Morning Prayers

Dawn is still so far away
that the chills of night embrace my words
and make the crystals swords that cut
my passion into a thousand pieces
for love to consume.

As the Earth moves around the sun,
obedient to love’s ancient law
I raise my voice in praise and gratitude;
I ask forgiveness of my sins,
for moments of forgetfulness
when the Beloved is not my goal.

Dawn prayers inscribed by the Beloved
upon the mirror of my soul
merge the rainbow dazzling shades
into a beam of radiant light
that ignites the veils which separate
God’s ancient temple
into a multitude of religious sects.

(2 Ayyam-i-Ha 162 B.E.)

Defining Happiness

What is happiness? This question came to my mind this morning when I read an e-mail from the yahoo group Journal Writing. The title of the post was “Getting over happiness” in which Psychologist Steven Hayes was paraphrased. The gist of the paraphrase was that we (American’s) are so preoccupied with “feeling good” that we are stopping ourselves from “living good” because to live life to its thoroughly means experiencing pain. We cannot live on the material plane without some type of pain and disappointment, but we do not want to feel pain or any other negative feeling. However, (I suspect) not experiencing those feeling actually prevents true happiness.

The basic problem is how we define happiness. If we define happiness from a purely material angle then lack of pain may be important to material happiness, but (if like the mystic poets) we define life from a spiritual angle then pain and sadness contributes to the spiritual aspects of life. An example from the life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha may make the point better than anything else. ‘Abdu’l-Baha experienced exile and imprisonment because of his faith the majority of his life. Yet this did not prevent him from helping others nor did it prevent him from being happy. The reason for this is that ‘Abdu’l-Baha defined happiness from a spiritual aspect rather than a material point of view.

Mystic poets define happiness in the presence of the Beloved, which means being in the presence of God (Divine Essence). Through prayer, meditation, reading the sacred writing and sacrifice, the mystic poets achieve spiritual happiness or the presence of the Divine Essence. In like manner ’Abdu’l-Baha achieved happiness because he prayed, meditated, read the sacred writings and sacrificed the desires of ego to the desires of the soul or the spirit.

(19 Mulk 162 B.E.)

The Coming of Spring

The end of winter approaches,
nature foretells a new year
through the appearance of leaf buds
pastel green harbingers of spring.

When the sun crosses the vernal equinox
winter dies and spring is born,
and I feel the presence of the Beloved
in the morning air and the rising sun.

Beloved, I look for your approach
when the sun crosses the equinox,
I listen for the nightingale’s song
and wait for you at dawn.

The end of winter approaches,
I cannot sleep,
anticipating the sound of your voice
calling to me from afar.

The birds of winter flutter
call out and gather material
for their new nests
anticipating spring’s blessings.

Beloved, all year round
you are within prayer distance
but it is spring
when I feel your presence most.

(18 Mulk 162 B.E.)

Choosing Prosperity

Choosing Prosperity

Prosperity is a spiritual attitude and not a material condition; it is a spiritual choice that we make every day. Material wealth can often come between the soul and the Beloved; it (material wealth) can get in the way of seeing the Divine Essence, which created the universe. Material wealth gives one a distorted sense of reality, blinds one to the beauty of nature, to the oneness of humanity and to one’s own spiritual abilities.

Now one might ask what does prosperity and spiritual poetry have in common. The poetry of the mystic speaks of the mystic’s poverty, indeed many mystic poets are poor and bereft of material wealth, but they have an abundance of spiritual wealth. Mystics of all religious backgrounds and cultures know that true wealth comes from the Beloved. They feel the presence of the Divine Essence and know that presence as true wealth or prosperity.

So often, we humans looks at the lack of material things in our lives and despair, because we believe ourselves poor for lack of material items. I am not taking about the necessities (food, shelter, and clothing) here, but rather the extra stuff that a person desires. If you look at the lives of the well know mystics various cultures and religions, they considered absence of the Divine Essence as poverty or lack of wealth. The ancient mystic poets did not worry about food, shelter or clothing, but rather they worried about a relationship with God. For the mystic, in any culture or religion, being without a relationship with the Divine Essence was poverty. You know this by looking at any of their poems or writings, once the mystic had a personal relationship with the Divine Essence then the mystic viewed everything else in a different light, its true light. To the mystic poet his or her relationship with the Divine Essence (God no matter by what name the poet referred God) was prosperity.

Neither reading nor writing mystic poetry leads to a personal relationship with the Divine Essence. Actually, one of the side effects of a personal relationship with God is writing mystic poetry. One achieves personal relations with the Divine Essence through prayer, meditation and reading the sacred writing, the Holy Scriptures. When one has, a personal relationship with the Creator, then on chooses prosperity and eventually one’s entire out look changes.

(17 Mulk 162 B.E.)

The Big Date

The Big Date

This is the big date, the date I had planned so carefully so what is missing. The date I had planned so carefully without going to the Divine Essence in prayer, the blessing of the Beloved is missing. No matter what I do without the blessing of God, of the Divine Essence nothing can go right. I does not matter now how I try to retrieve what is left of the night, the blessing of God is not here making everything come out right. It is amazing, how one little prayer before starting a new project will affect the spirit of the project and the project’s outcome. Now that everything has fallen apart and I am left standing alone in the dark, I turn to the Beloved; I turn to the Divine Essence in prayer and ask forgiveness for my egotistical belief that without the blessing of God anything can turn out right.

I fall on my knees and ask forgiveness; as I speak the words, I feel the presence of the Ancient of Days. Midnight and I hear the wind rising, I see the stars shining and I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The words I intone are not my own, but taken from the sacred scriptures. Memorized over decades of not knowing where to turn as I read the prayers and the sacred writings looking for an answer; now the words come back to me, I repeat them and they give me comfort. I repeat them and they contain the answers to my dilemma. I am not alone in the darkness, I am by myself, but I am not alone. The spirit of God, the Divine Essence, and the Ancient of Days is there whispering comfort into the ears of my spirit.

(14 Mulk 162 B.E.)

Mystic Poem Generator

The writing prompt for the yahoo group The Writing Spark for February 18, 2006 is “Write about the jobs you do.” I have started this poem to show that a person can use a prompt to start a mystic poem. Mystic poems come from every day life, they are inspired by the interplay between a person soul and the world around. Anyone can write a mystic or spiritual poem, a person just has to look around at the beauty, glory and splendor in his or her environment. Everyday chores can generate a mystic poem, just as going to a church or a spiritual service.

The Jobs I Do

For the love of You
these are the jobs I do:
I intone you name upon the morning air,
waiting for the dawn to arrive in all its glory;
I was the cloths while listening for Your Sacred Spirit’s coaching;
I write of the love that You inspire;
I do the dishes or I drive my car,
while I review Your words of love
that I have memorized.

What is necessary to write a mystic poem? Prayer, meditation and reading the sacred scriptures are the foundation of writing mystic poems. Other necessities are a relationship with God, the presence of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to see the world around in a different light. One must look at the world through spiritual eyes, but one does not have to live the life of a hermit. In the present cycle living in the world and interacting with humanity can produce a great many mystic poems. In addition the mystic or spiritual poet must be willing to rewrite, rewrite and rewrite.

Writing spiritual poetry is a part of the mystic’s quest for perfection, the mystic quest to reflect the attributes of God and proclaim the beloved to the world. However, a mystic poet is not a poet of one particular religion or time in history. A mystic poet is anyone who has a personal relation with the Creator, with the Divine Essence. It doesn’t matter by what name you call the Divine Essence or the Beloved or to what religion you belong, it is the personal relationship with the creator that is important. Mystic or spiritual poetry give the view of the poet writing the poem. We do not read spiritual poetry to learn about God, we read it to learn about the believer who wrote the poem.

One can write a mystic poem in response to the poem of another mystic, in response to a quote from the sacred scriptures or in response from any prompt. Sometimes it takes a bit of meditation and prayer to find the response, but eventually the poet will find the response in alignment with his or her belief system, religion or concept of God. When reading the scriptures keep a pen and paper or a journal near by and jot down the words or thoughts that come to mind. Then begin to putting those thoughts into verse form or prose form (there are such things as prose poems). Keep a pen and journal with you at all time and write down any thoughts, words or events that arouse your curiosity, that engender a response. After the initial muse has come, then begin to compose the poem and later work at rewriting. If you are satisfied with you work, then rewriting is not necessary, but if you are not satisfied with your attempt at writing then rewriting is a requirement.

(12 Mulk 162 B.E.)

In My Spare Time

In my spare time You are there
Your words encouraging me to go beyond
the limits of my doubts.

I say my prayers
and I feel Your presence
embracing me
and taking me to unknown
heights of love.

In my spare time
think of You
as I write odes of gratitude
and praise.

I intone Your name
in the light of dawn and You are there
whispering encouragement
and faith
that overcomes the voices
of doubt and fear.

In my spare time
You are there
because I take the time
to call on You
and meditate upon Your
sacred verses.

I love You
not only in my spare time,
but in the mundane
desires of everyday activities.

I see Your face
in the clouds that pass above my head,
and in the countenance
of friends and strangers
that pass me on the street.

You are there for me
in my spare time
and in all the activities of my life.

You forgive me the moments
of forgetfulness
when I forget to look
for the blessing of Your presence.

(11 Mulk 162 B.E.)

A Poem Sparked By a Prompt

How Did I Get Here?

Tell me, Beloved,
how did I get here?
Why was I born upon this planet
at this point in its history,
in its cultural and spiritual evolution.

Tell me, Beloved,
how did I get here?
Why did You choose
the sperm and the egg
that created my body
especially for me?
What talents did they give
the body that holds my soul?

Tell me, Beloved,
how did I get here?
What is my purpose,
I know that I was created to know and love You,
I know that the purpose for humanity
is to carry forward an ever advancing civilization,
but do I have a purpose beyond this
or am I here to assist
in the advancement of civilization
by proclaiming Your love
and Your name across the planet.

Tell me, Beloved,
how did I get here?
How did my soul come into conjunction
with this body?
I know that my spirit merge with this body
at conception,
but what was the process of this merging,
or is it something I need to know or even worry
about at this point in my spiritual evolution?
What does this body hold
for the my spirit?

(10 Mulk 162 B.E.)

This poem was sparked by a prompt from a yahoo prompt group.

My Thoughts On Valentine's Day

The Poetry of Love

Spiritual poetry is the poetry of love. It expresses the love of the seeker, the love of the lover for the Beloved. Who is the Beloved? In spiritual poetry the Beloved is the Divine Essence, the mystic or spiritual poet my call the Beloved by another name, by one of the names of the Divine Messengers, but the Beloved is always the Divine Essence whether the poet know it or not, whether the poet will admit it or not. The poet puts the love of the Divine Essence before herself (I say herself because the female is the symbol of the soul in most cultures and poems).

The poet is the lover, the soul seeking the Divine Essence. The Divine Essence while it is a spirit and spiritual creatures have no physical gender is considered male in many (not all) cultures. There are many cultures and religions that have the concept of both the divine masculine and the divine feminine. The two appear to be two separate entities, but God or the Divine Essence is a singularity that can not be divided. As human beings we divide the Divine Essence into male and female into sects and religions, but in reality the Divine Essence is not and can not be divided. Humanity divides because the only way we appear to be able to comprehend something is to label it, to put it into categories.

(8 Mulk 162 B.E.)

A Collection of Memories

Collection of Memories

Beloved,
My life is a collection of memories
of moments in your presence,
I remember when we first met,
the song that caught my ear,
and I saw your glory approach.

My life is a collection of memories
of moments without you around,
before I encountered you spirit
in the words that of your sacred scriptures.

My life is a collection of memories
with and without you in my life,
sometimes I forget to notice your presence
and darkness fills my mind.

My life is a collection of memories
of moments and events
that all bring me closer to you
if I remember you are always near by;
you are closer to me then my jugular vein
but I am farther from you then
the universe’s receding rim.

(8 Mulk 162 B.E.)

Forgetting Myself

Forgetting Myself

In your love I forgot myself today,
forgot to worry over what was or was not said,
forgot to obsess over what I did or did not do,
I forgot myself and everything else in remembering you.

I read your scripture and remembered why,
you were sent into the world:
Humanity is not alone any more than I,
but in remembering self becomes forgetful of you.

I intoned you name and forgot myself
I remember you and love humanity,
in your sacred scriptures I see unity
all your names and attribute in a singularity.

I forgot myself today and I remembered you
I was no longer alone
and it did not matter that I was by myself
because I remembered you.

The lesson that I learned today
is that you are always near
you are always waiting for me to remember
if I forget you then there is nothing else.

I remembered you today
and in so doing I gain everything
that makes life worth living
and defines your love.

(2 Mulk 162 B.E.)

The Highest Form of Spiritual Poetry

The Highest Form of Spiritual Poetry

What is the highest form of spiritual poetry? For me it is the sacred scriptures. The verses in the Holy Books of humanity are poetry. Poetry revealed by God through one of His Prophets or Manifestations. True some of the translations of the Holy Books are not as high quality as others, but all the translations reveal the poetry of the spirit. In order to appreciate the poetry of the Holy Books we must read the verses, pray and meditate.

The poetry of the sacred books must be approached with a pure heart. That is when one approach the reading of the scriptures one must approach without preconceived ideas. The more one prays and struggles to understand the scriptures the more the will of God will be revealed to that person. The poetry of the scriptures is a beautiful way to begin or end the day.

Often times when a person looks for poetry, the person looks for line phased verses. However, not all the scriptures are in, what is often considered, traditional verse form. The scriptures are written in both verse (line phased) form and prose form, so often times we do not recognize the scriptures as poetry. Yet the sacred scriptures speaks directly to the human soul. They give us suggestions, inspiration, encouragement and reveal the to the human mind the potential poetry and art has to effect the human spirit.

(15 Sultan 162 B.E.)