"The Prayer of St. Francis"
"The Prayer of St. Francis" by Francis of Assisi
The Prayer of St. Francis is one of the best known and best loved prayers in the world today. Attributed traditionally to St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), pictured above, its actual origins are much more recent. Nonetheless it beautifully reflects his devotion to God!
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; …
"Hitcher" by Keith Basar
As I stand alone on an open highway,
a cool breeze wisps against a single descending tear,
as an accordion exhaling its final sounds.
Emptiness weakens and overwhelms me,
like molten lava being drawn gravitationally
to its climactic end.
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“Spirituality, Art and Healing” by Tamera.org
Behind the visible world there is a parallel world of undreamt possibilities, a reality largely unknown to us, from where growth, healing and insight emerge. To become able to carry out successful global healing work, we’re learning to cooperate with these universal powers. By discovering our creative process and sacred life force through thinking, spiritual and consciousness work, through art, music, theater and dance, and above all through building trust among people, we learn to connect the world that we create with the world that has created us.
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"Please Call Me by My True Names" by Thich Nhat Hanh
Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
“A Poem” (title unknown) by Maurice Frydman
Heavy with the mud of many lands I was flowing lazily,
Making obstacles of myself out of my unholy accumulations.
Suddenly I awakened to the freshness of endless beauty,
And felt the eternal environment of endless peace.
"The Farmer's Three Wishes" - An ancient Jewish parable
One night, an angel of the Lord awakened a poor farmer. The angel said, “God has found favor with you, so he would like to reward you as he did for your ancestor Abraham. As a reward, God will grant you three wishes. There is only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is given to you.”
The farmer was, of course, amazed by this news, so he woke up his wife and told her all about it. The farmer’s wife insisted that they test this promise to see if it was actually real and not just a dream. So, they prayed that God would give them a herd of 1,000 cattle so that they would no longer be poor.
Hafiz, Poet and Sufi master
Hafiz came along a hundred years later (1320 to 1389). He lived most of his life in Shiraz. He is considered the most beloved poet of Persia, and one of the finest lyricists in the Persian language. He was a devout Sufi. He lived about the same time as Chaucer in England.
He became a famous Sufi master, a philosopher
"The Bud" by Keith Basar
As Winter gives it's final fro,
As luminous frost disappears into daylight’s song
A single bud beckons to discover its life amongst the coming Spring.
Tightly and securely bound - waiting, hoping for it's awakened state.
It finally yields to a perfect hue of tender green…
“When I Was the Forest” by Meister Eckhart (1260 – 1328)
When I was the stream,
when I was the forest,
when I was still the field,
when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing,
when I was the sky itself,
no one ever asked me did I have a purpose,
no one ever wondered
was there anything I might need,
for there was nothing I could not love.
