Category: rumi

The Ruins of Love

Sufi Pt 1 Lyrics…

My secret beloved
Send me a secret message
Give me your soul
Give me your life

Wander like a drifter
Now on a journey

Walk into this fire embrace
Be like a salamander
Come into a source of flame
Fire transmutes to a rosebud

Don’t you know that my thought
Is better than the queen of roses?
Don’t you know my heresy
Is the essence of spirituality?

Then surrender your spirt
Surrender your life
For God I know
That darkness is better than a cage!

Walk into this fire embrace
Be like a salamander
Come into a source of flame
Fire transmutes to a rosebud

Don’t you know that my thought
Is better than the queen of roses?
Don’t you know my heresy
Is the essence of spirituality?

Then surrender your spirt
Surrender your life
For God I know
That darkness is better than a cage!

I know a palace is better than a ruin
And the owl in this world
Loves to live
In the ruins of love

I am always learning how to read better between the lines of language and life. Words are just representations. Of what, is the mystery. They are magick in a way. Evoking and caging sometimes something in us. I’ve practiced Zen now for a bit, this is the essence of Zen, to know our true nature where we are, nothing more, nothing less. 

I know a palace is better than a ruin
And the owl in this world
Loves to live
In the ruins of love

I studied these lyrics a bit years ago and meditated deeply on what is said and not said. I looked into the Sufi path and what they meant by flame and the beloved. I am not trying to be clever here, but I have felt all the deities are within us, drawn to the light/flame, as we are a shadow, a portal to the nameless faceless. The owl, in this world, loves to live in the ruin of love. I choose not to name or make distinctions. The deity is the one who I point at, when I point back at myself. This is cutting to the root. This is going headless. This is directly perceiving beyond words. 

I love Rumi, but I really know Shams, who was behind Rumi. Somehow I feel Shams is close to me and represents my secret beloved. He showed me to let the distinctions go. 

“A life without love is of no account. Don’t ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material, divine or mundane, eastern or western…divisions only lead to more divisions. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple. Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! The universe turns differently when fire loves water.”

–Shams Of Tabriz

“The universe turns differently when fire loves water.”

That’s a koan. 

When I listened to this song first, I felt the flame 🔥 inside me leap. Yearning for freedom. I felt it. I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Fire loves water.

Rumi said sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment, that’s got to be one of my favorite written poetic lines.

I think the lyrics point to the freeing of the flame within us, which is always free. This awareness transmutes us, by realizing our lives are not cages, that we are already free. This is the real Alchemy. This returns us to Eden. The world of matter is a ruin in away, a compromise, in between chaos and light.

Somehow it can know itself better in the ruin, but this world is a sham. It is not that the flame 🔥  needs escape, but that it simply is uncovered. 

The water is all around us, love is not the flame, it is the water, which the flame is attracted to. We would think flame fears water, and perhaps it does for awhile, then it seeks to dowse itself in love. When fire loves water, the universe turns differently.

If the bird can get just a glimpse of what is around it and within it, instantly it is transmuted and free. So the body is the cage. 

This awareness does not make me want to fly away, it deepens my connection, Aslan, there is no where else to go, here we are. Allah is clothed by rational thought, occulted by matter, but known through awareness. The lion. In Hebrew, 

Aslan means ‘satan‘ which means ‘lucifer/first light in the morning’ which means ‘daybreak’. The circle is closed around the point, the central sun. Everything is contained within the circle. 

⭕️

I could not always see with my real eyes 👀 I was in a cage. But I embraced the prison and it opened to Eden through my heart, to the point, naked singularity. I can’t show anyone, I can’t really tell anyone, but like knows like. We can point to it. We can sing 🎶  about it. We can dance 💃 around it. Flame 🔥 joins with 🔥 And we embrace water 💧 seemingly a crazy thing for a flame to do, and then the universe turns differently for us.I was withering in my life 10 years ago, dying. But a great wind blew through me. It lifted me high into the air and brought me face to face with the ☀️ Our source, itself only a representation. Like words, all form is just a representation.

 What appeared to trap me, turned to dust and I flew for the first time. 

But I returned, and now I rest here, in the center of it all. I rest in the chaos, in the center of my life. I feel the heat, which is behind all form and I love it, for this is loving and knowing myself. I saw what was behind all esoteric and what was occulted, what was behind all religious and secular symbols.

Where you gonna go?

Where you gonna hide from love?

The morning light dawned inside me. 

I don’t cry anymore.
I’m smiling 😊and laughing with joy.
I feel Aslan within me, laying on the savannah, roaring within. This is the true path to god/love, an ever present connection, it ends where it began, full circle. I drink deeply now from this ocean, I could hardly believe it was real. I was dying because I was thirsting for this love, but terrified of it. This never dies. Anywhere this light breaks into the world, matter forms around it, cults form, religions are born. The matter longs to connect with it or naturally is attracted to it. So we have the planets rotating around the outer sun, as what is inside us rotates around the inner sun.

Bound by gravity. 

Bound together by love. 

Sometimes I do cry 😭 because it is too damn beautiful to contain. 

I weep blood into the dirt through my cries and words.

The birds are returning.

All deity reflects love. 

All deity seeks to free us.

We are only held back through this egoic force. 

In Rumi’s allegories, amongst the free birds, the Owl and the Falcon represent the two primary options once one is freed from the cage. The Owl lives in the dark, far from civilization, only relating with its own kind, whereas the Falcon rests upon the arm of the king, staying close to the power source and maintaining his relations and connection with any and all who venture to the court. The Falcon holds a pure, open vision, flying during the day and returning to his master’s arm at night, while the Owl lives in seclusion, coming out in the dark, lost without the guidance of a master. The Falcon represents a follower who has fallen off track, one who has insight but has pointed it in a skewed direction. Falcon as an exemplary option working in contrast with the Owl who has lost his way after enlightenment.

For Rumi, the last and most powerful bird is the Phoenix, a bird so exquisite it nearly plays the role of God himself. The Phoenix is rare, and when sighted acts as an omen, serving the purpose of reminding humans to stay in awe of God’s power. The Phoenix reminds one to soak up moments with the divine because they may be fleeting and far between. The Phoenix is quite likely an unreal creature and therefore its existence can only rely on faith. The Phoenix reminds us to have faith even when we cannot see it, to hold God close and be open to any help He may have to offer us because He is always there.

The pagan and the religious and secular all experience life differently perhaps but rotate around the same source, are of the same stuff. 

The fire is the force, the purpose, the will, that pushes us through life. 

The bird knows the way back. 

I can’t judge the paths others take in life, but I can see the intensity of the 🔥 within them. I call out to it in others. Tempt them to let it break free, as they tempt me. Passion reminds us of this contact with the unseen, it celebrates it in whatever form it burns. 

All words can provide guidance, but no answers ultimately. I feel that we all must search for the things that we love and feel passionately about and then follow them until death do us part.

I hope all can come to know this freedom.

Cleverness & Wisdom

“The power to change the world lies where it always has.

Not within offices of power, but within ourselves.”

—Theo Ikummaq

Be Lost In The Call

Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you’ve never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn’t wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn’t want a crown or robe from God’s grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

– Rumi

There are many who would lead you astray. The image is from Blake’s Little Lost Boy series. You can explore as a child. It’s wonderful and all for you to touch and taste. For those who would seek to hold back the soaring hearts, do you not remember your childhood? That child is waiting for you.

Image – William Blake – Little Boy Lost

Eyes on You

“I grow silent. Dear Soul, you speak.” – Rumi

Shadow and Light

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“Who has seen a shadow separated from the Light?” – Rumi

A poem from Rumi on the Shadow and Light within…

How does a part of the world leave the world?
How does wetness leave water?

Dont’ try to put out fire by throwing on 
more fire! Don’t wash a wound with blood. 

No matter how fast you run, your shadow 
keeps up. Sometimes it’s in front! 

Only full overhead sun diminishes your shadow. 
But that shadow has been serving you. 

What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is
your candle. Your boundaries are your quest.

I could explain this, but it will break the
glass cover on your heart, and there’s no
fixing that. 

You must have shadow and light source both. 
Listen, and lay your head under the tree of awe. 

When from that tree feathers and wings sprout on you, 
be quieter than a dove.

Don’t even open your mouth for even a coo.

What is sin?
What are your sins?
Who did you hurt?
Are they too awful to be spoken?

Poor little you.
When you are done crying over spilled milk.
Wake up to what you are.
And stand.

You are what you are.

Love for All

“Live life as though everything is rigged in your favor.

I belong to no religion. My religion is love. Every heart is my temple.

I looked in temples, churches, and mosques.

But I found the Divine within my heart.”  – Rumi

Love is all inclusive

Freely offered and received

Prepare your heart

For the Matrix of Love

Joy at Sudden Disappointment

iam

If anyone spends any time here, they will know my deep love for Rumi and Jesus. Many in the West are discovering Rumi, who for me channels love directly from the Source of all being. I want to share this amazing poem. It bridges two faiths. There is a lot being said and Rumi gives us hints at how to proceed forward in this most perilous time.

It is my belief that many ways of thinking and living must find bridges between one another if we are to move forward into a more balanced future peacefully. Yes, we must move beyond religion and science separated. We must learn to find our union in the now before we can share the future. We must learn to use our minds and spirits/consciousness together. This is what I live to demonstrate and proclaim now and forever. We all have a piece of something we are responsible for. 

To be embraced and kissed by God is something to experience. Love is the only bridge we need.

Whatever comes, comes from a need,
a sore distress, a hurting want.

Mary’s pain made the baby Jesus.
Her womb opened its lips
and spoke the Word.

Every part of you has a secret language.
Your hands and your feet say what you’ve done.

And every need brings in what’s needed.
Pain bears its cure like a child.

Having nothing produces provisions.
Ask a difficult question,
and the marvelous answer appears.

Build a ship, and there’ll be water
to float it. The tender-throated
infant cries and milk drips
from the mother’s breast.

Be thirsty for the ultimate water,
and then be ready for what will
come pouring from the spring.

A village woman once was walking by Muhammad.
She thought he was just an ordinary illiterate.
She didn’t believe that he was a prophet.

She was carrying a two-month-old baby.
As she came near Muhammad, the baby turned
and said, “Peace be with you, Messenger of God.”

The mother cried out, surprised and angry,
“What are you saying,
and how can you suddenly talk!”

The child replied, “God taught me first,
and then Gabriel.”
“Who is this Gabriel?
I don’t see anyone.”
“He is above your head, Mother. Turn around. He has been telling me many things.”
“Do you really see him?”
“Yes.
He is continually delivering me from this degraded state into sublimity.”

Muhammad then asked the child,
“What is your name?”

“Abdul Aziz, the servant of God, but this family
thinks I am concerned with world-energies.
I am as free of that as the truth of your prophecy is.”

So the little one spoke, and the mother
took in a fragrance that let her surrender
to that state.

When God gives this knowing,
inanimate stones, plants, animals, everything,
fills with unfolding significance.

The fish and the birds become protectors.
Remember the incident of Muhammad and the eagle.

It happened that as he was listening
to this inspired baby, he heard a voice
calling him to prayer. He asked for water
to perform ablutions. He washed his hands
and feet, and just as he reached for his boot,
an eagle snatched it away! The boot turned upsidedown
as it lifted, and a poisonous snake dropped out.

An eagle circled and brought the boot back,
saying, “My helpless reverence for you
made this necessary. Anyone who acts
this presumptuously for a legalistic reason
should be punished!”

Muhammad thanked the eagle,
and said, “What I thought was rudeness
was really love. You took away my grief,
and I was grieved! God has shown me everything,
but at that moment I was preoccupied within myself.”
The eagle, “But chosen one, any clarity I have
comes from you!”

This spreading radiance
of a True Human Being has great importance.

Look carefully around you and recognize
the luminosity of souls. Sit beside those
who draw you to that.

Learn from this eagle story
that when misfortune comes, you must quickly praise.

Others may be saying, Oh no, but you
will be opening out like a rose losing itself petal by petal.

Someone once asked a great sheikh
what sufism was.

“The feeling of joy when sudden disappointment comes.”

The eagle carries off Muhammad’s boot
and saves him from snakebite.

Don’t grieve for what doesn’t come.
Some things that don’t happen
keep disasters from happening.

 

Lafi The Courtesan

yantra-siva-shakti

Lafi Lafi
Why did you leave me
Your soft touch
Brought me nearer
Than ever to
Eternity
Now I fade
To my sweet Death
Your ruined name
Bringing you close
Your forbidden touch
The sweetness of your breath
The joy of our laughter
The tenderness of our
Decadent tears
The Blue nights with doves
Always chasing one another
Across time I will seek
I shall never die
If I can but find again
Your sweet embrace
That warm honey filling my ear
I see you on the shore
Wait for me there
Dreaming your blue dreams

Dedicated to Rumi
With eternal gratitude
For helping me to find my self
Your sweet words
fill my soul

Two Friends: Teachings of the No Self

My personal journey has led me into communion with the Divine within myself. My poetry is connected directly to that source in me. I have been enjoying many new poems and poets, but few, honestly, no one can touch the enlightened and aware poetry of Rumi for me at this time. I suppose that speaks of the journey itself. There is a progression. Things progress nicely. I wanted to share it with you. This poem cuts to the heart of the journey for me. I love this teaching because it is a conjunction of many such teachings in Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. This is a nexus point of truth. You pay attention to those in a world with so many voices. You have to trust your heart, your only true guide. This is about living a non-dual life, merging the Divine into your conscious awareness. This is possible. It’s real.

The idea of the “No Self” is powerful and universal. There are extreme definitions of this concept. But you can learn for yourself by stopping your thinking and fretting and learning to BE where you are. Your Light is a precious gift. The way to embrace it is to let it Shine and just BE! Don’t hide your Light, you have found as I have, that is impossible. Let your vessels be broken and let the Divine swirling all around you lift you out and up into the highest Heaven.

Two Friends

A certain person came to the Friend’s door
and knocked.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me.”
The Friend answered, “Go away. There’s no place
for raw meat at this table.”

The individual went wandering for a year.
Nothing but the fire of separation
can change hypocrisy and ego. The person returned
completely cooked,
walked up and down in front of the Friend’s house,
gently knocked.
“Who is it?”
“You.”
“Please come in, my self,
there’s no place in this house for two.
The doubled end of the thread is not what goes through
the eye of the needle.
It’s a single-pointed, fined-down, thread end,
not a big ego-beast with baggage.”

But how can a camel be thinned to a thread?
With the sheers of practices, with doing things.

And with help from the one who brings impossibilities to pass,
who quiets willfullness,
who gives sight to one blind from birth.

Every day that one does something.
Take that as your text.
Every day God sends forth three powerful energies:
One, from the sperm of the father into the mother,
So growth may begin.
Two, a birth from the womb of the ground,
so male and female may spring into existence.
Three, there’s a surge up from the surface
into what’s beyond dying, that the the real beauty
of creating can be recognized.

There’s no way to every say this.

Let’s return to the two friends whose thread became single,
Who spell with their two letters
The original word,
BE.

B and E tighten around subjects and objects
that one knot may hold them. Two scissor blades
make one cut.
And watch two men washing clothes.
One makes dry clothes wet. The other makes
wet clothes dry. They seem to be thwarting each other,
but their work is a perfect harmony.

Every holy person seems to have a different doctrine
and practice, but there’s really only one work.

Someone listening to a millstone falls asleep.
No matter. The stone keeps turning.

Water from the mountain
far above the mill keeps following down.
The sleepers will get their bread.

Underground it moves, without sound, and without repetition.
Show us where that source of speech is that has no alphabet. That spaciousness.

Where we are now is a narrow fantasy that comes from there,
and the actual, outside world is even narrower.
Narrowness is pain, and the cause of narrowness is manyness.

Creation was spoken with one sound, BE.
The two letters, B and E,
to record it, came after.
The meaning of the sound
And its resonance
Are one.

There’s no way to ever say this,
In so many words! And no place to stop saying it.

…Meanwhile, a lion and a wolf were fighting…

You are one!

Ruminations on Awareness

I have been meditating on these thoughts. Rumi is the deepest ocean. He just gets deeper and deeper for me the more still and quiet I become.

“If you knew yourself for even one moment, if you could just glimpse your most beautiful face, maybe you wouldn’t slumber so deeply in that house of clay.

Why not move into your house of joy and shine into every crevice!

For you are the secret Treasure-bearer, and always have been.

Didn’t you know?” – Rumi

“You have been walking the ocean’s edge, holding up your robes to keep them dry.

You must dive naked under and deeper under, a thousand times deeper. Love flows down.

The ground submits to the sky and suffers what comes. Tell me, is the earth worse for giving in like that?

Do not put blankets over the drum.

Open completely.” – Rumi

Whatever your path, are you negotiating or listening to all? Do you know yourself and your true voice? I am telling you that if you care only for yourself and needs, your path is an illusion of you. And the answers you think you have are worthless. Time to go back to the drawing board?

Cast yourself into the deep water with no questions or answers faith or belief. Scary? Exactly! Why do so few find it, you can I tell you! But you must lose all and your safe linear connection to the world. You will be surprised what you find. I promise you that.

Why not dive into your soul? See past your failure and desires, hopes and dreams. Look around you. This is your destiny right here, right now.

Dive into your ocean!