G DOT VENTURES PRESENTS
STEEPLES
STEEPLE
STEEPL
STEEP
STEE
STE
ST
S
QUEST FOR A POSITIVE, PERSONAL, AND CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY
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BY G. - GEORGE BRYANT CRONK
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INTRODUCTION
SUNDAY QUESTIONS
Can we shine? Can we soar today complete
and whole, refreshed, renewed, letting go
of what was or has been, replacing it all
with a fresh vision and approach to living –
letting go of senseless constraints,
selecting instead a more spontaneous
path to our heaven on earth?
Do we not contain within us the essential
ingredients for this catharsis – are we not
able to reach this sweet spot of Divine being –
this clear connection waiting for our tacit
awakening – our coming to full, authentic life –
the true purpose of our existence waiting for
our arrival?
Is there not more, much more to this moment
of continual consciousness than a few pleasures
mixed with occasional struggle – have we not
found in these shifting sands the magic of a love
so supreme it reaches us daily to pull us into
oneness – are we not now – here and now –
ready to abandon our tired pursuit in favor
of fresh existence?
AT BY G. 3.17.2013
WELCOME TO THE POETRY OF THE FINDING
GOD ON THE TRAIN STORY
There is an aspect of poetry in all things spiritual and mystical, whether it is conceived as a poem, a prayer, a sermon, a revelation, a thought, or a hymn. Inspired words seem to take on a weight, an energy, a Soul - moving us to greater depths of emotion, comprehension, and being. And so it is, I believe, with this collection of inspired poetry emanating from my spiritual quest, conceived initially and offered under the rubric of the Finding God On The Train Story – including poems, prayers, affirmative thoughts, meditation guidance, and sometimes just a basic blog post that seems to catch fire.
The Finding God On The Train Story – Notes On Enlightenment – including the blog and the books being published, is about my Quest for a positive, personal, and contemplative spirituality. The central message of the Finding God On The Train Story is that the spiritual guidance and wisdom we seek for our transformation - to maximize our lives, well-being, and attain heaven on Earth and enlightenment – already exists, has always existed, securely located in what we might think of as the “spiritual cloud” – Universal God Consciousness, waiting for our direct connection through prayer and meditation, and when needed, always accessible through simply, intently, listening.
Our Soul-based, Divine-self, is attempting this communication even when we are not listening; using inspiration, insight, and creativity to send us the message we so need to hear. I do believe this messageis tailored and unique for each of us. A message that will fit, and hopefully augment, our unique approach to belief, religious observance, and faith – helping us engender a more viable and sustainable spiritual perspective, one which emphasizes all paths lead to God and God favors no particular path. In a world where the essence of God has been set in stone to fit, often, I am afraid, a dogma of escalating intolerance; I fully realize the dramatic nature of this statement.
Yet, be aware that my New Thought perspective is the basis and foundation of what this poetic offering speaks to and exudes: the message I seek to convey, is positive and encouraging, as well as spiritually generic, centered on a spiritual framework open to the right of all to believe personally what they wish, while earnestly supporting an individual’s right to have a direct relationship with God – a loving, caring, supportive God - without requiring an intermediary. Likewise, within this perspective, a focus on sin and guilt is counterintuitive, and as such, has no real place in this offering. God is waiting to have a spiritual relationship with us, when, and if, we are ready. But, most importantly, the central theme of the Finding God On The Train Story, is - you, me, we, all of us - are not spiritually alone.
Founded on this belief that we may all avail ourselves to our own tailored spiritual guidance, my quest for a positive, personal, and contemplative spirituality, which is outlined in the opening chapters of my companion blog book titled The Finding God On The Train Story – Notes On Enlightenment – The Crystal Path - Quest For A Positive, Personal, and Contemplative Spirituality, being fully published for free on the right-hand side of the blog has manifested a wellspring of inspired poems, prayers, affirmative/positive thoughts, and meditation related guidance sampled here: summoned by focused prayer and meditation; fostered by listening with clear intention for the sparks of communication I would eventually record, often verbatim, as received.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION?
I want this introductory collection to present the full range of what I consider the poetic focus of the message of the Finding God On The Train Story. Beginning in late 2007, as described in the book, at the age of fifty-five, I began to write my first spiritually oriented poems and lyrics.
It was, originally, in the form of poems that I started to receive these spiritually inspired, often astounding communications, basically internal dictation, coming to me, some fully formed, which I would write down with a pencil, in a small wire-bound notebook, recording the date and time of the inspiration, making them seem more plausible and concrete. Hopefully, alleviating in some small way, the questions I was avoiding regarding my sanity.
As with the following example of an early poem, one of my favorites, Elixir Of God, these poems usually look like what we might expect a contemporary poem to resemble. Those who have been following the publication of my blog book will recognize this poem as the opening of Chapter Three of the Crystal Path titled – New Thought Positive Spirituality – Yesterday and Today.
ELIXIR OF GOD
In the morning, I sit with a clear Soul,
transparent and shining
like a crystal spirit,
waiting and prepared to meet
the abundant day ahead.
I walk silently, peacefully, tranquil
in “the space” of its glory.
Here is the “one,”
quietly prepared, clearly ready,
to foster and incubate
joy – clear, pure, unencumbered
joy – the elixir of God.
POEM BY G. 12.7.2007
FEATURED IN FGOTT – THE CRYSTAL PATH - THE BOOK
As those who follow the blog are aware, for over ten plus years, I have written Ann, my wife, an inspired note, delivering the note with her tea each morning. These notes have taken on a life of their own, probably because of the sheer number, with many hundreds published on the blog. They often reflect what is happening is our lives, providing guidance, or offering direction. Posting these Affirmative Thoughts, as I call them - since they are for the most part positive, encouraging and succinct affirmations, has become a way for Ann and me to share our day-to-day spiritual and life challenges with the readers of the blog.
Sometimes, these Affirmative Thoughts are practical, empowering, encouraging; other times deeply spiritual and mystical; and/or just plain poetic. The note below, titled Visions Of Dreams Obtained, exhibits these qualities, as well as an instructional orientation, offering guidance for improving both the secular and spiritual aspects of our lives.
VISIONS OF DREAMS OBTAINED
Today fill your mind with visions
of dreams obtained, desires fulfilled,
goals accomplished; challenges overcome –
visualizing the intended or desired end
result, rather than the details of each step
on the path to actual attainment.
Today fill your heart with the emotions
and feelings of the joy hoped for,
the happiness encountered, the peace
and serenity of life subdued, the love
felt and found in a heaven of your
own making.
Today fill your life with the qualities
of authentic being – the energy and
pure enthusiasm of living on purpose,
being in the zone of constant fulfillment –
the resonance of a vibration whole, solid,
complete and Divine – all already present
within you, waiting for you to arrive today.
AT/POEM BY G. 8.31.2012
FEATURED IN FGOTT – THE CRYSTAL PATH - THE BOOK
Let’s take a look at another Affirmative Thought with a bit more poetic flare, but still message oriented, titled Our Flake.
OUR FLAKE
Like the snow falling full flakes
outside the window, artful crystal
designs, each and every one unique,
so we the watchers offer our
individual lives, magical, robust,
altering time and space with a
breath, a touch, a sense of being.
And as the flakes cover over winter
fields with white waves, motionless but
accumulating, together adrift, demanding
time and attention, we too gather strength
when joined, together, as couples, lovers,
partners, families, teams, throngs,
communities, and nations.
Like the snow our flake of life
is never solitary, but one of many,
always connected, loved, a part
and parcel of life itself, surrounded
by others who love and cherish
our unique design.
AT/POEM BY G. 3.8.2015
FGOTT – THE BLOG 3.8.2015
As you explore the Affirmative Thoughts selected for this edition, you may notice a stylistic pattern in the construction. There are usually three stanzas, each stanza, for the most part, consisting of one complex sentence. This structure just evolved over the years, and in time became the preferred method, allowing for the basic thought to be presented in the first stanza, elaborated on in the second, and resolved, in some sense, in the final stanza. All of this, I hope, presents a variety of arguments within some expected framework.
In reality, most of the inspired writing I create might be interpreted as prayers; for example, what are affirmative thoughts but prayers outlining to God Consciousness what we wish to attain, obtain, or reach. Except for very straight forward traditional prayers, such as the prayer directly below:
Dear Lord, I am forever
ready to be perfect,
profound, purposeful,
an accumulation of positive
thought and action,
the very essence of the spirit
of life uncompromising,
please fill my mind,
my Soul, my spirit, my heart,
with your sparks of pure
compassion, love, and kindness.
Often spiritual poems and prayers often overlap, handling similar topics, and as a result are more difficult to differentiate - as exemplified by the following:
THE HUM
In your grasp I am one,
flesh made whole,
Soul within a greater Soul,
waiting, appeased by
nothing less than clear,
complete immersion,
to drown away this
worldliness, this focus
on folly, to cleanse away
this desirous appetite,
left only with the hum
of self-contained peace,
the original selfless
Soul of pre-emergence,
one, one, once more.
The message of the Finding God On The Train Story has been recorded one note at a time, over the past seventeen plus years for the most part as guidance conveyed during meditation. Let me clarify what I mean by this briefly. As I have explained in the Finding God On The Train Story - the blog book, in 2007, recovering from my cervical fusion and reconstruction surgery, Ann and I began attending Unity church in search of spiritual renewal. By the fall of the same year, I was commuting to a new job in DC, meditating each morning, finishing each session by asking for God’s guidance and direction in my life.
Then in early January of 2008, I started receiving responses to my daily requests for guidance. After I convinced myself, I was not having a metal breakdown, I began to remember the first line that I would hear during the meditation; end my session; then attempt to notate the guidance received verbatim, letting the first sentence act like a primer. These notations would become Notes On Enlightenment, as I began to refer to them, providing not only guidance, but common-sense approaches to expanding my spiritual journey. Many of these Notes On Enlightenment, which I have received since 2008 and have continued to record and publish in the book and on the blog, I believe qualify as poetry, deserving to be included in this volume.
I have debated whether to include the original blog post when its content added to the message being conveyed by the offering. Rather than include the blog post, I have decided to provide a link to the post beneath the poem or related offering. Interested readers can click on the link titled Original Blog Post followed by the title of the offering. The link for The Hum presented is Original Blog Post – The Hum. When you click on the link it will take you directly to the original post. Just click off the page and return to this book.
In this edition, I have selected those Notes On Enlightenment I feel carry their message with a sense of poetry and artful word play. By way of an example of a note conveying these qualities, I would like to a highlight a more recent journal entry titled Torrent, posted on the blog 4.29.2016. In this case, the introduction to this post adds to the overall poetic nature of the offering and is presented with the link to the original blog post as shown below.
Each Poem, Affirmative Thought, Prayer, or Note On Enlightenment offered is labeled and dated, indicating when and where it was initially published; usually FGOTT – THE BOOK or FGOTT – THE BLOG. Blog entries will include the date of the original post so it can be referenced, if beneficial. When the offering is highlighted in gray, it has not been posted or published to date. Note the structure of these NOE’s are not set like the Affirmative Thoughts, often varying in length, style, and voice.
TORRENT
Nothing within our existence is stationary;
unchanging; or static; rather it is like a
spring torrent – rushing uncontained,
forming then shifting, becoming again,
zestful, unhampered or directed by what
was or what should be: and, so it is, with
each moment of life, appearing robust
then in pieces shattered, only to be restored,
formed, captured, and forgotten, as swiftly
as it is generated profoundly once more;
and in this, with this, torrent we seek
to slow the pace, find a meaning, a common
thread, holding on for dear life, wishing for
stasis, when none exists, until, with reflection
and careful meditation, our pursuit of order
and control gives way to a giving in, releasing,
an allowing, and we understand our place
in the motion and being of this torrent;
one not separate; contained; not impacted by –
we, the momentum rather than the moved.
NOE BY G. 4.20.2016
FGOTT – THE BLOG 4.29.2016
Let’s look at one more example of a Note On Enlightenment (NOE), which fits the poetic definition as it conveys a message. This NOE titled A Simple Order stands alone with no blog post opening offered, indicating it was either published as a stand-alone offering, or the original post does not enhance this presentation.
A SIMPLE ORDER
Tangible life erupts in mysterious ways,
like a fire at the end of a long evening,
a flash here, a spark there, a burst
of blue light ignites only to be snuffed
out by a gentle wind, lost in the embers
of its magnificence.
We live in discrete but connected
particles of consciousness, moments
always quietly present, simple, silent
reflections of our inner state of peace.
Reflect on the moment that surrounds you –
a slender song of opulent life calmly being –
no rush – no impatience, just a simple order.
No need for doing – just enjoyable reflection –
life turning on its own pace – enjoin
its presence – its nowness – listen
to its breath, listen to it sing, it calls you
to its place – its God given existence –
no harm – no foul – just the simple glow
and hum of life eternal - being.
NOE BY G. 7.23.2013
FGOTT – THE BLOG 12.14.2014
THE ARRANGEMENT
I compiled the poems offered in this volume to simulate the actual spiritual quest environment, providing a loose but recognizable framework for this spiritual journey. For our purposes, five destinations on this quest for enlightenment are offered: hopefully providing a viable conceptual order - First Light, Sensing God, Connecting With God, and Awakening – Living On Purpose; with the remaining destination, The Dark Night, which could appear anywhere on the continuum, placed after the Connecting with God destination, since when experienced at this time, it is at its most intense and disturbing.
FIRST LIGHT – at first light we are awakened by our own Soul to the necessity of a spiritual quest. It may commence as a longing, a yearning, a feeling of emptiness, a deep loss - gently nudging us into the pursuit of an awakening, or often, at times, something much more impactful, dramatic, taking us to the very precipice to correct our course, all depending on our level of resistance.
SENSING GOD – once awake and conscious, we begin to sense with our Souls as the universe reveals the Divine dimension, we have never fully perceived, as all our senses: eyes, ears, touch, sound, thought, emotions, begin to convey the possibility of our life fully awake.
CONNECTING WITH GOD – now the still, small voice reaches out to us, and with refined listening, we are able to enter into the silence and retrieve what is being conveyed. This is a personal message; a message of support, hope, and love; a message of positive transformation.
PAIN, SUFFERING, AND THE DARK NIGHT – often appearing just as we celebrate the joy of our connection, life interferes, as our connection with the Divine seems to stall, or regress, with our relationship illuminating the soulful despair that often acts as a sort of emulsifier, thickening our will, as it corrects our spiritual course and trajectory towards a fuller spiritual vision. Although I have given this Dark Night a position in the hierarchy, all who have experienced its intensity know it can arrive at any time.
THE AWAKENING – LIVING ON PURPOSE – as we live and strengthen our connection with God, finding direction from the still, small voice, we now fully awake to our purpose, our rationale for living, and often, at this time, relinquishing our personal hold on outcome, we begin to truly cocreate with God, fully striving to be the hands and feet of the Divine on earth. Fresh and alive in the knowing that we are never alone. The result of living on purpose is an individual expression of our true essence, and as such, manifests in an infinite variety of joyous and wondrous voices.
I wish the Quest for a positive, personal, and contemplative spirituality, as conveyed by my seventeen plus years writing this blog, could be neatly contained in the destination paradigm I have offered, but we all know that life is never this linear, but instead it is multi-dimensional – and so it is with our spiritual quest – with all destinations readily available for the seeker who wishes to shed reality and dive deep. In the lake of spiritual becoming, we may choose to swim on the surface and make our way to the other side, or we may explore the depths, returning to the surface for a needed breath or clarity I highly recommend visiting the Finding God On The Train Story blog by clicking on the link below, to provide a broader perspective of my story, influences, and intent.
This blog, chronicles my seventeen year quest for a positive, personal, and contemplative spirituality, one which began as I mentioned with a near-death realization that I had missed the spiritual point of my life, and resulted in a promise to God; if given the opportunity, I would rectify the situation - all culminating in my connecting with God through affirmative prayer and meditation while commuting on the train to Washington, DC.
Feel free to let me know what you think, or share your own spiritual experiences by post or by email at
Please note that positive spirituality is open to all approaches and paths to faith and God, as long as they are held with love: no one is excluded, and more importantly, there is no one path that is considered more valid or feasible than another. So, all are welcomed aboard. WITH LOVE, G.
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