In the beginning

In the beginning, there is struggle and a lot of work for those who come near to God. But after that, there is indescribable joy. It is just like building a fire: at first it's smoky and your eyes water, but later you get the desired result. Thus we ought to light the divine fire in ourselves with tears and effort.

~Amma Syncletica

To arrive where you are

You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know.
And what you own is what you do not own.
And where you are is where you are not.

~T S Eliot

A human being

A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe". He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is kind of a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

~Albert Einstein

Wherever I go

Wherever I go, only Thou!
Wherever I stand, only Thou
Just Thou, again Thou! always Thou!
Thou, Thou, Thou!

When things are good, Thou!
When things are bad,
Thou!Thou, Thou, Thou!

~Hasidic song

photo by Don Paulson
Webshots

If you are seeking

If you are seeking closeness to the Beloved, love everyone.whether in their presence or absence, see only their good. If you want to be as clear and refreshing as the breath of the morning breeze, like the sun have nothing but warmth and light for everyone.

~Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Khair

Here I am

Here I am, Father, listening for Your voice. My inner ears are open. I have no requests, no demands, no hopes, no ambitions. I do not ask You to do anything You are not already doing. I await Your word of grace.

~Joel Goldsmith

Between

Between the conscious and the unconscious,
the mind has put up a swing:
all earth creatures, even the supernovas,
sway between these two trees,
and it never winds down.

Angels, animals, humans, insects by the million,
also the wheeling sun and moon;
ages go by, and it goes on.

Everything is swinging: heaven, earth, water, fire,
and the secret one slowly growing a body.

Kabir saw that for fifteen seconds,
and it made him a servant for life.

~Kabir

O, friend!

O, friend! Nobody veils you, but yourself. In your path there is no thorn or weed, but yourself. You asked: shall I reach the beloved or not? Between you and the beloved there is nobody, but yourself.

~Awhadoddin Kermani

God deposited within human beings

God deposited within human beings knowledge of all things, and then blocked them from perceiving it; this is one of the divine mysteries that reason denies totally and thinks impossible.

The nearness of the the mystery to those who do not know it is like God's nearness to His servant, as proclaimed in His words, "We are nearer to Him than you, but you do not see"(Koran 56:83) and His words, "We are nearer to Him than His jugular vein" (Koran 50:16).


Despite this nearness, the servant does not perceive or know anything; no one can know what is within himself until it is revealed to him moment by moment.

~Ibn Arabi

Oh my Beloved Adonai

Oh my Beloved Adonai
You are alive for me today.
Seeing the wind caress
the branches
Of the trees
I am delivered by Your grace into the infinity
of Your existence.

- Ronald Bedrick

O love, O pure deep love,

O love, O pure deep love, be here, be now.
Be all; worlds dissolve into your stainless endless radiance,
Frail living leaves burn with you brighter than cold stars;
Make me your servant, your breath, your core.

~Rumi

With your feet I walk

With your feet I walk
I walk with your limbs
I carry forth your body
For me your mind thinks
Your voice speaks for me
Beauty is before me
And beauty is behind me
Above and below me hovers the beautiful
I am surrounded by it
I am immersed in it
In my youth I am aware of it
And in old age I shall walk quietly
The beautiful trail.

american indian - navajo

Silence

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence...

~Mother Teresa

A billion stars

A billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Let your thoughts flow

Let your thoughts flow past you, calmly;
keep Me near, at every moment;
trust Me with your life, because I
am you, more than you yourself are.

~Bhagavad Gita

House made of dawn

House made of dawn.
House made of evening light.
House made of the dark cloud.
House made of male rain.
House made of dark mist.
House made of female rain.
House made of pollen.
House made of grasshoppers.

Dark cloud is at the door.
The trail out if it is dark cloud.
The zigzag lightning stands high upon it.
An offering I make.
Restore my feet for me.
Restore my legs for me.
Restore my body for me.
Restore my mind for me.
Restore my voice for me.
This very day take out your spell for me.

Happily I recover.
Happily my interior becomes cool.
Happily I go forth.
My interior feeling cool, may I walk.
No longer sore, may I walk.
Impervious to pain, may I walk.
With lively feelings may I walk.
As it used to be long ago, may I walk.

Happily may I walk.
Happily, with abundant dark clouds, may I walk.
Happily, with abundant showers, may I walk.
Happily, with abundant plants, may I walk.
Happily, on a trail of pollen, may I walk.
Happily may I walk.
Being as it used to be long ago, may I walk.

May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.
In beauty it is finished.

~Navajo Chant

All that matters

All that matters is to be at one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.


Like a cat asleep on a chair
at peace, in peace
and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,
at home, at home in the house of the living,
sleeping on the hearth, and yawning before the fire.

Sleeping on the hearth of the living world
yawning at home before the fire of life
feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance
a deep calm in the heart
a presence
as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and greater being,
in the house of life.

~D H Lawrence, "Pax"