PHILOSOPHY
Pearls Of Wisdom
Pearls of Wisdom is a collection of Sufi poems, sayings and other philosophical writings gathered together by Murshida Kuan Yin Pujos-Michel.
Universal Worship concluded the Pearls of Wisdom retreat. The texts used in the ceremony are presented under the last tabs below.
Pearls 01
image - public domain
Collected
Pearls
of
Wisdom
Pearls
of
Wisdom
Pearls of Wisdom 01
I Surrender
"I have learned not to worry about love, but to honour it's coming with all my heart."
Alice Walker
Alice Walker
The mystical journey that has been offered us through the teachings and practices of our guide, Inayat Khan, are lifting us above our limited selves to the unlimited being. We are the illuminated souls who form the embodiment of the Master. We are the Master, we become the Spirit of Guidance.
Poem by Hafiz
We Have Not Come to Take Prisoners
We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.
Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.
We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
'O please, O please,
Come out and play.'
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom, and
Light!
We Have Not Come to Take Prisoners
We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.
Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.
We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
'O please, O please,
Come out and play.'
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom, and
Light!
Pearls 02
Pearls From The Ocean Unseen 02
In one of the Sufi Message volumes Pir o Murshid Inayat Khan advises against wearing pearls as they represent an irritation within the oyster. As I have come to realize some of these admonitions in Murshid's writings were meant only for a particular individual or circumstance, but through publication became something approaching dogma. I mentioned Murshid's thoughts on the pearl to someone, and they countered, "but the pearl is also the healing balm which the oyster produces to overcome that irritation."
Thinking about the pearl – how it begins as a grain of sand, an irritation which the creature then overcomes through secreting a healing substance, thereby creating a beautiful jewel – offers an excellent metaphor for our lives. We may take any irritant and transform it through the balm of our attitude and intention, and not only heal ourselves but also create a gem of exquisite beauty. That is a process we can apply not only to external irritants in our lives, but also to our own self and personality – to take those elements that irritate others as well as ourselves, and transform that gritty nature into some smooth and lustrous, the pearl. This process can also be applied to the idea of transcending the small self to allow the Divine being to shine through.
In this regard, I share a thought I have been contemplating for some time. In our tradition we speak often of 'annihilating the ego'. The phrase suggests an aggressive and violent act, but when one reads the beautiful poetry of the Gayan, Inayat Khan offers a far different approach... a gentle and joyous exchange of the limited self with the unlimited "Let me become thy body, thou become my spirit, O holy one..."; "Let thy wish become my desire." Jesus said "Resist not evil" and when we make an enemy of the ego, and attempt to kill it through violent action, do we not in some ways strengthen it, through opposition? I suggest we consider a change in our terminology and approach to zikar. That in saying "This is not my body, this is the temple of god" we gently and joyously release the limited self in the glory of the unlimited nature, like a bubble that is released back to the sea...
In one of the Sufi Message volumes Pir o Murshid Inayat Khan advises against wearing pearls as they represent an irritation within the oyster. As I have come to realize some of these admonitions in Murshid's writings were meant only for a particular individual or circumstance, but through publication became something approaching dogma. I mentioned Murshid's thoughts on the pearl to someone, and they countered, "but the pearl is also the healing balm which the oyster produces to overcome that irritation."
Thinking about the pearl – how it begins as a grain of sand, an irritation which the creature then overcomes through secreting a healing substance, thereby creating a beautiful jewel – offers an excellent metaphor for our lives. We may take any irritant and transform it through the balm of our attitude and intention, and not only heal ourselves but also create a gem of exquisite beauty. That is a process we can apply not only to external irritants in our lives, but also to our own self and personality – to take those elements that irritate others as well as ourselves, and transform that gritty nature into some smooth and lustrous, the pearl. This process can also be applied to the idea of transcending the small self to allow the Divine being to shine through.
In this regard, I share a thought I have been contemplating for some time. In our tradition we speak often of 'annihilating the ego'. The phrase suggests an aggressive and violent act, but when one reads the beautiful poetry of the Gayan, Inayat Khan offers a far different approach... a gentle and joyous exchange of the limited self with the unlimited "Let me become thy body, thou become my spirit, O holy one..."; "Let thy wish become my desire." Jesus said "Resist not evil" and when we make an enemy of the ego, and attempt to kill it through violent action, do we not in some ways strengthen it, through opposition? I suggest we consider a change in our terminology and approach to zikar. That in saying "This is not my body, this is the temple of god" we gently and joyously release the limited self in the glory of the unlimited nature, like a bubble that is released back to the sea...
Here is a little poem on the subject, I was recently moved to write:
Presence
The morning bird sings
in love with the beauty of dawn
The evening star shines
lit with desire of the moon
Not effacement
but replacement
of the ego
for You
are the Presence
you seek.
Carol Ann Sokoloff (Nirtan)
composed May, 2016 (Berlin Federation Retreat)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Beauty before me I walk.
In Beauty all around me I walk
It is finished in Beauty.
The Navajo Beauty Way
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the world of the great mysteries:
The pearl is the seed of thunder which is fertilized by the druk (Tibetan word for dragon). Thunder comes from dragons.
Eliot Pattison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Presence
The morning bird sings
in love with the beauty of dawn
The evening star shines
lit with desire of the moon
Not effacement
but replacement
of the ego
for You
are the Presence
you seek.
Carol Ann Sokoloff (Nirtan)
composed May, 2016 (Berlin Federation Retreat)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Beauty before me I walk.
In Beauty all around me I walk
It is finished in Beauty.
The Navajo Beauty Way
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the world of the great mysteries:
The pearl is the seed of thunder which is fertilized by the druk (Tibetan word for dragon). Thunder comes from dragons.
Eliot Pattison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pearls 03
Pearls of Wisdom 03
Acknowledging your own birthday or that of another is not a matter of ego but rather a celebration of Soul. Taking birth is the first conscious act of will we make on earth......that of deciding to breathe our self into a body as a discrete human being (separate and apart from its earthly mother and heavenly origin).
Celebrating the event of birth is an honoring and acknowledging of the gift to become human ~ with freedom of choice, power of will, and the blessed opportunity to love and be loved.
Acknowledging your own birthday or that of another is not a matter of ego but rather a celebration of Soul. Taking birth is the first conscious act of will we make on earth......that of deciding to breathe our self into a body as a discrete human being (separate and apart from its earthly mother and heavenly origin).
Celebrating the event of birth is an honoring and acknowledging of the gift to become human ~ with freedom of choice, power of will, and the blessed opportunity to love and be loved.
image - Qahira Francesca Becker
My pearl of wisdom is from my late mother, Nancy Lord who died recently at the age of 102.
Nancy experienced a very dark chapter of her life during the Second World War when her husband, a navigator with the RCAF, went missing before Christmas, 1944. He was being sent home to Alberta because his brother, a pilot, had just been shot down and killed in France.
She was raising their toddler son and was pregnant with their daughter. He never did return and the plane, which went missing over the North Atlantic Ocean near the Azores, was never found.
Mom raised her two kids with the help of her family, then, years later married my dad and had two daughters with him. You never would have known Mom went through this tragedy when you met her later. She always looked forward, never back, and was always naturally optimistic, cheerful and brave.
What a role model she was to us all. So her pearl of wisdom is always to look forward, not back, and it propelled her to a full, vibrant and interesting life.
Cathy Lord
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything is a mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Blessing
Blessed be the longing that brought you here and that quickens your soul with wonder.
May your soul be as free as the ever-new waves of the sea.
May you succumb to the danger of growth.
May you live in the neighborhood of wonder.
May you belong to love with the wildness of dance.
May you know that you are ever embraced in the kind circle of God.
- John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy experienced a very dark chapter of her life during the Second World War when her husband, a navigator with the RCAF, went missing before Christmas, 1944. He was being sent home to Alberta because his brother, a pilot, had just been shot down and killed in France.
She was raising their toddler son and was pregnant with their daughter. He never did return and the plane, which went missing over the North Atlantic Ocean near the Azores, was never found.
Mom raised her two kids with the help of her family, then, years later married my dad and had two daughters with him. You never would have known Mom went through this tragedy when you met her later. She always looked forward, never back, and was always naturally optimistic, cheerful and brave.
What a role model she was to us all. So her pearl of wisdom is always to look forward, not back, and it propelled her to a full, vibrant and interesting life.
Cathy Lord
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything is a mystery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Blessing
Blessed be the longing that brought you here and that quickens your soul with wonder.
May your soul be as free as the ever-new waves of the sea.
May you succumb to the danger of growth.
May you live in the neighborhood of wonder.
May you belong to love with the wildness of dance.
May you know that you are ever embraced in the kind circle of God.
- John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love is infinite, and when we share it with another
Being it doesn't get split in half,
Or make less for the 'precious ones'
........Beings that were/are loved.
It adds, flows, on and on,
and doesn't take away from
the earlier love.
I can choose love.
When I'm feeling small,
greedy, jealous, lonely.....
I can choose love.
Myself, our world, the tree
and the smallness of my thoughts
shall pass quickly and
I trust in that......All are loved,
I am loved, by the "One".
Our energy can often be in proportion to the opportunities it seeks
out, accepts, includes and embraces. We attempt great things
when we are propelled from a deep sense of being inspired - 'in love'
- in compassion. We continue in sustaining those great things as we experience further deep and exhilarating feelings which carry us on an upward spiral toward more and more of the greatness of ourselves and others - to the Divine Presence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good night my angel, now it's
time to dream
and dream how wonderful our
life has been;
Someday we all must go,
but lullabies go on and on,
They never die.........
just like you and I will be
sung by Terrence Stamp
in the movie ' Unfinished Song'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Pearl of Wisdom is known as the Golden Rule, based on the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
To obey the Golden Rule is to treat others as one would wish to be treated.
The Sufis say something similar:
The Sufi has 2 points of view, his or her own and that of the other
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being it doesn't get split in half,
Or make less for the 'precious ones'
........Beings that were/are loved.
It adds, flows, on and on,
and doesn't take away from
the earlier love.
I can choose love.
When I'm feeling small,
greedy, jealous, lonely.....
I can choose love.
Myself, our world, the tree
and the smallness of my thoughts
shall pass quickly and
I trust in that......All are loved,
I am loved, by the "One".
Our energy can often be in proportion to the opportunities it seeks
out, accepts, includes and embraces. We attempt great things
when we are propelled from a deep sense of being inspired - 'in love'
- in compassion. We continue in sustaining those great things as we experience further deep and exhilarating feelings which carry us on an upward spiral toward more and more of the greatness of ourselves and others - to the Divine Presence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good night my angel, now it's
time to dream
and dream how wonderful our
life has been;
Someday we all must go,
but lullabies go on and on,
They never die.........
just like you and I will be
sung by Terrence Stamp
in the movie ' Unfinished Song'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Pearl of Wisdom is known as the Golden Rule, based on the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
To obey the Golden Rule is to treat others as one would wish to be treated.
The Sufis say something similar:
The Sufi has 2 points of view, his or her own and that of the other
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
image - Qahira Francesca Becker
Pearls 04
Pearls of Wisdom 04
From Access Consciousness
Dr. Dain Heer, Gary Douglas
The only thing standing between us and happiness is our own damaging point of view. How do we shift our thinking to, 'what else is possible?'
Become aware of how your point of view may be limiting your perspective and disallowing opportunity to present itself. Rather than a black and white statement about something or someone, can you shift to a point of gratitude for the chance to explore other perspectives?
What else is possible? Move into the question, the curiosity, the idea that numerous possibilities are available to us once we open our minds and hearts to welcoming new ideas and thought patterns. As simple as 'how does it get better than this?
From Access Consciousness
Dr. Dain Heer, Gary Douglas
The only thing standing between us and happiness is our own damaging point of view. How do we shift our thinking to, 'what else is possible?'
Become aware of how your point of view may be limiting your perspective and disallowing opportunity to present itself. Rather than a black and white statement about something or someone, can you shift to a point of gratitude for the chance to explore other perspectives?
What else is possible? Move into the question, the curiosity, the idea that numerous possibilities are available to us once we open our minds and hearts to welcoming new ideas and thought patterns. As simple as 'how does it get better than this?
image - Alim Vosteen
If you're in a yucky place/situation - How does it get better than this? If you are flying high with joy - How does it get better than this?
Find the question that allows the flow of possibilities and opportunities to present themselves.
Taliah Kim Washington
Find the question that allows the flow of possibilities and opportunities to present themselves.
Taliah Kim Washington
THERE COULD BE HOLY FALLOUT
We are often in battle,
So often every side is a fort
It may seem, all alone
Sit down, my dear,
Take a few deep breaths,
Think about a loyal friend.
Where is your music,
Your pet, a brush?
Surely one who has lasted as long as you
Knows some avenue or place inside
That can give you sweet respite.
If you cannot slay your panic,
Then say within
As convincingly as you can,
"it's all God's will".
Now pick up your life again,
Let whatever is out there
Come charging in.
Laugh and spit into the air,
There could be holy fallout.
Throw those ladders like tiny match sticks
With "just" phantoms upon them
Who might be trying to scale your heart.
Your love has an eloquent tone.
The sky and I want to hear it!
If you still feel helpless
Give our battle cry again.
Hafiz
Has shouted it a myriad times,
"it is all,
It is all the Beloved's will!"
What is that luminous rain I see
All around you in the future
Sweeping in from the east plain?
It looks like, O it looks like
Holy Fallout
Filling your mouth and palms
With joy!
Hafiz, the most beautiful
We are often in battle,
So often every side is a fort
It may seem, all alone
Sit down, my dear,
Take a few deep breaths,
Think about a loyal friend.
Where is your music,
Your pet, a brush?
Surely one who has lasted as long as you
Knows some avenue or place inside
That can give you sweet respite.
If you cannot slay your panic,
Then say within
As convincingly as you can,
"it's all God's will".
Now pick up your life again,
Let whatever is out there
Come charging in.
Laugh and spit into the air,
There could be holy fallout.
Throw those ladders like tiny match sticks
With "just" phantoms upon them
Who might be trying to scale your heart.
Your love has an eloquent tone.
The sky and I want to hear it!
If you still feel helpless
Give our battle cry again.
Hafiz
Has shouted it a myriad times,
"it is all,
It is all the Beloved's will!"
What is that luminous rain I see
All around you in the future
Sweeping in from the east plain?
It looks like, O it looks like
Holy Fallout
Filling your mouth and palms
With joy!
Hafiz, the most beautiful
Universal Worship Readings
Pearls of Wisdom 05
Universal Worship concluded the Pearls of Wisdom retreat. The readings used in the ceremony are presented here.
Universal Worship concluded the Pearls of Wisdom retreat. The readings used in the ceremony are presented here.
image - Fazalunissa Carole Harmon
image - David Murray
Universal Worship Texts
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