Truly Important Things

Nasrudín began to chat with some friends. One of them, suddenly, asked him about his wife:

- Oh, my wife! - he said - she stays at home.

- What is her occupation? - the others asked.

Nasrudín shrugged his shoulders and said:

Insignificant activities, unimportant things, small things without any transcendence. She takes care of the work at home, takes care of our children and helps them with their homework, goes to the market, does repairs when it is needed, like painting the house and fixing whatever is broken. She takes water out of the well and waters the orchard, also takes care of her ill mother and my mother too; sometimes she visits her sister and helps her out with the children... those kind of things, small things of no importance.

- and what do you do? - someone asked

- Ah friends, I am truly important, of course! I am the one who investigates if God exists.

...

The High Road

A Long time ago in the small town of Hondo, Texas, there used to live a cowboy nicknamed H.R. One day someone asked him:

“H.R., why do people call you H.R.?”

He replied: “H.R. stands for “High Road”, but people do not understand.”

“They do not understand what?” the other asked.

“Well you see”, said H.R., people want to take the high road because it makes them feel superior. Some people think that the high road is the road less traveled and they believe it will help them avoid roadblocks, road rage and low riders. Some even try the middle road. The fact is that there is no such a thing as a high or low road. Actually, there are no roads at all! We are the high road, and the low road, the only road. That is why I call myself H.R.: “The High Road.”

How Do You Change the Human Brain?

I was just listening to an interview with psychologist Christopher Hyatt and his comments were:

'How to educate ourselves....we can throw all manner of things at ourselves yet where does the real work begin?...We cannot educate stupidity - but we can educate ignorance...We have to do the work at a much deeper level'....

I wonder, where does the real work begin...?

Perhaps to change the brain we must first change our minds... and those change in thoughts will produce a finer vibration...

My thoughts are endlessly charging like this, arrows let loose and looking for the alleyways of finer things... I wonder...

The above image is called 'Wisdom' from Janosh

Amen

A friend reminded me of what a friend once said, grateful that I am:

For love my friend is not a thing like money
nor can it be a word however sweet
for love is measured not in words of honey
not words, not even deeds but in a heartbeat

and until we meet again may Friendship
hold us in the palm of his hands

Amen

Transformation

The very aim of our society seems to be to remove from people responsibility for their lives and acts. The way of transformation must be the exact opposite of this. Whatever else it may lead to, it must make us into free, responsible individuals, able to direct our own lives in accordance with the greatest objective good.

J.G. Bennett - Transformation

-

Shems Abode

My old audio site 'Shems Abode' has now closed down - somehow,
without me knowing, it disappeared from the Web!

A new audio site has been set-up: this is the new 'Shems Abode'

Also, some of the audio posts can be accessed from the lists
of links here on BT on the right side of this page.

I hope in the future to be adding some new material... once I gain some time...

THE FIVE MONKEYS

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not?

Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.



Is that how things will always be done - without change!?

Be The Change

God decided to come down to Earth for a quick look at
how his creation was coming along.

He approached Earth and happened to look at a big tree
full of howling monkeys. As He looked down, one of the
monkeys happened to look up and saw him.

The monkey became excited and started to shout:

"I see God.....I see God!"

None of the other monkeys paid any attention. Some thought
the monkey was crazy or perhaps just a religious fanatic.
They went on about their daily lives of collecting food, taking
care of their young, fighting with each other, etc., etc. Not getting
any attention, our monkey decided to try to get attention from God, and said:

"God, Almighty, You are the Beneficent, the Merciful, please help me!"

In an instant, the monkey was transformed into a man living in
his own human community.

Everything changed, except for one thing: the monkey's mind.
The monkey immediately realized *that* could be a problem.

"Well, thank you God, but what about my mind?"
"That, said God, you will have to change yourself."

take this longing

take this longing from my tongue
all the lonely things my hands have done.
let me see your beauty broken down
like you would do for one you love.

The three old men

A woman left her house and saw three old men with long beards seated in front of her garden.
- I don't know you - she said - but you must be hungry. Please come into my house and eat something.
They asked:
- Is your husband at home?
- No - she said - he is not.
- Then we cannot enter - they said.
On late afternoon, when the husband arrived, she told him what happened.
- Well, tell them I arrived already and invite them to come in.
The woman went outside to invite the men to come into her house.
- The three of us cannot enter a house together - said the old men.
- Why? - she wanted to know.
One of the men pointed towards one of his friends and explained:
- His name is Wealth - he pointed towards the other - his name is Success and my name is Love.

Now go inside and decide with your husband which one of us three you wish to invite into your house.
The woman entered her house and she told her husband what they told her.
The man, very happy, said:
- That's good! If that's the way it is, let's invite Wealth, and have him fill our house with wealth.
His wife did not agree:
- My dear, why don't we invite Success?
Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house and came running with an idea:
- Wouldn't it better to invite Love? Our home would be full of love then.
- Let's pay attention to our daughter's advice - said the husband to his wife, go outside and invite Love to be our guest.
The wife went outside and asked the three old men:
- Which one of you is Love? Please come and be our guest.
Love stood up and began to walk towards the house. The other two also rose and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success:
- I only invited Love, why are you also coming?
The old men responded together:
- If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two would have remained outside, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever there is love, there is also wealth.



If you truely follow your heart, the rest will arrive as well.

Beautiful Messages

Something I tell myself

Something I tell myself:

'When a person faces an uncertain future, it is best for them to view it as an opportunity for personal growth and not to be fearful of the unknown'

Ruth Montgomery

Always Be In Love

An old Persian tale:

Once upon a time, a fish that was a bird up to the waist fell in love with a bird that was a fish down to the waist. Therefore the fish-bird told the bird-fish:

'We have been created in a way we'll never be able to live together: you in the wind and I in the waves. What a pity for both of us!'

'No, how lucky we are', said the bird-fish, 'as we'll always be in love because we'll always be separated'

Time Net

Have you noticed how time appears - or 'seems' - to be accelerating these years?

The phenomena tries to be imperceptible, like a subtle field/net that has caught us all up in its sweep...

Days have less 'time', the end of the day quickens;
Years fall by more rapidly...

As if there is a hurry to be somewhere, to get somewhere...

Racing ahead for some great event, perhaps?

This is not a poem; it is a moment of reflection...