40 Days of Peace Day Thirty Two
Dear God…
Shams Of Tabiz Rules of Love…
Today is day 32 of our 40 days of peace together, and every day at the end of each journal entry,
I share one of Shams of Tabriz' 40 Rules of Love.
Perhaps its time to get to know who Shams was and how he came to channel these 40 gifts of love for us.
Shams of Tabriz was a Persian Sufi and roaming dervish who lived at the end of the twelfth/ early thirteenth century. He was the spiritual teacher and advisor of Rumi, and indeed it’s often said that Rumi was a professor who Shams transformed into a mystic, a lover, and a poet. There are many legends describing their meeting in Konya: Rumi was taught by Shams in seclusion for 40 days, and the period after this is described as Rumi’s ‘mysticism’, where sufis danced, played music (rabab), and drank wine. It is in this time, that the concept of “whirling dervishes” originated.
The 40 Rules of Love
One day, according to legend, Rumi was reading next to a large stack of books. Shams Tabriz, passing by, asked him, “What are you doing?” Rumi scoffingly replied, “Something you cannot understand” (i.e. knowledge that cannot be understood by the unlearned.) On hearing this, Shams threw the stack of books into a nearby pool of water. Rumi hastily rescued the books and to his surprise they were all dry. Rumi then asked Shams, “What is this?” To which Shams replied, “Mowlana, this is what you cannot understand” (i.e. knowledge that cannot be understood by the learned.) Shams’ forty observations about the nature of love and God can be read together or discretely, each a starting-point for reflection. Like life, and love, learning is not a race to the finish, but a voyage to the start.
Shared from thehumandivine.org
Let me begin today by saying that I honor all humans and respect each beings path. We are all on our own journeys and I’ve made the mistake in the past of judging others choices. I had a whole lot of righteous anger towards the “church” after I began to understand the history of religion and the violence created in the name of God. I mourned and grieved and spent a lot of time processing my anger. Then I realized that my anger, nor my judgement served any good moving forward.
I do my best now to share my own personal story and experiences and truth. I in know way believe I have all the answers and I pray that in all ways I come from love. I am a seeker and will continue to pursue truth and wisdom in the name of LOVE.
As you know, I grew up in evangelical Christianity. As a child we were restricted/ “protected” in many ways from the outside world. Whether we meant to be or not, the church was quite judgmental and like most religions, held their beliefs to be absolute truth above all others. My father became a minister, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather… which made me a “PK” (preachers kid). Early in my adolescent years my dad went through a “dark night of the soul” as he began seeking his own truth, outside of the beliefs he had been taught (and was teaching). And after a period of seeking and searching, in a brave and beautiful act of faith, my dad left the pulpit when I was 14. Everything changed overnight.
My dads brave walk of faith opened the door for the seeker in me to grow wings that day. He took the keys off the cage and threw them away. The journey that followed has been filled with many teachers, many lessons, and everything from confusion to clarity and all the in betweens. My dad now works with hospice. I would call him a death doula or spiritual care giver.. He has a gift of loving others exactly as they are and sharing peace and divine love with everyone he meets. I say that he is gifted in “walking them home”. It’s a blessing to be loved without judgement. Isn’t that what its all about?
What I see now is that all roads lead us home to true LOVE, especially when we seek TRUTH.
You may choose to call upon Yahweh, you may choose to name the Divine Source of Love many different names or no name at all. Some choose the name God, others Goddess, some Allah, Source, Tunkasila, Great Spirit… However we choose to name “it”, I hope we can all agree… “it” is LOVE and there is an absence of judgement in the definition of divine love!
I write today to share my experience, not to persuade or judge or challenge, but to simply share.
I am a seeker of Truth, with a capital “T”. The more I seek Truth, the more I realize I will always be seeking and expanding as long as I keep my eyes and heart open and my face to the Sun.
I continue to realize that what I thought I knew as reality just continues to unfold into greater mystery and more questions. The more I seek to grow into my highest self, the more I am called to live in and through LOVE. Oh what a beautiful journey to be on!
I have found many teachers over the years, of many faiths, some present and some past on, some in books, others in person, some from a place of leadership, some from the streets, some who are not even old enough to speak, some who’s only language is to sway in the breeze and whisper in the winds. Let me share my truth… God is in everyone and everything and we need not step into a temple, a church or lodge to find this Truth. And of coarse, if God is everywhere, God can also be found in a temple or church. I am not judging those who choose to seek God in these spaces.
In my search for knowledge and guidance on my human journey, I always seek one thing above all else, no matter who my teacher is, or what I’ve read, or what I’ve downloaded in meditation… I sit in silence and ask Creator~YahWeh for TRUTH. I go to my Source of Divine Love first and above all else. I know I have my own direct link, the whole Universe within me, my own 1-800 number to speak directly to Source. There are many teachers who guide my path, but above all, my heart is directly connected to YahWeh and in my heart will always be my Truth.
When I want to expand my knowledge, when I want answers, when I want to find my truth and purpose… I ask and wait… and my answers always come. How do I know they are truth? Because my inner knowing is directly linked to Source. Truth resonates.. there is no anxiety or worry or questioning.. it simply is and that is all. Fear is the opposite of love.. and YahWeh IS LOVE.
Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) is one of my most beloved teachers. I remember finding a book of Rumi poems in my 20’s and falling in love. My dad had discovered Rumi and I couldn’t put the book down, I simply craved more.
Rumi’s teachings are full of love and wisdom and he too shares a divine connection to the number 40. Shams of Tabriz spent 40 days with Rumi in a cave in Konya before traveling to Damascus. The number 40 again representing “rebirth”, “enlightenment”, a period of seclusion and purging and listening for truth.
As I compare his teachings with other spiritual leaders, they are very similar to Yeshua (Jesus). It’s no coincidence that both spent 40 days in nature seeking truth… and both found the message to be centered around a beautiful 4 letter word… L.O.V.E.
I don’t believe that either Yeshua( Jesus) or Rumi had intentions of creating a religion to separate one being from another. They set out to create and cultivate LOVE! Each had a different journey but what we see in the number 40 is something important to digest. Is there something to taking 40 days to shed our skin, to evolve, to seek God, to cultivate change?
Above all… we are clearly called to LOVE.
I use the name Yeshua because I believe that to be Jesus’ true name. Jesus’ name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” which translates to English as Joshua. There was no letter “J” in Hebrew. DIVE DEEPER HERE>>> And Christ wasn’t Yeshua’s last name either… but rather a reference to the “Christ consciousness”. Ye are made strong — in body, in mind, in soul and purpose — by that power in Christ. The power, then, is in the Christ. The pattern is in Jesus.
The Diamond Heart of Christ is the energy of love, innocence, and patience. By opening to the essence of Christ Consciousness, and the Christ energy flowing from the cosmos into your body, you will experience all things vibrating to the Christ essence. Simply allow your intention to encompass your pure desire to connect with the crystalline essence of “Christ”.
Truly, each of us has our own journey. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said it well, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” And this experience is unique to EACH of us. We each come with our gifts and purposes separate from everyone else.
Why then did humans create systems to file us together in boxes, to teach us the same, to force us into separate religions and groups? And more importantly how did we go from the Divine teachings of LOVE to teachings rooted in fear? If we recall human history related to religion.. how much war, violence, hatred, division and judgement has been created in the name of a religion? How did Yeshua’s teachings become so misused?
If you want to know how you are Created and why, wouldn’t you want to go directly to the Source to seek your answers?
Yes, there are wise and wonderful teachers, but here is the truth… within each of us… is the wisest teacher.
If we want to know God, if we want to know our purpose, our TRUTH… perhaps we should follow the guidance of great prophets and take 40 days of our lives to empty ourselves of all our beliefs and things we’re holding onto so tightly, to listen and be filled again.
How many families and communities are divided over politics and religion? Over her views and his views? Every one of us is effected by the judgements and beliefs that we allow to divide us. We literally build walls with our beliefs and opinions. How many of these opinions that divide us are grounded in Divine love?
None. Zero.
Divine Love seeks Truth without judgement.
Divine Love seeks to understand.
Divine Love shows up to listen.
Divine Love walks in compassion and peace.
Divine Love steps back to think before speaking.
Divine Love allows Creator God, the Source of Pure LOVE, to live in and through our every breath.
Let this be our food for thought as we seek to “walk each other home”, mending the sacred hoop, healing and growing together.
One LOVE. One FAMILY. Mitakuye Oyasin.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” -Jesus
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
What you seek is seeking you. -Rumi
Shams of Tabriz’s 40 Rules of Love
