Many Lives, Many Masters

"Patience and timing . . . everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed, cannot be worked on a schedule as so many people want it to be. We must accept what comes to us at a given time, and not ask for more. But life is endless, so we never die; we were never really born. We just pass through different phases. There is no end. Humans have many dimensions. But time is not as we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned".

A wisdom by one of the Masters through Catherine. This wisdom is taken from the book Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss.

The Winner Stands Alone

A seagull was flying over a beach, when it saw a mouse. It flew down and asked the mouse:
‘Where are your wings?’

Each animal speaks its own language, and so the mouse didn’t understand the question, but stared at the two strange, large things attached to the other creatures body.
‘It must have some illness,’ thought the mouse.

The seagull noticed the mouse staring at its wings and thought:
‘Poor thing. It must have been attacked by monsters that left it deaf and took away its wings.’

Feeling sorry for the mouse, the seagull picked it up in its beak and took it for a ride in the skies. ‘Its probably homesick,’ the seagull thought while they were flying. Then, very carefully, it deposited the mouse once more on the ground.

For some months afterwards, the mouse was sunk in gloom; it had known the heights and seen a vast and beautiful world. However, in time, it grew accustomed to being just a mouse again and came to believe that the miracle that had occurred in its life was nothing but a dream.

The Zahir

In the hospital Love had spoken to me: "I am everything and I am nothing. I am the wind, and I cannot enter doors and windows that are shut."

And I said to Love: "But I am open to you."

And Love said to me: " The wind is made of air. The air is inside your house, but everything is shut up. The furniture will get covered in dust, the damp will ruin the paintings and stain the walls. You will continue to breathe, you will know a small part of me, but I am not a part. I am Everything and you will never know that."

I saw the furniture was covered in dust, that the paintings were being corroded by damp, and I had no alternative but to open the windows and doors. When I did that, the wind swept away everything. I wanted to cling to my memories, to protect what I thought I had worked hard to acheive, but everything had disapperaed and I was as empty as the Steppes."

--- Paulo Coelho

Ecclesiastes

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

LOVE POEMS FROM GOD

What keeps us alive,

what allows us to endure?

I think it is the hope of loving,

or being loved.

I heard a fable once

about the sun going on a journey

to find its source,

and how the moon wept

without her lover’swarm gaze.

We weep when light does not reach our hearts.

We wither like fields if someone close

does not rain their kindness upon us.

--- Daniel Ladinsky.

THE INVITATION

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting in your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or become shrivelledand closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit in pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to becareful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day and if you can source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

At some time in our life the devil within all of us wins. It is not having been in the dark house, but having left it, that counts.

The Prophet On Pain

And a woman spoke, saying, “Tell us of Pain.”
And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Eagles and Storm

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

What's In A Name?

The first rays of the morning sun kisses my face, making me bask in its warmth and light, filling me with a deep sense of bliss and I wake up with a jolt from my sleep. What must I give in return? Can I?

The moment this thought pops up in my mind I think of the mechanism, named relations, that is existing since times immemorial. Relations. Life is a river of relations - moving faces of people around you. They happen to you for a certain reason. The reason can be as simple as giving you company when you are in need of silence! When one starts discussing about this otherwise taken-for-granted mechanism of existence, one instantly returns to the relations, past and present in one's life. But must all relationships have names? What was your relationship with that lonely figure watching you from a distance when you returned from school? What was your relationship with that stealing glance and lowered eyes when she pretended to ignore you? What was your relationship with that stranger in the street who helped you in times of trouble? What was your relationship with that baby in his mother's lap, who just gave a toothless smile with twinkling eyes and stole your heart away? Can you give a name to such relations? Perhaps not! Do they make you sad? Never!

As time grows, so does the nature and depth of relations. Some painful, some blissful - but they are all there. As maturity overwhelms the child in us, we come to understand some relations are just there - no beginning traced, no questions asked, no expectations expressed, no meaning unearthed! Its just there - just like the rays of the sun touching the earth and spreading its warmth and light. The moment you try to dissect its existence, limitations and boundaries crop up, expectations arise, additions and subtractions are calculated, blame game begins and the relationship starts to groan under the pressure of too many explanations!

So, some relations are better left pure - untouched by our bottled, worldly thinking pattern. The rose does not think about where to its fragrance will travel, while blooming; the apple tree does not think about who will eat its fruit when it is ripe and neither does the rain think about what it is worthy of giving when it rushes down to meet the earth! And we the earthlings know the riches we reap because of their unawareness in giving unconditionally. I wish, sometimes, so be it with us, to realize the beauty of a spiritual bond! No wonder Rumi once penned, " Beyond what is right and wrong there is a whole existence. Lets find each other there."

Pamira

Light and Shadow

I love. I love so many things trivial. I love them because they show me the reason for this beautiful existence. For instance, a trivial taken-for-granted happening, like the sunlight creating a divine aura, of the dancing shadow of the rustling leaves,that is falling through the window behind me, on this blank page, as the fountain of feelings are starting once again to gush out. Unnoticed was this occurence in my childhood. Not now. Now, after all these years, the child within me has really learnt to observe.

Life is colorful and without all the colors it is indeed very dull. Imagine being happy all the time. I doubt whether anyone would have realized what is being happy if now and then that blue bird would not have sung that old blue song from that far, far away blue land. Now, imagine being sad all the time and I similarly doubt whether anyone would have realized what is being sad if now and then that yellow sunshine would not have spread its light and warmth from that far far away vanilla sky! I doubt whether anyone would have valued happiness if there was no sorrow. Happiness and Sorrow, Light and Shadow and so many such things - together they create the set for the show to be played by us in this stage called Life.

There are shadows - shadows of the past - playing too in my life shaping the etheral beauty within me - the beauty of the soul. Yes. I love so many things trivial, for trivials takes me to the depths of the deep - to the illuminating view of the pearl lying deep on the ocean floor within me.

Pamira

Friendship Has No Fear

A soldier approached his officer; seeking his permission to fetch his friend, not yet back from the battlefield. The officer refused permission stating that his friend would be probably dead. There was no point in going out and losing his life, too, the officer said.

Unmindful of the consequence, the soldier went and an hour later returned, mortally wounded, carrying his dead friend.

The officer was furious; “Ï told you he was dead. Now I’ve lost both of you. Tell me, was it worth going out there to bring in a corpse”

The dying man replied, “Öh, it was sir. When I got to him he was still alive. And he said to me, ‘Jack, I was sure you would come.”

Friendship has no fear. It expresses itself in sacrifice. Humanity survives purely because of love for each other.

HANDS OF GOD

Sometimes the night felt heavy in the heights of the mountain, and the man could not see anything. All was black. Zero visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds. As he was climbing, only a few feet away from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at a great speed. The climber could only see black spots as he went down, the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity. He kept falling...and in those moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of his life.

He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice but to scream: HELP ME GOD!!

All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky answered: -
What do you want to do?
Save me God!!
Do you really think I can save you?
Of course I believe You can.
THEN CUT THE ROPE TIED TO YOUR WAIST …

There was a moment of silence; and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength.

The rescue team tells, that the next day a climber was found dead and frozen…his body hanging from a rope. His hands holding tight to it…ONLY 10 FEET AWAY FROM THE GROUND!!!

And YOU... how attached are YOU to your rope? Will you LET GO?

Don’t ever doubt the things from God. You never should say that He has forgotten or abandoned you. Don’t ever think that He does not take care of you. Remember that He is always holding you with His right hand.Is.41:13-

Please Forgive Me

"Forgive me for I don't know what I gain
Alone in this garden of pain.
Enchantment has but one truth:
I weep to have what I fear to lose."

Have you ever felt lonely? Lonely amidst plenty? Lonely when the kingfisher cries on a lazy summer afternoon? Lonely when a cloud caresses the moon and just drifts away? Lonely in so many undefinable moments?

You must have... even though nobody else might think so...some may laugh, some may find you weird and just some may understand.... but there's always one who will definitely know... YOU.

I sometimes wonder were we born lonely? Or do we feel lonely only when something is dead inside us... something dead inside of me?

Who was it that was trying to find answers by questioning and questioning? Socrates, perhaps? Yes, Socrates!

I am not talking about being lonely without parents or siblings or lover or spouse or friends... being lonely within, even though you are surrounded by them and the objects that can distract you from thinking like this.

Loneliness is a luxury few people enjoy. I say luxury because in this world of rat-race and show offs and noise who has the time to feel lonely anyway! But do you know it can actually help you take a journey inside of you? Just sit on loneliness and fly, fly away to that distant land from where you can observe all that you want to - about you and anything.

Its the call of the unseen, call of the unheard, call of the higher self. Higher Self? Soul - to put it simply.

OK! Have you ever felt torn apart? Torn apart between this and that? Who and what? How and when? Why and why not? Soul and body? You might ask what loneliness has to do with this! Don't you think this dilemma itself - this frustration of not getting an answer or seeming to get one but unable to put a finger on it - gives rise to loneliness? Otherwise why would you feel so? Everything and everybody is around you! Every imaginable material thing on earth is available for you! THEN? What is missing?

To quote an old song - "The answer is blowing in the wind, my friend, the answer is blowing in the wind."

"Forgive me for I don't know what I gain
Alone in this garden of pain
Enchantment has but one truth:
I weep to have what I fear to lose"

--- Tuomas Holopainen

Affinity

Man would not be man without affinity. Every animal has affinity to some degree, but man is capable of feeling an especially large amount.

You can have a feeling of affinity for objects: "I love the way the grain stands out in that wood." There is a feeling of oneness with the earth, blue skies, rain, millponds, cartwheels and bullfrogs which is affinity.

Affinity is never identification (becoming one with another in feeling or interest) nor does it go quite far as empathy ( the power or state of imagining oneself to be another person and even share his ideas or feelings). You remain very much yourself when you have affinity for something but you also feel the essence of the thing for which you have affinity. You remain yourself and yet you draw closer to the object for which you have affinity. It is not a binding quality. There are no strings attached when affinity is given. To the receiver it carries no duties and no reponsibilities.

It is pure, easy and natural and flows out from the individual as easily as sunlight flows from the sun. Affinity begets affinity. A person who is filled with the quality will automatically find people anywhere near him also beginning to be filled with affinity. It is a calming, warming, heartening influence on all who are capable of receiving and giving it.

---- L.RON HUBBARD

The Prophet On Friendship

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love
and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger
and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not

the 'nay' in your mind,
nor do you withhold the 'ay'.
And when he is silent
your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship,
all thoughts, all desires, all exceptions are born and shared,
with joy that is unchained.

When you part from your friend,
you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him
may be clearer in his absence,
as the mountain to the climber
is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship
save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught
but the disclosure of its own mystery
is not love but a net cast forth:
and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide,
let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend
that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need,
but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship
let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things
the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

--- Kahlil Gibran

I Have Become

"I have become my own version of an optimist.

If I can't make it through one door,

I'll go through another door -

or I'll make a door.

Something terrific will come

no matter how dark the present."

-Rabindranath Thakur