Thursday, September 6, 2007

From this you can infer how great is the reward of those who perform kind acts; for although Moses had many names, the name by which he is known in the Torah is the one which Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh, called him, and even God called him by no other name.
Exodus Rabbah 1:26
Rabbi Joshua of Kiknin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One, the blessed One, said to Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh: "Moses was not your son, yet you called him your son; you, too, though you are not my daughter, yet I will call you Batya, the daughter of God."
Leviticus Rabbah 1:3
So every time you have an energy that needs to be transformed, like jealousy or fear, do something to care for this energy, for this negative energy, if you do not want this energy to destroy you. Touch the seed of mindfulness, and then all of its energy will be able to establish itself in your "living room", like a mother tenderly addressing your pain. With that energy of mindfulness, you are doing the true practice of meditation with regard to your pain, your emotions. If you are able to maintain mindfulness for five or ten minutes, you will experience some relief right away.
Thich Nhat Hanh, True Love
It is never too late to start the spiritual journey, or to start over, and it is worth starting over any number of times... What God is after are our good intentions and our efforts. The contemplative journey, because it involves the purification of the unconscious, is not a magic carpet to bliss. It is an exercise of letting go of the false self, a humbling process, because it is the only self we know.
Thomas Keating, The Human Condition
God said, "Let there by lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times - the days and the years; and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth." And it was so. God made the two great lights the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Genesis 1:14 - 19
I have felt that the Spirit of God was upon me,
and I thought that,
if I only turned my head a little,
I would see a tremendous host of angels in silver armor
advancing behind me through the sky,
coming at last to sweep the whole world clean.
It carried me along on a vivid ocean of peace.
Thomas Merton: Entering the Silence

Saturday, August 18, 2007

I will heal their affliction,
Generously will I take them back in love;
For My anger has turned away from them.
I will be to Israel like dew;
He shall blossom like the lily,
He shall strike root like a Lebanon tree.
His boughs shall spread out far,
His beauty shall be like the olive tree's,
His fragrance like that of Lebanon.
They who sit in his shade shall be revived:
They shall bring to life new grain,
They shall blossom like the vine;
His scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim shall say:
'What more have I to do with idols?
When I respond and look to Him,
I become like a verdant cypress."
Your fruit is provided by Me.
Hosea 14:5 - 9
Sanatkumara said: 'When you can discern the infinite in that which is beautiful, then you can enjoy beauty. Those who do not discern the infinite in that which is beautiful, cannot enjoy beauty. Therefore you must understand the infinite.' The young man said: 'I seek the nature of infinity.' Sanatkumara siad: 'When you understand the indivisible unity of all beings, and see and hear nothing, ou discern the infinite. When you see or hear only separateness and division, you discern only that which is finite. The infinite is beyond death, but the finite cannot escape death.'
Chandogya Upanishad 7:23-24
In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful.
All praise belongs to God, the Lord of all being. He is compassionate and merciful. He is the master of the day of judgement.
We worship only you; in you alone we seek refuge. Guide us along the straight path, the path of those whom you have blessed - not the path of those who have incurred your wrath, nor the path of those who have gone astray.
Quran 1:1 - 7