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*Poems, quotes and graphics on this page were from the internet and no express permission for use was asked for on the net. Background and most
graphics on this page are by "Backgrounds by Marie", whose web page I have linked to. Thank you Marie! Please check out her beautiful artistic work
by clicking on her link button. If any of these poems, quotes or graphics are yours, please let me know and I will be glad to give proper credit to
you on this web page, or remove them entirely, if you so wish. Thanks!*

We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.
~Sir Thomas Browne

After winter comes the summer.
After night comes the dawn.
And after every storm, there comes clear, open skies.
~ Samuel Rutherford

Silence is a great help to a seeker after truth.
In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light
and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.
Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth,
and the soul requires inward restfulness to attain its full height.
~Mohandas K Gandhi

Keep your faith in beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone.
~Roy R. Gibson

By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
~Confucius

When you accept everything, nothing can ever go wrong.
~Terry Murphy

This is love: to fly upward
    toward the endless heavens.
To rend a hundred veils at every moment.
At the first breath, to give up for life;
At the final step, to go without feet.
To see the world as a dream
    and not as it appears.

I said, O heart
What a blessing it is
To join the circle of lovers,
    To see beyond sight,
    To know the secrets within every breast.

I said, O soul
From where comes your life
And the power of your spirit?
    Tell me, speak in the language of birds,
    And I will understand.

My soul said to me:
They brought me to God's workshop
Where all things take form and I flew.
    Before this form of mine
    was even shaped I flew and flew.

And when I could fly no longer
They dragged me into this form,
    and locked me into this house
    of water and clay.
~Rumi

In Silence

A guide has entered this life in silence.
His message is only heard in silence.

Take a sip of his precious wine
and lose yourself.
Don't insult the greatness of his love,
for he helps all those who suffer, in silence.

Polish the mirror between the breaths.
Go with him beyond words.
He knows your every deed.
He is the one who moves the wheel of heaven,
    in silence.

Every thought is buried in your heart;
He will reveal them one by one, in silence.

Turn each of your thoughts into a bird
and let them fly to the other world.
One is an owl, one is a falcon, one is a crow.
Each one is different from the others
but they are all the same in silence.

To see the Moon that cannot be seen
turn your eyes inward and look at yourself,
    in silence.

In this world and the next,
don't talk about this and that;
Let him show you everything,
    shining as one . . .
    in silence.
~Rumi

Love expects no reward. Love knows no fear.
Love Divine gives - does not demand.
Love thinks no evil; imputes no motive.
To Love is to share and serve.
~Sivananda

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry,
the philosophy which does not laugh
and the greatness which does not bow before children.
~Kahlil Gibran

It is possible to give without loving,
but it is impossible to love without giving.
~Richard Braunstein

Be with those who help your being
Be with those who help your being.
Don't sit with indifferent people,
whose breath comes cold out of their mouths.
Not these visible forms, your work is deeper.

A chunk of dirt thrown in the air breaks to pieces.
If you don't try to fly,
and so break yourself apart,
you will be broken open by death,
when it's too late for all you could become.

Leaves get yellow.
The tree puts out fresh roots and makes them green.
Why are you so content with a love that turns you yellow?
~Rumi

Life is a promise; fulfill it.
~Mother Theresa

First there must be order and harmony within your own mind.
Then this order will spread to your family,
then to the community, and finally to your entire kingdom.
Only then can you have peace and harmony.
~Confucius

From "The Book of Sufi Healing"
by Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chisti

The philosophy of Sufism is best summed up in the words of the final
khuthbah of Hazrat Khawaja Muinuddin Chisti which he delivered to his
followers just one month before his demise. The great saint said:

Love all and hate none.
Mere talk of peace will avail you not.
Mere talk of God and religion will not take you far.
Bring out the latent powers of your being and reveal
the full magnificence of your immortal self.
Be surcharged with peace and joy,
And scatter them wherever you are, and wherever you go.
Be a blazing fire of truth,
Be a beauteous blossom of love
And be a soothing balm of peace.
With your spiritual light, dispel the darkness of ignorance;
dissolve the clouds and discords of war and spread goodwill,
peace and harmony among the people.
Never seek any help, charity or favors from anybody but God.
Never go to the courts of kings,
but never refuse to bless and help the needy and the poor,
the widow and the orphan, if they come to your door.
This is your mission, to serve the people...
Carry it out dutifully and courageously,
so that I, as your Pir-o-Murshid,
may not be ashamed of any shortcomings on your part
before the Almighty God and our holy predecessors in the Sufi Order [silsilaah]
on the Day of Judgement.