Welcome to a glorious Monday!
Today could certainly be a new beginning to that which has no end, but seems to!
My weekend began on Friday since Sunday was somewhat of a work day for me. I had an amazing day Friday with my friend Csaba Lucas (Pronounced “Chub-a”).
Csaba was one of the first Canadian CHEK Practitioners to go through Level 1. He took the class in my hometown of Courtenay, BC., which is on Vancouver Island.
It was funny, as we were reminiscing over the time that’s passed since then because Csaba pointed out that he’s now the same age I was when we met, some 14 years ago. I was pretty surprised how quickly 14 years has passed.
It was a cold, cloudy, rainy day at home Friday. A perfect day for some art and a fire. That’s what we started out with.
We enjoyed some hot tea and spent several hours drawing and sharing views on life and all it contains.
I didn’t remember to take a photo of Csaba’s beautiful art piece, but here is what I drew to express the day we were sharing together.
Csaba is Hungarian and one of his European traits is his love of scarfs. In my past, I’ve not developed an affinity for scarfs, but Csaba gave me the one you see below as a gift.
I think he passed on a “scarf loving virus” to me because since he gave me this beautiful hand made scarf, I’ve not wanted to take it off!
When you’ve got a bald head and it’s cold outside, a scarf turns out to be very handy.
After we finished our drawing, we got our 5 fingers on and headed out into the hills for a nice hike.
We were completely soaked by about half way through the hike, but we both really enjoyed being exposed to the elements. The earth feels so lovely under your feet when it’s as soft as a sponge.
As we were walking home, the rain was falling on our heads and faces and I had the urge to share a view of the soul with Csaba. I said, “Csaba, these rain drops are very much like our souls. They appear as individual drops, yet, they are one with the ocean of the water element everywhere in the world; their individuality is but a momentary appearance. Just as they appear to us as drops, they are merely expressions of One Reality; the soul is as a drop of Divine Light, appearing as one (ego) reality for a very short appearance, which we refer to as life.”
Thanks for sharing a beautiful, peaceful, creative day with me Csaba! I’m grateful you are in the world doing such a great job of coaching people to their full potential as spiritual beings!
Saturday was a great day for me too. I did some lovely reading, more drawing, and went out in the rain and stacked rocks. Here you can see one of the towers I built.
I had built two towers side by side initially. I was so excited to take a photo of them to share with you, but literally as I was walking out of the garden to get my camera, I heard a thunderous crash and on of them came down.
I had to chuckle. Rock stacking is so very much like life in that we may work days, weeks, months or years only to have our project come tumbling down.
I went back to see what happened and saw that the ground was so soft that the weight of the stones pressed the base stone into the mud.
At my home, there are lots of ground squirrels and their tunnels collapse under the weight of the big stones when it starts raining for any length of time. This certainly gives me a chance to create new rock art now and then.
Sunday, I came in to the office and worked on some slide show revisions for a big project I’m in the middle of. It’s a film project that will start tomorrow, so I had, and still have lots to do!.
After I finished, I went home to relax and do some more reading and artwork.
Later in the day, Wayne Daniels and Christi Sullivan came for a short visit. It’s always nice to see both Wayne and Christi. They both work on their personal growth daily and do their best to share the fruits of that process with all their clients as well. Great to see you both!
THE DESIRES OF BODY AND SOUL
Today, I’d like to share a few verses of poetry by Rumi from one of the very best books of Rumi’s poetry I’ve got in my library. This book, titled, RUMI – POET AND MYSTIC 1207-1273, Selections from his Writings Translated from the Persian, with Introduction and Notes by Reynold A. Nicholson. London, 1950.
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This jewel was given to me as a gift by Dan Hellman, a CHEK Faculty and great friend of mine.
This is a rare book, but well worth it if you can find it and are willing to spend the money for it. Fortunately for me, Dan spent the money and I did the reading so I could share it with you!
On page 123, as part of a poem titled “UNIVERSAL LOVE”, Rumi shares:
“!The soul says to her base earthly parts, ‘My exile is more bitter than yours: I am celestial.’
The body desires green herbs and running water, because its origin is from those;
The soul desires Life and the Living One, because its origin is the Infinite Soul.
The desire of the soul is for ascent and sublimity; the desire of the body is for pelf (PC: money and riches) and means of self-indulgence;
And that Sublimity desires and loves the soul: mark the text He loves them and they love Him.”
Footnote 3. Qur’an, 59. What attracts lover to beloved and vice versa, and harmonizes and unites them, is nothing that exists in the phenomenal world: it is the “non-existent” Essence and Reality, which mystics know by the name of Love. In the beloved it appears under the aspect of lordship and self-sufficiency, in the lower it takes the form of servitude, abasement and tribulation.
COMMENTARY
I can only share what rises in my own soul when reading Rumi’s words:
Rumi says,!”The soul says to her base earthly parts, ‘My exile is more bitter than yours: I am celestial’.”
Here, we are being reminded that we humans are a conglomeration of the earthly and the celestial realities. Many forget that we are actually star people, more so than simply earthly people.
It’s important to remember that the earth’s substance itself was once part of a star; and that star was part of another star, and another star!infinitely!
If we get too addicted to that which is earthly, we are likely to find ourselves experiencing unrest, for the celestial aspect of ourselves is being ignored, and it is the greater, more enduring aspect of our reality.
Imagine falling in love with the idea of holding your breath!no matter how good at it you get, there will always be a rising, domineering urge to breath.
It is the marriage between the celestial and earthly parts of ourselves, in a metaphysical way, that creates breath – a constant exchange of energies as is necessary for the experience of life!living.
RUMI: “The body desires green herbs and running water, because its origin is from those;
The soul desires Life and the Living One, because its origin is the Infinite Soul.”
PC: Here Rumi describes the apparent duality expressed within The One.
Rumi: “The desire of the soul is for ascent and sublimity; the desire of the body is for pelf (PC: money and riches) and means of self-indulgence;
And that Sublimity desires and loves the soul: mark the text He loves them and they love Him.!”
Footnote 3. Qur’an, 59. What attracts lover to beloved and vice versa, and harmonizes and unites them, is nothing that exists in the phenomenal world: it is the “non-existent” Essence and Reality, which mystics know by the name of Love. In the beloved it appears under the aspect of lordship and self-sufficiency, in the lower it takes the form of servitude, abasement and tribulation.
PC: The “non-existent” Essence and Reality Rumi here refers to as “Love” may well be referred to as “Consciousness”; out of Consciousness emerges the subject~object duality that creates the (real) illusion of time, of life.
When Rumi says, “Mark the text He loves them and they love Him”, in his unique way, he is saying what St. Francis of Assisi said in reference to people “looking for God”, which was, “What you are looking for, is what’s looking.”
Consciousness (God) has none other than SELF to love, which is experienced in the creation of self (object-body) within which subject-consciousness is perception.
For me, it is helpful to keep the awareness that regardless of how wild and crazy the world appears, and feels, it is all the Divine exploring ITSELF.
Once one understands the true nature of love, which isn’t just being “kind”, but is the Ultimate Creative Force behind All Existence, then it is easier to relax into, and enjoy the journey.
At that point, one realizes that they are an essential node of consciousness, through which Consciousness comes to know ITSELF.
So ask yourself today as you go through your various life experiences, “what’s looking through you?”
Have a lovely day!
Love and chi,
Paul Chek
