Author Interview
Freefall to the Beloved: Mystical Poetry for God's Lovers
1. Why did you write this book?
That’s an interesting story. I was completing another book and looking for a
title. Freefall to the Beloved, came through my mind, and I knew that book was
not yet written. Then the poems started coming through. It was really an issue
of getting out of the way, of honing my receptivity. I love these poems. Each
one is branded into my heart. I will always remember the experience involved in
each one of them, the state I was in. It was that state that was the ground of
the poem.
Back to your question, I wrote this book because
it was my passion. I had no choice. I wrote it to share what was so inspiring
to me.
2. Say more about the freefall. That’s an interesting word.
And a wonderful image. It is quite different than most of our functioning in which we try so hard to hold onto control. What I am discovering is that things go a lot easier when I follow the flow, not knowing where it’s taking me. Certainly this is terrifying much of the time. And yet it is only through this radical surrender that we can fall into God, fall into Being.
3. Who or what is the Beloved?
It’s really two things that are not
separate: God and one’s true nature.
The word itself infers a certain orientation which I call that of the lover.
Because there is an Other one is longing for and loving, it is dualistic at
first glance. But as one experiences more and more states of unity, that
duality dissolves until there is only One.
4. Is there a message in this book?
Every book has some kind of message.
If I were to put it in a few words, the message of Freefall would be: “Give yourself to love. You won’t be
disappointed.” Of course I am talking about a consuming, inspired, divine love.
I sometimes describe this book as the mystical
journey put into poetry. It is organized in sections, each one expressing some
part of the process: the longing, the struggles, the changes.
5. Are you a mystic?
Let’s say I am growing into that. I am growing
into a mystical life, which is a life claimed by love of the Divine. That’s a
process, something that unfolds and develops. It’s like the moth being drawn to
the flame. The closer one gets, the greater the draw.
Of course the progression is not smooth. There is resistance all along the way.
Yet I am continuously being drawn into a state of intimacy to which my heart
can only respond with the most radical surrender.
6. We
have the work of Rumi and Kabir and other great mystical poets. Do we really need
another?
Many others. We need a chorus of voices,
each one unique. I sometimes say we need an army of mystical poets. We need as
much love as possible helping stir peoples’ hearts, because we need to wake up.
We need to recognize the larger shape-shifting spirit everywhere.
