The Root of Roots

The Root of the Root of Your Self

Don't go away, come near
Don't be faithless, be faithful.
Find the antidote in the venom.
Come to the root of the root of
your self.

Molded of clay, yet kneaded
from the substance of certainty,
a guard at the Treasury of Holy Light—
come, return to the root of the root of
your self.

Once you get hold of selflessness,
you'll be dragged from your ego
and freed from many traps.
Come, return to the root of the root of
your self.

You are born from the children of
of God's creation,
but you have fixed your sight too low.
How can you be happy?
Come, return to the root of the root of
your self.

Although you are a talisman protecting
a treasure,
you are also the mine.
Open your hidden eyes
and come to the root of the root of
your self.

You were born from a ray of God's
majesty
and have the blessings of a good star.
Why suffer at the hands of things that
don't exist?
Come, return to the root of the root of
your self.

You are a ruby embedded in granite.
How long will you pretend it isn't true?
We can see it in your eyes.
Come to the root of the root of
your self.

You came here from the presence of
that fine Friend,
a little drunk, but gentle, stealing our
hearts
with that look so full of fire; so
come, return to the root of the root of
your self.

Our master and host, Shamsi Tabrizi,
has put the eternal cup before you.
Glory be to God, what a rare wine!
So come, return to the root of the root
of your self

Rumi, translated by Kabir Hilminski

Gently, gently

Gently, gently

open your eyes

and look

at the face of Love,

look at

her intoxicating eyes.

Her smile has lured

thousands of hearts

into her infinite garden.

Come and let your lips taste

the sweetness of her fruit.

You will become drunk

on the scent of her roses

and dance like a willow

swaying in the wind.

Turn your eyes

from the world’s hunger

for pleasure

there is a deeper fulfillment

in the infinite mystery

of Love.

~ Rumi

They Have Different needs

They Have Different Needs
St John of the Cross

Some seeds beneath the earth are dormant

They fell the last time the cool air turned the leaves gold

Those seeds have different needs than we do

Let them go about their life

completely unharmed by your views

We have cracked open

we sensed even beneath the earth

the holy was near,

and reaching up to know

and claim light

as our self.

God Speaks to Each of Us

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don't let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.