Here You Are...Wondering...About Fearing and Wishing...Death Be Not Proud

When we fear things I think that we wish for them ... every fear hides a wish.
DAVID MAMET, Edmond

Since our greatest fear is our fear of death it must also be our greatest wish. Here are two poems to shed some light on the nature of death, and a Sufi's explanation of the teaching "to die before you die", which sheds light on why our greatest fear would also our greatest wish.

The Holy Longing
Poem by Johann W. Von Goethe

Tell a wise person, or else keep silent,
because the mass man will mock it right away.
I praise what is truly alive,
what longs to be burned to death.

In the calm water of the love-nights,
where you were begotten, where you have begotten,
a strange feeling comes over you,
when you see the silent candle burning.

Now you are no longer caught in the obsession with darkness,
and a desire for higher love-making sweeps you upward.

Distance does not make you falter.
Now, arriving in magic, flying,
and finally, insane for the light,
you are the butterfly and you are gone.
And so long as you haven't experienced this: to die and so to grow,
you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth.



Death Be Not Proud
By John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

As Salamu Alaykum

I am getting the "White House Vegetable Garden Feeling" again today, as in: "You mean the White House didn't have a Vegetable garden?"

The same incredulous feeling is suddenly surprising me regarding today's world news about President Obama greeting the Islamic World in his opening remarks in Cairo, with a heartfelt "Salaam Alaykum" from the American People - which was followed by appreciative applause.

You mean we've been trying to help bring about peace in the Middle East without regularly greeting our Arab friends with: "Peace be upon you" - to the point that this is news? Please say it isn't so.

It seems that President Obama may be getting to the root of the problem, then.

Salaam Alaykum! May Peace Be With You - and all of us. We can work on our inner peace first - something President Obama seems to have accomplished quite nicely already. Maybe world peace is just around the corner. I dare to hope...

Monday's MeditationMom Moment - Truth, Religion And Music

Q: MeditationMom - are you a Muslim?

MM: No, except that if someone were to ask me to deny the statement "there is no God, but God" I would have to willingly go to my death instead. Like Galileo I would have to die for that truth. It is not just a religious truth but also a scientific one. I am not sure Muslims think of this statement as I do, but to me this is one of the most profound religious, even scientific, statements ever made.

All the religions are like flowers to me - beautiful. How can you chose? The truth on the other hand is like the earth to me, out of which all the different flowers grow. Few are interested in the earth rather than the beautiful flowers.

All the guardians of the flowers - the priests and imams are in competition with each other, forgetting the shared source of their flowers. This shared source is what the original teachings are all about. One earth - one truth - infinite varieties of flowers and religions. All beautiful and yet - incomplete - destined to return to the earth. Both beautiful and ugly flowers rot and return to the earth to make fertile soil. Which flower tells the whole truth about the earth? None. They are a distraction - and a secret message.

Q: You're an atheist then.

MM: No, Atheists hate all the religions. I love all the religions - although, not all of the churches and religious organizations that are run by corrupt and power-hungry humans.

Religions and religious ideas are beautiful to me - like music - even though my true love is silence, and truth. Religions, even though, as atheists point out, bring out the worst in human beings - also have brought out the very best, not just in the arts, but also in insight and human potential.

Religions can be extremely helpful, or a great hindrance to truth - just like music to silence, or passion to love, or knowledge to science. Music can create a sort of peace, harmony and serenity out of chaotic noise, and it is a good first step towards silence.

Just like music, religions are a good first step towards truth, but need to be left behind eventually. Like Jesus or Mohammad - one needs some quiet time in the desert or in a cave away from the churches and mosques in order to meditate and discover truth.

Atheists deny the existence of God with such conviction, as if they knew. This is just another form of belief, not knowledge. I do not deny the existence of God - although I will point out that there is no God as far as most people's idea of God is concerned. There is nothing that is not God. Therefore any discussions whether God exists or not - how do we go about it? It is such a challenge.

Q: Not to mention all the horrible music that is out there parading as music.

MM: Yes, there is that - and horrible teachings parading as religion. We need to develop that in us that can discern the true from the false. Utmost awareness and sensitivity is needed.

Monday's MeditationMom Moment - Son Of God Or Prophet

Q: Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God, while Muslims believe he was a prophet like Mohammad. What do you think of this idea that he is the son of God - even the only son of God?

MM: Jesus himself said that we are all the children of God - just like him. Begotten means "by seed". It makes no sense to take this literally, unless you believe in aliens.

Spiritually understood, this "seed", "God's seed" is waiting to sprout within all of us. It is our longing for re-union. The longing that drives everything - all of material, physical life, and spiritual life alike. "Father" means our origin, our source which could just as easily be called "Mother", or the Infinite and Eternal. The trouble always arises when the material mind interprets spiritual teachings. That is why so many spiritual teachings used to be kept secret.