“… Self-reflection … places attention on your true nature, and the mirror of the mind gazes back on Itself …” ~ Cit Ananda
Stillness Speaks is a labor of love … and one of the joys of this “work” is many magical encounters with other “fellow explorers” of the Mystery … encounters that not only deeply nourish our beings … but also result in {content} offerings to nourish our audience … and at times the origin story of these offerings makes them all the more intriguing and appealing …
This post is such an offering : a preview of a poetry book – When Silence Speaks: Messages From The Heart – by a new, fresh voice (to Stillness Speaks), Cit Ananda.
Instead of any preamble from us … this highly recommended gem is best introduced with Cit’s opening paragraph in the Preface “… This book is an unexpected gift. It was not conceived, planned, or even dreamed into Being. It was offered, arriving at unexpected times, as a flood of inspiration pouring Itself onto the page …” … along with some excerpts from her Introduction:
“… You might think that because these works arise through me, I would already know and be living the teachings within the poems. Frequently, however, these poems arise in such a way that they school me, inviting me to teeter on the edge of whatever is being offered in life, to simply remain present and to receive the tenderness, the angst, the hidden child within more deeply. I am a student of the poems, humbled by the Grace that is often offered as much as by the suggestion to remain, be still, embrace patience, allow Divine Wisdom the stage.
Recently, I have come to see myself more and more as a shepherd, tending the flock, only to realize that the flock has been guiding me north all along, toward my inner knowing, the true destination. Leave it to the sheep to aimlessly arrive, just like poetry.
I invite you to join me in shepherding, tending to the aimlessness … by simply opening to a page and seeing what the moment has in store for you, what you have called in. This sort of aimless wondering and wandering allows the guiding force to be sourced within, much like our sheep, driven by the rhythms of nature and calls of a hungry belly. Aimless exploring in the fertile, green pasture that nourishes your Heart is a perfect way to approach this book. …”
Plus, a few excerpts from the testimonials – that provide an excellent summation:
“… When I began to read the variety of poems in When Silence Speaks: Messages from the Heart, I quickly realized that each one was a pointing in itself and required more than a quick glance. I found myself reading a poem and then allowing time to contemplate what feelings the words were conjuring up for me. For fun, I decided to look at the book as a form of mystical oracle and pick pages at random. To my surprise, there appeared to be a secret message hidden beneath each poem that, in a subtle way, gifted me the process of tapping inner wisdom …”
“… When Silence Speaks takes the reader on a profound journey. Poet and spiritual teacher Cit Ananda open heartedly shares her bold and tender poems, which are really more like conversations with the Divine. In her questions, we recognize our own longing. In the teachings she shares, we encounter deep devotion and we embrace beauty in all forms …”
“… Her poems reveal a delicate dance between our essential humanness—with laundry to fold, hair to brush, muscle aches and heart aches, singing and belching—and the Divine Light glowing within each of us. Through this radiant light, Cit Ananda’s poems explore what it means to be a mother, a child, a friend, and how we live on this Earth as guests and stewards. Love and breath weave through these poems. Even in moments of struggle, Cit Ananda’s certainty that God surrounds and buoys us fills her, and the reader, with a deep sense of acceptance. In the tradition of Rumi and Hafiz, this is a collection of mystical significance meant to be savored and shared …”
This post is part 1 of a multi-part series previewing Cit’s book via poem excerpts …
All italicized text above and below is from When Silence Speaks: Messages From The Heart by Cit Ananda (© 2023 Cit Ananda published by Balboa Press) and is published here with her generous permission. A PDF of the Table of Contents is available for download at the bottom of this post.
Hymns Of Glory
What majesty awakens in the dawn
as the sun’s rays sparkle against running waters
and collide with a shimmering frenzy of delight.
This is my dawn,
the proverbial morning of my life.
Awakening to the music of the river’s flow
and the tree’s whispered dance ~
I’ve heard these sounds before,
and yet, today,
they are not sounds of the natural world,
but hymns of glory
and the resonance touches
the very roots of Being.
Stand still.
So still
that there is only the subtle pulse
of the breath and Heart
inviting each other into the moment.
Stand still.
Feel what rises through the feet.
Feel the pulse of the river,
the breath of the trees,
the ever-beating heart of Mother Earth.
She has always held you.
Always holds us all ~
in the bosom of her Being ~
we thrive in this maternal
nurturance and abundance.
It is here that the taste of Being
vibrates into the soles of the feet
and awakens the soul of Being.
~ Cit Ananda
Click here for the free, downloadable PDF of the Table of Contents.
Stay tuned for … more poems from Cit’s When Silence Speaks …
Images (edited & Logo added): 1 & Featured) Scenic view of mountains reflecting in water by MichalBalada, 2) Cover page from Cit’s book – Balboa Press 2023 edition, 3) Man sits at sunrise on Koh Pangan by FromMyEyes, 4) Waterfall on mountain stream in the National park Sumava Czech Republic by Vencav. #2) provided by the Author for free use on our digital assets. All (except Cit’s book cover image) are purchased from depositphotos, or 123rtf or YAYImages. All are for use only on our website/social channels (these images are not permitted to be shared separate from this post).
