Student of Life

— Let go of your worries and be completely clear-hearted, like...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:18:43 -0400

—
Let go of your worries
and be completely clear-hearted, like the face of a mirror that contains no images.
If you want a clear mirror,
behold yourself
and see the shameless truth, which the mirror reflects.
If metal can be polished
to a mirror-like finish,
what polishing might the mirror of the heart require?
Between the mirror and the heart is this single difference:
the heart conceals secrets,
while the mirror does not.
~Rumi

A moment of happiness, you and I sitting on the...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:33:51 -0400

A moment of happiness,
you and I sitting on the verandah,
apparently two, but one in soul, you and I.
We feel the flowing water of life here,
you and I, with the garden’s beauty
and the birds singing.
The stars will be watching us,
and we will show them
what it is to be a thin crescent moon.
You and I unselfed, will be together,
indifferent to idle speculation, you and I.
The parrots of heaven will be cracking sugar
as we laugh together, you and I.
In one form upon this earth,
and in another form in a timeless sweet land.
-Rumi

Now is the time to know That all that you do is sacred. Now, why...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:43:06 -0400

Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God?
Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child’s training wheels
To be laid aside
When you can finally live
with veracity and love.
Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.
That this is the time
For you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is Sacred

Hafiz

We are born and live inside black water in a well. How could we...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:00:07 -0400

We are born and live inside black water in a well.
How could we know what an open field of sunlight is?
Don’t insist on going where you think you want to go. Ask the way to the spring.
Your living pieces will form a harmony.

~Rumi

With the Beloved’s water of life, no illness remains In...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 23:28:13 -0400

With the Beloved’s water of life, no illness remains
In the Beloved’s rose garden of union, no thorn remains.
They say there is a window from one heart to another
How can there be a window where no wall remains?

Rumi

“Among His signs is this, that He sends the winds, as...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:39:56 -0400

“Among His signs is this, that He sends the winds, as heralds of glad tidings, giving you a taste of His grace and mercy-that the ships may sail majestically by His command and that you may seek of His bounty in order that you may be grateful.” [30:46]

Love cannot be contained within our speaking or listening. Love...

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:44:41 -0400

Love cannot be contained within our speaking or listening. Love is an ocean whose depths cannot be plumbed. Would you try to count the drops of the sea? Before that ocean of love, the seven seas are nothing.
~Rumi

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The...

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 17:05:15 -0400

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.”-[24:35]

“O God, my whole occupation And all my desire in this...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 10:52:28 -0400

“O God, my whole occupation
And all my desire in this world,
Of all worldly things,
Is to remember You.
And in the Hereafter
It is to meet You.
This is on my side, as I have stated.
Now You do whatever You will.”
~Rabia

You could become a great horseman And help to free yourself and...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:47:08 -0400

You could become a great horseman
And help to free yourself and this world
Though only if you and prayer become
Sweet lovers.
It is a naïve man who thinks we are not
Engaged in a fierce battle,
For I see and hear brave foot soldiers
All around me going mad,
Falling on the ground in excruciating pain.
You could become a victorious horseman
And carry your heart through this world
Like a life-giving sun
Though only if you and God become
Sweet lovers.
~Hafiz

How Did the rose Ever open its heart And give to this world All...

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:23:30 -0400

How
Did the rose
Ever open its heart

And give to this world
All its
Beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light
Against its
Being,

Otherwise,
We all remain

Too

Frightened.

~Hafiz

Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky And you lift me...

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:09:28 -0400

Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky
And you lift me up out of the two worlds.
I want your sun to reach my raindrops,
So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud.

~Rumi

In love, aside from sipping the wine of timelessness, nothing...

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:14:55 -0400

In love, aside from sipping the wine of timelessness, nothing else exists.
There is no reason for living except for giving one’s life.
I said, “First I know you, then I die.”
He said, “For the one who knows Me, there is no dying.”
-Rumi

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life. There is...

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:33:07 -0400

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine.
O traveler, if you are in search of That
Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.
~Rumi

Don’t let the sky turn without me. Don’t let the Moon shine...

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:27:13 -0400

Don’t let the sky turn without me.
Don’t let the Moon shine without me.
Don’t let the Earth spin without me.
Don’t let the days pass without me.

The two worlds are joyous because of you. Don’t stay in this world without me. Don’t go to the next world without me.

Don’t let your eyes look without me.
Don’t let your tongue speak without me.
Don’t let your hands hold without me.
Don’t let your soul stir without me.

Moonlight reveals the sky’s bright face. I am the light, you are the Moon – Don’t rise without me.
~Rumi

“Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book...

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:35:50 -0400

“Soul receives from soul that knowledge, therefore not by book nor from tongue. If knowledge of mysteries come after emptiness of mind, that is illumination of heart.”
― Rumi

“In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:32:36 -0400

“In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where noone sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.”
― Rumi

Love is from the infinite, and will remain until eternity. The...

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:21:25 -0400

Love is from the infinite, and will remain until eternity.
The seeker of love escapes the chains of birth and death.
Tomorrow, when resurrection comes,
The heart that is not in love will fail the test.

Rumi

“Life blossoms wherever water flows. Where tears are shed...

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:42:04 -0400

“Life blossoms wherever water flows. Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown.”~ Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for...

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:39:02 -0400

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
they’re in each other all along.
~Rumi