The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life. Hugh Walpole
Love is the sweet expression of life. It is the supreme content of life. The flower of life blooms in love and radiates love all around. What a comfort love brings to the heart. The heart tickles with the thought of love, and waves of life begin to roll on the ocean of love. The fortunate one uses the instrument of deep meditation, and probes deep into his heart,. Then the waves of love gain the depth of the ocean, and the ocean of love fills the heart and fills every particle of being. Every wave of life then flows in the fullness of love, in the fullness of grace, in bliss and peace. Love is highly sensitive. It is the most delicate power of life. And life is a most dynamic expression of love. Love is delicate, and at the same time, it is most vital and strong. A tiny, tender wave of love rocks the boat of life. Love takes life from the pangs of separation, to the bliss of eternal union. From the insurmountable pangs of separation, to the unlimited joy of eternal union, swings a tiny, tender wave of love. What a miracle God has created in love. Let us live it. Let us be in love, and live in love with one another, and say to ourselves, quietly, let thy will be done. A soft impulse of love is the sole life of a melting heart. A tiny hope of love brings the light of dawn through the darkness of the lengthy night. And love, even as a twinkling os the faintest star, keeps the light at the altar shining. And in the faintest light of love , some day, the beloved finds his way, and creeps on in silence, in quietness, drawn by the tiny, tiny love which kept the door open in the hope of fulfillment. In the hope of fulfillment that someday, and sometime, the darkness of the night would give way to the brightness of the midday sun in a clear sky.
For in love dwells the power of creation, wisdom of life, and strength of all good, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face? The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can't give it: you are like the drowning man who can't be helped because he clutches and grabs. Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear. From A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis struggles with despair after the death of his wife.
The Brhadaranyaka is the greatest Upanisads in the sense that the illimitable, all-embracing, absolute, self-luminous, blissful reality-the Brhat or Brahman, identical with Atman, constitutes its theme.
Tat Tvam Asi - Salvation is communion with truth. The meaning of this saying is that the Self - in its original, pure, primordial state - is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomena. The knowledge that this is so characterises the experience of liberation or salvation that accompanies the Unio Mystica.
My arrow of love has arrived at the target. I am in the house of mercy and my heart is a place of prayer. Looking For Your Face - Rumi (Narrated by: Jared Harris)
Kushan At Sunrise , In hope and longing for Goodness on earth, that no one needs to lie and kill for a better life. Alan Kushan
هر زخمه که برساز زدی زخم درون بود گویا دل تو نیز چو من غرقه به خون بود در دفتر عشاق ز آغاز و ز انجام هر خط که نوشتیم همه مشق جنون بود خاکستر سردی که ز خرمنگه دل ماند از داغی آهیست که از شعله فزون بود دل مرکز جان بود در این گنبد دوار پای خرد از دایره عشق برون بود بختی که مرا زاد به جز موهبت عشق از روز ازل یکسره از بیخ نگون بود فرهاد چه شیرین دل خود داد به شیرین نقش قلم از قدرت توصیف زبون بود فرهاد کوهکن
We worry: Will we ever be really completely accepted in American society? We do wonder whether it will get to the point where people don't want Muslims here anymore. People are discussing what is the alternative if we don't belong here. There is hopelessness, there is helplessness, there is real grief. Many American Muslims were still hoping to salvage the spirit of Ramadan. "In Ramadan, you're really not supposed to be focused on yourself. It's about looking out for the suffering of other people. Somehow it feels bad to be so worried about our own situation and our own security, when it should be about empathy towards others." Ingrid Mattson. Will We Ever Belong? The New York Times
BESA is an ancient Albanian principle of offering protection to those who need it. Human history is so loaded with violence and slaughter-with war, genocide, torture, terrorism, and oppression-that it is hard to find evidence of our capacity to be good to one another. Was it the ancient guest code of Besa or the writings of the Koran that led them to literally put their lives above a stranger in need? Norman H. Gershman
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. Rumi
Levon Minassian - Doudouk , The Duduk makes the heart noble and gives it purpose helping people cope with their sad memories. No evil can be sung through a Duduk, only the good, holy and noble.
There are times when all the world's asleep,the questions run too deep for such a simple man. Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned? I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am? Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,liberal, fanatical, criminal. Supertramp -
The Logical Song
I'm always walkin' after midnight searching for you. I stopped to see a weeping willow cryin' on his pillow. Maybe he's crying for me. And as the skies turn gloomy night winds whisper to me. Patsy Cline
Steve Tibbetts, Marc Anderson and Choying Drolma collaboration from album entitled, "Selwa". Selwa represents some of Buddhists practices that support the notion of spontaneous expression and luminosity that also spawns creative music and thought
Light strikes us to the core. A fiery sunset, an intense rainbow or an auroral display can evoke awe and joy. How is it that something so seemingly impersonal - waves of radiation from nearby or afar - can penetrate us so deeply?
Languages across the world associate light with awakening and awareness. We talk of illumination , enlightenment, light of the spirit, and its inversion, a dark night of the soul. Perhaps there is a connection between the implicit light of metaphor and myth and the explicit light of science. Few writers have captured the evocative nature of light as skillfully as French author Jacques Lusseyran. In his memoir, And There Was Light, Lusseyran tells of: "I liked seeing that the light came from nowhere in particular... Radiance multiplied, reflected itself from one window to the next, from a fragment of wall to cloud above. It entered into me, became part of me. I was eating sun."When he came in from outdoors in the evening, he found the fascination again in the dark. "Darkness, for me, was the light, but in a new form and a new rhythm. It was light at a slower pace. In other words, nothing in the world, not even what I saw inside myself with closed eyelids, was outside this great miracle of light."
At the age of eight, Jacques lost his eyesight in a schoolyard accident. Although totally blind, he was not left in complete darkness. "I began to look more closely, not at things but at a world closer to myself, looking from an inner place to one further within, instead of clinging to the movement of sight toward the world outside."
"Immediately, the substance of the universe drew together, redefined and peopled itself anew. I was aware of a radiance emanating from a place I knew nothing about, a place, which might as well have been outside me as within. But radiance was there, or, to put it more precisely, light. It was a fact, for light was there... I found light and joy at the same moment."
Science hasn't rid the world of mystery; rather, it has made us appreciate its depth. Einstein wrote: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
Light is immaterial - pure energy, oscillating in an empty field. According to the equations of relativity, time slows down as objects approach the speed of light, implying that light itself exists in a timeless dimension. Yet upon observation, it collapses into the field of time. We still haven't bridged the gap between the world as it is known and the world as it is felt. But light, with all its abiding mysteriousness, may be one avenue to reach this seemingly impossible goal. In his 1902 book, Cosmic Consciousness, Richard M. Bucke wrote, "the cosmos is not dead matter but a living Presence, that the soul of man is immortal, that the universe is so ordered that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all, that the foundation principle of the world is what we call love and that the happiness of everyone in the long run is absolutely certain." by Geoff Olson
How are we meant to become cosmic centers of illumination?
Whoever has an ear for this should listen carefully! Light shines out from the center of a being of light and illuminates the whole cosmos. Whoever fails to become light is a source of darkness. The Gospel of Thomas
Do I really want to live the answers to the questions that live in my heart? Am I up to the task of opening my heart and mind to the higher idea of my life that want to be expressed through me? What is the essence of my spiritual life? What is the ultimate ground of my being? What kind of presence do I bring to the room? What matters is the quality of the soul, the presence of one's presence and how one carries it into the world. The secret hidden in our being is that we have a timeless inner self that is one with the unconditioned ground of the cosmos. The big question is how am I cultivating divine Presence so that I can become a global activist, an embodiment of spiritual healing in the world? The first gateway on the spiritual path is humility leading to service-the desire to give oneself over to a purpose higher than our own constructions and actually be "the good"-that is, to participate in the generous, kind, compassionate, justice-making, unselfish longings of the universe. Susan McCaslin
May this light illuminate our minds. This light is not somewhere else, it shines within us right now as the very source of our being. In that Light, we are quite literally unified with the entire universe. We always have been and always will be. What is important to realize is that through all the experiences of change, the true reality which underlies and creates the physical world of change does not change. That level of reality which never changes is the most real. The ultimate substance and reality of the universe is not separate particles scattered around in space. The path of wisdom rather lies in the realization of one's essential oneness with the whole of existence and in the reconstruction of one's life on the basis of that realization. Mer Ka Ba Meditation
We are the lucky ones We shine like a thousand suns When all of the colour runs together. I'll keep you company, In one glorious harmony, Waltzing with destiny forever. Dance me into the night Underneath the full moon shining so bright Turning me into the light. Time dancers whirling past I gaze through the looking glass And feel just beyond my grasp is heaven. Sacred geometry Where movement is poetry Visions of you and me forever. Dance me into the night Underneath the full moon shining so bright Turning me into the light. Dance me into the night Underneath the full moon shining so bright Let the dark waltz begin Oh let me wheel let me spin Let it take me again Turning me into the light. Hayley Westenra
"Music is love in search of a word." Sidonie Gabrielle
Music can change the world because it can change people. Bono
Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. It's drowning yourself, dissolving yourself, and then sniff, sniff, sniff - being sensitive to coincidence. You can't go looking for it. First you must lose your self. Then it happens. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Reality offers us such wealth that we must cut some of it out on the spot, simplify. The question is, do we always cut out what we should? While we're working, we must be conscious of what we're doing. Sometimes we have the feeling that we've taken a great photo, and yet we continue to unfold. We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole. - Henri Cartier-Bresson - on photojournalism
Maple Mountain Sunburst's "LookListenFeel" featuring the voice of Isabella Rossellini.
Who sends the mind to wander afar? Who first drives life to start on its journey? Who impels us to utter these words? Who is the Spirit behind the eye and the ear?
Has Anything Changed? Vague Rhetoric.
Please allow me to skip the stories and the poetry and the temptation to deal in nice but vague rhetoric. Ten days ago, President Reagan admitted that although some people in this country seemed to be doing well nowadays, others were unhappy, even worried, about themselves, their families, and their futures. The President said that he didn't understand that fear. He said, "Why, this country is a shining city on a hill." But the hard truth is that not everyone is sharing in this city's splendor and glory. A shining city is perhaps all the President sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well.
President Reagan told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. "Government can't do everything," we were told, so it should settle for taking care of the strong and hope that economic ambition and charity will do the rest. Make the rich richer, and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class.
We believe we must be the family of America, recognizing that at the heart of the matter we are bound one to another, that the problems of a retired school teacher in Duluth are our problems; that the future of the child -- that the future of the child in Buffalo is our future; that the struggle of a disabled man in Boston to survive and live decently is our struggle; that the hunger of a woman in Little Rock is our hunger; that the failure anywhere to provide what reasonably we might, to avoid pain, is our failure. Exerpts from Mario Cuomo 1984 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
There is, in all of us, an unconscious willingness to see the lie as truth if it fits the image in our mind's eye. Wishfulness seems to be the tendency to believe information that supports preferred views of reality while simultaneously rejecting all contradictory information.
A modern-day example: During the buildup to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Bush administration maintained that the eponymous weapons of mass destruction should have existed, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. The fact that these weapons could not be found was viewed as an annoying but trivial inconvenience. Those who presented contradictory information like Hans Blix, former head of the UN Inspection Commission, were dismissed as dupes. Journalists around the world bought into this wishfulness.
Yesmanship is the tendency of those with less positional power to agree with those who have greater power, mainly out of fear. Yesmanship is an enabling behaviour for wishfulness and wishfulness can give rise to deadly levels of yesmanship. twin frailties of wishfulness and yesmanship.
My husband makes movies. To make them he lives a kind of dream in which his actions aren't always what they seem. He may be on to some unique romantic theme. Some men run banks, some rule the world, some earn their living baking bread. My husband, he goes a little crazy making movies instead. My husband spins fantasies, he lives them, then gives them to you all. Like Michelangelo he paints his private dome, but can't distinguish whats his work and whats his home. Some men sell stocks, some men punch clocks, some leap where others fear to tread. My husband as author and director makes up stories in his head. Marion Cotillard
Here are the three characteristics of the best leaders that Robert Rosen and his colleagues at Healthy Companies International described. (the other two characteristicsdid not make much sense)
GENUINE: They are warm and engaging. They are forthright about their strengths and shortcomings as a leader. They admit they don't have all the answers, so they seek assistance from others, asking tough questions and listening deeply. "Their authenticity - apparent to all around them - fosters trust. When people know they can rely on their leaders to tell the truth, and can depend on their leaders to be transparent, they are more willing to be themselves, take risks, and stretch to their full potential."
COMFORTABLE WITH UNCERTAINTY: They understand the constant flux inherent in their job and business. They know that what worked yesterday won't necessarily work tomorrow, and optimistically view uncertainty as fuelling the fires of creativity. They turn the anxiety that accompanies change into productive energy for moving forward. They do that with a sense of balance: They're optimistic about the possibilities while being realistic about what might actually work. They impatiently push people to stretch while creating a supportive work environment. They exude confidence while remaining humble enough to listen to and learn from others.
FOCUS ON HUMAN SIDE: They see people as the primary driver of the firm's success, and know that if they can get the people part right they can keep the business running smoothly. "They believe in investing in people first, and see finances as the business's scorecard."
I have long exercised an honest introspection, the exquisitely painful approach to wisdom. Self-scrutiny, relentless observance of one's thoughts, is a stark and shattering experience. It pulverizes the stoutest ego. Man can understand no eternal verity until he has freed himself from pretensions. Only the shallow man loses responsiveness to the woes of others' lives, as he sinks into narrow suffering of his own. from Autobiography of a Yogi.
Tami Simon of The Sounds True talks about the three most important lessons she's learned
We both are lost and alone in the world. Walk with me in the gentle rain. Don't be afraid, I've a hand for your hand and I will be your love for a while. Astrud Gilberto
Relationships are an important source of security and are influenced, for good or ill, by the expectations arising out of secure or insecure attachments earlier in life. Distrust undermines security and causes grief and anger which may further undermine trust. Coping with loss and separation and other problems that threaten relationships. Robert S Weiss.
Trying to understand why i am so disconnected from everyone. To keep up the facade of an active social life and hide the painful truth, i often lied to those around me-and to myself. Emily White on Lonely: Learning to Live With Solitude.
A massive online campaign by the Avaaz community in Brazil has just won a stunning victory against corruption. The "clean record" law was a bold proposal that banned any politician convicted of crimes like corruption from running for office. This victory shows what our community can do on the awful problem of corruption. Anywhere in the world, we can build legislative proposals to clean up corruption in government, legal system and business back them up with massive citizen support, and fight legislators who try to block them.
Creativity comes from the Sanskrit "kar" meaning "to make, to originate, to bring into existence". Creating involves risk-taking, disruption of boundaries, living new models of leadership, stretching, and courage. Once any of us understands the "lies of history," the toxicity of superiority, the boldness and nuances of racism, sexism, and homophobia, then what? Do we partner with a system or work within a system? Do we take risk and create anew, create something that may be essentially unknown and unpredictable? You can exercise power through control or through service. Control motivates people through their attachments. Service motivates people through their sense of personal obligation and a moral imperative. SANDRA Rios BALDERRAMA
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in. Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on. Dance me to the children who are asking to be born. Dance me to the end of love. Leonard Cohen
On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered, acts Of kindness and of love.
And in the ONE arose love. Love the first seed of soul.
As night falls across Africa, the upbeat rhythms and percussion are muted and
parents begin to lull their children to sleep with soothing songs. In rural
villages, the day comes to an end with parents singing soft ballads that tell
stories of ancient kingdoms and long-cherished tales about ancestors. In Africas
bustling cities, families keep traditions alive by singing songs that ease their
children into the land of dreams. MALI SADIO Toumani Diabate/Mangala Camara
During trauma many neurotransmitters and hormones are released that alter normal states of councoiusness as a survival mechanism and work to restrict blood flow through blood vessels and ramp up the body for survival. Many people who lose blood, experience traumatic situations, or come close to or actually momentarily die have described such states as a catalyst that shifts the whole paradigm of their perception and value system into a new state of relization and a repriortizing of values and goals. Shannon Nunn
The two usual after death practices of either burial or cremation could be compared with the two alternatives of a fallen tree either staying in place on the forest floor to break down more slowly and provide nutrients to a succession of other plants or of it burning up in a forest fire. In both cases, carbon dioxide will be more quickly released into the atmosphere by the burning than by the slower process of breakdown. I am curious to know if the slower process of breakdown of the human body also does a better job of providing nutrients for plants as it does with trees? CBC Bottom Line's Program August 22, 2010
As i look back on my life, one of the most constant and powerful things i have experienced within myself is the desire to be more than i am at the moment - an unwillingness to remain where i am - a desire to increase the boundaries of myself- a desire to do more, learn more, express more - a desire to grow, improve, accomplish, expand. i used to interpret this inner push as meaning that there was some one thing out there i wanted to do or be or have. and i spent too much of my life trying to find it. but now i know that this energy within me is seeking more than the mate or the profession or the religion, more even than pleasure or power or meaning. it is seeking out more of me; or better, it is, thank god, flushing out more of me. Notes to Myself, Hugh Prather
Surbajo - Etran Finatawa combine the rich nomadic cultures of the Tuareg and Wodaabe people from the West African country of Niger with modern arrangements.
