Open Windows

I have opened all the windows in my house.

Eagles fly in and out, as do any words that

are spoken about me.

Anything my ears might detect, firsthand or

second . . . I might give that news a moment's

attention

and then just let it be the tiny evaporating

whiff of smoke it is, dissolving in the Infinite.

Hafiz

When we allow criticism to linger too long in our minds, words and feelings grow heavy.  The original words may not have even been meant for us, but we chose to personalize whatever was said.  There are occasions we choose to hang on to what we need to release.

Open is the key word.  We open our hearts, our minds, and our spirits allowing any negativity to come and go on a gentle breeze.  Allow open thinking to carry any darkness on a straight path outside of our selves.  Avoid emotional heaviness by not listening too closely to careless comments of others.  Our spirit will soar when we no longer retain stagnant thoughts to distract us from the beauty around us.

When we do not feed energy into the words of others, the words are no longer sustained.  When we no longer fuel what we long to dismiss, it dissipates into thin air.  We have choice as to how long we want to detain information as it passes through.   We can decide to cling to what harms us or to open our windows and let it pass right on through.   Which will we choose?



Picked From The Tree

A LATE NIGHT SNACK

I know there are a lot of important things

going on in the world that maybe I should in

some way be attending.

But I was wondering how those pretty spiced

apples, just out of the oven - and in all of their

aromatic glory

will taste for dessert, and then a late night snack.

Hafiz

Apples are one of my favorite fruits ... must have a little of Eve in me!  Over the years I have used apples to make chunky sauce with plenty of cinnamon, bread, muffins, pie, cobbler, turnovers and just plain baked apples.  Then I can really get into trouble and melt caramels with a little milk for a dipping sauce! I will eat several apples throughout the day and be delighted as though they were a dessert. 

As the seasons change, so do our preferences, activities, and perspectives.  We are such unique beings and yet so similar in many ways.  If we compare our changing routines to those of others, we discover similarities.  It is only through communication, however, that we become aware of our own uniqueness.

We humans are like the apples.  Some are tart or sweet with a variety of textures.  Apples are apples, but they too have uniqueness.  Some are red, green or a combination of yellows and reds and some are better for baking than others.  They all have purpose!

Unlike the apples, we do have choice about our disposition.  We can be sweet or tart or vacillate between the two.  Like the apples, we have a purpose, but we must discover it before we get picked from the tree!



What we speak ...

"wounded, not stupid"

Jill Bolte Taylor

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is the author of the book entitled: STROKE of INSIGHT.  She was recently interviewed on Super Soul Sunday by Oprah Winfrey.  (This video can be viewed any time:  www.oprah.com ) Although I have read this book several years ago, and revisited it numerous times, I was once again touched by this interview.

Jill Bolte Taylor experienced a stroke impacting the left side of her brain while the right side of her brain remained aware.  She lost her memory, her language, her ability to talk, but was was aware of everything that went on around her.  If you have not yet read her story, you really need to do so, as she has survived to teach us all a better way of relating to our selves and to others.

There are numerous lessons to be learned from this real life story, but today as I listened, a few phrases jumped out at me.  She was talking about how people reacted to her when she had her stroke, how they adjusted their level of communication.  She said of her self, "I was wounded, not stupid!"  This comment made me aware of how many times we find ourselves feeling awkward, and respond to others as though they were children. 

She spoke of the overwhelming comfort she experienced when a woman (her mother whom she did not recognize) moved back the covers of her hospital bed and crawled into bed with her, embracing her tightly and holding her.  I was reminded that sometimes touch is more important than lame words.

Jill Bolte Taylor suggests that we maintain an attitude of gratitude to navigate through life.  Realizing she no longer remembered the 'old baggage' of her life, she endeavored to not create new.  She stated it took 90 seconds for an emotion to be felt in your body and we get to choose whether or not we want to keep recycling that feeling or not.  Paying attention to what we are thinking is pivotal in maintaining both emotional and physical health.

Such simple examples, and yet they are ones we so frequently experience.  We must strive to be respectful to the sick or impaired.  We must remember the importance of physical touch especially with our elders.  We must monitor what we allow to linger in our minds. 

 "What we speak becomes the house we live in."

HAFIZ

Following Hafiz

I should not make any promises right now,

But I know if you Pray

Somewhere in this world ~

Something good will happen.

Hafiz

I frequently use Hafiz's idea of sending prayer out into the world.  It is never a formal prayer on bended knee nor is it memorized in advance.  I might be sitting at a stop light and see a person crossing in front of my car or notice an unknown individual walking down the sidewalk.  I immediately send words from my heart ... just a string of spontaneous positive thoughts.  It is such a brief gesture and so easy to do!

Traveling on the interstate to and from my daughter's home, I drive by a prison.  I pull into the slower lane and begin praying as I approach, while I am in front of and I as I pass by.

I rapidly send thoughts such as: 

May you feel an aspect of joy today!

May you experience a sense of friendship.

May you find forgiveness.

May you find acceptance.

May you discover hope.

May you feel loved once again!

The same holds true for me as I watch the news and view other countries experiencing violence, famine or the wrath of nature.  If I can send positive thoughts in some form of prayer, I don't feel quite so helpless.

All it takes is being mindful to use small spaces of time for the betterment of others.  Just remember to do it frequently and then it becomes a very natural habit!





IT WAS BEAUTIFUL ONE NIGHT, Hafiz

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL ONE NIGHT

Hafiz

It was beautiful, it was so beautiful one night

we all began to expect God would speak

from the waves, reaching toward the millet

fields,

from the mouths of the hanging sky

ornaments crooning in light's infinite codes,

from the glances of children and plants

and hills playing with effulgent life.

It was beautiful, it was so beautiful one night

we all began to expect God to speak.

A Year With Hafiz

Daniel Ladinsky

Tremendously More True, HAFIZ

TREMENDOUSLY MORE TRUE

She had a dream that told her she was going to pass from this world.

And on the day before, she still felt well, but believed these were her last hours, and come morning friends would be looking at her as she lay still no longer breathing.

She went into her garden as she as she always had before dark and spoke to the plants as she would.

Never more beautiful did the world look, never more a part of everything she now knew she was.

An assurance, some absolute certainty opened up in her and she knew any mortal identifications one could have were such a small part of something tremendously more true ... that awaited our knowing.

Her whole life she saw was like a slipper, often too tight, she had worn for a long day, and did not now mind at all taking it off.

She lay down that night, then merged into a brilliant Sky----

someone could call God, she found her soul had always, had always been holding in its hand.

A YEAR WITH HAFIZ

Daniel Ladinsky

Prison Walls

Take an axe

and break down

the prison walls.

Hafiz

Some of the walls of my prison have been self-imposed by insecurities and small thinking.  Other areas of my prison have been built subtly but deliberately, brick by brick, through deceit to keep me lesser than.

A fire burns within the pit of my stomach, growing so strong that it becomes the ax to break down the walls, turning the old into ash and rubble.  Relinquishing old ways of thinking, truth is born so simply.

New found light shines in the direction I now must go.  With accurate vision  I gather all that I am as a force to actualize creative expression.  Cleansed of old debris, I am ready to embrace new visions and to work in the flow of all there is and all there ever will be.

The Gift of Laughter

I have wrapped my laughter

like a birthday gift

and left it by your bed.

Hafiz

One of the things I miss most about being with my friends is laughter.  I love to laugh, especially when joined by others.  I have a quirky sense of humor that is frequently 'lost' on some, but generally expected by others. 

This gift of laughter will remind my friends of the fun times we shared ...

Note from Nancy ...

"We have not come into this exquisite world to hold ourselves hostage from love. 

Run, my dear, from anything that may not strengthen your precious budding wings. 

 

We have not come here to take prisoners or to confine our wondrous spirits, 

but to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom and Light!" 

~ Hafiz

The Moon ... Hafiz

"The moon starts singing

 when everyone is asleep."

Hafiz

Need of God ...

"Something is missing in my heart tonight

That has made my eyes so soft

And my voice so tender

And my need of God so absolutely clear."

Hafiz

Fear Is The Cheapest Room

"Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I would like to see you living in better conditions."

Hafiz

A Hunting Party by Hafiz

A

Hunting Party

Sometimes has a greater chance

Of flushing love and God

Out into the open

Than a warrior

All

Alone

   Quote from Hafiz