True Friendship To the sound of the rebap and ney (violin and flute), Shems spoke of friendship and divine love. On one occation he informed Rumi, 'A true friend must be as mysterious as God. He must tolerate his friend's ugliness and faults, and not be offended by his mistakes. He must not turn away from him nor accuse him. Just as God's compassion leads him to forgive His subjects for their failings, He sustains him with an [...]
Rest Your Weary Head Are you thinking too much? Rick Hanson (2011). Just One Thing. New Harbinger: Oakland, CA The Practice Rest your weary head. Why? The traditional saying that's this week's practice has been sinking in for me lately. Thoughts have been swirling around like a sandstorm about work, things I've been reading, household tasks, finances, concerns about people, a yard that needs mowing, loose ends, projects, etc. etc. The other day I told my wife: "I'm [...]
..from the Velveteen Rabbit The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and [...]
Beautiful Empty Pages What kind of work Can I do in this world? Who would be kind enough To hire an old holy Bum, One with great reputation For loving the charms Of the lawless And the wild artists and the lewd Maybe I could become a poet. Maybe the Beloved Will make my love so Pure That He will come to sit upon All my Beautiful empty pages. And when you come to look at them, He [...]
Envoi by Mary Oliver No poet ever wrote a poem to dishonor life, to compromise high ideals, to scorn religious views, to demean hope or gratitude, to argue against tenderness, to place rancor in front of love, or to praise littleness of soul. Not one. Not ever. On the contrary, poets have, in freedom and in prison, in health and in misery, with listeners and without listeners, spent their lives examining and glorifying life, meditation, thoughtfulness, devotion, and [...]
On Exactitude in Science On Exactitude in Science . . . In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the entirety of a Province. In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guilds struck a Map of the Empire whose size was that of the Empire, and which coincided point for point with it. [...]
Reading the Record of Eihei Dogen ~ Ryokan On a somber spring evening around midnight, rain mixed with snow sprinkled on the bamboos in the garden I wanted to ease my loneness but it was quite impossible My hand reached behind me for the Record of Eihei Dogen Beneath the open window at my desk. I offered incense, lit a lamp, a quietly read. Body and mind dropping away is simply the upright truth. In one thousand postures, [...]
On Witnessing Our Suffering: A story told by Jack Kornfield in The Wise Heart I heard about a Jungian psychologist who attended a professional workshop that included a film by one of Carl Jung’s last pupils, the great dream analyst Marie-Louise von Franz. After the film, a distinguished panel of senior Jungian analysts and Carl Jung’s own grandson responded to written questions from the audience that were sent up to the stage on cards. One of [...]
Forgiveness ASKING FORGIVENESS OF OTHERS There are many ways I have hurt and harmed others, betrayed or abandoned them, caused them suffering, knowingly or unknowingly, out of my pain, fear, anger, and confusion. . . I ask for your forgiveness. . . I ask for your forgiveness. . . OFFERING FORGIVENESS TO YOURSELF There are many ways that I have hurt and harmed myself. I have betrayed and abandoned myself many times through thought, word, or deed, knowingly [...]
Messenger ~Mary Oliver Messenger My work is loving the world. Here the sunflowers, the hummingbird--- equal seekers of sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, Which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished. The [...]