Jay Woodman Quotes

YEN
What happens if you take a cup? Put it to your lips. A cup of desire. Of dazzling colour. Of intoxicating aroma. You can't resist. Drink. And in the bottom of the cup. There is a fish. And the fish says "You have uncovered me! Now I am condemned. To die."
What happens if you find a box? 35mm by 35mm exactly. And are curious. You open it quickly. Of course. And inside there is an eye. And the eye seems to think that the box is its exclusive property. And fixes you with a terrifying glare.
What happens if you catch a soft sound? A voice whispering in the air. Above the tree tops. And you can't quite hear what it is saying. But you have to listen. So you float up. Then you find you can't come down again. When the conversation is finished. ~ Jay Woodman

What destiny is there, but to sense, observe, merge, re-emerge,
Empty, yet filled, spreading everywhere, inside, outside, in,
Pulsing, fluctuating, breathing as part of one being,
Whispering, feeling, reflecting, flowing between hot and cold,
Mineral and plant, dark and light, love and fear, new and old. ~ Jay Woodman

Don't be afraid to be authentic, show up in the world as you truly are.
Be as you mean to be, but be light with it. Love it, give it, share it, laugh at it, walk everywhere with it.
Be in the world but not OF it. ~ Jay Woodman

Why be crying, fearful, lonely, when you have the whole universe? Be still, listen to your heart, breathe, and know you need nothing. ~ Jay Woodman

I don't mind what you call yourself, so long as your heart is being true to you. ~ Jay Woodman

World & people only seem unlovable due to toxins & lies they've been fed. Release distortions of mind. Return all to innocence & freedom ~ Jay Woodman

Love is stronger than both fear and hope - if you can love the natural beauty around you, the amazing gifts and skills we have, the fact that you are alive to experience life, each moment that you have, and love yourself and those around you just as they are, then there is no need to be owned by fear, or even hope, you just live the best you can, being the truth of that love that you are being, representing the stream of consciousness experiencing itself, always knowing that you will someday return to it again, and flow as part of it infinitely on. ~ Jay Woodman

Through the Mud
(from the book Blue Bridge)

A line of robots,
We approach a wall of mud,
Some of us carrying flowers.
The others laugh
Bit when we enter that wall
It is the flowers
That will make us an ark
To carry us on through the darkness,
Sailing through
With our symbols the only light
Until we fly
Out over the fields
On the other side of midnight
And all our wires
And bits of metal fall off.-
And our souls are bright again,
So new and light
They shoot up –
Up to plant our brilliant flowers
Like stars
In the face of heaven. ~ Jay Woodman

If people don't appreciate your REAL self it's hard to be with them, but you only find TRUE friends by SHOWING that self & TRUSTING. ~ Jay Woodman

If you are present, then you can see that you give yourself presents in each moment that you can unwrap and thoroughly enjoy - the amazing world around us that we can explore, each incredible detail, the lives, and the stories we tell ourselves or experience so that we can feel what it's like to be human, the things we can learn from an interaction, about ourselves as well as everything and everyone else.

Everyone is here in their own story, writing the script as they go, living the movie picture.... choosing who to meet, what to do, how to react to each new experience. We each find our own tools to help us traverse the terrain of each particular part of our journeys. It cannot be right to judge another, or yourself, for we are all at different stages, or on different stages. We do as we need to according to where and how we find ourselves, but the more you realise that you actually put yourself exactly where you are in each moment, the more your eyes will widen. You are an amazing Being playing the game of life - your attitude makes all the difference. ~ Jay Woodman

You can let go of all that stuff you thought was real when you know it's just a game. What a relief, what a state of grace that brings. ~ Jay Woodman

THE TRUTH OF THE VERY SMALL
When he is born, a baby's head is filled with the knowledge of space. The circumference of his skull is as infinite as the twirlings of the universe. His eyes look out with the blur of eyes which see for all species. He has remembered his own nature from past patterns. Now his heart beats through rock, sky, oceans. He feels the silence and the sound all around the world beneath his skin.
We all hold somewhere deep within us the truth we accepted in innocence. The seas, the forests, the soil, the atmosphere, are all vital parts of an ongoing system. By harming any part of it we must ultimately harm ourselves. It is that simple. ~ Jay Woodman

There is no excuse for being derogatory or dismissive about other's beliefs, paths, choices. Everyone is where they need to be at the right time to learn the right things for them and their personal journey through life. ~ Jay Woodman

I want to be part of the happiness team - let's create the happiness team - from love, not greed, love of life & our planet, true & free. ~ Jay Woodman

Love, love, love, love is all you can do, even in the face of bitterness, pain, anger, confusion, it's the only thing to keep you steady and stop you biting back. ~ Jay Woodman

I love to lie down with my back on the grass and feel earth's energy revitalize me. ~ Jay Woodman

We are all vulnerable but do not fear this, just revel in the chance to experience that & know & grow beyond. ~ Jay Woodman

Prose Poems from my book SPAN
OBSERVATION
So, we may not be able to explain the world. Not exactly. But we can accept it, and love it. We can turn our faces to the light and examine the minutest details simply for the sake of it. We can live lives of joy and purpose. We are all part of one whole. Take comfort in this. Almost every one of us is capable of holding a cup to another's lips without our hands shaking. ~ Jay Woodman

Be still and know you are loved –
Feel the arms of the universe
Rocking you to its steady hum. ~ Jay Woodman

Allow the light to fall across you. Shadow or sunlight. Allow it to define your shape. In its way. Another day it may be different. It surely will be. Are we ever the same? Is the light? And the way a form presses into the grass? ~ Jay Woodman

You are the universe - that's why it shines! ~ Jay Woodman

NAMING THE EARTH
(a poem of light for national poetry day)

And the world will be born again
in circles of steaming breath
and beams of light
as each one of us directs
our inner eye
upon its name.

Hear the cry of wings,
the sigh of leaves and grass,
smell the new sweet mist rising
as the pathway is cleared at last.

Stones stand ready -
they have known
since ages and ages ago
that they were not alone.

Water carries the planet's energy
into skies and down
to earth and bones.

The cold parts steadily
as we come together,
bodies and hearts warm,
hands tingling.
We are silent
but our eyes are singing.

We look, we feel, we know,
we trust each other's souls,
we have no need to speak.
Not now, but later,
when the time is right,
the name will ring
within the iron core
of each other's listening -
and the very earth's being.

Every creature, every plant,
will hear it calling,
tolling like a bell -
a sound we've always felt
but never dared to hope
to hear reverberating -
true at last, at every level
of existence.

The poets come together
to open the intimate centre.
Believe
in life and air -
breathe the light itself,
for these are the energies
and rhythms that we need
to see, to touch, to reach,
t ~ Jay Woodman

Always question what other things than the top layer are proceeding on beneath. ~ Jay Woodman

I don't have to be safe to feel safe, I always feel safe at my core. ~ Jay Woodman

I like to share info & links to help access knowledge and possible solutions to situations. ~ Jay Woodman

Recognising our own mistakes helps us to empathise non-judgementally with others and helps enable us to understand their issues. ~ Jay Woodman

Let's follow our curiosity & our joy. ~ Jay Woodman

To lose a problem, do not oppose, let go of any need to control, perhaps it's all an illusion we project, more like a game we play than real? ~ Jay Woodman

I listen to the silence
and yearn to be more me,
swimming in the sea of myself,
learning eternally -
finding out where the rocks are
and smoothing them into sand. ~ Jay Woodman

Be confident to make your magic. ~ Jay Woodman

The perfect beauty of the pattern that each raindrop makes as it joins its puddle. ~ Jay Woodman

Life's got to be a game we are playing, so stand back and check out your moves. ~ Jay Woodman

Other dancers weave through our lives, sometimes stirring our deep soul's fires. ~ Jay Woodman

Let us not take offence over small cheese, let things slide off when they don't really matter, not take things personally, be free to make better use of our energy, to get on with something meaningful instead. ~ Jay Woodman

The supposedly intelligent are often too quick to judge
when really all that's needed is love
and understanding
but try not to judge them in return because
they will often judge themselves even more harshly
which is so sad
in a world that's already so full of pain that hugs
and forgiveness should be called for
every single day ~ Jay Woodman

When being objective, we can transcend and look back at our constructs with powerful clarity; instead of looking through them, which can give a murky and distorted view. ~ Jay Woodman

You have to accept all sides of yourself – there's no point fighting them – just learn how to handle them, and return to the positive, balanced being you know you can be, once the winds have blown through. ~ Jay Woodman

Green and living jewels drip into my eyes" from the poem "All Green and Living Things" in the book "Terra Affirmative ~ Jay Woodman

Let's forgive someone for Valentines day, it's a great way to show love, and forgive yourself too for the hurt you held onto. ~ Jay Woodman

Everything is reflected in both - outside (out there) and inside (in here) - marvel at it, experience, learn. The personal is also the universal, and the universal is also the personal. ~ Jay Woodman

We are all 'right' if we are being truly ourselves ... that is the best we can be in each moment, until we learn more ... ~ Jay Woodman

We are angels just like the rest of our brothers and sisters. ~ Jay Woodman

We are the universe seeking truth. ~ Jay Woodman

Smile, ask, listen, provide, thank" then "take time out to have fun & renew yourself" but "always dream up more questions". - Julia Woodman ~ Jay Woodman

Like sunlight under their skins, they want to be loved from the poem STAY in RidingTheEscalator ~ Jay Woodman

I see, eye see, what my heart feels, soul knows.
In flowing sound and glowing scenes, I touch the living dream. ~ Jay Woodman

Feeling free of full & empty, feeling here but also there,
Neither or but simply both, a universe within, one single stare. ~ Jay Woodman

We can't fix, only support each other to process, manage, transform, make life-journeys in own way. ~ Jay Woodman

Hungry for beautiful words, the fox comes rooting around in the hedge, almost too close to the fire. He reads my mind with one glance and is gone.
All my poetry is now trotting around the bushes inside him, maybe some day to be partly eaten or left to rot. He understands being alive for as long as he can be, and does not worry about why, or what might happen afterwards. ~ Jay Woodman

I let go of all that I had thought was wounded, for there is no ego to wound, no ego to hold on with; there is only love & freedom to love. ~ Jay Woodman

Being here to witness the beauty, to learn, to be astonished, to love - is enough. Being able to create in addition is a delightful honour. ~ Jay Woodman

Let us not fear our wild thoughts for they can give rise to wondrous contemplation, creative endeavour, life changing ideas, momentous bliss. ~ Jay Woodman

Who put the S in comic to make cosmic? / The Self, which is the self of all beings - / choosing to disguise from themselves / that everything is just a game. // With a laugh we could turn / from all the seriousness we learned / and connect with every atom to create / breathtaking beauty with graceful ease. ~ Jay Woodman

Let's follow our curiosity & our joy. ~ Jay Woodman

Count the inspirations. The exquisite inspirations that have whispered in the night. And swum away like fish in the cool of morning. Would any of them have altered the patterns of your life? The precise arrangement of your atoms? ~ Jay Woodman

I am nurtured within the womb of universal consciousness. It supports my developing awareness as I witness, engage, learn, create, exchange. ~ Jay Woodman

We have to let go of mistakes we can no longer do anything about and move forward with clarity, focus on positivity. ~ Jay Woodman

Consciousness is everywhere, let it fill you up. ~ Jay Woodman

I simply wish to continue to learn, & try to do what I have to do, better. ~ Jay Woodman

Don't let anyone take your power by influencing what you do ... sure ask for advice when you are still deciding, but once you are sure what you want to go for, don't let anyone deflect you. It is YOUR choice to make and to follow through. ~ Jay Woodman

Time is a pool to swim & dream & create in. ~ Jay Woodman

Needing to express what it's like here ... / Trying to digest the incoming stream ... / And dream it all over again. ~ Jay Woodman

The misconception of something being a certainty sometimes gets to me until I remember we can change most things consciously. ~ Jay Woodman

Spiritual counselling is helping people find the deep root of stillness in themselves, which is also a connection to everything else. ~ Jay Woodman

Diets don't really work & can be destructive, but if you get healthy overall (mind, body, spirit) then your weight balances naturally. ~ Jay Woodman

Never judge the others
for each one wears a cover
for their version of the original.
(talking about individuals in the stream of consciousness that gives rise to each one of us.) ~ Jay Woodman

Even cats have questions – like "Can't you see my bowl is empty?" or "Why don't you turn off the ***! rain now?" From their perspective we are gods! ~ Jay Woodman

If the spirit of wonder & curiosity stays alive in us, then surely we will always have new questions, and always expand our creativity in response? ~ Jay Woodman

Mist lies over the river like the icy breath of winter angels. Darkness gathers round ... and it is beautiful.
Thank you for this life, this death, whatever it is you are
that makes us finally see. ~ Jay Woodman

We all have that same stream of life within us, so you are a part of everything. Each one of us has the power
to make a difference to everything. ~ Jay Woodman

Be honest with yourself, face your feelings and what they really mean, then you will be able to deal with them and move on. ~ Jay Woodman

The Holy Grail is within you – find your Inner Treasure ~ Jay Woodman

We have to let go of fears of things we can't do anything about and move forward with clarity, focus on positives. ~ Jay Woodman

We are the wilderness within
Screaming out for true expression.
Even when we're sleeping,
There's no escape from this obsession. ~ Jay Woodman

APPROACH
Rain is falling. Winter approaches. I drive towards it. In the slow rain. In the semi-darkness. Cello music is playing in the car. The deep sad sound of the cello. It almost swamps me. Routine endeavours to swamp me. The everyday paying of bills.
But I paint men walking in a city of icebergs and crystal. Some of the icebergs are red. I paint a woman swimming in green wavy water. Surrounded by desert mesas. Bright orange in the sunlight. With darker orange for shadows. I paint two people. With purple and pink and yellow and blue circles overlapping the boundaries of their bodies. Dancing.
Life is not ordinary. When I see you tonight I will press my lips to your eyelids. Each one in turn. I will rub my fingertips over the skin on the back of your hands and around your wrists. I will sigh. I will growl. I will whinny. I will gallop into your smile. One sharp foot after the other. ~ Jay Woodman

Each pain is Unbearable / yet Trifling
Seeing the TRUTH is Excruciating / yet Exquisite
Through Laugher & Tears / Grinning & Fear, we face our demons. ~ Jay Woodman

Just find your way, like a river settling into its bed, and the sigh of the wind over a lake, light but restful ... content with the joy in the arc of an arm throwing a ball for a dog to fetch, the ease of the grassy slope stretching away, birds in the trees singing sweet high notes, flowers growing close in the ditch. ~ Jay Woodman

The world is full of confusion and contradiction. We cannot expect to do anything that is absolutely right. We can only measure rightness by the truth within ourselves. And our own truth will never be quite the same as somebody else's. ~ Jay Woodman

Have trembled beneath the pressure of a light beam. ~ Jay Woodman

Life is a game and you are the player. As you master the game, so you also create it. ~ Jay Woodman

Love yourself enough to open your eyes, and open your eyes enough to love yourself. ~ Jay Woodman

I entrain myself (when I remember to)
by tuning in to higher frequencies
in the ether, in my soul, everywhere I go,
always accessible, always helpful
for obtaining a higher perspective
in a matter of minutes. ~ Jay Woodman

You are magnificent - a jewel reflecting inwardly and outwardly, the light of the universe. Observe how you respond to beauty everywhere - you bear witness to everything. Be aware that you, yourself, are an inextricable part of the infinite creative intelligence, and be blessed. ~ Jay Woodman

Count the times. The number of times you have seen the silence of another world seep though a crack. The number of times you have heard the sea trying to escape from the blue painted wall. ~ Jay Woodman

Everything I am seems to be inside my awareness, rather than my awareness being inside of me. ~ Jay Woodman

If you keep wanting to get back in the nest, you're missing the amazing experience of coming out to play at life for a while. ~ Jay Woodman

Breath (from the book Blue Bridge)

Whispering to myself
With every step I take,
Trying out names, for I know
There is something yet to be called …..

I know it, something up ahead
Just around the bend
Or over the rise –
A bird taking to the sky
From the edge of a jagged cliff –
A bird floating outwards
In silence ……. A silence
Waiting for a footstep
To crunch on stones,
For a voice to fling upward
Through sharp sunlight
With a name…… calling
Before the bird could call
Before the bird called.

Oh the bird was there alright
And sure it took flight
When it heard me approach
But it broke my heart
With a mighty croak!

So I'm sitting here playing
With a purple flower
Slender stem, no leaves
Purple fizz –

And it's quiet again.
I am still
I am nothing
And the hill
Is a long, long slope
Down, down, down to the sea
Far below.

I could roll
I could run
I could scream
But I am nothing.

A cool wind blows
And the light is naked and nameless
And the rocks are faces of angels
And the bird in the sky wheels
And cries to forget the earth
And its ancient bones –
Oh, sensual pain –
Wings…. Wings…. Wings,
Singing wings.

If only I could begin
To describe the emptiness
Which fills me to the brim
With n ~ Jay Woodman

Once you face the truth, the knowledge both empowers you and sets you free. ~ Jay Woodman

I am permitted to travel in the corridor between sky and heather" from the poem "Beyond the Beacon" in TerraAffirmative ~ Jay Woodman

Can we just be grateful for beauty & joy, fascination & tolerance, humour & love, nature & grace, and simply release any anger and pains? ~ Jay Woodman

Love yourself enough to give what matters every chance of working by communicating as well as you possibly can, and trying for as long as you wish. ~ Jay Woodman

Love yourself enough to take care of your health of mind, body, and soul as a top priority, then you'lll be fit to face anything. ~ Jay Woodman

Share what you like and don't pretend to like things you don't. There are many ways to be honest but polite. ~ Jay Woodman

Go lovingly into each moment and experience your infinite being as you truly are. Feel, learn, play! ~ Jay Woodman

We are consciousness examining and expressing itself so that it can become increasingly aware of its infinite capacity for being and evolving. ~ Jay Woodman

Don't be afraid to show your soul, we need plenty of soul to show in this world. ~ Jay Woodman

Everything has its opposite within it.
Love can be very destructive if you mishandle it.
Pain can help you find ways to grow and change.
Fear can eventually lead you to a path of hope. ~ Jay Woodman

I simply wish to continue to learn, & try to do what I have to do, better. ~ Jay Woodman

Even heaven and hell arise just as we think they should be for we are each beings of consciousness creating our own reality. ~ Jay Woodman

Instead of letting our emotions run amok with our minds, we can use our minds as tools that allow us to build realities that serve us better,
and we attract what we are meant to attract because we are aware and self-empowered enough to choose most of the time. ~ Jay Woodman