http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38628 Wed, 17 May 2006 08:05:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38628 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38612 Tue, 16 May 2006 20:44:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38612 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38611 And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.- The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

Giving is something someone can do even if they have nothing. Giving of possessions is only one of the endless things one can put out into the world. I know that just a smile or a nice comment can make my day so much better, and it makes me feel renewed when I do something that reaches out to someone else. You can give evey second of every day, if you are willing.
]]> Tue, 16 May 2006 19:08:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38611 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38610 And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. -The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

I think that this is a very interesting view of love. I think that it makes sences, in that althought there is much pain in love, enduring that pain makes the joy even more joyful, having pain makes it easier to have joy. I had never really thought about that before, but it makes so much sense. A day without loving will make one with it that much more happy. So love love, whether it bring you pain or joy.

"The love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, love isn't love till you give it away."

]]> Tue, 16 May 2006 18:59:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38610 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38590
I practice yoga and meditation, and I think it has done more for me than I can comprehend. I believe if we all partook in these practices that all the hate we have for eachother would be lost with the wind, and we could finally understand that we are all the earth's children and would sing and dance together in the wonder of life, in the music of the universe.]]> Tue, 16 May 2006 08:29:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38590 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38589 I am looking around and trying to find an organic community garden, since I cannot have are garden of my own, but love creating life within the earth. It is wonderful to watch a plant go from a seed all the way into an adult plant, even though they may be perturped by bad weather of bugs, they do not give up. A lot can be learned from this phenomenon, and you can learn it every day, for it is happening everywhere, to every living thing, and that is why everything deserves respect. They're going through the same thing as you.]]> Tue, 16 May 2006 08:01:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38589 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38588
But seriously, this is a big problem!!!! How long are we going to realize our folly? I know that everyone knows we are wrong, but just don't want to admit it! It is just too easy to not care!!! How obvious does it have to get that we are killing the earth ?! She is crying, all she can do is sit and watch while we kill her children, and destroy her bountiful surface. When will we stop this madness, admit our mistakes and go back to living in hormony withthe earth? i fear the answer is never, unless by some miracle, but I fear there may not be one big enough to make billions of people realize their mistakes. I fear that by the time we understand we are in danger, it will be more than too late.]]> Tue, 16 May 2006 07:52:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38588 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38571 Mon, 15 May 2006 21:06:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38571 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38570 Mon, 15 May 2006 20:53:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38570 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38569 And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance. -The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

I personaly love the book The Prophet, and I think that no matter what religion you are or what your beleifs are I think that this view on death is an amazing outlook on the outline and I feel that it is also very inspiring. I think that if you have lived a full live, live with love and compassion toward all things, done things that give back to the earth and it's people and have overall had a positive effect on the world then you will not fear death for you have fillled you life and are ready to take the next step in existence. We fear the unknown, and death is certainly that. It is fear of the unknown that has driven us to murder millions and sit trembling in the corner when we could be out bettering the world and ourselves, so if you accept that you do not know death, and that fact cannot change, then to fear it would be useless.


]]> Mon, 15 May 2006 20:52:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38569 http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38566 Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?
And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?
The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.
Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.
Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
The tired and the weary say, "beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.
Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,
And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say, "we have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."
In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
All these things have you said of beauty.
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and your are the mirror. -The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

I think this is one of the most wonderful explanations of beauty that I have ever heard. Beauty is evrything about life, life is beauty. You can find it everywhere. I often forget to enjoy every aspect of life, and am noe thankful enough as I should be. Even a spider, so fragile and delicate in a world so full of danger, is beauty. If you lift the veil seperating you from life, all beauty will reveal itself to you and you will dance to the music of the universe.

]]> Mon, 15 May 2006 06:00:00 EDT http://namasteshanti.tigblog.org/post/38566