heartsteps

 

 

"Divine World" by Kahlil Gibran

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows – then let your heart say in silence, “God rests in reason.”

And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the fiorest, and the thunder and lightening proclaim the majesty of the sky, – then let your heart say in awe, “God moves in passion.”

And since you are a breath in God’s sphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.

Kahlil Gibran

Sing to Life, a new song!
Sing to Life, all Creation!
Sing of compassion and temper your deeds with kindness.
Sing to all the world and tell of the miracles that sustain us daily.
Yet Wonder is greater than praise, no words can capture it’s Essence.
All words are idols, all ideas snares -
Truth is beyond opinion,
Reality lies beyond thought’s last horizon.
Splendour and majesty leave us speechless.
Strength and beauty are touched not talked.
Let your worship be acts of beauty and holiness;
Let all the world stand together in awe.
Declare among the nations: “All is God!
Maintain the world with justice!”
The heavens rejoice and the earth is glad;
the seas roar their praise.
The fields exult; the forests sing.
For all the world is rooted in righteousness.

Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro

Subhuti was Buddha’s disciple. He was able to understand the potency of emptiness, the viewpoint that nothing exists except in its relationship of subjectivity and objectivity. 

One day Subhuti, in a mood of sublime emptiness, was sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

“We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness,”  the gods whispered to him.

“But I have not spoken of emptiness,” said Subhuti.

“You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard emptiness,” responded the gods. “This is the true emptiness.” And blossoms showered upon Subhuti as rain.

Paul Reps

Dear God.
There is so much danger in the world today.
There is so much insanity, so much darkness and fear.
Our human resources are not enough to counter the evil on our streets and in our minds.
Dear God,
Please send a miracle.
Into every country and every home, into every mind and every heart, may the power of Your spirit now trigger the light, activate our holiness, remind of of the truth within.
May a great love now encompass us, a deep peace give us solace.
For Lord, we live in fearful times, and we long for a new world.
We surrender what is, to the bonfire of Your genius.
Refine this metal.
Refashion our creations.
Remind us of eternal truths.
Return us to our native grace.
Take back what we have kept and thus condemned.
For You are mighty, Lord, and can do what we cannot.
May the world be reborn.
Help us forgive and leave the past behind us, the future to be directed by You.
Hallelujah, for You have the power.
Praise and thanksgiving, as You use it to save us, to heal us, to lift us from the past.
And we accept.
Thank You very much.
Amen.

Marianne Williamson

“I want to know the mind of God,” Einstein said. “The rest are details.” What is the mind of God? Consciousness. What does it mean to know the mind of God? To be aware. What are the details? Your outer purpose, and whatever happens outwardly.

So while you are still waiting for something significant in your life, you may not realize that the most significant thing that can happen to a human being has already happened within you: the beginning of the separation process of thinking and awareness.

Many people who are going through the early stages of the awakening process are no longer certain what their outer purpose is. What drives the world no longer drives them. Seeing the madness of our civilization so clearly, they may feel somewhat alienated from the culture around them. Some feel that they inhabit a no-man’s-land between two worlds. They are no longer run by the ego, yet the arising awareness has not yet become fully integrated into their lives. Inner and outer purpose have not merged.

Eckhart Tolle

Let’s be clear that few people are committed to God’s work. Of those who say they are, only a handful are actively demonstrating that commitment. Don’t expect the world to support your journey to authenticity. It will not!

The world supports only what it understands. And right now all it understands is duty and sacrifice. That will change in time. But don’t expect it too soon. Don’t go into your lifework with the hope of worldly support and approval.

Those who understand my teachings and try to live them are often treated with disdain by the world. Don’t be surprised if this happens to you. It is not a sign of divine disapproval that other men and women feel envious of or threatened by you.

If this happens, bear it patiently and send love and acceptance to others. When they see that you have their highest good at heart, they will soften to you. If you are committed to the journey, your patience will be rewarded. But, if you are seeking approval or recognition, you will not find it.

Pay no mind to the religion of abundance. That is no more true nor helpful than the religion of sacrifice. God does not necessarily reward spiritual work with material success. All rewards are spiritual. Happiness, joy, compassion, peace, sensitivity: these are the rewards for a life lived in integrity.

If material success does not come, it is not important. If it seems important, and resentment develops, then more ego simply needs to be stripped away. One must learn, once and for all, to stop measuring spiritual riches with a worldly yardstick.

If material success comes, it is often a test to see if one can transcend self-interest and greed. One who is unwilling to share his material wealth with others is not spiritual.

Material wealth, like all other gifts, is given that it may be shared with others. If you are holding onto God’s gift to you, you will not reap the reward of true prosperity, which is happiness and peace.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your lifework must bring in a large paycheck. If you believe this, and your work does not meet with worldly success, you will think you have chosen the wrong work. You will feel inadequate and unworthy. You will beat yourself up and abandon your gift.

On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you must be poor to serve God. A rich person can serve God as well as one of humble means if he is willing to share his riches. It matters not how much you hold in your hands, but whether your hands are extended outward to your brother or sister. Look from the inside out, look into your heart, at your intention, and you will see things as God sees them.

All men and women are entrusted with a gift. It does not matter how one person’s gift compares to that of another. What matters is that each person comes to embrace the gift and offer it to others.

"Laughing Christ" by Noel Counihan

There is only One Son of God
and You are He.

From Him, you receive.
To Him, you give.

When you look at yourself,
may you remember.

When you look at your brother,
may you also remember.

When you look away in fear,
remember only this:

Subject and Object,
Lover and Beloved,

are not two,
but one and the same.

What you give
and what you receive

are reflections
of each other.

Paul Ferrini

There is a morning where presence
comes over you, and you sing
like a rooster in your earth-coloured shape.

Your heart hears and, no longer frantic,
begins to dance. At that moment
soul reaches total emptiness.

Your heart becomes Mary, miraculously pregnant,
and body, like a two-day old Jesus,
says wisdom words.

Now the heart turns to light,
and the body picks up the tempo.

Where Shams Tabriz walks, the footprints
are musical notes, and holes
you fall through into space.

Rumi

Lord, make me an
instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

I am the child of the universe.
She puts her almighty protection around me.
I am free from accidents, death, sickness.
I am now shining with golden light from top to toe.
I am her chosen protected child, and she is my shield.
The winds shall aid my progress.
Water shall cleanse me from fear,
Fire will purify my doubts.
And the earth shall nourish me to health.
All is well, all is well, all is well.

Zsuzsanna E. Budapest