Spiritual Musings

[Bilbo the Rover]

" It is said that if you take only one step toward him, He advances ten steps toward you. But the complete truth is that God is always with you." - Mohammed

[BrownSugar62]

Passion burns down every branch of exhaustion

Passion is the supreme elixir and renews all things

Let divine passion triumph and rebirth you in your self.

—Rumi

[Dzldoc]

I AM THANKFUL FOR ......

THE PARTNER WHO HOGS THE COVERS EVERY NIGHT, BECAUSE sHE'S NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

THE CHILD WHO IS NOT CLEANING HIS ROOM, BUT IS WATCHING TV, BECAUSE THAT MEANS HE IS AT HOME AND NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES THAT I PAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM IN THE SUNSHINE.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINTS I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH THAT SINGS OFF KEY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY ......

FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

[Katuschka]

~Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school.

~There is in the world no rock or tower of such a height that it cannot be scaled by any man (provided he lack not feet) if ladders are placed in the proper position or steps are cut in the rock, made in the right place, and furnished with railings against the danger of falling over.

~We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate a man because he was born in another country, because he speaks a different language, or because he takes a different view on this subject or that, is a great folly. Desist, I implore you, for we are all equally human.... Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in considerations of language, nationality, or religion.

Jan Amos Comenius

[MOJO]

~Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school.

~There is in the world no rock or tower of such a height that it cannot be scaled by any man (provided he lack not feet) if ladders are placed in the proper position or steps are cut in the rock, made in the right place, and furnished with railings against the danger of falling over.

~We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate a man because he was born in another country, because he speaks a different language, or because he takes a different view on this subject or that, is a great folly. Desist, I implore you, for we are all equally human.... Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in considerations of language, nationality, or religion.

Jan Amos Comenius

wonderful

[Katuschka]

wonderful

It is, isn't it. I almost can't believe he said all this in 17th century!

And people still haven't understood...

[Bonham]

~Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school.

~There is in the world no rock or tower of such a height that it cannot be scaled by any man (provided he lack not feet) if ladders are placed in the proper position or steps are cut in the rock, made in the right place, and furnished with railings against the danger of falling over.

~We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate a man because he was born in another country, because he speaks a different language, or because he takes a different view on this subject or that, is a great folly. Desist, I implore you, for we are all equally human.... Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in considerations of language, nationality, or religion.

Jan Amos Comenius

So beautiful.

[Katuschka]

I've also always liked this one:

~He will live ill who does not know how to die well.

Seneca

(So Harry-Potterish. )

[Bilbo the Rover]

Great additions Kat ! Wonderful ! Thank you !

[Bilbo the Rover]

Sometimes snakes can’t slough. They can’t burst their old skin. Then they go sick and die inside the old skin, and nobody ever sees the new pattern. It needs a real desperate recklessness to burst your old skin at last. You simply don’t care what happens to you, if you rip yourself in two, so long as you do get out.

D.H. Lawrence

“ If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.”

David Carradine

[MadScreamingGallery]

~Not the children of the rich or of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, should be sent to school.

There is in the world no rock or tower of such a height that it cannot be scaled by any man (provided he lack not feet) if ladders are placed in the proper position or steps are cut in the rock, made in the right place, and furnished with railings against the danger of falling over.

[...]

That's beautiful and inspiring. It's timeless. I am someone who took advantage of the ladders and steps that were "placed in the proper position" and "made in the right place". There were times when I fell over the railings, but I pulled myself back up and got back on the ladders and steps. I've spent a good part of my adult life making sure that those ladders and steps remain in place and I've helped others climb them.

[Bilbo the Rover]

I AM THANKFUL FOR ......

THE PARTNER WHO HOGS THE COVERS EVERY NIGHT, BECAUSE sHE'S NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

THE CHILD WHO IS NOT CLEANING HIS ROOM, BUT IS WATCHING TV, BECAUSE THAT MEANS HE IS AT HOME AND NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES THAT I PAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM IN THE SUNSHINE.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINTS I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH THAT SINGS OFF KEY, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY ......

FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL, BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

This is wonderful, too often we look for profound statements from great thinkers, saints or wise men \ women. In the simplicity of our lives, the daily "grind"...blessings abound ! We have to count our blessings daily and think positive! making a seemingly insignificant , boring day into an oppurtunity to step back and look at everything we have to be thankful for. Thanks for the great addition !

[sweetredwine]

"I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value."

Saint Thomas Aquinas

feast day January 28

[Bilbo the Rover]

Some more saintly musings ............

"O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet. "

-Saint Augustine

[I Am]

Tat Twam Asi

-0-

[MOJO]

And in the end

it's not the years in your life that count

it's the life in your years.

~ Abraham Lincoln ~

[manderlyh]

Here's one I was sent this morning by a friend:

-Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, then let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it'd be worth it.

[Bilbo the Rover]

One who walks in another's tracks leaves no footprints. ~Proverb

Be neither a conformist or a rebel, for they are really the same thing. Find your own path, and stay on it. ~Paul Vixie

If you don't control your mind, someone else will. ~John Allston

[I Am]

Very famous (please pardon my atrocious transliteration):

Japo jalpah shilpam sakalam api mudra virachana

gatih pradikshinya kramanam ashidnadya hutividihi

pranamaha samveshah sukam akilam atmar panadrisha

saparya paryayas tava bhavitu yanme vilasitam.

Another very famous sloka (first of eight parts):

Namastesthu Mahamaye shreepeetay surapoojite

shanka chakra gadah haste Mahalakshmi namostuthe

And what I recite with my Guruji (or after morning Surya Namaskara when I'm alone):

Om sahanaav avatu sahanaa Bhunaktu

saha veeryam karavaa vahai

tejasvinaavateetam tamastu

ma vid vishaa vahai

Om Shanti Shanti Shantih.

Just a little note:

I love this World, with all the apparent imperfections and evils, very dearly. It is the Loving Manifestation of God.

And I love you all as I love This World.

I pray for happiness and satisfaction in whatever way you deem to move.

-0-

[Bilbo the Rover]

"We say that if a temple, or a symbol, or an image helps you to realize the divine within, you are welcome to it. Have two hundred images if you like. If certain forms and formulas help you to realize the divine . . . have, by all means, whatever forms, temples, whatever ceremonies you want to bring you nearer to God. But do not quarrel about them: the moment you quarrel, you are not going Godward; you are going backward toward the brutes." - Swami Vivekananda

[Bilbo the Rover]

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit, and simply never leave." - Susan B. Anthony

[Bilbo the Rover]

In India, I was living in a little hut, about six feet by seven feet. It had a canvas flap instead of a door. I was sitting on my bed meditating, and a cat wandered in and plopped down on my lap. I took the cat and tossed it out the door. Ten seconds later it was back on my lap. We got into a sort of dance, this cat and I. . . . I tossed it out because I was trying to meditate, to get enlightened. But the cat kept returning. I was getting more and more irritated, more and more annoyed with the persistence of the cat. Finally, after about a half-hour of this coming in and tossing out, I had to surrender. There was nothing else to do. There was no way to block off the door. I sat there, the cat came back in, and it got on my lap. But I did not do anything. I just let go. Thirty seconds later the cat got up and walked out. So you see, our teachers come in many forms.

- Joseph Goldstein

[manderlyh]

"The virtue is in the effort."

--William Carlos Williams

[manderlyh]

"First, therefore, we must seek what it is that we are aiming at; then we must look about for the road by which we can reach it most quickly, and on the journey itself, if only we are on the right path, we shall discover how much of the distance we overcome each day, and how much nearer we are to the goal toward which we are urged by a natural desire. But so long as we wander aimlessly, having no guide, and following only the noise and discordant cries of those who call us in different directions, life will be consumed in making mistakes--life that is brief even if we should strive day and night for sound wisdom. Let us, therefore, decide both upon the goal and upon the way, and not fail to find some experienced guide who has explored the region towards which we are advancing; for the conditions of this journey are different from those of most travel. On most journeys some well-recognized road and inquiries made of the inhabitants of the region prevent you from going astray; but on this one all the best beaten and the most frequented paths are the most deceptive. Nothing, therefore, needs to be more emphasized than the warning that we should not be like sheep, follow the lead of the throng in front of us, traveling, thus, the way that all go and not he we that we ought to go."

Roman philosopher Seneca

[Cicero]

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." Winston Churchill.