posted May 06, 2009 10:57 PM            

"When you come upon the essence, do you still want the form? When you have drunk of the water of life, do you still need the glass to contain it?"
Reshad Feild

"Whenever God loves a devotee, He subjects him to ordeals. Should he endure patiently, God singles him out; should he be content, God purifies him."
Hadith

"As long as your lower self rules your heart, you will never lose your love of this world."
Traditional Sufi saying

Have pity upon three groups of people:
a dear person who has lost his loved ones,
a rich person who has lost his wealth,
and a learned one who is trapped among the ignorant.
Muhammad

"The highest asceticism was displayed by Christ when he threw away the brick he used as a pillow after the devil asked him why he kept it if he had renounced the world."
al-Ghazzali

"Lovers converse with people only as much as they need to. For the most part, they prefer to be alone and by themselves, for they yearn for intimate communion with the Beloved. They are constantly in meditation. They do not enjoy excessive converstation and always prefer not to talk. They do not understand conversation about anything other than God.

When they encounter misfortune, they do not grumble and complain. They know that misfortune comes from the Friend, and see the benefits contained in seeming misfortune. Divine Love has possessed them, and they have plunged lovingly into the fire of love. Going barefoot, bareheaded, and poorly clad does not worry them at all.

posted May 06, 2009 11:19 PM            

"If You were to place before me hellfire, with all it contains of torment, I would think lightly of it in comparison with my state when You are hidden from me. Forgive the people and do not forgive me. have mercy upon them and do not have mercy upon me. I do not intercede with You for myself or beseech You for what is due to me. Do with me what You will."
Hallaj

"No one ever suffered on the path of faith who did not find the remedy for his or her pain."
Jami

"The heart that is free of love sickness isnt a heart at all. The body deprived of the pangs of love is nothing but clay and water."
Jami

"The secret of madness is the source of reason.
A mature man is insane for Love.
The one who has his Heart together
Is a thousand times stranger to himself."
Rumi

"One day, Rabia asked, "Who shall lead us to our Beloved?" and her servant answered, "Our Beloved is with us, but this world cuts us off from Him."
Rabia

"The thickest veils between man and God are the wise man's wisdom, the worshiper's worship, and the devotion of the devout."
Bayazid Bistami

posted May 07, 2009 12:02 AM            

"Whoever goes out in search of knowledge is on the path of God until they return."
Muhammad

"You may follow one stream. Know that it leads to the Ocean, but do not mistake the stream for the Ocean."
Jan-Fishan

Those who are controlled by the lower self must serve it; those who control the lower self serve others.

The lower self is so organized that it cannot be gotten rid of without the help of God.

The lowerself is like a thief who sneaks into your house at night to steal whatever is valuable and worthwhile. You cannot fight this thief directly, because it will mirror whatever force you bring against it. If you have a gun, the thief will also have a gun. If you have a knife, the thief will have a knife as well. To struggle with the thief is to invite disaster. So, what can you do?

The only practical solution is to turn on the light. The thief, who is a coward at heart, will then run out. How do we turn on the light? Through the practice of remembrance, awareness, and heedfulness.
Sheikh Tosun Bayrak

Continuous attention to God [remembrance] produces the gradual transmutation fo the atrributes fo the lower self into the Attributes of God.
Nurbakhsh

"O my Lord, if I worship You from fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship You from hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold me from Your Eternal Beauty."
Rabia

posted May 08, 2009 06:57 PM            

"Does money upset the hearts of learned men?"
He answered,
"Men whose hearts are changed by money are not learned."
al Ghazzali

God's favor comes unexpectedly,
but only to an alert heart,
Put not your hope in people,
for you will be wounded.

Put your hope in God
that you may be delivered.
~Ansari

posted May 09, 2009 12:14 AM              

the bobble, the cattle, raise the rattle

castrate the cobble!

We are sincerely swaddled.

Reverent and rattled...

skeedadle.

hop, stopping to the beat

the inner heat

leave the many, find the one
having found the one
embrace the many as the one

prayerful and playful

the corner of a smile

curl it,

peel it

rip off the label!!

Vwalla -- sh!t-eating grin.

see the child

case the craddle

the crib

case the buddha

jewel in the smile

glint in the eyeball

pass on by.

just smile

you know.

let the child...

let the child....

let the child...

"the american non-dream"

fear is a joke

the laugh is on....

cut through!!!!!!!!!!!!

battle-axe getto-blaster

bothers me
it bothers me
it bothers you

woo-hoo!!!!

the child,

the fearless,

the reverent,

the cynic,

the prayerful,

the empty..

the attempt.

the artist.

you are right where you want to be.

Dont you SEE that???

No, I don't.

Ok. Just asking.

Cool.

get out of it
so you can
get into it

posted May 09, 2009 12:46 AM              

then we'll talk."

posted May 09, 2009 01:06 AM              

insights.. realizations..

pointers...

They bind us ever tighter, dont they?

And that is why we love them.

We are bound.......

bang, zoom, to the moon.

posted May 09, 2009 01:39 AM              

I dont think they mean form.

Form IS not form.

The world IS not the world.

How to make this clear?

Words... words....

Dont get hung up on form.

posted May 09, 2009 01:51 AM              

Am I trying to get onto yours?

posted May 09, 2009 02:50 AM            

quote:

---

get out of it
so you can
get into it

---

OR

get into It
so you can
get out of it

posted May 09, 2009 02:52 AM            

I like that.

posted May 09, 2009 03:46 AM            

"Prayers for the dead are on the same footing as gifts for the living. The angel goes in to the dead with a tray of light, bearing a cloth of light, and says, "This is a gift for you from your brother so-and-so." And he delights in it just as a living person rejoices in a gift."

posted May 09, 2009 04:01 AM            

"Once Hodja went hunting and managed to catch a few quail. He plucked and roasted them and then put them in a large pot, put the lid on, and went off to invite some friends over for dinner. While he was out, someone came and took out the roasted quail and put live ones in their place.

Hodja came back with his friends a little while later and proudly took the lid off the pot. Immediately all the quail flew out of the window and disappeared from sight. Hodja was in a state of shock. When he recovered, he said, "Oh, my God!" That was truly a miracle indeed! Dear Lord, I believe that only you can bring the dead back to life. But, if I may ask, what happened to the butter, salt, pepper, and all those spices?"

posted May 09, 2009 04:06 AM            

"What was the fighting all about?" asked his wife.