Aspects of ourselves
not fully acknowledged
and embraced
remain disintegrated
from the whole.

Exiled.

Orphaned.

These orphans
suffer the pains
of rejection,
hunger,
cold,
and isolation.
Suffering feeds
a constant effort
to receive the attention,
acceptance,
and love
they deserve.

Orphans use
any means necessary
to be seen,
to survive.

Emotional affliction.
Physical dis-ease.
Relational disfunction.
Sexual dissatisfaction.
Familial disharmony.

They don't fail
at getting noticed.

Orphans are
what traditional cultures
call ghosts.

Not the ill-conceived creatures
of cartoons and horror movies,
but the spiritual fragments
left outside the circle
of our personal and collective
embrace.

Disintegrated aspects of self.

Sincere practice
is a process
of welcoming
the orphans
home.

Integration.

It all starts
Here
in the body
in the Vital Center,
as we fully engage
with all Nine Petals
of our life.