WORD FOR THE DAY
Thursday, Jul. 31

Penetrate the heart of just one

drop of water, and you will be

flooded by a hundred oceans.

Mahmûd Shabistarî
The Mystic Rose Garden

Thought for the day Thursday 31st of July 2008

"Spiritual practice is difficult, of course, but is made still more so by the fact that those who decide to devote themselves to it don’t know how to establish the right inner attitude. There they are, in a hurry, tense at the thought of the numerous other things they have to do, and they can’t manage to put all these concerns to one side. In their unconscious, in their subconscious, there’s something that blocks them and stops them from getting results.
Obviously, these days, life, with its greater speed and the many imposed obligations, does not favour spiritual activities, which require us to know how to free ourselves from our daily concerns and find another, more harmonious, rhythm. But those who acquire the habit of fulfilling certain conditions for inner peace, for half an hour or an hour, will not only succeed in linking to the world of light but will then carry out all their professional and family obligations with greater ease. Everything must be done in the right place and at the right time."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Thought for the day Tuesday 29th of July 2008

"The earth lives, feels, breathes, thinks and evolves, and because of this it influences humans. The earth isn’t mentioned in horoscopes; it isn’t taken into account at all, and yet we are all influenced by the state and position the earth was in on the day we were born.
We are influenced more by the earth than by any other planet, because we are closest to it. Why does the moon have a greater influence on us than the sun? Because it’s closer. And the earth, since it is our ‘pied-à-terre’ and therefore even closer to us, influences us even more through its different states. It has moments when it is awake and moments when it is asleep, as well as moments when it is thinking, when it is unhappy or when it is delighted. No one cares about the earth’s different states. This is wrong, for we live in constant contact with it, and the currents that pass through it have a direct effect on us."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Tuesday, Jul. 29

As human beings, our greatness

lies not so much in being able to

remake the world -- that is the

myth of the "atomic age" -- as in

being able to remake ourselves.

Mahatma Gandhi

Thought for the day Monday 28th of July 2008

"What is evolution? A change of form. In order to manifest, spirit always needs new forms, for form itself does not evolve and must be replaced. When we say time destroys everything, we mean only forms; time has no power over principles.
Forms are useful and necessary, but after a certain time even religions must abandon them in order to welcome new, purer, more elaborated ones. This is why Christianity should not seek to perpetuate forms inherited from the distant past; such an attitude goes against the decrees of cosmic Intelligence, which breaks up old forms to allow for the advent of new ones. So it should be of no surprise that the Church is being shaken up. Whatever it does, its old forms will be broken up. Christians must understand that the forms in which their religion was given to them centuries ago have lost their effectiveness and must be replaced, so that the content, the spirit of Christ, can be better expressed."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Monday, Jul. 28

Do not look for rest in any

pleasure, because you were

not created for pleasure:

 you were created for Joy.

And if you do not know the

difference between pleasure

and joy you have not yet

begun to live.

Thomas Merton

Thought for the day 27th of July 2008

"Nutrition is an inexhaustible subject, for it is concerned with the whole of our being. Everything we absorb teaches us its secrets. To know things and beings, you have to introduce them into yourself in order to study them. Nutrition is the key to knowledge: you must always begin by absorbing what you wish to know.
By requiring all creatures, even the most lowly, to feed themselves, cosmic Intelligence obliges them to acquire at least some rudimentary knowledge: as they eat they begin to study the nature of things. In order to develop and learn, one should always begin by tasting. And what is true for microbes is even truer for humans. But for humans, of course, eating is no longer limited to the physical plane. Their heart, mind, soul and spirit also need nourishment. When you pray, meditate, read and study, when you contemplate the colours and beauty of nature, when you listen to music, what are you doing if not nourishing yourself on the higher planes?"

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Sunday, Jul. 27

It may be that when we no longer

know which way to go we have

come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled

 is not employed.

The impeded stream

 is the one that sings.

Wendell Berry
Collected Poems

Thought for the day Saturday 26th of July 2008

"If humans had not understood the advantages of organizing themselves into societies, they would still be spending their days in the forests looking for food. As soon as they saw how useful it was to come together to pool several arms and legs, they benefited from this new situation, and now everybody is at the service of everyone else and can benefit from everything.
In reality, however, humans have resolved the problem of collective life only superficially. Externally, they may live organized into societies, but inside themselves they have remained isolated, separate, aggressive and hostile towards one another. This is why work still needs to be done inwardly, spiritually, if human beings are to succeed in forming a true ideal society, a universal brotherhood on earth. Then they will have attained the sublime consciousness of unity and will live in plenitude."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

Thought for the day Friday 25th of July 2008

"As the sun rises in the morning, little by little forms and colours begin to grow clearer. What the sun is, in this way, for nature and the physical world, divine light is for human consciousness. Lucidity and true thinking are given to human beings only if they make efforts to approach this light. The instant the light enters their consciousness, everything becomes clear, and they begin to perceive the true reality of things.
So, think of light; surround yourself with light, and introduce light into yourself. For light is also the most powerful of protections. Just as fire keeps wild animals away at night, so the ray of light you project with your thought repels the dark presences and currents that threaten your inner peace."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

WORD FOR THE DAY
Friday, Jul. 25

Shower Thy grace upon us in

the moment of our greatest

need, protect us from ourselves,

and allow us to be a beacon of

light rather than a dark cloud

for the ambience that surrounds

us. Only with Thy aid can we

create that peace within and

harmony with the outer

environment, both natural and

social, for which our souls yearn.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr
from Talking to God: Portrait of a World

at Prayer (anthology)

"Life is none other than a form of combustion. It is impossible for anything to manifest in the universe without the combustion of matter to produce energy. And human beings cannot live, in other words cannot act, feel or think, unless a fuel is burnt within them to feed the process.
To sustain life, something must always be burnt. You will say, ‘But what must be burnt?’ Good question. Instead of burning your most precious quintessences by giving way to instincts and passions, learn to burn your instincts and passions by renouncing them. You must put your jealousy, anger and sensuality right there in the fire, the fire of the spirit, so they produce an extraordinary light, flame and heat, like the black, twisted branches that feed a furnace. The secret lies in how we burn all our impurities to feed the heavenly fire."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïv