Love – Khalil Gibran
22 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment
in Books Tags: Khalil Gibran, Love
Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, I am in the heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
Power vs Force
06 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books
The map of consciousness, developed by Dr. David Hawkins in Power vs Force.
Alphabetical Order
05 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books
The world’s largest alphabet is Cambodian, with 74 letters. There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese, with 885 million speakers in China alone.
Source: “The AMAZING Book of USELESS INFORMATION
Encyclopedia Britannica
22 Sep 2009 Leave a Comment
New for 2010, the updated Encyclopædia Britannica is unsurpassed, combining today’s current topics with over 240 years of expertise and delivering more depth, breadth, and information than other encyclopedias. Readers can access quick facts or immerse themselves in detailed articles on almost any subject imaginable while enjoying the vivid and beautiful images on many subjects such as art, geography, science, sports, and much more.
More than 1,000 new and revised articles and 4,000 expert contributors!
• More than 23,000 fascinating biographies; new biographies of major world leaders include U.S. President Barack Obama, Dalai Lama XIV, Dmitry Medvedev, Evo Morales, Nicolas Sarkozy, Lee Myung-bak, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and Umaru Yar’Adua.
• Extensive revisions and new articles cover the latest on all school subjects, such as blogs, skateboarding, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Olympics, and the human genome.
• Updated geographical information about the Balkans, Central America, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Nepal, Russia, the United States, and other countries and regions. In total, new coverage for over 450 cities, countries, islands, rivers, and mountains.
• Hundreds of vivid new photographs and illustrations covering Native Indian Peoples, the human body, pack and sea ice, and other subjects.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
29 Aug 2009 Leave a Comment
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire, how we answer it today, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, may well determine our very survival as a species. Should we eat a fast-food hamburger? Something organic? Or perhaps something we hunt, gather, or grow ourselves? The omnivore’s dilemma has returned with a vengeance, as the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous food landscape. What’s at stake in our eating choices is not only our own and our children’s health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth.
In this groundbreaking book, one of America’s most fascinating, original, and elegant writers turns his own omnivorous mind to the seemingly straightforward question of what we should have for dinner. To find out, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. His absorbing narrative takes us from Iowa cornfields to food-science laboratories, from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds, always emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. Each time Pollan sits down to a meal, he deploys his unique blend of personal and investigative journalism to trace the origins of everything consumed, revealing what we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods and flavors reflects our evolutionary inheritance.
What Death Has Taught Me
26 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in Books Tags: Children, Death, Grieving
Excerpt from Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul
Page 218 – What Death Has Taught Me – Barb Kerr
“Death” has taught me many things. Things that, if listed, would fill pages time wouldn’t permit to be read. For today, it’s taught me:
To hold onto my children a little longer and a little tighter when we hug.
To hold onto my friends a little longer and a little tighter when we hug.
That I’m not being silly telling my children I love them every day.
To hug my children even when they don’t seem to want to be hugged.
To treasure bedtime chats, stories of friends and sharing inner thoughts.
That fingerprints on the wall are dirt to one and treasures to another.
That I’ll not wait to do things, and I’ll not wait to say things.
How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World
26 Aug 2009 Leave a Comment
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This smart and sassy guide shows young women how to find their own glamorous style, professional success, and love with class and grace. |
In a society driven by celebutante news and myspace.com profiles, women of class, style, and charm are hard to come by. But as thongs, rehab, and outrageous behavior burn up the daily headlines, employers still like to see a tailored suit, men still want women they can take home to their moms, and peers still respect professional conduct. Christy helps women channel their inner Kate or Audrey, dusting off old-fashioned virtues and giving them a whole new spin in today’s sexed-up culture. She shows how modern women can be beautiful, intelligent, and have it all — glamorous style, professional success, and true love and keep their values and morals intact along the way.How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Author Jordan Christy
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Khalil Gibran
20 Aug 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books Tags: Children, Khalil Gibran, Poem
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
True Friendship
20 Aug 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books Tags: BAPS, Friendship
101 Tales of Wisdom – As Told By Yogiji Maharaj
A Prince and the Minister’s son were out hunting in the forests. Both were hungry and exhausted after a long day’s wandering. They found the cool shade of a tree and sat down to rest. Soon, the prince fell asleep, while the minister’s son stayed awake and kept guard.
A while later a snake slithered towards the prince. Hissing furiously, it prepared to bite him. However, the minister’s son was quick. He raised his sword. But before he could kill it, the snake spoke up, “This prince was my enemy in my past life. I cannot rest until I drink blood from his neck.”
The minister’s son wanted to save his friend’s life and he was also intelligent. “Then, what if I give you some of his blood to drink. Will that quench you hate?” Saying this, he knew he was saving the life of the price because if the snake bit him, to draw blood, it would at the same time spit poison that was sure to kill his friend.
The snake agreed. He was only after the prince‘s blood, not his life.
The minister’s son made a cup out of dry leaves. He climbed upon the chest of the prince who was still fast asleep. He pulled out his dagger and made a small slit on the side of his neck. The sharp cut suddenly shocked the prince awake. But on seeing that his friend, the minister’s son, was holding the dagger, he closed his eyes again.
The minister’s son filled the cup with enough blood and offered it to the snake, which drank the blood and went its way. Meanwhile, he collected some medicinal herbs and bandaged the wound. A few hours later, the prince awoke and made preparations to proceed further. He said nothing and walked happily as it nothing had happened. Two whole days passed in the forest, yet the prince never reminded him of the event. It was the minister’s son who began to grow impatient, as to why he was not questioned.
He finally said, “Friend and master, you know that I climbed upon you and slit your throat, drew blood and then bandaged you. You even saw me do it. Still why haven’t you yet questioned me or asked me for an explanation?”
“You are a friend of mine,” the prince answered. “I believe that whatever you may have done must have been for my good. This is why I desire no explanation.” He continued, “If someone else had attempted this, I would have been suspicious. Does he want to kill me or rob me? But with you, I know you’re a very close friend and I have boundless trust in you – that my friend shall never ever do any harm to me.”
This is the mark of true friendship. A friend is he who is harsh to you if it brings greater good. And in return, he who does not sulk or feel hurt by the actions of his friend is a true friend.
Toltec – The Four Agreements
20 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in Books Tags: 2012, Books, The Four Agreements, Toltec
Thousands of years ago, the Toltec were known throughout southern Mexico as women and men of knowledge. Anthropologists have spoken of the Toltec as a nation or a race. But the Toltec were scientists and artists who formed a society to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones. It may seem peculiar that they combined the secular with the sacred, but the Toltec considered science and spirit to be the same since all energy, whether material or ethereal, is derived from the same source and governed by the same universal laws. Toltec knowledge arises from the same essential unity of truth as all the sacred esoteric traditions around the world. Though it is not a religion, it honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth.
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Don Miguel Ruiz
