
Looked at 
Their own shadow
To be able to 
Truly see another
Without imprinted themselves
Upon what the "see." 
It's pretentious
To believe 
You know better 
Someone else's journey
It is arrogant
And invasive
To impose your 
Unsolicited "views"
On anyone else

Each ought to be 
Afforded 
The dignity 
Of their own journey
Even an accurate
"Read.."
"Well-intentioned"

Could potentially 
Do more harm 
Than good
If imposed
Before it's 
Time


Words to live by
Might include
If your view 
Wasn't invited 
Then your view
Wasn't invited....


R. O'Neill (September   30, 2017)



Wednesday 27 September 2017

There for the Asking...


No "claiming" it 
While embodying it
Perhaps more readily 
Reflected from another
Though at the same time
A need for that reflection
Would lack humility

A reduction
Or representation
Of Limitation
Would not 
Constitute humility
A falsity 
Is perpetuated
By one
That presents
As though
They are less
Than they are
No virtue
Nor higher good
Is served
By such a deception

A secure knowing
Of who you are
Is not to be confused
With a boastful
Tireless horn-blowing
Nor a clambering 
Self-Disparaging
Barrage 
Aimed at 
Eliciting the strokes
Of others

The wisdom of Solomon
Might aid in determining
When withholding 
The known answer
In order to allow
He or she
Upon their rise
To be shored up
By their being allowed
To provide the solution
Denotes a path 
Of humble Leadership

Great leaders
Are more readily
 Lost in the crowd
Than drawing one 
Upon completion 
They  
Quietly slip away
You won't recognize 
Them by the throngs
of followers
You might know of 
Their presence
By the
Vast wake of 
New leaders in their stead

A cup kept full
Is in truth 
an
Encumbrance
Teach 
What you most
Need to know
Thereby ensuring 
Your own
Ongoing evolution
Continue to 
Develop 
and
Deepen
The ability
To craft
Better question

Stay curious
Be in awe
of 
What you don't 
Know

Live in 
Wonder

R. O'Neill (September 27, 2017)








Saturday 23 September 2017

Through the Looking Glass


What is it you see
When you claim
To be looking 
At me?
Will you insist

I am 

the

 drought 
famine
poverty

Reflected
In your cold stare
Through eyes
That evade
The contents
of
Your own soul

To be sure
Your's might well
Be the shaft of light
That illuminates 
for me
The dark recesses
&
Corridors within 
That lay
Beyond my awareness
Or my current
Readiness 
To assume ownership
Of those facets
Of my humanity

I've needed 
To seek beyond
My own story
That I could 
Begin to see
Closer to the truth
If you are particularly
Attached to 
Your lens
on the world
The view 
You perceive
Which would include
Any assessment 
of me
Would necessarily
Be defined
By your story


Nobody writes
My story
But me
You might 
Be invited to 
Provide a contribution 
To the story
You may 
Be invited to 
Provide a perspective
On my story
Uninvited assessments
Are renounced
and not taken
To heart
Though they 
Might be examined
And sifted to 
Determine 
Any useful truth
 for my
Evolution

Reflections
Can serve 
As a useful measure
For self awareness
Comparison
To others
Or expectations
Of another
Based on their
Own story
Not as useful 

"Be the change"
Will occur
When each
Based on self-reflections
Determines where
And in what way
They could 
 contribute
To
A better world
And 
Reflecting that change

R. O'Neill (September 23, 2017)











Wednesday 20 September 2017

Brothers (Hear me thus) - Covenant with the Goddess


Do I speak for all men?
I cannot presume that designation..
I do not - "speak to the choir"
As a man
With a voice
And a presence
In a mosaic
A cell 
In the body of humanity
I consider
My sacred responsibility
To issue my voice
Upon the collective consciousness


There will be those 
That continue to imagine
I require their permission
to speak
There could remain still
Moments I consider it true
Both 
Are deeply flawed
In premise

Enough!!

I now address
Those men
That continue to:

Debase, Diminish, Devalue

Abuse
Exploit
Attack

Malign
Intimidate
Manipulate

Dominate
Ridicule
Oppress

Continuing
To seek out
And destroy

The feminine 

Can you not see
You wage war
With 
The very loving essence
That carried you
That bore you
Unto this world
That holds
Nurtures
Sustains
Beats your heart
That is 
Your heart

You seek 
To destroy
The very best
Of Life
You condemn
Yourself
To a lifetime
Of
Self-Hatred
Until 
You relent

I am
A voice 
For the discontinuance
Of a perverted 
Diminished 
Dishonouring
Representation of Masculinity 
My brothers
I will out this 
Anywhere I encounter it

To ensure 
My own life
Is spared
The mantle of hypocrisy
I lay to bare
My own soul
Upon the altar
Of this page

I ask 
All that is Holy
To 
Expose
Make visible
&
Identify

All 

Ways

Shapes 

or

Forms

There remains:

Any energy
of 
Mistaken beliefs
Influences
Indoctrination
Fear
Insecurity

In me

That 
Don't fully 
And 
Completely

Stand in homage
of 
The Divine Feminine

Source them out
And 
Heal me at their source
And 
Release them

I was taught
That 
Gratitude 
Appreciation
Love 
Service
Humility
Atonement

Are action words

Don't tell me

Show me...

Today

This is my 

demonstration


R. O'Neill (September  20, 2017)





Saturday 16 September 2017

Internally Yours



Magnificent omnipresent mystery.
With a look of purpose that was groundless
Invoking roaming penetration
I realized the echoed abyss
In order that I might then
Taste and know your love
With the starkest of certainty

Relentlessly long 
Was my appetite.
Fostered
Through a famine
Created. 
Gorging upon 
External absence.
Vast banquet tables
Were set. 
Replete with volume,
But devoid of substance.
Compulsive gratification
of
A soul-starved angst
Reigned supreme


Sick & tired
Of being 
Sick & tired
I tentatively responded
To the waxing and waning
Call 
Of a heart in exile

Rather extraordinary
To be a foreigner
In my own heart
A path presented
Comprised of archived traumas
Real & imagined
Day to day 
Occurrences unfolded
In alignment with 
A heart's covenant 
Intent on healing

How vast the search
How fruitless the attempts
To resolve internal strife
Through external measures.
Guidance
&
Direction
Wisdom
&
Healing
Love Everlasting
No more
Than 
A heartbeat away


R. O'Neill (September 16, 2017)




Monday 11 September 2017

Will a New Day Dawn?


Has the day dawned
Whereby reckoning 
Can be commenced
That within 
The shadows 
 Hidden in the love deprived 
Recesses of my psyche
Reside 
Judge, Jury & Executioner 

What seed of 
Shame, errant belief or misguided doctrine
Have I created or taken on
That would unconsciously
Have me behave in the world
In such a way  
That I attract or am attracted to
Or create, situations
That lead to "punishment"

What will it take
To wear the skin
Of a man
For whom 
Clemency has been granted
Can I make a simple decision 
To transform the inner drum beat
From self
Retribution, persecution and sabotage
To that of self forgiveness?

Might a thinly veiled 
Veneer of guilt
Be unravelled 
And dissolved within
Reserves of inadequacy
Darkness of self-hatred
Fears and phobias
Labels and spells

Or will I walk myself
Down that last mile
Again & again
Each step shrouded
In the bleak grey 
Clouds of resignation
A victim of my own hand
Which brings down the gavel
Delivers both verdict and sentence
Then weaves the rope
Readies the gallows 
Standing then 
At the ready
To through the lever
Which will 
Forever silence my voice
and 
Choke the life 
From my truth

R. O'Neill  (September  11, 2017