Celtophile Musings
Songs, meditations, poems...
(With additions to my out-of-print first collection, "Ancient Self: Memoirs" 1997)

1. - Melbourne 1992 - 1994
2. - Los Angeles 1995 - 2001

1.
Dreaming the Dreaming - 1992

Recall what you knew
when you were nursed
in the sea of beginning.

Relive the deep magic
from beyond the first dawn.
Wrap yourself in the cloak
of ancient memory.
Reveal the dreaming of old.

Dreaming the Dreaming.
Wake to the dreaming.
Wake to the dreaming of old.

Weave the knot of the future.
Draw your strength from the Draighean Tree*.
Play in the canopy of nature,
and bathe in the wide surging sea.

Dreaming the Dreaming.
Wake to the dreaming.
Wake to the dreaming of old.

(*Life force: Blackthorn tree - magic wand)

@January 1, 1992 Maireid Sullivan

1992

2.
Brigid - Queen of Song - 1992

Brigid, Queen of song
Loving, strong, compassionate, ancient matriarch. Priestess of sorcerers!

****
Oh! Brigid, while you wept
Over your fallen royal harp
Your tear drops were transported
Be-mingled in distant hearts

Winds echo your heart strings hum
O'er seas on far off lands
Through the strains of a foreign tongue
Voices linking an epoch's span

Exquisite sad refrain
Hear the tune, the voice, the song
Of heroes, poets, bards
The memory has not gone

Familiar figure on a vast horizon
Inter-weaving sweet love and myth
To soothe the precious pain
Whose fragments we inherit

Beside you we will stand
Reconciling hope and heir
Lift the veil, mourn no more
Ere we stir, fearless and fair

@February 2, 1992 Maireid Sullivan

3.
Soaring - 1992
Tk 7, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

Soaring high over swirling winds
gazing down on our shining globe
hued in the sun, singed with fire
The tilt, lilt, lull of the mind's eye

Sanctuary calls from a far off time
Anchor deep, hope released
riding the tide compelled to ascend
and leap out with a shimmering soul

Solitude waits for the fullness of time
unspeakable love, passionate voice
calling out to the sighing earth
to lips, eyes, heart of all I can hold

A poet I'll be, a child, very old
Looking afar, beyond our time
For innocent hearts, penetrating mind
unfolding the songs of the ages

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

4.
A Voice Awakening - 1992

A voice awakening
in the ringing air
softly calling
to my heart

A gentle voice
from another world
will stir and slowly
gather might

And sudden joy
light up my loneliness
touching the glow of love
which in me dwells

Sweet and low
voice of song
carry the burning fire
of my melody

Voice of hope
sounds that echo spring
the mead of love's kind word
will linger on

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

Sound the Horn of airigeacht,*
fierce and passionate lover,
goddess of sovereignty.
So terrible in battle.

Champion the goddess,
the Goddess of sovereignty.
Reforge the sword. Relight the flame,
for the lamp is moving swiftly.

Flame-bright dragon rise now.
Arise and save the day.
Leap over shifting sands now.
Lay a new way for freedom.

Let passion surge from within.
Embrace the world. Relight the flame,
the fire, of personal sovereignty;
a mighty, precious treasure.

Reveal the hidden treasure
that dwells in the cavern of our hearts.
Sound the horn of airigeacht.
Blow away the mists of delusion.

Sound the horn of Airigeacht.
Supplant the will of oppressors,
who blindly stole what might have been.
Banish the mists of delusion.
(* sovereignty)

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

6.
Danu’s Land - 1992
TK. 8, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey 1998

Return to your other world lover, Leannan Si (faerie helper)
Take your magic stars and go
Summon me later, send me a charioteer
Shake your golden cloak around me
But let me not forget you were here

****
I can’t forget your wild ways
Banished in deep waters
Or white seas endless beating on your shoreless dwelling
Or enchanted music’s echo still wailing

Sweet as the voice of angels

Winter misted byways
Hide the great fellowship of heroes
There story shrouded in mystery
Their truth rings out from childhood memory

Listen for their keening call
In your heart you will hear their song
Hear your own voice, see your own dream
"Come to me" they sing in melodious strain

Live forever deep in Danu’s dream
No thine or mine, no sin or pain with the faerie queen
Where courtly lovers awaken from their long trance
Noble warriors unfold their slow dance

Fountain of ancient rivers
Bridge of wings to Danu’s land
Passage to her other world, her crystal mansion’s watery helm
Where shadows never fall on Tir-Na-Nog’s eternal shining realm

Sweet as the voice of angels

Lovers one and all
Heed her call to exile’s end
Where abundance never fails and the shining guardian’s golden rays
Bring a white shadow to a sweeter brighter day

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

7.
Feeling Wings - 1992
tk 2, Dancer, 1994

Silent love says so much more
than fiery songs can ever sing
Deep thoughts reach out to explore
and find the hidden spring.

I look into my soul
and spread enfolding feeling wings
on high my woman's hear will soar
moving slowly with the winds.

And the world will roll along
with a spirit and a power
bringing words to love song
to bind our hearts in one.

Oh, love and freedom
you are ever lovely things
we live and die for freedom
to hear love's spirit sing.

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

8.
The "Court of Joy" - 1992

Like Persival before, I know I will be welcomed home
when shrouds of mist lift from my adventure.
Now I must return to the love I really know is true,
to my enduring flame, my "Court of Joy";

And, with every turn I take, I know
that I can expect the final summons.
The grand stories I will recall 'round the hearth
give voice to miraculous restoration of my "Court of Joy".

The difference between glamorie and love
rouses me to toil for my quest.
Wherever I look, all the archetypal lessons apply.
Now, I know I'll never lose my way, to my lovely "Court of Joy".

A great gathering stands in rapture there,
seized by blessings of irony's sovereign myths.
Each rousing voice tells of their healing, their epic heart story,
the tale of their winding journey home, to their own "Court of Joy".

Magic, laughter, enchanted song, theolepsy, invoke this place,
this hallowed realm, this "Court of Joy".
Cup, spear, stone and word mark its trials of destiny:
Vigilant feeling intellect marks the way to its chalice of love.

The unriven truth is that we must hasten if it is, at all, to be found.      
Then no one can question where we have come from    
or where we thought we were bound.
It is the new horizon, eternal presence in our loving "Court of Joy".

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

9.
Turn Around - 1992

Oh Throat -- throbbing heart
Red blood coursing my veins
Turn around -- turn around
Carrying the thought
Turn around --turn around

Tell this heart that cannot tell itself
Turn around -- turn around
Go back and start anew
Turn around --turn around
Slow down this restless pace
Turn around

I know now
I know now I knew all along
Turn around -- turn around
My song awakened -- chanted on and on
Turn around
Ecstasy: The place I seek
Turn around -- turn around

Beams of the spirit
Turn around and see
Mystic meaning mounting to heaven
Turning 'round I see
You in my thoughts
Yearning for harmony
Turning 'round I can see

Soft -- let me whisper
I must be still
Be still to listen
Emerge my muse
This gentle call is for you

@1992 Maireid Sullivan

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1993

10.
Heavy Heart - 1993

Paled to sleep, though still heaven seeking.
In sweeter torment stirring.
Nightlong wooing woe, till I am reprieved,
and with the light, transformed.

Cast from your heart, still imploring.
Grieving in an ebbing shallow.
Longing, yielding, yet dreading
the waves that stir in me,
roused by storms of winter.

No meeting at my heart.
lifeless, but still unforgetting.
No meeting at my heart.
Is this worship, or regretting?
No meeting at my heart.

@1993 Maireid Sullivan

11.
The RUN - 1993

When I had to go, I ran down the stream
picking up speed as I leapt from rock to rock.

I watched as I flew and I knew, as I touched each stone
with just the tip of my toe, that I was safe from a fall.

When the rock fell, I would be in flight.
It was a dance of balance and grace - of inner stillness.

The stillness, at energy's source, flowed through me.
I felt in tune and safe.

Delight blended with courage:
Honouring truth, I know now and I will know forever.

@1993 Maireid Sullivan

12.
Dancer - 1993
tk 4, Dancer 1994

Dancers bow to each other
hark to the musical strain
silent lips -- moist and tremulous
See the dancer
Move in silent cautious stretches
listening to the murmur of yearning
feeling pressure of a secret spring

See the dancer
Call to the silent sun
lingering last ebb of light
on latent bows in bud

See the dancer
Nature remains an anchor
thought -- dancer in the air -- the breeze
springs from the toe -- lights on the ground

See the dancer
Reach for the music of the spheres
listening to the murmur of yearning
feeling pressure of a secret spring

See the dancer

@1993 Maireid Sullivan

Tonight...
My soul yearns upward
My body seeks the ground
I am alone now, my heart is aching

I want to delve deep
Into the water
Into the air - into your arms

Did my quick heart
reach too soon for you
I sit and dream of you
beneath the rising moon

Under the shower
of silver moonlight
I am striving
my heart to free

Chorus:
But I believe in love
I love the tender love
the warm and joyous love
I found with you

This joyous glance of life
will hold no sorrow
when the tumbling waters
of love run free

@ 1993 Mairéid Sullivan

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1994

14.
Recurring Dream -1994
Tk 2, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

Crystal water
still calling to me
the bubbling rock pools
my brothers and me

Fishing for minnow
trout and salmon upstream
crimson rhododendrons
they colour my dreams

warm summer gulf stream
on the cliffs of the sea
on the prow of the land
my spirit joins eternity

And Oh! How I still feel that magic in my heart
And Oh! How my spirit flies
back home again. In my recurring dream
I close my eyes and I realize
I can bring it all back to me

Sunlit stone farm house
on the crest of the hill
smell of horses and stables
saddles, bridles and hay

Bluebells and fairies
as we danced through the fields
down to the Holy Well
where the praying women kneel

Gathering of neighbours
harvest threshing feasts
hiding in the hay stacks
so much laughter released

And Oh! How I still feel that magic in my heart
And Oh! How my spirit flies
back home again. In my recurring dream
I close my eyes and I realize
I can bring it all back to me

@1994 Maireid Sullivan

15.
Journey’s End -1994

Leaving the land - taking to the air -
rejoycing in the world for what lies ahead
a feeling of “being there”

All I’ve ever been or known or am
against fighting, faraway, travelling man -
far and wide travelling woman.
A warrior woman of peaceful means
tending fields and loved ones.
Crossing friendly thresholds of a pristine world -
fresh water from the well.

But we know, today, what we’ve done to the land, the sea, the air -
to ourselves.
Time to sit by the fire and reflect at a slower pace
on the kaleidoscope of images around me.
Trying to assimilate the incredible variety of cultural resources
in a busy life style.

I can protect my fragile body
while I open my mind and heart at a different pace.
Be charmed by strange voices on the radio -
beautiful, beguiling, hypnotic childlike beauty.
The ‘foreign’ voices that make no sense
yet sound so familiar and enticing
Rhythms - new to my feelings - charming
I can not move - I stand and listen.

Things known and unknown -
vacant pause - sweltering light.
A traveller may never return
Children all around - playing, begging,
lifting, carrying, climbing
Bright eyes - startled eyes - inviting eyes.

Women voting - fatal errors unknown,
unseen, crashing, screaming - too late
Start afresh - move on - merely a sign -
a secret meaning

@1994 Maireid Sullivan

16.
What is a dream - 1994

Pale blue
Gold over shades of blue descending
with the passage of time
Chagrin - close or open my mind -
tumult of hues carry ecstatic fusion of images -
grey over night - cigarette light - a stranger call.

Fighting a war
Caped messengers deliver to your wish -
see for yourself - its too late.
Climb over the edge of time into the dark unknown -
feel the heat of surprise

Sacred offering
Dark eye - aching primal pulse -
dripping - winged - running
Cold sweating dream of fear - heart pounding -
cool thoughts on the front of hot
to be confused with sleep.
I enter - lights out - excruciation -
focus of experience - reunion.

Delicate touch
Bridgeing differences when its dark out
and the light is near.
Lips shape words that carry power
to make sure something happens.
Drink to magic mystery and unveiling!

Champaign and philosophy
Picturesque, grand, luminous - running water -
beating heat on carved walls
from the ancient worlds of vast empty space.

Primordial silence
We carry everything within us -
only thought separates us from infinity, divinity
- solid universe.
I could lie alone - I could love too much -
beautiful pain of reality.

@1994 Maireid Sullivan

Pillars of history trapped in another time
praying for salvation - miserable exaggeration.
Fantasy - wishful thinking

Traveling lightly over foreign soil
come home to deep resonance of comfort
cold comfort - sooner is better.

Cold wind on the desert horizon
rituals from ancient unknown time
against vast mountainous backdrop

Overwhelming space slowly crossing
majestic order on ancient dunes
silhouetting crescent moon.

Slow dance across the deserts of time -
ripple of sand and sea.
Over this good earth of mankind.

Pulsating trance transcending chant
A dance of release - frightened, frenzied - captured.
Cry across desert winds buried in sand
never to be seen again

Imperial power to shape the world
stay away from it.
Chant of women who know their place
Entwine only in beauty.
Swallow natures bounteous gifts
Fill time with chosen views.

Why should men and women be divided.
A mistake has been made.
Religious leaders must pull down their barriers
With their own hands they are underming us.

@1994 Maireid Sullivan

Los Angeles, from mid-February 1995 - 2001

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18.
Anam Chara - 1995
Tk 14, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

When I awake
my dreaming starts
I dream of heavenly luminous beings
Anam Chara

I dream I am with them
with my eyes closed
I dream I am with them
with my eyes open

And when I walk along
I dream I take them
into the world with me
to show them the clay
that I am shaping

And they think it's so exciting
they love the adventure we're sharing
digging in the earth of pain
and shaping love
Fragile, delicate, beautiful love

Enduring love
eternal love
perfect love
passionate love
devoted love
yearning love
true love
young love
enchanting love
ardent love
precious love
sweet love
endearing love
compassionate love
unconditional love
giving love
making love
beloved love
my beloved love
Anam Chara

@March 1995 Maireid Sullivan

19.
Virgin Mother -- Lady Under The Lake - 1995

Deeply imprinted in my heart's memory
ever present - ever triumphant
kind and welcoming mother goddess
who begs us to show sympathy
in a fund of myth layed open to us
unveiled - from under the waters of the lake
the spell is lifted - now we can see
the Lady under the lake

So divine - so frighteningly beautiful
impossible to imagine
or look upon without wisdom
priestess of the primordial
goddess of beginnings
alone - enclosed unto herself
custodian of life - true sovereign
Lady under the lake

Never subject to the authority of a man
a free woman - ever fresh and playful
dazzling symbol of renewal
youth and sensual freedom
ever virginal mother goddess
tenderly cherishing the child of her womb
destined for great things - servant of love
servant of the Lady under the lake

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

20.
Sway, my singing praises - 1995

Sway, my singing praises
sweet thrill growing
swaying with the song
in a thousand parts - one voice

Again - nothing but transition
a simple reflection
bathing in still white light
at the foothills of my dream

Birds sing - bells ring
and a voice - like wings around me
incredible music - language of my soul
transfuses me with golden light

Luminous being - swimming in sunshine
wash away blue, blue sorrow
keep my sanctuary sacred
shimmering emerald green.

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

21.
For Love's Caress - 1995
TK 1, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

I gave my heart, I gave my soul to the children
I drew all my love, drew all my time for the children
Still I can hear the yearning cries of all the children in this world

This world - feel it's greatness

The weight of the past bears down on my thoughts
We are daughters of history - mothers of a new world that's dawning
And this great old world can be made new in the name of love's caress

Voices everywhere calling
This world - feel it's greatness
The world - feel this endless vastness

Once-upon-a-time I thought that hindsight
was all I had in this world
But we are willing slaves to only ourselves today
From seekers to finders our souls can tremble - for love's caress

All of the angst we hear it's just well disguised imperfection - sophistication
When we can feel it all
we can reach out for it all forever
Through our eyes, we can make souls tremble - for love's caress

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

22.
I Don't Want to Hide - 1994
TK 3, For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

Every time I fall in love, I never let it show
When they fall in love with me
I don't want to know about it

Can I go out with you a-lot
I Like your style
( I don't want to hide)
Can I go out with you a-lot
You make me smile
( I'll put aside my pride)

Let's just leave all that talk about love aside
With you I know that I could feel free
It's not so important where we go
It's how we feel about it on the way
A certain kind of baggage is OK

You know I'd be happy just to be there
just to go with the flow
and see what we can share
You've got to be brave
if it's love that's calling you
Please forgive me
if I seem a little strange
But I can hear my heart calling -- watch out

I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
the way you wear your hair
And how you think and how you say it
makes me want to know you more
I want to see us cope under pressure
React to strange situations,
how we respond to adventure

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

23.
I Am A Rock - 1995
Tk 12 For Love's Caress: a Celtic journey, 1998

I have seen so many things
I have been so many places
Take me back
Take me where I've never been before

Take my heart, shape my soul
Call it anything you want
but keep me to our goal
Now that I have found you

I will never let you go
Take me to the higher limits
Show me everything you know
Take my heart. shape my soul

Call it anything you want
but keep me to our goal
Stones on the ground - I am a rock
Flowers in the field - I am the grass
Let me take you where you've never been before

Stones on the ground - I am a rock

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

There are parts of the brain
even scientists can't define
pathways to liberty.
And the only means is love
the only way through,
the end will justify the means.

CHORUS:
Move on - Move on - Move on
We know enough about fear and greed
Move on - Move on - Move on
Time to move on the greater deeds
Move on - Move on - Move on

We must make a choice for love
It's all about love - making a wider circle of love.

And the only means is love
the only way through
the end will justify the means.

We have come onto this earth
to conquer the world with unconditional true love
And the only means is love
the only way through
The end will justify the means
The end will justify the means.
The end will justify the means.

@1995 Maireid Sullivan

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1996
Back to top

25.
Invisible Dancers - 1996

Like the invisible warmth of the sun
invisible dancers all around me
laughing as they dance
across the rolling, roaring sea

Bending, weaving
streams of brilliant colour
Laughing as they dance
on leaning grass 'round weathered trees

Touching, shaping
sweeping sounds of music
Laughing as they dance
across the steepled towers on the breeze

Calling me, telling me
all about their web of love
Laughing as they dance with me
'till my wandering heart is seized

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

Womb of time -- bearing down -
impelling light -- seeking life
spirit flower -- living river -
melodies merging -- praising glory

Breathless rapture
pressing primal thought
weaving the link of fire and air

Hearing, knowing
tracing an ancient call
dancing on living sacred ground

Flaming spirit
welding a ceaseless flow
carried on spiraling wings

Embracing warmth -- arousing call -
cascading thought --pouring down
visible power -- vivid dream -
healing hand -- relieving pain

Ringing -- singing
newborn -- purer form
tuning to higher shapes of sound
weaving the link of fire and air
carried on spiraling wings
dancing on living sacred ground

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

I gave my heart.
I gave my soul, to the children
I drew all my love, drew all my time,
for the children
Still I can hear the yearning cries
of all the children in this world

This world, feel it’s greatness

The weight of the past bears down on my thoughts
We are daughters of history,
mothers of a new world that’s dawning
And this great old world can be renewed
in the name of love’s caress

Voices everywhere calling
This world, feel it’s greatness
The world, feel this endless vastness

Once-upon-a-time
I thought that hindsight was all I had in this world
But we are willing slaves to only ourselves today
From seekers to finders,
our souls can tremble for love’s caress

Voices everywhere calling
This world, feel it’s greatness
The world, feel this endless vastness

All of the angst we hear,
it’s just well disguised imperfection, sophistication
When we can feel it all, we can reach out for it all forever
Through our eyes we can make souls tremble for love’s caress

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

28.
Swords of Light - 1996

Swords of golden light
slice through the dark of dawn
weaving waves
ecstasy subsumed
taken with the light

Burning cauldron of sun
ancient chariot of splendor
Firing spears of light
across this crimson dome
piercing the heart of darkness

Nature's ancient ecstatic drama
plays itself out, re-shaping the world
while another day is conjured into being
swept up across the sky,
on the way to eternity

Hovering for a breathless moment
Rippling, shimmering over murmuring trees
inviting, soothing, piercing light
showering calm
peace on Earth.

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

29.
Ramifications - 1996

I'm not interested
In social ramifications of being with you.
I only want to know
how far my mind and heart can travel with you.
Out of reach
and out of sight - out into eternity.
Together
we affirm our experience for each other.

AH! the primal call
I can feel it all
turning me inside out
let me fall into your arms.

I want to be there with you
don't block my path.
over time and distance.
into the beaconing light

Can you go with me?
Can I go with you?

Is it possible that we can see forever,
be forever, know forever, all in a day?
I sit by your side and laugh with you,
play with you, see with you,
make life with you.

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

30.
Carried along - 1996

Carried along in my boat, like a swan
sparkling water reflecting the sun
casting a light out onto the deep
spray washing up and over my feet

Chorus:
Carried Along --Carried along --Carried Along -Carried Along

Bubbling river meets the sea of my mind
Dark calm waters deepen my dream
pulse of the waves roll me up on the tide
surge in a whirlwind piercing the sky

Chorus:

Elements call from the edge of the world
Beckoning sirens up from their sleep
Secret chanting carries me on
waves through my heart washing up like a song

@1996 Maireid Sullivan

31.
Made for love - 1997

Miracles happen on the love vibration
through me and out to you

I can feel it in my hands
touching you, I fall and rise in love

Sweet words make love easy
I am made for love

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

32.
Love growing itself - 1997

On a journey through fire
to the sanctuary of the Queen
Impersonators of the word
The word has been twisted around

Trance-out wilderness calling
tearing up body and soul
telling me its easy
to follow my dream

Stillness imploding
into the unknown
weaving back and forth
revealing myself

Striking a chord with love
surrender to love, by itself
renaming everything on its way
an endless journey

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

33.
Woman -1997

Loretta Lynn slept with Aliens
Virgin Mary slept with God

When women ruled the roost
men had to legislate against it
even became eunochs to prove it
and they told us in their own words

These are the Epistles
and they are over the top
We know it worked for sure.
We still can hear the battle cry

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

34.
Dawn - 1997

Mountain trumpet
leading the dawn
Piercing the night
with the sound of light

Thunder clouds rumble
deserted castle walls tumble
reflecting white light
a pilgrimage to see the king

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

35.
Imagining 2020 - in 1997

After a dream:
How could anyone turn away from bliss
and think that they could live their life all by themselves,
and by cleverness alone?
---

By the year 2020 our children's children will own this world. It will be so.
Great elders who died this year may be reborn through our children. It could be so.
And we will look down on our inheritors and see our great teachers. It could be so.

Living masters who showed us the way may be asking us to do the same for them
when they return as children.
Then we will be their new heroes. It could be so.

And they will be so precious to us - again, and it could be so.
For they may have been the reason we now know our way.
They were our teachers, who are the reason we have so much love to give.
They were our teachers and they may be our grand-children. It could be so.

They will have grown.
By then, they will better know what needs to be done.
They will not waste time and energy fighting.
It could be so - 'Just the facts, Mam. Where is love?'

And love is everywhere.
By the year 2020 love will be everywhere.
Love will come of age. It should be so.

Behind the fascade, in the quiet heart of feelings.
An unlimited resource.
Plenty for everyone. Abundance for the taking.
We will be the keepers of bliss, and we will all watch it grow.

What value is anything without our memory of love?
Why would we turn away from wonder, to live by cleverness alone?
When we become the keepers of bliss, we will never put aside love?

How could we turn away from bliss?
How could we turn away from bliss?
How could we turn away from bliss to live by cleverness alone?

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

36.
We will meet like minds - 1997

I turned and there you were
Well! What a surprise
Looking into your eyes
I could look longer.

The two of us - free to embrace or stand alone
To weave through each other's being
free in each other's presence
entertwining to care for each other.

Like a tree - standing silently without care for time
Can we trust what we know?
Our ability to know?

Dealing with and looking for surprise.
Participaing in our own unfolding - creating knowledge.
Understanding the wisdom of many mysteries in our unfolding self

Unraveling the implications of understandings
As we show the extent of the knowledge
we came into the world to gather - expecting to learn and think
about adaptation - biology vs philosophy

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

37.
Angel - 1997

I stand near you
I love the feeling of your presence

Your hold on me is joy and gladness
In your presence I reel

My place with you is a world apart
yet always present perfect companion

Cloaked in your cocoon
enveloped in golden silence

Radiant kindness uplifts
soothing exultant tones

Nothing is a problem - everyone is lovable
any other thought is tainted

through the day and night
always in my heart.

Your enchantment
makes everything worth while.

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

38.
The Sweep of Time - 1997

Do we care what our ancestors thought?
Do we know that we are part of the sweep of time?
Do we know that we are responsible for the follow through?
Have we traveled the vast horizon?
Are we following the sun?
Is the sun a metaphor for wisdom?
Is wisdom a metaphor for the brain?
Or is the brain an augury of spirit,
a transmitter and a receiver of thought waves.
And we get to choose our own means of transit,
our own thoughts,
slipstreaming behind super hero 'meditators'
for just the hardest parts of the journey.

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

39.
GIVING THANKS - 1997

After allocating a good amount of time every day in praising 'glory'
I feel so expansive and free.

No wonder great saints, spiritual masters and poets, like RUMI,
spent their time in praising glory. It is such a beautiful thing to do.
It leads me to feel that I really am 'out there' - 'in heaven'.
I have a powerful feeling that I am meant to be all inclusive.
I feel it in a way that is different from thinking it.
It's as though my thinking and feeling are trying to come together,
but the thought hasn't crystallized fully enough just yet.
I reach for a fresh perspective and I get there for a fleeting instant.
I guess it comes back to continually seeking to overcome
the dualism that our culture practices so relentlessly.

But, anyway, where was I? Oh! Yes!
I feel my best results come when I express my gratitude to Infinite Intelligence.
I think expression of gratitude is the most powerful means
of reaching out to another and it brings a great acceptance.
Gratitude is always appreciated,
(especially by Infinite Intelligence, which is the means to express its own 'full value').

The experience instantly comes full circle- back to the act of sending the thought.
Then I can feel it on a vaster scale, which unifies my sense of everything.
Just taking a moment to stop in order to 'identify' Infinite Intelligence
is like using the brain as a tuner; a transmitter and receiver.
Holding any thought with full commitment gives the power needed
to send the thought through every cell in the body and out to the ends of the cosmos.
That's what we can do when we put the focus and the intention together.
Then we can turn on our receivers to listen, with our whole being, to the resonance.

That is basically what 'superhero' meditators do.
That's how they become so happy and loving and nonjudgmental and joyful.
When you get to that place of resonance, no other attitude is respectable.
The resonance is so great that it can't be fully contained
with all of the attention that we can give to it in one moment.
So, the best way to manage this intensity is to find a level
where we can keep it constant, in consecutive moments,
because it is a never ending fountain of joy and bliss. Never-ending!

My heart is beating right now with the great excitement of having 'tuned in'
to describe the process. I can barely type! Oh! This is always so amazing!
I feel such intense energy rushing through me.
When it gets like this I just don't know what to do, except just hold on and stay calm.
I shiver with excitement! And, I want to share it with others.

This is the purpose of singing and writing for me.
It is the practice of my growing courage to reach out to everything and everyone, with love,
even those with whom I struggle.
At points like this I feel that I am really connected to the great energy of love and joy.
And the quality of my relationships with my audience leads here.
When I write from the memory of my favorite experiences with others,
the resonance helps me to focus my thoughts.

This is one of my surest means of keeping the quality of 'the flow' going,
from person to person, over the consecutive moments.
I believe this is what happens in my concerts.
We all, together, enter this 'sanctuary' and we can acknowledge being in love, with each other,
in as many ways as there is insight and courage and subtle agreement.

I sit here in my room and I feel the most sublime connection with the whole cosmos
through taking myself into these thoughts.
Writing it down acts as a support for me.
I can go a little further, perhaps, and I won't completely float away,
because my fingers anchor me.
It is not easy to keep this intensity up all the time! It's a great sleeping tonic!
In my waking hours it is the ritual I use everyday, as the foundation of my reality.
The more I perform this subtle little sacred ritual, the greater is the energy I experience.

It begins with actually spending time expressing simple gratitude,
for the eternal gifts of Infinite intelligence; for the wonder of life.
From there, it is an improvisation flowing through giving thanks
for the privilege of experiencing this wonder.
I give thanks from the bottom of my heart!
I feel recharged in every cell of my body and my spirit is renewed.

@1997 Maireid Sullivan

1998

40.
THE QUIET LIFE vs DIVINE LIFE - 1998

I had been alone for so long,
I couldn't imagine living a sweet and happy life
with a gentle, loving man: I might get restless!

Now I have found a 'mighty champion of the world'
to share companionship;
someone who doesn't need to curtail my freedom.

I couldn't stay with someone
who's only guarantee is sweet fidelity,
since I know divine love fills the cosmos.

Divine wisdom is my patron - my lover - my friend.
I love being alone, yet not alone, in this sacred marriage.
The inter-play is communion, laughter, conversation, poetry, music.

I treasure this adventure, this sense of ceremony;
like a precious stone washed against other precious stones
to a high polish. Quid pro quo.

I celebrate the rarefied life that has unfolded for me,
in my ivory tower, looking out on my beautiful world.
I am humbled by the magnificence of the people I have met.

What I'm coming to is:
a magnificent reality
holds my unending interest.

@1998 Maireid Sullivan

41.
UNENDING INTEREST - 1998

Right now my unending interest is held by the world of thought.
I can't get enough concentration on the sublime energy of thought.
Nothing attracts me more.

I feel that God really is accessible and I want more.
I want to see myself from God's point of view.
It's been a long time coming.

From God's point of view I am one with infinite intelligence.
It is the greatest shift of 'thinking' I've ever experienced.
When I 'get it' it is totally delicious.

Every time I 'get it' my senses fill with a glow of love and joy
- washing over me, swirling in and out of me.
And my heart expands to overflowing.

I need a nice cup of tea now;
pondering, until longing rises again
- habit forming!
I see the memory reflected in everything and everyone;
so easy and wonderful to share the joys it brings.

And I realize that if I am happy with this very moment, now,
nothing in the past should be changed,
because everything brought me to this moment.

How I am 'now' is who I really am.
Thoughts about myself, and everything
that I perceive to be outside myself, is really just what I think it is.

@1998 Maireid Sullivan

42.
YES! - 1998

That is the way to quality control of life: The magic of creation.
What we think we are doing is what we are doing,
every moment is the process of creation.

The trick is in our ability to see ourselves exactly in the present,
as it flows onto the next moment, precisely.

It takes practice to sort through the swirling thoughts
to a place of stillness and observation.
But it's about time we learned to do it right. Don't you think?

@1998 Maireid Sullivan

43.
ONE WITH GOD - 1998

We are one with God
and, yet, we carry on speaking to God
as if God is someone else.

What if God is just our point of view?
Imagine we are on God's side,
looking back at ourselves as someone else.

Wouldn't we laugh!
Wouldn't we think we were sweet little innocents
who often make silly fools of ourselves?

Seriously, folks, it's time we took a good look
at what we have created
for the image and likeness of God.

We see ourselves as small and God as vast.
We see the earth as small and the cosmos as vast.
We see our use of the brain as small and our potential as vast.

Isn't this saying something interesting about where we are?
I think we are growing into ourselves as we evolve.
We are the only species with supposedly more brainpower than we use.

I believe there are many good people for whom the world is worth saving.
I believe in believing "the kingdom is within."
I believe we can create paradise in our own lives.

And that is just the start of my celebration of the power of believing.

@1998 Maireid Sullivan

44.
INTIMACY - 1998

I'm glad I'm not alone with the moon.
I need every particle of life that sustains me.
Every person I meet is my connection.

But the intimate yearning of the heart is so fragile.
To see it requires a ritual
of intimacy that one doesn't find every day.

Everyone is there, in that vulnerable place,
in touch from the fragile heart and soul
on this journey of mankind through vast infinity and ingenuity

shimmering joy
brilliant bliss
communion!

@1998 Maireid Sullivan

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1999

45.
HEAVEN & NATURE SINGS - 1999

Heaven & nature sings.
Rejoice in the glory of love.

The trouble with a pantheon of gods is that they are preoccupied
and hierarchical. This makes it very difficult for me
to apply imagination freely, without the oppression
of belief that was formed before I had a chance
to get to work on the subject!
********

It takes a life long dedication for the individual
to unravel these pictures of belief. The sense of liberation
that comes from seeking truth makes me rejoice
in my effort to achieve liberation from over-arching structures
created by culture. So the effort is its own reward.
I guess that is what growing up is really all about:
Each individual playing their own special part in pushing the limits of experience
toward achieving the greater potential for the whole of evolution.

And, I guess, that's why all those 'political theologians'
of the 'holy' Roman Empire came to use their power
to destroy all expressions of the ancient wisdom schools of Europe.
Now we are doing it again to those old structures of thought,
through the marriage of religion and science!

As a matter of fact, we seem to have done so well,
through methods of science, that we are generally feeling more generous
in our re-evaluation of the roots of all religions.
Still, osmosis is the great culprit in our struggle for freedom.
What we absorb from the depth of experience can not be measured
and there is the ultimate catch22:
Assimilation, solidarity, community, and transcendence: Kingdom come.

Ergo, I am completely responsible for the application
of my analytical power, based on empirical observation,
combined with an intuitively improvised art of perception,
to cut through to the essence behind the images
that have been formed by and for ritual communication (and ultimate crowd control).

I've noticed that I must choose a specific reference point!
This leads to ritual; and one has to continually be aware
that ritual is a means to an end and not the end in itself.
The end is to be free and original.

One of the empirical truths I've noticed
is that when people express their soul/being, in freedom,
they voice the same truth, across the world.
It's all about communion, ecstatic and intimate, with bliss.

And, I am very polite when I project my inevitable archetypes
on infinite intelligence.

@1999 Maireid Sullivan

46.
Reflection
The Listening Room - 1999, Los Angeles

LISTEN -
You may have noticed that your listening improves when you close your eyes. This is because our eyes take up more mental energy than any other sense. They say seeing takes 18 times more energy than hearing.
Sometimes musicians will close their eyes while playing or singing;
to listen to their own music;
to call the music up from deeper sources of inspiration.

THE LISTENING ROOM -
Listening is an art of the imagination.
Listening to 'the right music for you' can revive and restore energy.
We can set out to do this by creating our own listening room
- soft lighting, favourite incense, and a good sound system.
This can be a place of retreat from the overwhelming demands of the world.
It can be a sacred place for listening to music -
'meditation'
or just a great environment to catch up on essential reading.
Such an environment enhances relaxation
- to arrive at an inner stillness and peace
that allows us to celebrate the gift of simply being alive
- to become more intimate with our own spirit, mind, and body
- to explore the imagination, luxuriate and heal
- to rekindle delight and open up to our ultimate sources of joy.

Plan ahead for your special treat:
- book an early massage
- light candles
- spray your favourite aromatic oils
- soak in a magnesium / epsom salt bath
Settle in for an evening of pure luxury with your favourite music;
- just listen
- dance to the music
- write a poem or song
- write a letter
- read a book
- paint a picture
Please yourself!
Commune with yourself!
Give thanks for our gifts of life!

@1999 Maireid Sullivan

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2001

47.
Never Drift Apart - 2001
Tk 1, Never Drift Apart, 2002

If in my eyes you see love
it is there for you
in the thought that flies

Breathing new life into my dreams
love awakened
when I looked into your eyes.

I have climbed high over many mountain peaks
to find the treasure
that in your eyes I see

Chorus:
Precious love, sweet darling,
dance with me forever
we will never drift apart

Enfold me now my destiny
this embrace will always be
my sanctuary, my sacred place, my peace

This is true love, I have no fear
Now I am anchored
in the music of your heart

Chorus:
Enfold me now my destiny
this embrace will always be
my sanctuary, my sacred place, my peace

Precious love, sweet darling
dance with me forever
we will never drift apart

Copyright 2001 Maireid Sullivan

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See separate collection: Desolation Sound Poetry Cycle, 1997