Mechthild of Magdeburg - Effortlessly

March 12, 2010

From Ivan

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

Effortlessly

By Mechthild of Magdeburg(1207 - 1297)

English version by Jane Hirshfield

Effortlessly,Love flows from God into man,Like a birdWho rivers the airWithout moving her wings.Thus we move in His worldOne in body and soul,Though outwardly separate in form.As the Source strikes the note,Humanity sings --The Holy Spirit is our harpist,And all stringsWhich are touched in LoveMust sound.

-- from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell

Amazon.com / Photo by ac4photos /

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Thought for the Day:

Each stepis part of the journey.

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Frank Smith

Gardens of Hope

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Hi Alan -Mechthild of Magdeburg was born around the year 1207, probably into a noble family in northern Germany.She had a defining ecstatic experience at the age of twelve, where she saw "all things in God and God in all things." In 1235, when Mechthild was in her twenties, she joined the Beguine sisterhood, as many women mystics of the time did in Germany and the Low Countries. As a Beguine she led a life of simplicity, service, and spiritual practice.Her confessor convinced her to write down her ongoing mystical visions. This project took many years as it was interrupted by periods of sickness and having to deal with the attacks of religious critics. She only completed this work in about 1282, a few years before her death.This book, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, describes the experience of unio mystica (mystical union). Her poetry stands out as

among the most elevated mystical love poetry in the German language, drawing comparisons to the Sufi poets of the Middle East and the Bhakti poets of India.The great Italian poet Dante is said to have been greatly inspired by Mechthild's writing, and some have suggested that that he based his character Matilda in his Divine Comedy on her.==Effortlessly,Love flows from God into man,Like a birdWho rivers the airWithout moving her wings.Isn't that image wonderful? The words themselves flow through us, like gentle music. That opening affirmation is so lovely that it's easy to miss importance of the next few lines:Thus we move in His worldOne in body and soul,Though outwardly separate in form.This statement could just as easily have come from the Zen tradition. When we discover that total integration of self, when every aspect of body and soul recognizes itself as a

harmonious unity, the sense of the effortful self disappears. Our actions and movement through the world flow without friction. We normally take it for granted, the presence of a constant resistance in every action. What is that resistance? It is the fingerprint of the ego as it declares through each effort, "I am here! I did this! I!" It is a declaration of separation. But instead, when we are overcome with love and wholeness, the ego fades, no separation is seen, and we, in turn, flow.Think of it this way: Just as swimmers shave their bodies to eliminate the constant drag of body hair in order to glide through the water, shedding the ego with love allows us to glide with surprising ease through the world. This is how saints and masters manage to act with such natural grace of spirit.And all stringsWhich are touched in LoveMust sound.Ivan

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2010 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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