The pleasures of life are blinding; it is love alone that clears the rust from the heart, the mirror of the soul.
The heart of man, as the Sufis say, is a mirror. All that is reflected in this mirror is projected upon other mirrors. When man has doubt in his heart that doubt is reflected upon every heart with which he comes in contact. When he has faith that faith is reflected in every heart. Can there be a more interesting study and a greater wonder than to observe this keenly?

"I guess it shouldn't surprise us to find ourselves linked with the stars.
Every atom of gold or silver jewelry was created in supernovas. The
water we drink, the air we breathe, the ground we walk, the complicated
pouch of fluids and salts and minerals and bones we are -- all forged in
some early chaos of our sun. I think it was the astrophysicist John
Wheeler who remarked that we are the sun's way of thinking about itself."

-Diane Ackerman, *A Slender Thread: Rediscovering Hope at the Heart of
Crisis*

The One was breathing
By its own power,
in infinite peace.
Only the ONE was:
There was nothing beyond ..
And in the ONE arose love.
Love, the first seed of the Soul.
The truth of this the sages
Found in their hearts
With wisdom
That bond of union
between being and non-being.


~ from the rig-veda x129

Love is the merchandise which all the world demands; if you store it in your heart, every soul will become your customer.

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

"Cherish you guru's lotus feet
And free yourself without delay,
From the enslavement of the world;
Curb your senses and your mind,
And see the Lord within your heart."

- Adi Shankara in Bhaja Govindam

There is an answer to every call; those who call on God, to them God comes.

There is no doubt that if an individual or a multitude believe that a teacher or a reformer will come, he will surely come to them. Similarly, in the case of those who do not believe that any teacher or reformer will come, to them he will not come. To those who expect the Teacher to be a man, a man will bring the message; to those who expect the Teacher to be a woman, a woman must deliver it. To those who call on God, God comes. To those who knock at the door of Satan, Satan answers. There is an answer to every call.

There is nothing that you ask that this universe will not answer. For it is the nature of this universe to answer your soul's call. ... When a person seeks for something in the universe and he cannot find it, it is not true that it is not there. The fact is that he does not see it.

Thursday, January 24 Astrology.com
Daily Cosmic Calendar

Some big changes are brewing on Planet Earth. The one happening
this morning is Venus entering Capricorn at 12:07AM PST - a cycle
that lasts until February 17. Venus in this final earth sign of
the zodiac can assist you in saving more money, applying your
assets to the pursuit of major career objectives, and enhancing
your leadership role in the greater community. Take your artistic
talents and gifts more seriously. Visualize yourself reaching the
executive penthouse and seizing the brass ring in your key field
of expertise. Be aware that the Moon begins a five-minute void
cycle at 6:44AM PST that lasts until 6:49AM PST when the lunar
orb enters industrious Virgo for the next two days. Organization
and efficiency are in; confusion and disorder are out. Focus
attention on health, diet and nutritional needs. Breakthroughs in
romance and partnership matters may be on the horizon as Juno
forges a supportive, 60-degree link with Chiron (11:31AM PST).
Hard work and discipline lead to solid accomplishments during the
afternoon and evening - courtesy of the monthly Moon-Saturn union
in Virgo (8:14PM PST). This is also a good time to learn from
mentors, teachers and elders who you deeply respect. Healing
currents are back on the march late tonight when Chiron in
Sagittarius makes a 45-degree link to Pluto in Sagittarius
(11:09PM PST). Learn more about alternative medicine, advances in
psychology, hypnotism, reincarnation, and the therapeutic values
of herbs. Be prepared for a significant change happening tomorrow
night when distant Pluto enters Capricorn for a several-month
orientation period before fully engaging the tenth sign of the
zodiac for over 16 years. Utilize a good portion of Friday to
reflect on your worldly achievements and spiritual evolution over
the last 12 years when Pluto has been making its trek through
Sagittarian territory.

contributed by Michael Lerner -

check :
wwww.juliesmmons.ca

It is man's lack of faith that generally causes failures. In faith is the secret of fulfillment or non-fulfillment of every thought. There is no doubt about the fulfillment of a desire if man's faith works with it. But when one's own reason and doubt come and destroy the hope, one generally meets with failure. ... there are numberless people who are thinking and reasoning all their lives, asking themselves, 'Shall I do this? How can I do that? How can I overcome these obstacles? And all the time they are thinking of the hindrances, or waiting for suitable circumstances to arise, and they never do. Their whole life may be spent in the pursuit of something which reason prevents them from attaining.

An important rule of psychology is that every motive that takes its root in the mind must be watered and reared until its full development. And if one neglects this duty, one does not only harm the motive, but by this the will power becomes less, and the working of the mind becomes disorderly. Even if the motive be small and unimportant, yet a steady pursuit after its attainment trains the mind, strengthens the will, and keeps the inner mechanism in order.

For instance, when a person tries to unravel a knot, and then he thinks, 'No use giving time to it,' he loses an opportunity of strengthening the will and attaining the object desired. However small a thing may appear to be, when once handled, one must accomplish it, not for the thing itself, but for what benefit it gives.

~~~ "Githa I, Sadhana 10", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

A man's inclination is the root of the tree of his life.

The real inclination of every life is to attain to something which can not be touched or comprehended or understood. The hidden blessing of this knowledge is the first step to perfection. Once awake to this fact, man sees there is something in life that will make him really happy and give him his heart's desire. He can say, 'Though there are many things in life which I need for the moment, and for which I shall certainly work, yet there is only that one thing, around which life centers, that will satisfy me: the spiritual attainment, the religious attainment, or, as one may even call it, the attainment of God.'

Such a one has found the key to all happiness, and has found that all the things he needs will be reached because he has the key to all. 'Seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you... Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.' This kingdom of God is the silent life; the life inseparable, eternal, self-sufficient, and all-powerful. This is the life of the wise, whatever be the name given to it; this is the life which the wise contemplate. It is the face of this life that they long to see; it is the ocean of this life that they long to swim in; as it is written: 'In Him we live and have our being.'

The truth cannot be spoken; that which can be spoken is not the truth.

Truth is that which can never be spoken in words and that which can be spoken in words is not the truth. The ocean is the ocean; the ocean is not a few drops of water that one puts in a bottle. Just so truth cannot be limited by words: truth must be experienced...

When you stand with your back to the sun, your shadow is before you; but when you turn and face the sun, then your shadow falls behind you.

Plato wrote that we live in a shadow world, where we confuse the shadow of ourselves with reality. This is the Nafs, the false ego, which stands in the light before God, causing, so to speak, a spiritual eclipse.... The Nafs turns us from the One to the many, enticing us with the things of this world. Then man attaches himself to one thing after another, which brings, at best, momentary satisfaction. Through his spiritual practices the Sufi learns to chain the Nafs, to perceive that it is only a shadow of reality; and finding the sun of truth within his being, looking upon it, one is no longer aware of the shadow.

The One was breathing
By its own power,
in infinite peace.
Only the ONE was:
There was nothing beyond ..
And in the ONE arose love.
Love, the first seed of the Soul.
The truth of this the sages
Found in their hearts
With wisdom
That bond of union
between being and non-being.


~ from the rig-veda x129

The ocean never stops its inherent movement
And changes never stop moving our life
In and out like the waves upon the shore
Up and down forever more.

Each wave with its own definition,
Yet, each formed from another force,
We, unique individuals, one and all,
Are moved and formed by another source.

At times the waves ripple or crash,
Always surrendering to the shore.
But when placid and calm the lines are gone,
Water and shore, separated no more.

Our emotions are like the waves,
Rippling and crashing when changes come,
Sending our mind to another place
To make sense of this new time and space.

Coming through the emotional barrier,
We find a new beginning, a new door.
A connectedness the ocean shares,
When the ocean and shore are separate no more.



~by Dale Pond 07

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
*You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.*
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann,
Desiderata, Copyright 1952.