Rumi, Deepak & Demi

Time for another dance with Rumi. His words refer to his personal search and passionate, intimate connection with the divine presence within, which experiences ecstatic interplay with the divine presence without (ie, in others). 

The Divine in me recognizes, and revels in, the Divine in you … Whitehawk

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A lover knows only humility,
He has no choice.
He steals into your alley at night,
He has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair,
Don’t fret…
He has no choice.
In his frenzied love for you, he longs to break the chains of his imprisonment,
He has no choice.

A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more than you love me?

Beloved replied,
I have died to myself and I live for you.
I’ve disappeared from myself and my attributes,
I am present only for you
I’ve forgotten all my learnings,
But from knowing you I’ve become a scholar.
I’ve lost all my strength,
But from your power I am able.

I love myself… I love you.
I love you… I love myself.

I am your lover, come to my side,
I will open the gate to your love.
Come settle with me,
Let us be neighbors to the stars.

You have been hiding so long,
Endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.
Even so, you have always been connected to me.
Concealed, revealed,
In the unknown, in the un-manifest.
I am life itself.
You have been a prisoner of a little pond,
I am the ocean and its turbulent flood.
Come merge with me,
Leave this world of ignorance.
Be with me…
I will open the gate to your love.

I desire you more than food or drink
My body, my senses, my mind,
Hunger for your taste
I can sense your presence in my heart
Although you belong to all the world
I wait with silent passion for one gesture,
One glance from you…

O P E N E D

Don’t be satisfied with poems and
stories of how things
have gone with others.

Unfold your own myth
without complicated explanation,
so everyone will understand
the passage,

W E   H A V E   O P E N E D   Y O U

The Illuminated Rumi
Translation: Coleman Barks

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The above excerpt really sent me when I first encountered it in the stunning book, The Illuminated Rumi.  I had been engaged with kundalini for a few years by that point, during which I experienced a plethora of things beyond my previous ability to imagine… until it was happening.  I had undeniably been opened by something far beyond my little self, and a whole other level of my story was certainly unfolding — most of which I didn’t dare speak about, as it so overtly defied typical standards re:  what’s real and what’s possible (doable or be-able) for mere mortals.

I wanted to post this  Rumi poetry for a couple of reasons:

1. I simply love it.  It reflects what happened when I was visited upon (and opened) by the unimaginable energy which is kundalini.  I could no longer be contained in the context of my former self; those conceptual contours, walls, structures had been dismantled.  A great expansion had begun; there was no stopping it, and the process became all that mattered, for the most part, for the duration.  Active kundalini could be neither deferred nor denied; there was no trying to fake business as usual. There were also so very few people with whom I could relate my avalanche of experiences, which made for bouts of sadness and frustration, and which also provided impetus for my speaking about all of this NOW — to assure others in similar situations that they are not alone. Before this energy kicked in, my life was a continual flow of meetings, teleconferences, and emails; all necessary for event organization, which was my business at the time — creating networking, seminar, and social events for ‘conscious’ professionals.  But there came a tipping point after which that activity had to subside to allow this opening to happen “without complicated explanation” to others, and more to the point, without the constant commotion inherent in constellating and choreographing a stream of events, and all the accompanying  PR such work requires.  My priorities of necessity HAD to shift to the inner planes… so my outer world HAD to become quiet.  Rumi obviously had intimate knowledge of the state I was in; his exquisite expressions attested to this.  And during a time when no one else really “got” me, knowing there was once a Rumi in the world was comforting :)  His words about ‘being opened’ by the gods was a clear reference to the kundalini that spontaneously ignited in him as a result of darshan — a particularly significant meeting he had with a mystic named Shams.  So resonant were their energies, they merged with the Divine in a field of ecstatic union — a state quite out of the ordinary in human experience, and which launched a thousand poetic ships that continue transporting souls to this day, myself among them.    

2. I’m also posting the excerpt in celebration of my completion of a formidable project — my written account of my kundalini awakening, to be published in 2009!  This was possibly the toughest writing I’ve ever done.   I threw away volumes of drafts,  starting from scratch over and over and over.  Then, when it was *almost complete,* my computer crashed and I LOST that file.  (As I was nearing the finish line, my kundalini re-activated, stirring up a new flurry of physical, paranormal, and electrical commotion, the latter of which blew circuits and my hard drive.) Kundalini, I assure you if you’ve not had this experience yourself, can bring on High Strangeness, in spades — all the while not giving a whit about clocks, calendars, appearances, or other “street-level” concerns;  it will go on and on as it sees fit for as long as it takes to accomplish its mission.  In my case, for various reasons, this took YEARS.  Transmitting years of weirdness (and illumination!) in a reasonably coherent, tightly constrained account was challenging to say the least.  (Space was limited as mine is one of numerous essays on the subject in this book, when it could easily be an epic in its own ‘write’.)  Not to mention — to me this involves intimate exposure of all manner of nonordinary phenomena… which just skims the surface of what went on while I was living it!  So: imagine having myriad super-sensory and out-of-body experiences, on and OFF the planet, with various ‘beings,’ in various dimensions and timelines — with a dollop of sex for good measure — and you might begin to get a sense of the Big Spill I splashed into that writing.  BTW, re: the Rumi quote ~ I had wanted to include it in the book, but could not obtain permission to do so, so I’m using it here in the blog (still without permission), as consolation.  It inspired my writing; I want to honor Rumi for having composed it!
   

   In short — I wrote my kundalini story;
   the editor responded with great enthusiam;
   so **Hallelujah** warbles Whitehawk,
   wings flapping in joy (and relief)

   

   (Hopefully my effusion isn’t too over the top ;)

The Mystical Life ~ Respite with Rumi

The throes of my kundalini ‘takeover’ swept me into a long, unfathomable (and unstoppable) ride of perpetual swings between ecstatic bliss, tormented agony, and a very full spectrum of the Previously Unimaginable in between.  I realize many are seeking to “launch” their kundalini, possibly thinking that by so doing, instant enlightenment, mind-blowing sex, and/or psychic gifts will be spontaneously bestowed.  I have a lot to say on this whole kundalini issue; so much, in fact, it’s like a logjam cramming my channel, and a nap or a lightweight movie suddenly becomes much more appealing.

All this as a little prelude to a Rumi poem I’d like to share with you.  During my kundalini days (which went on for years… not a ‘thrill’ to be pursued casually) I became besotted with Rumi.  Rumi’s poetry was beyond intoxicating to my expanded, highly sensitized mystical soul; I felt as though the only beings who understood the state I was experiencing lived long ago in the forms of Rumi and his twin soul (a huge topic, twin souls, and another ‘logjam’) ~ the brilliant mystic nomad, Shams.  Their story was one I related to, profoundly.   Previously, I had been only vaguely aware of Rumi.  Then — “K” strikes, and whomp! — Rumi is IT.  Rumi’s poetry became my BREATH; so exquisite, so essential…

Recently, I’ve been challenged to retain a sense of optimism (I know – join the crowd).  My despair motivated me to revisit Rumi (ahhhh, respite!) in search of one poem in particular — my reasoning being, if I could bathe myself in those words (I’m Very Big on the energy of words), I’d be able to pull up some of the extraordinary, expansive, illumined LOVE and sense of Grace that saturated my soul at the time, and revive my enthusiasm for the Great Unveiling we are now experiencing.

I combed the books, but this one piece eluded me.  I knew I’d typed it up at the time as well, but it was not to be found in my computer files.  Finally this morning I scoured a box full of writings (mine), and there it was! 

I realize the intense & exalted experience I had with Rumi may mean little if anything to others.  Still — I reproduce it here because it simply feels good to me to do so. It speaks so well to the mega-mystery we are experiencing now; perhaps ‘ascending souls’ will see the correlation between these ancient words, and the Now.

All this buildup for a few lines of Rumi!  At any rate… may your soul be quenched.  I still swoon when I reach the part beginning with ‘tree limbs’ …

Spirit

The universe is a form of divine law,
Your reasonable father.
When you feel ungrateful to him,
The shapes of the world seem mean and ugly.

Make peace with that father, the elegant patterning,
And every experience will fill with immediacy.
Because I love this, I am never bored.
Beauty constantly wells up, a noise of springwater
In my ears and in my inner being.

Tree limbs rise and fall like the ecstatic arms
of those who have submitted to the mystical life.
Leaf-sounds talk together like poets
making fresh metaphors.  The green felt cover slips,
and we get a flash of the mirror underneath.
Think how it will be when the whole thing
is pulled away!  I tell only one-thousandth
of what I see, because there’s so much doubt everywhere.

The conventional opinion of this poetry is,
it shows great optimism for the future.
But Father Reason says,
No need to announce the future!
The Now is It.  THIS.  Your deepest need and desire
is satisfied by the moment’s energy
here in your hand.