There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved… he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Be still, and know that I am God.
–Psalm 46: 4-6, 10
Behold, I come quickly…
And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
– Revelation 22: 7, 12, 16-17, 20
Lest it be lost amidst other fine writing, worthy of a visit is “Why Are We Here?” by Lynn Bauman. It can be read in full here on the Oriental Orthodox Order in the West blogspot.
After that, perhaps, “Close your bodily eye, that you may see your picture first with the eye of the spirit. Then bring to light what you have seen in the darkness, that its effect may work back from without to within.” - Casper David Friedrick
• Hush der dem. Be present at every breath. Do not let your attention wander for the duration of a single breath. Remember yourself always and in all situations.
• Nazar ber kadem. Keep your intention before you at every step you take. You wish for freedom and you must never forget it.
• Safar der vatan. Your journey is towards your homeland. Remember that you are travelling from the world of appearances to the world of reality.
• Halvat der endjuman. Solitude in the crowd. In all your outwardly activity remain inwardly free. Learn not to identify yourself with anything whatsoever.
• Yad gerd. Remember your friend, i.e. God. Let the prayer of your tongue be the prayer of your heart.
• Baz gasht. Return to God. No aim but to attain reality.
• Nigah dasht. Struggle with all alien thoughts. Keep your mind on what you are doing either outwardly or inwardly.
• Yad dasht. Be constantly aware of the quality of the Divine Presence. Become used to recognizing the Presence of God in your heart.
by 12th century Abdulhalik Gujduvani, who preserved the Khwajagan Sufi teachings in the Essence of the Teaching of the Masters.
Fully launched website with list of wisdom contacts.
Several blind people were gathered in a place. They began to discuss a matter: “We wonder if we could see an elephant.â€
The keeper of the elephants took them to the elephant house. Each one found a part of the elephant and held on to it – some to the ear, some to the foot, some to the belly, some to the trunk. After having known the elephant in this fashion, they began to argue among themselves. The one who clung to the leg of the elephant said the elephant was like a column. The one that held the ear said the elephant was like a napkin, and the one who knew the elephant by its belly said it was like a barrel. In short, whatever member they held on to they knew the elephant like that part; their beliefs were such.
The person who has belief through imitation is in this state, he clings onto something definite and remains there. In that dimensional state they remain imprisoned.
Whoever remains in prison in the definite dimension will be totally saddened when laid out in the earth.
Whatever may happen the sincere seeker will not be caught up in one definite belief because he is wise unto himself.
from Bursevi’s translation of Kernel of the Kernel, by Ibn ‘Arabi
With regard to the following quote from Living Time, LB mentions that the passage through the shadowlands of darkness and scattered light is extensively commented on in Sufism through the Arabic word for no: “la”… as in “la ilaha, illa’allah.” This is worthy of further investigation.
In the darkness of no a man must fall back entirely on himself, on all he has ever felt and understood, and struggle for himself [that is the point] to get beyond this stage—so that all getting beyond can only be done through what is most genuine, profound and sincere in him. Previous enthusiasms will die because they are intrinsically false; the first flush of hope that all new understanding brings must fade; all collective things, outer devotion, faith as ordinarily understood, and dependent belief in others, must depart; because one is confronted by an internal obstacle that only I myself can pass, as through my own gate, that will open to nobody else’s key: my individual mark will be on that key. Such barriers are not so easy to pass when encountered in the path of normal development. To see it as a stage in those mental transformations that mean development robs it of something of its power… to recognize and meet it in everyday life is quite another thing.
– p. 150, Living Time by Maurice Nicoll
The Spirit rides bare-backed the Soul,
appending, the shining auroral;
within his grasp the ego’s scroll,
beneath his feet, the temporal.
With armor bright –
the love of God;
He finds his seat –
that rise and fall,
between Heaven,
and this glorious World.
Heaven be,
to whom heaven does!
Take heart,
breathe love,
and never trust in doubt,
dear ones.
Gasp, that was a dose of trouble before the wonder. In the end, the curtains parted with the words, “Love bears all things” and these were the logion of the morning:Â 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15-17, 19, 21-22, 27-28, 32-33, 35, 37, 39, 46-47, 58, 69, 75, 82, 95, 98, 103 and 106. It’s become clear why this song by Joni Mitchell has been haunting me all week. That, the dream of CB and her twin — all part of the journey towards oneness. A long, long winding path.
The priest sat in the airport bar
He was wearing his father’s tie
And his eyes looked into my eyes so far
Whenever the words ran dry
Behind the lash and the circles blue
He looked as only a priest can, thru
And his eyes said me and his eyes said you
And my eyes said, let us try
He said, “You wouldn’t like it here
No it’s no place you should share
The roof is ripped with hurricanes
And the room is always bare
I need the wind and I seek the cold”
He reached post the wine for my hand to hold
And he saw me young and he saw me old
And he saw me sitting there
Then he took his contradictions out
And he splashed them on my brow
So which words was I then to doubt
When choosing what to vow
Should I choose them all-should I make them mine
The sermons, the hymns and the valentines
And he asked for truth and he asked for time
And he asked for only now
Now the trials are trumpet scored
Oh will we pass the test
Or just as one loves more and more
Will one love less and less
Oh come let’s run from this ring we’re in
Where the Christians clap and the Germans grin
Saying let them lose, crying let them win
Oh make them both confess
Aboriginals believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the “dreamtime”, more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society. It was believed that some people of unusual spiritual powers had contact with the dreamtime.
“Dreaming” is also often used to refer to an individual’s or group’s set of beliefs or spirituality…. They believe that every person in an essential way exists eternally in the Dreaming. This eternal part existed before the life of the individual begins, and continues to exist when the life of the individual ends. Both before and after life, it is believed that this spirit-child exists in the Dreaming and is only initiated into life by being born through a mother….Traditional Australian indigenous peoples embrace all phenomena and life as part of a vast and complex system-reticulum of relationships which can be traced directly back to the ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings of The Dreaming…. The condition that is The Dreaming is met when people live according to law, and live the lore: perpetuating initiations and Dreaming transmissions or lineages, singing the songs, dancing the dances, telling the stories, painting the songlines (I will sing you to me, boss). The creation was believed to be the work of culture heroes who in the creative epoch travelled across a formless land, creating sacred sites and significant places of interest in their travels. In this way songlines were established, some of which could travel right across Australia, through as many as six to ten different language groupings. The songs and dances of a particular songline were kept alive and frequently performed at large gatherings, organised in good seasons…. The meaning and significance of particular places and creatures is wedded to their origin in the Dreaming, and certain places have a particular potency, which the Aborigines call its dreaming. In this dreaming resides the sacredness of the earth.
