This Happiness

BlogImage - SatoriCircleDotCom - June 16 2018

“This Happiness”  |  Anthony Satori

“This happiness consisted of nothing else but the harmony of the few things around me with my own existence, a feeling of contentment and well-being that needed no changes and no intensification.”

— Hermann Hesse

A philosophy of simplicity, and the cultivation of inner/outer harmony, these are the sources of true happiness.  The contented one knows that happiness is not something “out there” that needs to be chased and pursued, but rather, if one understands and internalizes the principles of simplicity and harmony, everything that is needed for happiness is right here, right now, within reach, right in our own backyard.

This does not, however, mean that the contented one does not appreciate and savor every moment of new experience, of elevated quality, of unique elegance and beauty.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  Because the contented one does not need these things to be truly happy, such treasures can be openly welcomed into their world, and the greatest pleasure and value and joy can be derived from them — naturally and purely — when they arrive.

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Loving the World

BlogImage - SatoriCircleDotCom - March 24 2018

“Umbrellas”  |  Anthony Satori

“My work is loving the world.  Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work..  which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.  Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here.. Which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart.. and a mouth with which to give shouts of joy.. telling them all, over and over, how it is that we live forever.”

— Mary Oliver

The Divine Spark

BlogImage - SatoriCircleDotCom - Dec 23 2017

“Seven Hills”  |  Anthony Satori

“The poet existed among the cave men; he will exist among men of the atomic age, for he is an inherent part of man.  The need for poetry… is a spiritual need, and it is through the grace of poetry that the divine spark lives forever in the human flint.”

— Saint-John Perse

There is a spiritual need for art, poetry, music, literature, etc.  Dreamers and their dreams, creators and their creations, seekers and their insights, lovers and the acts which arise from love — these are the vessels of the divine spark of the human spirit.

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A Different Breath

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“The Tortoise and the Hare, Revisited”  |  Anthony Satori

“Truly to sing, that is a different breath.”

— Rilke

The breath used in singing does indeed seem to be a different breath, by its very nature. It shares its essence, it seems to me,  with yoga breathing (pranayama), embodying the same kind of mind-body connection that this spiritual practice aspires to attain. It is the breath of life, of love, and of connection. It is a breath that holds a deeper creative resonance, as referred to in the ancient scriptures and mystic texts. It is a breath that comes not just from the body, but from the heart, from the soul, and from the spirit.

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Mystical Energy

BlogImage - SatoriCircleDotCom - Sept 9 2017

“Mystical Energy”  |  Anthony Satori

There is a mystical energy in the universe.  It lives all around us.  It vibrates just beneath the surface of everything that is good in the world.  It nourishes us through nature, beauty, compassion and love — through art, empathy, kindness and wonder.  This mystical energy is the elixir of the universe.  It can expand our consciousness and give our existence infinite new layers of meaning and beauty, if we allow it to.

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A Pathway in the Mind

BlogImage - SatoriCircleDotCom - August 5 2017

“Be Love”  |  Anthony Satori

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

— Henry David Thoreau

In the Dew of Little Things

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“Warm Sunshine”  |  Anthony Satori

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and the sharing of pleasures.  For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”

— Khalil Gibran