Dear One,
Did you know that the earth is 4.5 billion years old and humans have been on the earth, or should I say walking and using fire on this beautiful planet for only 315,000 years? Just a little food for thought. This planet is long lasting and brilliant and we're lucky to call her home.
Today we're leaving Mexico, one of the more glorious spots on the globe, and I have to get ready to catch my plane. So instead of talking about life and love, these mystics will share their perspective. The first one is Rumi:
In truth everything and everyone
Is a shadow of the Beloved,
And our seeking is His seeking
And our words are His words...
We search for Him here and there,
While looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side, we ask:
"O Beloved, where is the Beloved?"
Here is how 16th Century Spanish mystic, Teresa of Avila, saw it:
Love is always stirring
and thinking about what it will do.
It cannot contain itself...
One of my other favorites is Lalla, a great saint and mystic from the Kashmir province of India, a region which had a deep tradition of fusing religious traditions. She lived in the 14th Century when Kashmiris came under the influence of Islam, though Buddhism had almost disappeared, it was still a significant influence, as was Upanishadic philosophy. Often in poetry, the author will include his or her name as a way of identifying themselves as the author. Here is one by Lalla:
When my mind was cleansed of impurities,
like a mirror of its dust and dirt,
I recognized the Self in me:
When I saw Him dwelling in me,
I realized that He was the Everything
and I was nothing.
I saw and found I am in everything
I saw God effulgent in everything.
After hearing and pausing see Siva
The House is His alone; Who am I, Lalla.
