Living Spiritually - by upma

spirituality - Living Spiritually

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Life And Death Are One

Of Death, he spoke, "You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

"In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; and like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour. Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king? Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

"For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

~~ Kahlil Gibran

Peace

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October 27th 2006 @ 06:09

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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The Prophet:

And one of the elders of the city said, Speak to us of Good and Evil.

"Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil. For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst? Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters.

"You are good when you are one with yourself. Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil. For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house. And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

"You are good when you strive to give of yourself. Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself. For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast. Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, 'Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance'. For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

"You are good when you are fully awake in your speech, yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose. And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

"You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps. Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping. Even those who limp go not backward. But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

"You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good, you are only loitering and sluggard. Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

"In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you. But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest. And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore. But let not him who longs much say to him who long little, 'wherefore are you slow and halting?' For the truly good ask not the naked, 'where is your garment?' nor the houseless, 'what has befallen your house?'

~~ Kahlil Gibran

Peace

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October 26th 2006 @ 03:13

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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Children Of Life

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children'.

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

"You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

~~ Kahlil Gibran

Peace

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October 24th 2006 @ 16:07

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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Let The Winds Of Heaven Dance Between You

"And What of Marriage?"

"You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
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October 23rd 2006 @ 05:06

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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The Words Of Giving

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truty give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow? And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city? And what is fear of need but need itself? Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

"There are those who give little of the much which they have -- and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome. And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty. There are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism. And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue; they give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space. Through the hands of such as these God speaks and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
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October 22nd 2006 @ 04:51

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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More Wisdom Of The Prophet: Eating And Drinking

"Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, Speak to us of Eating and Drinking. And he said: Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light. But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship. And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.

"When you kill a beast say to him in your heart, 'By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven'.
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October 21st 2006 @ 04:59

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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Religion Of The Prophet

"And an old priest said, Speak to us of Religion. And he said: Have I spoken this day of aught else? Is not religion all deeds and all reflection, and that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom? Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations? Who can spread his hours before him, saying, "This for God and this for myself; this for my soul, and this other for my body?" All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self. He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked. The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin. And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage. The freest song comes not through bars and wires. And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

"Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all. Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute, the things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight. For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures. And take with you all men: for in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.
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October 20th 2006 @ 00:47

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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Prayer According to The Prophet

This text specifically mentions 'God'. I trust no offense will be taken by those who choose to call the Highest Power by any other name.

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October 19th 2006 @ 00:59

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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"Speak of Talking"

With each passage from The Prophet, I think "this is the best one so far". I haven't been right about that yet. This one offers a little food for thought for everyone.

"You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; and when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.
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October 18th 2006 @ 05:20

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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"Speak to Us of Work"

Gibran has a lot to say about work. For those of us who love what we do, it's a vindication. For those not so in love, it's an indication.

"You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
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October 17th 2006 @ 14:14

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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