My Blogadag!!!

Meditation Walking

1] You have already arrived. So, feel pleasure at each step and do not worry about things that you still have to face. We have nothing before us, just a road to be traveled at each moment with joy. When we practice pilgrim meditation, we are always arriving, our home is the present moment, and nothing more.

2] For that reason, always smile while you walk. Even if you have to force it a bit and feel ridiculous. Get used to smiling and you will end up happy. Do not be afraid of displaying your contentment.

3] If you think that peace and joy always lie ahead, you will never manage to achieve them. Try to understand that they are both your traveling companions.

4] When you walk, you are massaging and honoring the earth. In the same way, the earth is trying to help you to balance your organism and mind. Understand this relationship and try to respect it – may your steps have the firmness of a lion, the elegance of a tiger and the dignity of an emperor.

5] Pay attention to what is going on around you. And concentrate on your breathing – this will help you to get rid of the problems and worries that try to accompany you on your journey.

6] When you walk, it is not just you that is moving, but all past and future generations. In the so-called “real” world, time is a measure, but in the true world nothing exists beyond the present moment. Be fully aware that everything that has happened and everything that will happen is in each step you take.

7] Enjoy yourself. Make pilgrim meditation a constant meeting with yourself, never a penance in search of reward. May flowers and fruit always grow in the places touched by your feet.

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century

Out there, besides what is right and what is wrong, there is an enormous field. That is where we will meet.

Dhammapada (attributed to Buddha)

       Instead of a thousand words,
     Better just one,
     One that brings peace.
     Instead of a thousand verses,
     Better just one,
     One that shows beauty.
     Instead of a thousand songs,
     Better just one,
     One that spreads joy.

Apprenticeship (Warrior of the Light)

Learning to take care of oneself
      - For years I have sought enlightenment – said the disciple. – I feel I am near it and want to know how to take the next step.
      - A man who knows how to seek God knows also how to take care of himself. How do you support yourself? – asked the master.
      - That is just a detail. I have rich parents who help me along my spiritual path. Because of that, I can dedicate myself entirely to sacred things.
      - Very well – said the master. – I will explain to you the next step: look at the sun for half a minute.
      The disciple obeyed.
      When he had finished, the master asked him describe the landscape around him.
      - I can’t. The sun’s brightness dazzled my eyes.
      - A man who looks fixedly at the sun ends up blind. A man who only looks for Light, and shifts his responsibilities onto the shoulders of others, never finds what he is seeking – was the master’s comment.

Making the field fertile
      The Zen master entrusted the disciple with looking after the rice paddy. In the first year, the disciple watched to make sure that the necessary water was never missing; the rice grew strong and the harvest was good.
      In the second year, he had the idea of adding a little fertiliser, the rice grew fast and the harvest was bigger.
      In the third year, he used more fertiliser. The harvest was still bigger, but the rice sprouted small and lacklustre.
      - If you continue increasing the amount of manure, you will have nothing worth having next year – said the master.
     “You strengthen someone when you help a little. But you weaken someone if you help a lot.”

The way of the tiger
      The man was walking through the forest when he saw a crippled fox.
     "How does she feed herself?" he thought.
      At that moment, a tiger approached with an animal in its jaws. It satisfied its hunger and left what remained for the fox.
     "If God helps the fox then he will help me too”, he thought. He returned to his house, locked the door and waited for Heaven to send him food.
      Nothing happened. When he was getting too weak to go out and work, an angel appeared.
      - Why did you decide to imitate the lame fox? - asked the angel. – Get up, take your tools and follow the way of the tiger!

Would anyone know the difference
      A father took his two boys to play mini-golf. At the ticket office he wanted to know the price.
     - Five coins for adults, three for those over six years. Under six years entry is free.
     - One of them is three, the other seven. I’ll pay for the oldest.
     - You are silly – said the ticket seller. You could have saved three coins, saying that the oldest was under six; I would never have known the difference.
      - That may be, but the boys would know. And they would remember the bad example for ever.

Condemned to death
     The group went down the street: the soldiers were escorting a man condemned to the gallows.
      - That man was no good commented a disciple with Awas-el Salam. – Once I gave him a silver coin to help him to get out of his misery and he did nothing important.
     - Perhaps he is no good, but he may now be going to the gallows because of you. Maybe he used the money you gave him to buy a dagger, which he ended up using in the crime committed. In that case, your hands are also bloodied. Instead of trying to support him with love and kindness, you preferred to give him alms and rid yourself of your obligation.

Universal Timing

Life's Natural Rhythm

Nature's natural rhythms orchestrate when day turns to night, when flowers must bloom, and provides the cue for when it is time for red and brown leaves to fall from trees. As human beings, our own inner rhythm is attuned to this universal sense of timing. Guided by the rising and setting of the sun, changes in temperature, and our own internal rhythm, we know when it is time to sleep, eat, or be active. While our minds and spirits are free to focus on other pursuits, our breath and our heartbeat are always there to remind us of life's pulsing rhythm that moves within and around us.

Moving to this rhythm, we know when it is time to stop working and when to rest. Pushing our bodies to work beyond their natural rhythm diminishes our ability to renew and recharge. A feeling much like jet lag lets us know when we've overridden our own natural rhythm. When we feel the frantic calls of all we want to accomplish impelling us to move faster than is natural for us, we may want to breathe deeply instead and look at nature moving to its own organic timing: birds flying south, leaves shedding, or snow falling. A walk in nature can also let us re-attune is to her organic rhythm, while allowing us to move back in time with our own. When we move to our natural rhythm, we can achieve all we need to do with less effort.

We may even notice that our soul moves to its own internal, natural rhythm - especially when it comes to our personal evolution. Comparing ourselves to others is unnecessary. Our best guide is to move to our own internal timing, while keeping time with the rhythm of nature.(DailyOm.com)

Lovetrap

The Caliph and his wife
     The Arab Caliph sent for his secretary:
     “Lock up my wife in the tower while I’m away,” he ordered.
     “But she loves Your Majesty!”
     “And I love her,” answered the Caliph. “But I respect an old traditional prover­b of ours that says "keep your dog thin and he will follow you; make him fat and he will bite you."
     The Caliph went off to war and returned six months later. On arriving, he called for his secretary and asked to see his wife.
     “She has abandoned you,” was the secretary’s answer. “Your Majesty quoted a beautiful proverb before leaving but forgot another Arab saying that goes: "If your dog is tied up it will follow anybody that opens its cage".

-by P.C.

a STOP to Corruption...

Pupils and teachers (Sufi tradition)
     Nasrudin - the eternal character of Sufi legends – was standing on his doorstep when he saw a teacher passing by with his pupils.
     “Where are you off to?” he asked.
     “We’re going to pray that God puts a stop to corruption, for He always heeds the prayers of children,” answered the teacher.
     “A good education would have put an end to that already. Teach the youngsters to be more responsible than their parents and uncles.”
     The teacher felt offended: “What an example of lack of faith! The prayers of children can change anything!”
     “God listens to all who pray. If he only listened to the prayers of children there wouldn’t be a single school in the whole country, for there is nothing they hate more than their teachers.”

-Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coehlo

On the complicated relationship with others

I don’t mean to offend you (Islamic tradition)
     During his pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy man began to feel the presence of God. In the midst of a trance he knelt down, hid his face and prayed: “Lord, I ask for only one thing in life: that I be given the grace of never offending you.”
     “I cannot grant you that grace,” answered the Almighty. ‘If you don’t offend me I shall have no reason to pardon you. If I have no need to pardon you, soon you will also forget the importance of mercy towards others. So go on your way with Love and let me grant pardon now and again so that you don’t forget that virtue as well.”

-Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coehlo

Love One Another

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread, but eat not the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together.

For the pillars of the temple stand apart.

And the oak tree and cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

by Khalil Gibran

Kelly Priest

After a while you learn the subtle

   difference between holding a

   hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't

   mean leaning and company

   doesn't mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses

   aren't contracts and presents

   aren't promises,

And you begin to accept your de-

   feats with your head up and your

   eyes open with the grace of an

   adult, not the grief of a child,

And you learn to build all your

   roads on today because tomor-

   row's ground is too uncertain

   for plans.

After a while you learn that even

   sunshine burns if you get too

   much.

So plant your own garden and dec-

   orate your own soul, instead of

   waiting for someone to bring you

   flowers.

And you learn that you really can

   endure. . .that you really are

   strong,

And you really do have worth.

-Ann Landers, Field Newspaper Syndicate (Reader's Digest)