If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

- Lao Tse

And so I pray, Oh Lord,

Send Thy peace O Lord, which is
perfect and everlasting,
that our souls may radiate peace.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may think, act and speak harmoniously.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may be contented and thankful for
Thy bountiful gifts.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that amidst
our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of
Thy grace and mercy.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives
may become a Divine vision and in Thy light,
all darkness may vanish.

Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,
that we Thy children on Earth may all
unite in one family.

- Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

Since the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.

- Shinto prayer.

A Blessing

Mi-sheberakh avoteinu v’imoteinu, Avraham v’Sarah, Yitzhak v’Rivkah, Ya’akov, Rachel v’Leah hu y’varekh et C v’yavi aleihem refuat hanefesh u’refuat haguf yachad im kol cholei amo Yisrael. Barukh atah Hashem, rofeh ha’cholim.

May the One who was a source of blessing for our ancestors, bring blessings of healing upon dear C, a healing of body and a healing of spirit. May those in whose care she is entrusted be gifted with wisdom and skill, and those who surround her be gifted with love and trust, openness and support in their care. And may she be healed along with all those who are in need. Blessed are You, Source of healing.

XXXII
There was the Door to which I found no Key;
There was the Veil through which I might not see:
Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee
There was--and then no more of Thee and Me.
...
XXXIV
Then of the Thee in Me works behind
The Veil, I lifted up my hands to find
A Lamp amid the Darkness; and I heard,
As from Without--"The Me Within Thee Blind!"

- The Rubaiyat, by Omar Khayyam.

A healthy spirit

I was feeling rather pleased with myself for having stumbled upon this understanding yesterday (which is rather simplistic and I must add the disclaimer that as most analogies go, it will be limited in some way, but effective in making a few points clear). Yesterday, while icing my wrists I was trying to imagine what a normal one would feel like. And I was quite stunned to realize that when everything in our body is working as it is meant to be, we do not feel any motion or function distinctly; we do not feel our muscles pull, our joints ache, our skin itch, our pulses race and so forth. In other words we do not perceive the otherwise enormous effort we would have to take to re-align a malfunctioning organ or gland into working harmoniously with the rest of the body. You see as a whole, the body has a purpose. When some part of it is ailing, it detracts in some fashion, the whole from working as efficiently as it should or could be, towards that purpose. And every ache and bruise, every disease and affliction, remains a nagging reminder of that imbalance and disharmony within.
That got me thinking, how we do know our spirits are healthy? Or is there even a golden yardstick for how a healthy one 'feels'? A series of recent blogs by C & N helped me clarify how it might feel. (I highly recommend reading those posts with all the comments that followed for an excellent synthesis of ideas surrounding a harmonious existence from within and without). I believe our spirits (individual organs) feel bogged down and frustrated when its purpose is at odds with the purpose of the collective organism or body it is serving (the body); when the goal of one organ is to siphon off all resources for its own functioning without concern for how that might affect the equilibrium of the body as a whole; when one organ does not pitch in to compensate for an over-worked other while it recovers, the (individual) spirit while enjoying some temporary advantage soon succumbs to the malaise afflicting the collective (body) due to this lopsided progress.
And when it does work in harmony with the whole?

सत्- चित -आनन्द ।

Peace.

--

A new lesson

Every day of reading through the training material for UFS brings a renewed sense of purpose, an urgency for action, new wisdom and more empathy to all forms of suffering. This is a lesson I learnt today in the context of health education and its importance in community health services.

'Self-efficacy is one of the most important precursors to behavior change, is a good predictor of future behavior, and has many important implications in health education. It is one of the constructs of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Self-efficacy supports the notion that successful behavior change requires that a person have a strong belief in their ability to exercise control over a behavior, or learn a new behavior...'

The lesson, however, extends beyond the sphere of health education, and it should not be mistaken for brainwashing. The important message is, having understood the benefits of following a certain practice, be it meditation, exercise, a healthy diet, or a way of thinking, one must then also believe that one is capable of taking the necessary steps required to achieve that benefit; in other words, one must allow oneself the confidence that he/she can overcome internal barriers to growth, change detrimental habits, and follow up with incremental positive changes in the right direction.

Baby steps to a lofty ideal with faith and sincerity. Believe! :)

It is also the month of love. And while I'm at it, let me share another special hymn with you. This was also the hymn my class and I sang together on our last day in high school, in our chapel, holding a candle in one hand, the hand of a friend in the other, tears in our eyes, and hope in our hearts. Stepping out 'into the world' as our teachers put it, this hymn helped me center in the knowledge that one will never be too far from the loving care of God; our lives are, after all, in His hands.

My Life is in Your Hands

Life can be so good
Life can be so hard
Never knowing what each day
Will bring to where you are
Sometimes I forget
And sometimes I can’t see
That whatever comes my way
You’ll be with me

My life is in your hands
My heart is in your keeping
I’m never without hope
Not when my future is with you

My life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands

Nothing is for sure
Nothing is for keeps
All I know is that your love
Will live eternally
So I will find my rest,
And I will find my peace
Knowing that you’ll meet my every need

My life is in your hands
My heart is in your keeping
I’m never without hope
Not when my future is with you

My life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands

When I’m at my weakest Lord
You carry me
Then I become my strongest Lord
In your hands

My life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands
I trust you Lord
My life is in your hands

Giving thanks...

I was not going to blog this weekend. But this moment is far too overwhelming and joyful that write I must and give thanks many times over; for I have been overwhelmed by the incredible generosity and kindness of two of the most beautiful souls I am fortunate to count among my dear friends; for reminding me, again, of the many many kindly souls who have shown their tremendous support, each in their own inimitable way, for what I shall endeavour to do in the holidays this year; for yet others for having been my inspiration to take this step forward, and still more for giving me the opportunity to serve...
This is the month of being thankful, and indeed there is so very much to be thankful for. And so I share with you my dears, this simple and heart-warming hymn.

--

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
--

And I must add that God sends to us in every creation of His, the very Holy One, as a tiny aspect of His myriad forms, so we may joyfully love and serve one another. And so, I must thank every one of you, my dear friends, for giving me reason to believe, for giving me strength when I was weak, for giving me hope when I was crestfallen, for lending me your shoulders when I needed to lean, for sharing your wisdom when I was lost, and for being who you are.

Amen.

We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.

The lord will see us through, the lord will see us through,
The lord will see us through someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.

We're on to victory, we're on to victory,
We're on to victory someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We're on to victory someday.

We'll walk hand in hand, we'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We'll walk hand in hand someday.

We are not afraid, we are not afraid,
We are not afraid today;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We are not afraid today.

The truth shall make us free, the truth shall make us free,
The truth shall make us free someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
The truth shall make us free someday.

We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall live in peace someday.

And the notations for this inspirational gospel song.

Amen.