The Milky Way
Do not raise your voice
Good Night Moon
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Good Night from the Rebel
Tag Archives: Rumi
Poems to Soothe the Heart
Praying hands that mean so much to God
Many scholars feel that Rumi is the greatest poet the world has every known. I think they are quite possibly right. But I do love the poems of many gifted poets. I would like to share a couple of them with you today.
We Point to the New Moon
“This time when you and I sit here, two figures
with one soul, we’re a garden,
with plants and birdsong moving through us like rain.
The stars come out. We’re out
of ourselves, but collected. We point
to the new moon, its discipline and slender joy.
We don’t listen to stories
full of frustrated anger. We feed
on laughter and a tenderness
we hear around us.
when we’re together.
And even more incredible, sitting here in Konya,
we’er this moment in Khorasan and Iraq.
We have these forms in time.
and another in the elsewhere
that’s made of this closeness.”
—-Rumi
Midnight Question
“Near midnight, in disarray, you come asking,
“is it still like this, my love,
when your‘re old?”
Who would refuse to answer?
The same was heard
before the creation of the universe,
“Am I not your Lord?”
Whatever’s poured then must be drunk.
It may be pure soul, merely grape-wine,
or some combination, but say Yes,
as I have many times,
as we all once did in unison
outside time and space.
Never regret that answer!
—Hafiz
“Let the beauty we love be what we do.” —Rumi
Radiating energy and light as you meditate or chant
The Balance
A photo of some of my irises, which are my favorite flower.Photograph copyrighted 2013
When life gets hard or you hear or read something disturbing, then balance with what is beautiful to you. Whether you work in a non-profit or an office, you need to create beauty around you to keep your heart and soul from being weighed down by the under side of life.
It is possible to not look away, to even reach out a helping hand by creating a beauty that touches your heart and fills it with love for others. It is easy to love our friends and family, but to walk among the homeless, the hungry, those who have lived through tradgedies takes forming a balanced life.
My garden photograph copyrighted 2013
I have my ways to create balance, you will need to experiment and find what touches you and heals you. Because we must constantly heal ourselves if we are to change our world for the better. Music is another wonderful way to find balance. Meditation and breathing are also good ways to heal your heart and soul.
I have found affirmations to be invaluable. I recommend Louise Hay’s books. I love to listen to them as I go through my day when life has been difficult. And reading poetry aloud is, for me soothing. We each can find our own ways.
“The call of the griefless is from a frozen heart, the call of the grieving one is from rapture.”
” He ( God ) is the merciful and bountiful Lord; both existence and non-existence are in love with Him.” –Rumi
I found these quotes in a book a friend brought back after being in Turkey. It is hard to love those who suffer. People don’t want to get too close yet the close proximity is the only way to make a difference in someone’s life. Why are we here? Perhaps because our strength and love and creativity enables us to make the world a better place.
The forsythia blooming. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013
I Follow the Religion of Love
A Quote for Positive living.
“My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture
for gazelles and a retreat for Christian monks,
And a tenple for idols, and the pilgrim’s Ka’ba,
and the tables of the Torah and the book of the Koren’
I follow the religion of Love, whichever way his camels take.
My religion and my faith is the true religion.”
——–Ibn al-Arabi
Translated from Thirteenth-Century Arabic by Anne and Christopher Fremantle
Portrait of a Dervish
” O musician of my soul,
play His song
play His song with my every breath.” —Rumi
“I lift my hands to You in prayer.
Grant me strength to stand alone.
You are the one to whom I belong,
I’ll sing my song to You, and give YOu all that is in my heart.” –The Chassid swaying by the Wailing Wall chants a niggun by the great Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav.
” Earth Mother, I honor your body.
Earth Mother, I sing to your stones.
Earth Mother, I enter your body.
Earth Mother, I honor your bones.” —Chant evoked to reclaim the Feminine aspect of the Divine
Sculpture garden in Windsor, Ont. Detroit in background. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio2009
The Art of Chanting
The secret of chant
The tree and sun connect us with Mother Earth and with the Divine
Joseph Campbell brought to light many years ago, the importance of ritual in the life of human beings. In his opinion, we all need rituals and I agree. Rituals may not be extremely structured and they may be performed every day at a certain time for many years. It has been an important aspect in my life to practice meditation, chanting and prayer.
From the Native American Indians to the Jews to the Buddhists, and Sufis and Muslims, there are practices which when done daily with ritual can keep us connected to our spiritual center and the path we choose to follow. There are some days you are centered and the praise, and the knowing flow between you and The One. My eyes are closed right now as I type and I can feel my center flowing words from my hands to this monitor. Watching the breath is another important practice as it keeps us balanced and within the perfect order.
The beauty of chanting is that it is very easy to reach a state of absorption. Your mind follows you into the chant and you become the chant. Chant evokes the living, vibrational reality of these core truths: devotion, stillness, praise, and oneness.
Radiating energy and light as you meditate or chant
” You’ve been walking the ocean’s edge,
holding up your robes to keep them dry.
You must dive naked under, and deeper,
a thousand times deeper…” ——Rumi
” This is how I would dive into the love I have for you: as pieces of cloud dissolve in sunlight.” —Rumi
Mirabi was a Hindu saint, who gave up her privileged life of wealth and ease to wander in search of the Hindu god, Krishna. She wandered from village to village barefoot singing, dancing nand chanting. When a seeker’s longing is pure, the Divine is always there.
” My friend, the stain of the Great Dancer has penetrated my body.
I drank the cup of music and I am hopelessly drunk.”
” And having tasted the nectar of God’s love, Mirabai is His forever:
Like a bee trapped for life in the closing of the sweet flower,
Mira has offered herself to her Lord.” —Mirabai
Cleveland skyline from Huntington Beach, west of the city. Photography copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013
No Greater Love
One of my heroines is Mother Teresa. This soul is what I always wanted to be. I didn’t succeed, but I am continuing to help the world however I can. I am committed to do this for the rest of my life. Life requires commitment to ideals, commitment to love and acceptance. Life requires that we love and accept others without limitation. Now, I know there are some that would say, she has never seen the rough parts of life. But I have, in person and close up. The world isn’t beautiful. You have to look for the beauty in people and all around you. God is everywhere and that includes within us. So follow the creative voice within and create the beauty you need to thrive in this experience. This plane of existence.
“Love each other as God loves each one of you, with an intense and particular love. Be kind to each other; it is better to commit faults with gentleness than to work miracles with unkindness.”
—-Mother Tesesa
Rumi talks about the ecstatic love of God. He speaks of the interconnectedness of all sentient beings.
“One part of the Whole is not separate from the other parts. The beauty of all flowers is part of the rose’s beauty. The coo of the turtledove is part of the nightingale’s song.” —–Rumi
Our works of love and charity come from our overflow of our love of God from within. Charity is like a living flame. The drier the fuel, the livelier the flame. Showing gratitude for everything in your life, whether a little thing or an abundance, needs to be done with joy. A heart burning with love produces a joyful heart. Joy is strength. Joy is always hard and it isn’t just temperament. We need to work to acquire it and make it grow in our hearts. We may not always have a lot to give but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart which is in love with God. We need to love without getting tired. A lamp burns with the continuous flow of drops within the lamp. Compassion and a loving heart are the most important things we can cultivate and we will never run out. We were chosen for this incarnation for a purpose, we aren’t just a number. So explore life, embrace it with passion and find what God has for you.
Photo by Barbara Mattio, Livingston, TX.
Flutes For Dancing
” It’s lucky to hear the
flutes for dancing
coming down the road.
The ground is glowing.
The table set in the yard.
We will drink all this wine tonight
because it’s Spring. It is.
It ‘s a growing sea.
We are clouds over the sea,
or flecks of matter
in the ocean when the ocean
seems lit from within.
I know I’m drunk
when I start this ocean talk.
Would you like to see the moon split
in half with one throw”?
——-Rumi
This small homage to Rumi was inspired by a message I received from a friend who is traveling in Turkey. She is on a tour to promote peace. Yesterday she visited the tomb of Rumi. I am so excited for her and a little envious.
Persians and Afghanis call Rumi “Jelaluddin Balkhi.” He was born on September 30, 1207. His father was a theologian and jurist and a mystic of uncertain lineage. Rumi’s life was a fairly normal one for a religious scholar. He taught, meditated, and helped the poor. In 1244 he met a stranger who put a question to him. Shams of Tabriz was the stranger who wandered through the Middle East searching and praying for someone who “could endure his company.” He found Rumi. It is said that the questions he asked Rumi caused him to faint. Shams was a dervish and Rumi and Shams became inseparable
They spent months together without any human needs, transported into a realm of pure conversation. This ecstatic connection caused difficulties in the religious community. Rumi’s students felt neglected and Shams, sensing the trouble, disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared in Rumi’s life.
Scholars feel that the disappearance of Shams began Rumi’s transformation into a mystical artist. Rumi began to write poetry and to listen to music and sing. He began whirling and would whirl for hours at a time. Rumi spent the last twelve years of his life dictating the six volumes of his master-work. He died on December 17, 1273.
Photo by Barbara Mattio
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