Surrender

“If there is anything that works against the vanity of the ego, it is love. The nature of love is to surrender. The world of variety, which has divided life into limited parts, naturally causes every lesser one to surrender to the greater. And, again, for every greater one there is another still greater in relation to whom he is smaller, and for every smaller one there is another still smaller, in relation to whom he is greater. And as every soul is by its nature compelled to surrender to perfection in all its grades, the only thing that matters is whether it be a willing surrender or an unwilling surrender. The former comes by love, the latter is made through helplessness, which makes life wretched. It moves the Sufi when he reads in the Qur’ân that the perfect Being asked the imperfect souls, the children of Adam, Who is thy Lord? They, conscious of their imperfections, said humbly, Thou art our Lord. Surrender is a curse when, with coldness and helplessness, one is forced to surrender. But the same becomes the greatest joy when it is made with love and all willingness.”

- Hazrat Inayat Khan, Volume 5, Part 4.

Image: Rassouli

Unexpected In Common Hours

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Thoreau

Rumi: Mastery Through Accomplishment

I Met One Traveling

In the evening between sleep and waking
I met one traveling. He was the light of consciousness.
His body was soul, his pure wisdom apparent
in his beautiful face.

He praises me for a while, then scolds.
You sit on the seven-sky throne, in prison.
The sign of Gemini has set a table for you,
yet you stick your head down a drain hole again.

Essence is not nourished with food or sleep.
Do no one any harm in this time field
of short crops where what you sow comes up very quickly.
You try to accomplish things, to win,
to reach goals. This is not the true situation.
Put the whole world in ambition’s stomach,
it will never be enough.

Assume you get everything you want.
Assume you have it now. What’s the point?
The next moment you die.

Friend, the youth you have lived is ending.
You sleep a drunken dreamless sleep
with no sense what morning you could wake inside.

(Rumi; trans. Coleman Barks; 2006)

Guilt Meme: Mastery Thru Accomplishment

Guilt Meme

How do you define Guilt?

Picking on myself or others, judgement, persecution, lack of humility combined with self hate

What do you think of Guilt?

I think its a tool that my childhood family used to control me and if there’s one thing that will cause a burst of rage in me out of no where its trying to use the guilt card on me.

Does Guilt have healthy applications?

No…but there is such a thing as helping a child to put themselves in another’s shoes and cultivating remorse and compassion…sometimes people name that guilt, but done in a healthy way, a child will grow up feeling compassion and if they are thoughtless feel remorse about it, but have no loss of self esteem or judgement nor feel humiliated by anything. The child-grown adult will only see it as a lesson in paying attention and in caring for those s/he loves.

Do you use Guilt as a method of self-censoring?

Sometimes. I did learn to motivate myself with it. Its a hurtful form of self motivation. There are times when I’m determined and desperate enough for an outcome with a goal that I”ll use the tool that’s handy to motivate myself. If it takes guilt, then I’ll use it.

Do you use Guilt to censor others?

I sure hope not. If I ever do, I hope the person or someone else calls me on it. That really feels terrible and I don’t want to do that to anyone.

Do you allow others to use Guilt to censor you?

LOL! Not very often…and when they do, its because the greater good is served by my silence…but there will be a deep simmering anger about it and they will not get away with it behind the scenes just between us.

Any other thoughts about Guilt?

Just that it makes my gut churn….and I had to wonder why that is still…I’ve conquered so much of this issue. But I felt resistant when I found this meme on Rosa’s blog…so I wanted to contemplate why. I still don’t have an answer, but I thought that answering the questions would determine that. I think its just old feelings…lots of old feelings and I don’t want to revisit them…but sometimes facing them down is a good way to shut ‘em up. So I did. I feel better now.

How did you feel while doing this Meme?

At first I felt resistant, now I feel strong.

Note on what prompted this Meme:

It was on Rosa’s blog

Ten Things

Imagination Prompt

10 things I would do if I won the lottery

Bring a donation to the temple in India where I have been remembered for nearly a year now during Chod healing ceremonies

I would buy the coastal land that I’ve seen in visions and create my home

Send my kids to college or buy them a house

Donate to Kripalu which has a fund to aid low income retreatants

Set up a fund for purchasing school supplies for both needy kids and programs that would otherwise need to be shut down due to budget cuts

Pay for geological studies and reports for surveying water supplies that are likely to remain safe if they are protected and buy up the land as a nature preserve

Donate to seed saving organizations to ensure heirloom seeds are preserved and shared

Take some art classes

Complete massage school training at Kripalu

Attend some tantra retreats

Mastery Through Accomplishment: Daffodil Principle

Daffodil Principle