Living Spiritually - by upma

spirituality - Living Spiritually

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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.

"Love one another, but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

"Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

~~ Kahlil Gibran

Peace

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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.

"It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; and to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving. And is there aught you would withhold? All you have shall some day be given; therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

"You often say, 'I wold give, but only to the deserving'. The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, for to whihhold is to perish. Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving? And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed? See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. For in truth it is life that gives unto live -- while you, who deem yourself a giver are but a witness.

"And you receivers -- and you are all receivers -- assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives. Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings; for to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the freehearted earth for mother and God for father."

~~ Kahlil Gibran

Peace

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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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Gibran's Thoughts On 'Time'

I didn't start out to do continuous excerpts of The Prophet, but it looks like that's the way I'm leaning. Gibran's words are soothing. If there's a single thing this world needs, it's a soothing influence. I truly hope you enjoy these passages.

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October 16th 2006 @ 05:19

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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The Prophet On Joy & Sorrow

Again, I share with you the work of Kahlil Gibran. His words on Joy and Sorrow from The Prophet:

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
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October 15th 2006 @ 04:36

Posted By: Harmony Rocks - Category: spirituality

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