Returning to the Heart-beating Drum


Returning to the Heart-Beating Drum

Staying true to self-knowing and forgetting the rest

Photo by Justin Kauffman on Unsplash

Click, Click, Click
goes the beating beats
sounds of metal assaulting the wood
thoughts traveling from here to exoplanets
bantering of minds, clashing extremes
yes, I digress — not for any other reason to raise
awareness to other possibilities — broadening
the spectrum of thought in self.

Click, Click, Click
goes the beating beats
sounds of metal assaulting the wood
opposing forces interweaving a reality
fit for a King or Queen — they are not excluded
from the dysentery of fixating belief
in one way or the next — to me
it is about the expansion of consciousness
returning to the heart-beating drum.

Click, Click, Click
goes the beating beats
sounds of metal assaulting the wood
clashing wits and subtleties
grown tired of decaying, withering
breaking down words, isolating
Socrates allegoric site within the cave
chained and shackled to life’s painful miseries.

Click, Click, Click
goes the beating beats
sounds of metal assaulting the wood
hearing words of another chastising the next
Oljita holds the space for the collective — creative
willingness to freely move about the universe
in ways incomprehensible — not able
to put the finger on knowing what is
and whatnots, we return to the sounds
returning to the heart-beating drum.

~ Ani Po


Photo by “My Life Through A Lens” on Unsplash

Recently asked to do a collective prompt from an objective viewpoint, stretching my comfort level of writing. I tried to narrow down the idea posed but digressed as usual into the spinning of words, superfluous to the subject at hand. Met with opposition challenging me to narrow it down.

I could not for one simple reason — life is not finite, with millions and millions of possibilities. I am not one to be kept in a box, yet returning to my cave of solitude, leaving me labeled in categories of potential psychosis.

Comfortable in my skin — knowing where I am — who I hold space for future unraveling, returning to the sound of a tapping beat generated from a source flowing through vibratory channeling of a heart-beating drum.


Thank you Diana C. for in depth prompts, Frank Ontario for dancing and interweaving a collaborative role of possibilities, thank you An Idea for housing my thoughts.

Much gratitude for those who take time to read, ponder and allow the inner workings of self to come forward. Grateful for the feedback, love shared, and more importantly the Dance with Inspiration. Deep Peace.

Joseph Lieungh

Photo by Javardh on Unsplash

When Shadowy Self Becomes our Greatest Ally


When Shadowy Self Becomes our Greatest Ally

Digging deeply into our soul, finding a resurrection of Self

Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

Life can be airy-fairy, or as real as we make it out to be. What does that mean? Sitting, staring at the puzzle pieces of life before me, gathering everything that has ever happened.

I have been looking at phases — or chapters of life, seeing many places I have been, phases I have gone through, and understandings of such — still unclear as to what it all means, I continue placing the puzzle pieces together.

Someone once said to me, “you are all over the map!” I hear this voice and relate to how humans go through an ungrounded phase of life (or so it seems) until seeking grounding ourselves within Great Mystery.

There are phases of pain and misery, laughter and raw excitement, moments of “everything is great.” The euphoria stage depicts phases of one’s life where we want happiness so badly we mask pain and disguise it with everything wonderful. Go too far down this rabbit hole, and we get stuck in an illusory life of airy-fairy, unicorns, and mystical creatures.

Spiritual Bypassing

I am not saying unicorns and mystical experiences cannot happen, but stating that we can get caught up in moments of euphoria — masking hidden realities within the self. We all experience pain, we all experience joy — but ultimately, happiness comes from seeing things for what they are in life.

Truly I say to you — many are broken while experiencing glimpses of joy and gladness. Discounting our sadness and pain, falling victim to self-sabotage. Either create a reality where everything sucks, or cover it up with dreams of what may be.

To truly find wholeness, there is an acknowledgment of self, broken and whole — only by acknowledging the dark side of life and brighter side of things. Not ignoring the dark side of things but acknowledging and remaining in a state of happiness for who we are.

How people treat you is their karma; how we react is our own. ~Wayne Dyer

Similarly — how we create our life is symbolic of our truth — hidden in the shadows — or walking hand in hand with our pain.

Life truly is the Great Mystery, never fully understanding — we are to learn from it — grow during — living as if it were our last.

~Ani Po


The above piece was written a couple of years ago. Looking back, witnessing personal ‘seeking’ coming to a tails-end. Not meaning I am ever complete with my journey, merely closer to no longer seeking that which has always been seeking me — happiness.

With shadow-self, still lurking about, waiting foredone taken center stage of our healing. Smiling heretofore, embracing shadowy-self and all his disfigured masks, moving forward on a tightrope, thin-line between worlds.

Releasing an employee to another organization, I thank him for being the Ass that he was, allowing me to rise to an even higher plane of understanding.


Much gratitude for those who take time to read, ponder and allow the inner workings of self to come forward. Grateful for the feedback, love shared, and more importantly the Dance with Inspiration. Deep Peace.

Joseph Lieungh

Photo by Javardh on Unsplash