Here is the second of the pieces I thought you would enjoy..
The false self does not exists in the space between thoughts because the false self has no reality beyond what our thoughts give it. It is just a thought, a concept that has no reality except in the dualistic world of illusion. We will not believe the false self is mind-created illusion, however, until we actually experience the truth of its non-existence.
Dr John Goldthwait
I have quite a busy few days before my working week kicks in again. As a result of that I won’t have the opportunity to write an original post this weekend. But I came across some fantastic pieces of writing and thought I’d share them with you, spread over three posts. Hopefully, you will enjoy these pieces as much as I did. First, a delightful poem from Kabir.
The wine of the Lord’s love
Becomes more delicious
The more you drink it;
But it is hard to obtain,
For the wine merchant, O Kabir
Demands your head in exchange
~ Kabir
In other words, when the ego (head) has been obliterated, only the Heart remains.
Jacket art from the back cover of “The Glance: Songs of Soul Meeting by Rumi,” translated by Coleman Barks; published by Viking in October 1999. Original Filename: RUMI2.JPG ORG XMIT: ; 11
There can’t be anyone, anywhere, who, having come across the writings of Rumi for the first time, does not immediately fall in love with the sheer beauty of it. Whether you refer to his works as poetry, philosophy, or simply a soul expressing itself from the depths of its being, his writing is truly incredible.
A colleague of mine told me about the piece below a couple of years back. I originally thought that it contained only the first verse. It is apparently, a much longer piece, however, when I found this two-verse version recently I felt quite pleased with myself for finding an extra verse. I haven’t seen the complete version yet; that will be something for me to look up on the good old internet in the near future. But I was really struck by these two verses together and it inspired me to reach within my own soul and retrieve this interpretation. I hope it does the great man justice!
Out beyond ideas of wrong doing
and right doing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.Rumi
Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing (beyond relativity and human logic) There is a field (the inner wilderness of bliss, or Consciousness) I’ll meet you there (in Consciousness there is no duality; there are no others, we will be as the One and only)
When the soul lies down in that grass (when we finally realise that all there is, is realisation) The world is too full to talk about (in the All That Is, we will abide in the Silence; the eternal language of the soul)
I can’t believe that it’s been five weeks since I wrote something new; indeed the last time was when I published the last article of my “Who Am I?” series. You may or may not recall that I shared with you my intention of elaborating on the story and publishing it as a book in 2018. Well, I came up with this very simple poem that I’d like to share with you. I intend to display it at the beginning of the book before the actual story begins. Or I might even kick the first chapter off with it. I may yet make some changes, but this is what it looks like at the moment.
I’m in the dark
I cannot see
Myself I cannot find
I know it not
But all I seek
Is Eyesight To The Blind
The pain, the pain
But tis not me!
It’s the others! Says my mind
And as I burn
I stay bereft
Of Eyesight To The Blind
The ages pass
At last a light
I glimpse on distant shore
My Eyesight To The Blind
I need not
Seek thee anymore
Awake, awake
Oh dormant soul
No more the dark for you
Your time is now
Arise, go forth
And to the Self be true
At the end of my last post, Who Am I? Part Fourteen, I said you would have part fifteen before you know it… Obviously, that hasn’t happened and I apologise for that. Unfortunately, since my last post my chronic fatigue has been playing up more than normal and I simply haven’t had the energy or the focus to be able to write. I really don’t like going too long without posting, so I thought I would share this beautifully inspiring piece of wisdom from Ramana Maharshi with you. Please bear with me, and I will write part fifteen as soon as I’m able. It’s only about another 16 days before I go off to Nepal for three weeks, so I’m hoping to give you parts sixteen and seventeen as well. In the meantime, here’s The Maharshi…
Silence is ever speaking. It is a perennial flow of language, which is interrupted by speaking. These words I am speaking obstruct that mute language. For example, there is electricity flowing in a wire. With resistance to its passage, it glows as a lamp or revolves as a fan. In the wire it remains as electric energy. Similarly also, silence is the eternal flow of language, obstructed by words.
I’m leaving on my travels in a couple of hours, but I wanted to leave you with something before departing. I came across this simple but truly beautiful piece of wisdom this morning and thought I’d share it with you. Hope you like it!
I discovered the secret of the sea in meditation upon the dewdrop – Kahlil Gibran
I know… It’s around a month since my last blog post. I really have got another post brewing; honest! In the meantime I would love to share this wonderful quote with you. Hope you like it.
Only speak if your words are more beautiful than your silence – Author Unknown
Language is only a medium for communicating one’s thoughts to another. It is called in only after thoughts arise. Other thoughts arise after the “I”-thought arises and so the “I”-thought is the root of all conversation. When one remains without thinking one understands another by means of the universal language of silence.
Silence is ever speaking. It is a perennial flow of language which is interrupted by speaking. These words I am speaking obstruct that mute language. For example, there is electricity flowing in a wire. With resistance to its passage it glows as a lamp or revolves as a fan. In the wire it remains as electric energy. Similarly also, silence is the eternal flow of language, obstructed by words.
What one fails to know by conversation extending to several years can be known instantly in silence.
Ramana Maharshi
Like two golden birds perched on a tree.
United companions are the ego and the Self.
One eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree
While the other looks on without eating.
Thinking we are the ego,
We feel attached and fall into sorrow.
But realize that you are the Self,
and you will be freed from sorrow.
When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of light and love,
You transcend good and evil
And move into a state of union.
From the Bhagavad Gita
My recent trip away, although successful in many ways, did not however produce anything worthy of writing about. So, until my writing brain whirrs into gear again I will continue to post inspiration from other sources. That said, I really hope you enjoy this Monday wisdom from the wonderful Ramana Maharshi.
That inner Self is the primeval spirit, eternal, ever effulgent, full and infinite bliss, single, indivisible, whole and living, shines in everyone as the witnessing awareness.
That Self in its splendour, shining in the cavity of the heart. This Self is neither born nor dies, neither grows nor decays, nor does it suffer any change.
When a pot is broken, the space within it is not, and similarly, when the body dies the Self in it remains eternal.
Ramana Maharshi
Author - Richard F Holmes 