Poet and spiritual student Ron Starbuck gives some insight about his contribution to the One series.
MM:
Ron,
thank you for joining the One series. With Story
Nine: Wheels Turning Inward, you introduce poetry into the series. Up
to now, all of the entries have been prose and personal narrative. The goal of One
is to explore our faith and you do it in a different way. What was your inspiration?
RS: I have
always been inspired by our relationship with the divine mystery. However, you
may imagine this mystery to be at work within your own life. Poetry is a
language that helps us to express our place in the world, in creation itself. Through the poet’s voice and vision, we catch sight of
the clear longing of God for all humankind, and the true value of relationships
through which we come to know and become known by this mystery.
MM:
That
is excellent. Poetry definitely gives us a unique way to express ourselves. I
am so not a poet, but sometimes the directness of prose does not convey that
necessary emotion in the same way as a carefully crafted poem. Obviously, it
has taken you years to achieve an adeptness at this, how long have you been
doing it?
RS: I wrote
my first poems back in high school and college, and then put writing aside for
most of my adult life. A few years ago
something awoke within me that wanted to write again and I became very
intentional about taking the time to read and write more. We learn from the
masters, from those who have gone before us in expressing our place within
creation.
MM:
In
a way, you have been writing most of your life. You say you were intentional in
reading and learning from the masters. Who are some of the masters that influence
you?
RS: There is
a long list to choose from I’m afraid, more than we can completely cover in
this interview. To name a few poets I would say; Carl Sandburg, Mary Oliver,
Vassar Miller, E.E. Cummings, T.S. Eliot, Saint Julian of Norwich, Rumi, EmilyDickson, and Julia Esquivel. I could go on and on.
MM:
I
recognize a few of those names. That always makes me feel better. Sometimes we
get to this point in the interview and I feel so sheltered because I don’t know
who we’re talking about. However, that inspires me to find them and expand my
literary universe. Hand in hand with the last question, who are some of your
spiritual influences?
RS: The
theologians, spiritual masters, and writers who have influenced my thought and
poetry are Meister Eckhart, Angelus Silesius, Paul Tillich, Paul F. Knitter,
John B. Cobb, Thomas Merton, Nagarjuna (Buddhism),SorenKierkegard, Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (Buddhism), and Cynthia Bourgeault to name only a few.
MM: You got
me on that one. I only recognize one of those guys. But that’s okay. That is
one of the great things about this series. Each author has a different
background and adds their knowledge to the whole. We like to celebrate those
differences. What is different about you or the way you write?
RS: I get up
early nearly every morning to read, meditate, and write. Sometimes I’ll
meditate and pray for thirty minutes or so, at other times I may simply read
the work of other poets and writers. This helps me to focus on my own voice and
what it is that I wish to share with others. Poetry is a language that touches
us at the deepest levels of our spirituality. Poetry moves us at levels seen
and unseen, at both conscious and unconscious levels of our being. By listening
deeply to the self, by listening to the eternal word that dwells within us all,
I believe that we are able to touch and be touched by the divine. This mystery,
and it is a mystery, surrounds us utterly, it sustains us in life and for life.
Poetry is an affirmation of life, the gift of life, and all the marvelous things
that are ours to experience in life. Life itself is grounded in our
relationships; we live in relationship with one another and with all of
creation.
MM: That is
heavy. I like the idea of channeling inspiration. I also like your ideas on the
connections between poetry and spirituality. Can you share more about your
faith?
RS: I grew up
in Midwest America, raised in a mainstream Protestant Christian tradition where
we attended church every Sunday. This experience taught me the importance of
relationship and gave me a spiritual grounding that has flowed all through my
life and the life I share with others. Eventually, I began to understand that
the Holy Spirit is actively at work within the world across many faiths. It was
then I began to study other spiritual traditions and was drawn towards a more
contemplative life and practice. Buddhism has helped me to understand a radical
openness to creation itself, to an inherent and abiding spirit or force within
our own being. One that is always offering us life and one that reveals the
divine mystery to us, and calls us to love, calls us into relationship.
Still,
I held on to what I knew best in the faith I had practiced since a child. But
in this process, this journey, I learned that the divine mystery at some level
touches all faiths, and I found comfort in an interfaith dialogue that includes
both Buddhism and Christianity. Today I am actively involved in the Episcopal
church, in a Christian sacramental tradition, but also in an interfaith dialog
with Buddhism and other contemplative traditions, through the meditative
practice of stillness and silence, a resting in God, in the eternal now that is
always present to us, where one empties themselves of all images and becomes
radically open to that which is moving across creation, that sustains creation,
seeing God as a verb that touches us eternally. As a word, where God is moving
towards us, reaching out as a word to communicate God’s self. Ultimately, this
involves a deep listening to what the divine is speaking to each one of us, and
it is a process of listening, of dialogue, and of relationship within that
dialogue. It is also a process of growth, of spiritual evolution, of Theosis
and Sanctification found in the Christian tradition.
It is a process of
understanding that we are all interconnected to put it into Buddhist terms, it
is a concept that places a focus on our interconnectedness with life, all life,
reality itself, out of which our lives arise. In Buddhism, this concept is called
Dependent Origination or Dependent Arising, and Emptiness. Perhaps it would
help, as Jesus or a Tibetan or Zen Master might, to have you visualize the
emptiness of an empty cup, the space that can be filled at any time, by anyone,
by you, by God. This space, this emptiness, can be seen as the pure and
infinite potential of all eternity, out of which all reality arises in a universe
of infinite possibilities, or even of a given intimate moment within eternity,
now in this present moment, in these words, even in the spaces between each
word. You may also visualize it as an empty cup, a cup that is ready to receive
the new wine of life or hot jasmine tea.
My spiritual practice is both theistic
and non-theistic, where I release and let go of all our preconceptions and
images of whom God is, and simply let God be God, without any expectations. In
this sense, it is an openness to the divine indwelling, the presence of God’s
Spirit. One where we learn to let the Holy Spirit pray with and through us,
with sighs too deep for words or images. This is an opportunity of deeply and
personally coming to know God, to realize that the Spirit is part of us and
given to us freely.
MM: All I can
say is, “Wow!” I know you convey some of this in your writing, but to see it
here is impressive. It is the personification of East meets West. I suspect
that the concepts you touch on would take years of study, but also have a universal
appeal. To see such an interesting spiritual side, what is something else
personal you would want to share, that might not be in your author bio?
RS: From time
to time I paint, abstract paintings mostly, working in both oil and an
acrylics. Some of the pieces are small,
like 14” x 18”, others much larger 3’ by 3’.
MM: That’s
it. You paint. I like that. You have this immense and cosmic view of God and
spirituality and... you paint. Plenty of room for self-expression there. Besides
painting, what other projects are you involved in right now?
RS: I’ve been
working on organizing a new non-profit called Saint Julian Press that will help
to identify, nurture, and publish transformative literature and art. http://www.saintjulianpress.com/index.html
MM:
Very
nice. You have named your press after one of your inspirations. Now, for some
fun before we part. If you could ask your supreme being one question, what
would you ask?
RS: What new mysteries
and relationships are you to reveal to me today?
MM:
And
lastly, what I think has become my favorite question, if you were a flavor of
ice cream, what would it be?
RS: Mango,
I’m addicted to Blue Bell Mango flavored ice cream, and I love the color.
MM: I wonder
what that says about your personality? A Midwest sensibility with a Tropical
attitude maybe? Well, thank you Ron for such an informative discussion. And
readers, please remember that 100% of the author’s proceeds will be going to
Give Kids the World (www.GKTW.org).
You can get One Story Nine: Wheels
Turning Inward by Ron Starbuck on Amazon Kindle for $0.99 by clicking HERE. http://goo.gl/ZSuAv
You can follow One and the Authors of
One on Facebook –
Also, Ron wanted to share a few other
links:
Saint
Julian Press and Poetry Blogs -
Parabola
Magazine Tangent: God As a Verb, pages 100-109
Parabola
Magazine Tangent: A Radical Openness, pages 98 - 111
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