The Secret teachings

Every religion on the planet has told us to have FAITH. Faith is when you cannot see how, but you absolutely know that the moment you have the dream it is given to you, and all you have to do is relax and allow the Universe to magnetize you to your dream and your dream to you.

Source:http://thesecret.tv/index.html

Food For Radiant Skin

1)Meet your new beach essential. The savory snack fights sunburn fallout with selenium, a mineral that makes skin cells more resistant to turning into "sunburn cells" that produce faulty DNA and can eventually lead to cancer, Dr. Beer says.

2)To help diminish scratches, scars and dark marks, start snacking on hummus. Chickpeas' protein delivers the amino acids essential for tissue growth and repair, says Dee Sandquist, R.D., a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

3)The fruit throws wrinkles into reverse. Our bodies convert apricots' vitamin A to retinol, a compound that helps produce new cells. "These cells have smoother-looking barriers, as if they were 20 years younger," says Kenneth Beer, M.D., associate professor of dermatology at the University of Miami.

4)Party all night and still look fresh and dewy the next morning. Almonds'vitamin E brightens drab "hungover" skin by neutralizing free radicals, molecules that dull your look. Plus, almonds' fatty acids make you gleam, say SELF contributing experts Stephanie Clarke, R.D., and Willow Jarosh, R.D.

5)Dark under-eye circles can make you look like the Crypt Keeper—not cute. But the vitamin C in oranges banishes bags. It strengthens collagen, the skin's supportive structure, to lift sunken areas that create shadows.

6)Does your skin take its sweet time to spring back when you press it? Green tea's antioxidants may restore bounce. Women who drank a green tea extract daily saw 4 percent more elasticity,The Journal of Nutritionfinds.

Source:http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2012/09/foods-for-radiant-skin-slideshow#slide=6

Quote of the week

The years are flashing by and everything will change, 

but way down deep inside, we all just stay the same.

The Pen story

This Too Shall Pass

 A powerful king, ruler of many domains, was in a position of such magnificence that wise men were his mere employees. And yet one day he felt himself confused and called the sages to him.

He said:
'I do not know the cause, but something impels me to seek a certain ring, one that will enable me to stabilize my state.

'I must have such a ring. And this ring must be one which, when I am unhappy, will make me joyful. At the same time, if I am happy and look upon it, I must be made sad.'

The wise men consulted one another, and threw themselves into deep contemplation, and finally they came to a decision as to the character of this ring which would suit their king.

The ring which they devised was one upon which was inscribed the legend:

This, too, Shall Pass.

Source: http://www.katinkahesselink.net/sufi/stories.html

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull.

"They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

And so -Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Source: http://www.tensionnot.com/jokes/short_stories_moral_lessons

A psychology professor at the University of Miami knew his students expected a terrifyingly long final exam.

To play with their minds a little (what do you expect from a psychology professor?) he only put ONE question on the final exam.

He watched the reactions of the students as they all opened the exams and saw the one question.

Initially they all looked relieved, but as the difficulty of the question began to sink in, those relieved faces sagged to confusion and consternation.

All, that is, except for one student.

He read the question, tapped his pencil into his palm a few times, then jotted something down on the test paper.

He walked up to the professor, handed him the final, and walked out.

The professor blinked in surprise, looked at what the student wrote, and smiled.

The professor wrote "100%" on the top of that student's test.

The question: What is courage?

The student's answer: This is.

Source://www.tensionnot.com/jokes/fun_classroom_psychology_tests

True Love

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman, probably in his 80s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.  On examining , it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,'That is the kind of love I want in my life.' 

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Source:http://misc-story.blogspot.in/2011/09/true-love.html

You Were Brave in that Holy War

You have done well
In the contest of madness.

You were brave in that holy war.

You have all the honorable wounds
Of one who has tried to find love
Where the Beautiful Bird
Does not drink.

May I speak to you
Like we are close
And locked away together?

Once I found a stray kitten
And I used to soak my fingers
In warm milk;

It came to think I was five mothers
On one hand.

Wayfarer,
Why not rest your tired body?
Lean back and close your eyes.

Come morning
I will kneel by your side and feed you.
I will so gently
Spread open your mouth
And let you taste something of my
Sacred mind and life.

Surely
There is something wrong
With your ideas of
God

O, surely there is something wrong
With your ideas of
God

If you think
Our Beloved would not be so
Tender.

Hafiz

How to Become an Early Riser

• Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.
• Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.
• Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up.
• Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day.
• Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option.
• Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to read all of your comments!
• Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.
• Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that’s a major goal of yours. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing my kids’ lunches, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my MITs), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day.

Source: http://zenhabits.net/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/

From the Secret teachings

Our highest power is love, and it is one thing each of us has an unlimited amount of. How much love do you give to others in one day? Each day we have an opportunity to set out with this great, unlimited power in our possession, and pour it over every person and circumstance.

Love is appreciating, complimenting, feeling gratitude, and speaking good words to others.

We have so much love to give, and the more that we give, the more we receive.

 

The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene. So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.

.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.” With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do.

.

With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half. He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

.

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate. She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete.

.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes. If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share.

Why We Shout In Anger?

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled ‘n asked. ‘Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?’

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’ ‘But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.’ asked the saint.

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally the saint explained, . ‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other.

The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small…’ The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper ‘n they get even closer to each other in their love.

Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other ‘n that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’

This is a video I found online.. and it made me realize no wonder Krsna is The darling of Vrndavan :)

Quote of the Week

"...I can o'ersway him; for he loves to hear

That unicorns may be betray'd with trees,

And bears with glasses

, elephants with holes,

Lions with toils and men with flatterers;

Julius Caesar

--William Shakespeare

A note from The Keepsake..

Dear All,

Due to unavoidable reasons the blog will not be updated from some time to come..
Although, please visit the archives, your comments and thoughts are more than welcome..
hope to write soon!

Until we meet again..

Pain

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

Khalil Gibran

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. 

Washington Irving

This made me smile :)

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

Christian D. Larson

The love of your fate

At a certain moment in Nietzsche's life, the idea came to him of what he called 'the love of your fate.' Whatever your fate is, whatever the heck happens, you say, "This is what I need." It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge.

If you bring love to that moment - not discouragement - you will find the strength is there. Any disaster that you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow. Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true.

Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not.

Valentines Story

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the
girl with the rose.
His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, butwith the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.
The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.
When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.
I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:
A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be, grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.
"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard,and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"
It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are."

Source: http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/valentin.htm

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love yous"... more "I'm sorrys"...but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.

In memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer. "Be courageous and bold. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did."

A must read:

The forty Rules of love
Elif Shafak

Quote of the Week

We are not made for one another,

We are made for God.

Radhanath Swami

A Dweller Among The Tulip Beds

I have no grievance with life itself;

Wherefore the mountains stand, and streams flow to---
The infinite vastness of the realm blanketed with stars
Inquiring not the reason for my being
Why ask of which is---can it be changed?
My creator and author of my destiny foretell of my death
Rumi once wrote, "do not talk of what is invisible"
Born with free will, It is the quality I have dominion over
Not the existence of--- my being do I rule?
Half way through my life, reflecting back
All those tears of suffering and shame---
Engraved deep within my heart, scars from the past
Who creates these things which make me weep?
Searching for gold in tar pits, my soul held captive by evil
The warm sands and cool waters placed before me,
Comforting to my soul, I overlooked its sanctity
Demented thoughts overpowering all morals---
Forgotten serenity, replaced by lust and fantasy
Life given to new flesh, born with no sorrows,
It is in our own self-seeking cold hearts we suffer
Creation itself is a miraculous symphony conducted by God,
It is I, which caused the cataclysm in my life.
Quoting Rumi once more I say this with compassion,
"If your face has become saffron pale through death,
Become a dweller among tulip beds and Judas trees"
Flee the tar pits, the gold is not there, seek not among the mire
Look amidst the streams and stars high, towards the heavens
There you will find the omniscience of joy.

ELM Schindler

‎"There is a reason I said I'd be happy alone. It wasnt because I thought I would be happy alone. It was because I thought if I loved someone and then it fell apart, I might not make it. It's easier to be alone. Because what if you learn that you need love? And then you don't have it. What if you like it? And lean on it? What if you shape your life around it? And then it falls apart? Can you even survive that kind of pain? Losing love is like organ damage. It's like dying. The only difference is, death ends. This? It could go on forever."

Meredith Grey

Whatever happens to you, don’t fall in despair. Even if all the doors are closed, a secret path will be there for you that no one knows. You can’t see it yet but so many paradises are at the end of this path. Be grateful! It is easy to thank after obtaining what you want, thank before having what you want.

Rumi

Quote of the week

The real dirt is not outside, but inside, in our hearts. We can wash all stains with water. The only one we can’t remove is the grudge and the bad intentions sticking to our hearts.

Shams of Tabriz

After four years of drought in the small north-east village, the priest gathered everyone for a pilgrimage up to the mountain; there they would do a collective prayer, asking for the rain to fall again.

In the group, the priest noticed a boy wearing a raincoat.

‘Are you crazy?’ he asked the boy.

‘It hasn’t rained in this region for five years and the heat from hiking up the mountain will kill you.’

The boy replied: ‘I have a cold, priest. If we are going to ask God for rain, can you imagine our return from the mountain? It will be a spate and I need to be prepared.’

At this moment, they heard a great roar coming from the sky and the first drops began to fall. It sufficed the faith of a boy in a miracle that even the most prepared ones didn’t believe in.

Source: //paulocoelhoblog.com/

The Dream That Must Be Interpreted

This place is a dream.

Only a sleeper considers it real.

Then death comes like dawn,

and you wake up laughing

at what you thought was your grief.

But there's a difference with this dream.

Everything cruel and unconscious

done in the illusion of the present world,

all that does not fade away at the death-waking.

It stays,

and it must be interpreted.

All the mean laughing,

all the quick, sexual wanting,

those torn coats of Joseph,

they change into powerful wolves

that you must face.

The retaliation that sometimes comes now,

the swift, payback hit,

is just a boy's game

to what the other will be.

You know about circumcision here.

It's full castration there!

And this groggy time we live,

this is what it's like:

A man goes to sleep in the town

where he has always lived, and he dreams he's living

in another town.

In the dream, he doesn't remember

the town he's sleeping in his bed in.  He believes

the reality of the dream town.

The world is that kind of sleep.

The dust of many crumbled cities

settles over us like a forgetful doze,

but we are older than those cities.

We began as a mineral.  

We emerged into plant life

and into the animal state, and then into being human,

and always we have forgotten our former states,

except in early spring when we slightly recall

being green again.

                             

That's how a young person turns

toward a teacher.  That's how a baby leans

toward the breast, without knowing the secret

of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

Humankind is being led along an evolving course,

through this migration of intelligences,

and though we seem to be sleeping,

there is an inner wakefulness

that directs the dream,

and that will eventually startle us back

to the truth of who we are.

Rumi

Quote of the week

There comes a time when every life goes off course. In this desperate moment you must choose your direction. Will you fight to stay on the path while others tell you who you are? Or will you label yourself? Will you be honored by your choice? Or will you embrace your new path? Each morning you choose to move forward or to simply give up.

One tree hill

5 Things Spike Lee Knows For Sure

1. You never know when the muse is going to strike.

I've talked to a lot of great artists—Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis—about this, and they all agree it can come from anywhere; you just have to be open to it. It's exciting to get that first germ of an idea. I knew I'd make a movie called Do the Right Thing before I even knew what it would be about. Based on that title, I wrote a script on loose-leaf paper for 12 days straight.

2. Acupuncture works.

I started doing it in March after my trainer recommended it. Now I feel better physically, and I'm less stressed. I even suggested it to Jeremy Lin [the New York Knicks phenom], but he said, "Spike, I hate needles. I can't do it."

3. To master anything, you have to study the masters.

Take Mike Tyson—he's a boxing historian. He's watched thousands of hours of fights, beginning when he was a teenager. It still astounds me that some of my film students at NYU haven't seen Lawrence of Arabia or On the Waterfront. When you learn from seminal artists or athletes, you see that a lot of the stuff you think you've made up has been done by others for years.

4. Doubting yourself invites failure.

Do you think when Derek Jeter strikes out, he says, "I'm terrible; I should retire"? No; he says, "I'm going to knock it out of the park tomorrow." If something throws me for a loop, I shake it off and keep stepping.

5. Every minute I'm above ground, I'm thankful for.

 haven't eaten red meat in years because I'd like to be alive as long as I can. I've got a lot to do before I kick it.

The 10 Best Pieces of Life Advice from Writers.

"It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers." —James Thurber

"Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise."—Alice Walker

"When people show you who they are, believe them the first time."—Maya Angelou

"When people talk, listen completely."—Ernest Hemingway

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out just how far one can go."—T.S. Eliot

"Don't ever confuse—your life and your work. The second is only part of the first."—Anna Quindlen

"The best way out is always through."—Robert Frost

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.—Henry James

"A good time to laugh is anytime you can."—Linda Ellerbee

"Be the heroine of your life, not the victim."—Nora Ephron

Source: http://www.oprah.com/blogs/The-10-Best-Pieces-of-Life-Advice-from-Writers#ixzz27saJ4Dj2

Quote of the week

Tragedies do happen. We can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it. From there onward we must put aside the fear that they awoke in us and begin to rebuild.

Paulo Coelho

‘O People! Shouted Nasrudin, running through the streets of his village, “Know that I have lost my donkey. Anyone who brings it back will be given the donkey as a reward!”

“You must be mad,” said some spectators to this strange event.

“Not at all, said Nasrudin; ‘do you not know that the pleasure which you get when you find something lost is greater than the joy of possessing it?”

The bird who wanted freedom

There was once a successful businessman who had everything – a beautiful wife, adorable children and a big house in which they all lived happily. The pride of his life though was his exotic songbird which he kept in a cage and fed delicious titbits when it entertained his guests.

One day the man had to go on a journey far to the south and he asked his wife and children what presents they would like from abroad – they asked for fine silks, honeycomb and clockwork toys. Finally he asked his songbird if he would like him to bring anything back.

“I wish only for one small favour.” The songbird replied.

“Anything!” his master declared.

“Just this – when you see my cousins in the trees in the place you’re going to, please tell them about my conditions here.”

“Are you sure? I could bring you back a fine jewel-encrusted mirror or dried tropical fruit?”

“No, just this, thank you.” The songbird replied and the man went away feeling a little disconcerted but resolved to carry out his pet’s wishes.

The man made his trip safely and carried out his business to satisfaction and spent his remaining time there buying the presents his family had requested. Finally, he went to a park and saw some birds in the trees that bore a remarkable resemblance to his own songbird. He called up to one of them and told them about how his own bird lived in cage and sang for him.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than one of these exotic birds trembled on its perch and tumbled to the ground and ceased to move. The man held his head in grief and the incident quite spoiled his trip.

He returned home and greeted his wife and family who were delighted at their presents but he couldn’t share their pleasure as long as the forthcoming encounter with his songbird remained on his conscience. Finally he found the courage to go down to the garden.

“Well?” his songbird asked and, hesitantly, the man told him exactly what had happened. The song bird listened intently, then trembled on his perch and fell to the bottom of his cage, dead.

The man was now beside himself with grief and confusion. Weeping openly, he opened the door of the cage and carried out his beloved songbird in his hands. No sooner had he done so, however, the songbird returned to life and flew up to the branches of the nearest tree and let out a shrill of joy at finding its freedom.

The man scratched his head in wonder and eventually asked:
“Okay, you win. But tell me please, what was in the message that contained this trick?”

The songbird looked down at him with pity and said:
“My cousin in Africa showed me that it was my beauty that kept me in the cage. Were it not for the delight of my singing voice you would have lost interest long ago. I had to give up that life in order to become free.”

Quote of the Week ~

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.” 
― Rumi

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.” 

Rumi

Happy Birthday to the One and Only.

For You, i'd bleed myself dry.

To You, i owe everything; my lives, deaths and salvation

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Pablo Neruda, “Love Sonnet XVII”

Omens no. 12

Robins
A wish made on the first robin of spring will be granted. 

Quote of the week

Love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free.

Maya Angelou

3 Tips for Honoring Endings and Moving On

If you can’t seem to let go of an incident from the past, these three tips can help you move on more quickly. As you put them into action in your life, remember this: by learning to release regrets, you are honoring yourself. By forgiving, you are affirming that you are greater than what others think of you or do to you.

• Write a new story. “He hurt me, she betrayed me, he cheated me”—those are all snapshots of what may have happened at one moment in time. By retelling and reliving that story, we are telling ourselves and the world that what happened during one segment of our lives is the whole story of our lives. But the story of what happened to you, or what you did to someone else, at one moment in time does not have to become your life story. You always have the power to create a new story—one where your role is not that of victim, one where you honor yourself. When you catch yourself talking about or dwelling on past events, stop and ask yourself: What new choices do I commit to making right now that will give the next chapter of my life story a new, uplifting turn?

• See endings as graduations. Many endings in our lives are really promotions, although it may not feel that way at first. When we have outgrown a situation, a job, or a relationship, life has a way of propelling us out of that environment to more fertile ground for our own good. When you are tempted to fall into a funk or feel sorry for yourself because of what seems like a bad ending, ask yourself: Why is life beckoning me to move on? How will I benefit from a change of scene?

• Create your own ritual of release. One of the most effective ways to let go, once and for all, is to create a physical ritual of release. For instance, you can hold a shell or stone, mentally pour your feelings about a past incident into it, and then hurl it into a stream or off the side of the mountain. Or you can write down your feelings on paper along with a simple statement of surrender asking for help in letting go and finding peace. Then safely burn the letter, watching it and the issue dissipate in smoke. Let those ashes remind you of the phoenix, who at the end of its life ignites its nest and is consumed by the fire. From the ashes of its own ending, a new phoenix emerges. Know that you, too, have the phoenix inside of you.

Source: http://www.practicalspirituality.info/Releasing-Regrets.html

“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never runs out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full.” 

Elif Shafak

"Passion makes a person stop eating, sleeping, working, feeling at peace. A lot of people are frightened because, when it appears, it demolishes all the old things it finds in its path. 

No one wants their life thrown into chaos. That is why a lot of people keep that threat under control, and are somehow capable of sustaining a house or a structure that is already rotten. They are the engineers of the superseded. 

Other people think exactly the opposite: they surrender themselves without a second thought, hoping to find in passion the solutions to all their problems. They make the other person responsible for their happiness and blame them for their possible unhappiness. They are either euphoric because something marvelous has happened or depressed because something unexpected has just ruined everything. 

Keeping passion at bay or surrendering blindly to it - which of these two attitudes is the least destructive? 

I don't know." 

Paulo Coelho

Quote of the week

All we can do is learn from the past and make peace with it.

Cold Mountain (2003)

"If you seek Him, you will never find Him. But if you do not seek Him, He will not reveal Himself to you.

This is something definitely worth seeing

http://www.postsecret.com/

Moses and the Shepherd

Moses heard a shepherd on the road praying, "God where are you? I want to help you, to fix your shoes and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes and pick the lice off. I want to bring you milk to kiss your little hands and feet when it's time for you to go to bed. I want to sweep your room and keep it neat. God my sheep and goats are yours. All I can say, remembering you, is ayyyy and ahhhhhhhhh."

Moses could stand it no longer, "Who are you talking to?"

"The one who made us, and made the earth and made the sky."

"Don't talk about shoes and socks with God! And what's this with your little hands and feet? Such blasphemous familiarity sounds like you're chatting with your uncles. Only something that grows needs milk. Only someone with feet needs shoes. Not God! Even if you meant God's human representatives, as when God said, 'I was sick, and you did not visit me,' even then this tone would be foolish and irreverent.

Use appropriate terms. Fatima is a fine name for a women, but if you call a man Fatima, it's an insult. Body and birth language are right for us on this side of the river, but not for addressing the origin, not for God."

The shepherd repented and tore his clothes and sighed and wandered out into the desert.

A sudden revelation came then to Moses. God's voice:

You have separated me from one of my own. Did you come as a prophet to unite, or to sever?

I have given each being a separate and unique way of seeing and knowing and saying that knowledge.

What seems wrong to you is right for him. What is poison to one is honey to someone else.

Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship, these mean nothing to me.

I am apart from all of that. Ways of worshiping are not to be ranked as better or worse than one another.

Hindus do Hindu things. The Dravidian Muslims in India do what they do. It's all praise, and it's all right.

It's not me that's glorified in acts of worship. It's the worshipers! I don't hear the words they say. I look inside at the humility.

This broken-open lowliness is the reality, not the language! Forget phraseology. I want burning, burning.

Be friends with your burning. Burn up your thinking and your forms of expression!

Moses, those who pay attention to ways of behaving and speaking are one sort. Lovers who burn are another.

Don't impose a property tax on a burned-out village. Don't scold the lover. The "wrong" way he talks is better than a hundred "right" ways of others.

Inside the Temple it doesn't matter which direction you point your prayer rug!

The ocean diver doesn't need snowshoes! The love-religion has no code or doctrine.

Only God.

So the ruby has nothing engraved on it! It doesn't need markings.

God began speaking deeper mysteries to Moses. Visions and words, which cannot be recorded here, poured into and through him. He left himself and came back. He went to eternity and came back here.

Many times this happened.

It's foolish of me to try and say this. if I did say it, it would uproot our human intelligences. It would shatter all writing pens.

Moses ran after the shepherd. He followed the bewildered footprints, in one place moving straight like a castle across a chessboard; in another, sideways, like a bishop.

Now surging like a wave cresting, now sliding down like a fish, with always his feet making geomancy symbols in the sand, recording his wandering state.

Moses finally caught up with him.

"I was wrong. God has revealed to me that there are no rules for worship. Say whatever and however your loving tell you to. Your sweet blasphemy is the truest devotion. Through you a whole world is freed. Loosen your tongue and don't worry what comes out. it's all the light of the spirit."

The shepherd replied,

"Moses, Moses, I've gone beyond even that. You applied the whip and my horse shied and jumped out of itself. The divine nature and my human nature came together. Bless your scolding hand and your arm. I can't say what happened. What I'm saying now is not my real condition. it can't be said."

The shepherd grew quiet.

When you look in a mirror, you see yourself, not the state of the mirror. The flute player puts breath into the flute, and who makes the music? Not the flute. The flute player!

Whenever you speak praise or thanksgiving to God, it's always like this dear shepherd's simplicity. When you eventually see through the veils to how things really are, you will keep saying again and again,

"This is certainly not like we thought it was!"

Rumi

Quote of the week

Perhaps we all give the best of our hearts uncritically to those who hardly think about us in return.

T.H. White 

An excellent way to treat dandruff!

Things you will need:
One ripe banana or 2 depending on your hair length.
2tblsp olive oil
2tblsp honey
3tblsp milk

Method:
Cut the banana into pieces, then put in the blender to make it a smooth paste.

Note: there should be NO Banana PIECES left as that will be very difficult to get out of your hair.

Mix the other ingredients in the banana paste and then apply right from root to tip of hair and on scalp.
Leave on for 20-30 mins and wash normally with shampoo and conditioner.
It works as a wonderful deep conditioner too.
And GOOD BYE dandruff :)

Heaven, Hell and God

Once people saw Rabi'a running with a burning branch clasped in one hand a pail of water in the other. Intrigued, one of them asked, “O lady of the afterlife, where are you going and to do what?"

Rabi'a replied, “I am going to set heaven on fire and extinguish the flames of hell so that those who are seeking God can get over these illusions and clearly realise the true goal. With no other motives, fears or hopes they may seek God as today one can hardly find anyone worshipping God without hopping for heaven and the fearing hell!"

Paradise and hell are mere notions for those who have realised God. They are essentials for the purification of action for those who still have not attained the highest state. 

Transcending heaven and hell is to seek God for God's sake alone by those who pine for nothing else than God.

Just for laughs

Aliens?

In July 1947 a suspected UFO crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico. Extra-terrestrial debris marked in alien hieroglyphics and even alien corpses were thought to be recovered. An autopsy was believed to be carried out on the corpse of an alien by U.S. doctors. However, since the 1970s huge controversy has surrounded the Roswell incident. The U.S. military took a firm stance that it was not an alien craft that crashed to Earth but an experimental high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to a classified program named “Mogul” instead. A cover-up to detract the public’s attention of a genuine UFO and alien life in an effort to avoid mass hysteria? Or was it simply the truth that some people do not want to accept?

Source: http://urbantitan.com/10-most-amazing-ufo-stories/

Quote of the week

Dear Crow,
I ask you of only one thing, pick on my flesh carefully.
Don't pick on my eyes, don't pick on my eyes..I die in hope to see My Beloved.
Rockstar

“You know, when it works, love is pretty amazing. It’s not overrated. There’s a reason for all those songs.”

Sarah Dessen, This Lullaby 

Tired of Speaking Sweet

Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,

Break all our teacup talk of God.
If you had the courage and
Could give the Beloved His choice, some nights,
He would just drag you around the room
By your hair,
Ripping from your grip all those toys in the world
That bring you no joy.
Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly
And wants to rip to shreds
All your erroneous notions of truth
That make you fight within yourself, dear one,
And with others,
Causing the world to weep
On too many fine days.
God wants to manhandle us,
Lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself
And practice His dropkick.
The Beloved sometimes wants
To do us a great favor:
Hold us upside down
And shake all the nonsense out.
But when we hear
He is in such a "playful drunken mood"
Most everyone I know
Quickly packs their bags and hightails it
Out of town.

Hafiz

Quote of the week

Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the
neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a newpath only
for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful for not only
what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied.

Forty Rules of Love.