“Branches, Light, Dendrites”: Seed Thought for Late-Autumn Meditation

To All the Ways In Which You Branch Outward and Inward

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Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694) made a helpful declaration to Wayfarers when he said that we should be good companions of the seasons.

Since we are ‘of Nature,’ not separate from Nature, I think this also means being good companions of our own “seasons” — honoring the times when we are outward and blooming, and the times we need to be inward, dormant, idle.

As we approach a crossing-point in the seasons — the shift from autumn to winter — how does your heart-mind, your body, your breathing, the quality of flow of your own mind-stream, shift?

Like the falling leaves of autumn that drift to the dark earth to nourish the soil of future seasons, what needs to drop and fall-away from you at this time?

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