I will not speak of what stands before you

I will not speak of what stands before you; that is for you to live.  I will not raise you up; that is for you to accomplish.  I will not pity you, judge you, nor rain sorrow down upon you; that is for you to outgrow.

Have you found your true course?  It is no road.  There are no markings.  It is the lightest of air, and it is something that you must discern and discover for yourselves.

But allow me this, you are beginning to float.

Your Christ.

What if everything in your life is put there because you will it so?

What if everything in your life is put there because you will it so?  Not a thing is out of place, there is no one and no thing to blame for any of your pictures.

The big picture.  Because you have journeyed within, the big picture more and more presents itself.  Are you going to be overwhelmed by such a blessing?  Underwhelmed perhaps?  Blasé?  Frightened?  

Life gets bigger as we go deeper.  Do not fear your depths. Journeying from the echoes in the fog to the clean and poignant sunlight hurts the eyes, but they grow accustomed, acclimated to the clarity that it now beholds.  
Rumi

You have twirled into a wall; what of it?

You have twirled into a wall; what of it?  Twirl some more, left, right, up, down.  Perspective, my beloveds, that is the key.  A different perspective is what I attempted to teach.  It is not difficult; it is so simple it is overlooked.

 

I have hit a wall; there must be a different direction.  I feel loneliness, I feel empty, I feel despondent.  Who has not said such a thing in their tenure here on this green Earth?  These are samples, in the purest sense, of life.  The beginning of the end; the end of the beginning: phases.  The passing of one consciousness into a more exalted consciousness.  There is so much we can do when we take off the blinders.

 

To you who bump into the dervishes that are your teachers, who run into such a wall, I say: What is wall spelled backwards?  Law. 

 

The law is that we cannot go beyond before we go through and understand what we have, so that we do not keep repeating such mundane lessons.  It does not feel good, but it is wonderful to jump from one precipice to the next.  It is all good and everything will be alright.

Shams of Tabriz

Life is either too dry, too wet, too fast or too boring

Life is either too dry, too wet, too fast or too boring.  How often does a soul feel the contentment every moment provides, or better put, is capable of?  We may as well ride into the sunset seeking for some magical mystical answer that will turn our life around.

What brings forward the fruit and bread of life is the recognition of every moment and what we do, how we think and perform and acquit ourselves therein.  It is a journey that begins and meanders towards many mountains, and so few believe themselves capable of scaling such a peak, yet nothing could be further from the truth.

The world of illusion is woven together with the thread of limitation.  It is not that it is so strong—limitation, that is.  It is just the acceptance that is strong.  Where would we be, the race of humanity, without the handful of brave souls that forded the river and crossed the ocean of limitation?  I believe we would be where most everyone is, lost, clinging and rife with blame and irresponsibility.

So where does that leave us, my beloveds?  It leaves us with the eyeglass that focuses within and brings into clarity and understanding the concept that is the Christ, the soul, the still, small voice.  The world will provide you no respite when you become the spelunker of your own inner world, you know this.  Your small mind will kick and scream and convince you of weakness and indecision.

Shams used to say to me, “Life and its tribulation, in all of its drama is not so big as you would have it be.”  And that is where the big picture comes in.  What is your big picture?  Is it your career?  Is it wealth?  Or is it God?  God, come into my life in every breath, every thought, every action.  I used to say that, I still do.  Why don’t you try it?
Rumi

I would bring you into my world to show you all that you do not see in yours

I would bring you into my world to show you all that you do not see in yours.  Oh the majesty!  The quickening!  The joy!  The unabashed unattachments!

 

Why do you carry around such anchors?  Look!  You are not some relic or edifice of times past and bygone.  You are the vibrant Christ of every moment.  You are the family of God!  So why go to the sea of life and sink?

 

Stretch the muscles of your Godhood and push at every corner because you are learning what I learned: You cannot be stopped!

 

Shams

The sound of the heart beating, is that purely primal?

The sound of the heart beating, is that purely primal?  Feet across stones, is that cause for pain?  From which eye do you view life?  Do you think from the mind and speak from the heart or vice versa?  Where is everything you believe yourself not to be?  When you are at peace you are with me.  When you are in turmoil you are even more with me.  Choose love.  Eternally, choose love. 
Buddha

Ordained it is that those who seek shall find

Ordained it is that those who seek shall find.  Your earthly life is rife with hints, suggestions and new perspectives.  A falling leaf, a scavenging crow, a book from a shelf tumbling, a phrase overheard, a monumental sunrise, the silence of a stone.  Trusting in the at-one-ness of all is living life on all levels of consciousness. 

Heaven is the consciousness of love unconditional.  Indeed, consciousness is borne not only of earth, but is everywhere present, multi-dimensional, ever evolving and expanding, as is God, always and forever.  Expand your vision and seek that which eludes the masses: simple joy.

Rumi

What type of heat do we create with the fire of a life?

What type of heat do we create with the fire of a life?

Passionate?  Spiritual?  Unconditionally loving?  Romantic?  Sorrowful?  Raging?

Who would sit before our hearth to warm their soul?

A friend?  A foe?  A lost soul?  A beloved?

What radiance of love do we exude?   

Vibrant?  Distorted?  Conditional?  Compassionate?  Kindly?  Considerate?

Beloved, we are living, evolving art.  Priceless, unique in every way!

We should laugh at our penchant for criticism.

Can one judge art?  All judgment is a crucifixion of the self.

We are all engaged in the self-artistry of living life as best we can.

Oh, the folly of our insecurities!

Rumi

Acres of Sunrises Welcome Thee!

Beloved, acres of sunrises welcome thee!

The Tree of Life is infested with so many holes, is weakened by the constant misuse of love. 

Ah, the Tree of Life; so few of us ever reach for the top.  And yet we force ourselves to climb hill after hill, not even dreaming of the mountains placed before us.  So many labor!  How many learn?

A sea of olive trees produces how much pure oil?  A history of a species produces how many heroes?  A poem expresses only so many words.  An idea reflects the gateway to the heart of those who would think.  Where do we go from here?  Do ten thousand pages rife with words equal a lifetime unrealized?  In our every breath is the opportunity for change.

Hold on?  To what? And why?  The embrace of the sun is a lifetime’s richest kiss.  The moon’s caress is the intimacy one seeks from a lover.  Are they not one and the same?  Ponder this.  Why are we born into a world of duality?  Why enhance the separateness that keeps us far from home?  Is it so important to be the individual?  Is it not godly to be a way-shower to the One, the All and the Every?

Thought creates the state of being.  The state of being births the art of becoming. The art of becoming paints the canvas called a lifetime. Brushstrokes of forgiveness temper memories. Do not fear your mistakes.  Experience is malleable. Even here in the garden we must weed out thoughts that otherwise would maim or kill.  Look up, into the depths of your heart.  Want not for less than love.  Notice your thoughts.  Be for a moment in your wholeness.  As one are we all, indeed, thought and word.

The artist separates the preliminary sketch from the tablet and pristine is the new page.  What will you sketch on yours?  Are we not, each and every, artists of the heart?  A creative genius of the mind?  Bold expressions of what most we desire? And what we most desire is love, belonging, at-one-ness and the feeling of home.  We all walk the same pathway home

The art of persecution seems in your time and space never out of fashion.  Perhaps the time has come to change the wardrobe.  Don’t you agree?

Shams of Tabriz