Passing Through

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My Dear and Sweet Yolanda,

Regarding ecstasy, it goes with the experience of being in bliss

There is nothing to be afraid of - It's a wonderful experience :)

I read in your comment below that you are starting the chapter on Confucianism - You have to understand that Confucianism and Taosim are directly linked :)

The social order that Confucianism recommends is primarily derived from the spiritual aspects and teachings  of Taoism

If you are ever interested to furrther follow this subject, there is a wonderful book by Stephen Mitchell, titled: Tao-Te-Ching - This book is a translation in to Modern English from original Chinese - It's very interesting to read, and easy to understand :)

There is one other thing that I would like to share with you:

The Occidental (Western) Religions, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are monotheistic, and have  a Personal God

The Oriental (Eastern) Religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. are not necessarily monotheitic, and have an Impersonal God

The reason for that is the following:

The Occidental Religions were primarily developed in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Southern Europe - These areas were primarily part of the same trade routes, and there was a tremendous amount of exchange of ideas, etc. - Hence, the similarites :) 

The Orienatl Religions were primarily developed in India and China - If you look at the map, Geographically speaking, there is a huge mountain range that seperates the areas of the Occidental Religions and those of the Oriental Religions - Hence, there was a physical separation between the two :)

Consequently, there was not that much physical contact, and exchange of ideas between the Occidental and Oriental Religions - As a result, they developed pretty much independent of oneother - That's Why They Are So Different :) - !

Take Good Care Of Yourself Sweetheart :)

PT

If you enjoyed the new collection, Reality - The Truth About Divinity, please share with others by e-mailing it, etc.

If you have any questions, please let me know :)

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 Dear PT,

     Thank God! I finished one chapter of the book. I read the section talking about Sufism today. I have to say that it is different from what I read in Wikipedia 2 weeks ago. This book is a little critical of Sufism, I think. I have a great impression about Sufism, but this book mentions about "ecstacy" and "drunken"........I feel a little uncomfortable......wikipedia never mentions those terms. I am not saying that being an ecstatic is bad, but not everyone knows how to handle the ecstatic state. You have to be careful and rational.

     This book mentioned a Sufi saint, Rabia. I did a search on you-tube, I found a poem by her. It is a very spiritual poem. I looked her up on Wikipedia, there is a long article about her, it says that Rabia never wrote any poetry, so I decided not to post her poem video. Later I will read more about her.

     I will start to read a new chapter tomorrow.

Please take good care of yourself! God bless you!!!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Hi yolanda!

It's wonderful to realize the love that you have for our beloved Iran!

I have e-mailed to various of my friends, a number of PT's blogs - I have also, as I said in an earlier comment,  e-mailed to them the collection on 'Reality', and 'The Truth About Divinity'! 

Enjoy your holiday! - It's good to be off :)

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 Hi! Humility,

      I am glad that you like the videos and poems. You are very welcome! The videos take me to Iran virtually. Your country is very beautiful and is full of great poets, inventors, and philosophers, and Mathematicians. I started to learn about Iran 2 years ago after I took a Calculus class taught by a Persian teacher. I hope one day I can visit Iran, of course, I need to save up money and also need to get a visa......thanks to You-tube, I am able to see Iran thru the beautiful videos. I am done with the entire chapter on Islam, I will start to read about Confucianism tomorrow.

     I got 2 weeks off for X-mas holiday, but I don't have a big celebration, just relax......read and listen to music. It is nice! I hope the holidays won't go by too fast! :O)

    I hope your friends can visit PT's blogs, so they can read the blogs and watch the videos if they want.

Happy holidays and God bless you!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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 sharp pictures!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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The song is from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The male singer in the video is also the composer of the song, this song plus the movie sound tracks won Oscar. The guy is a Sufi Muslim, his name is Allah R Rahman. He composed Qawwali before. I am sorry the female singers did not wear conservative clothes. This video has 24 million hits on You-tube.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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 An educational video, but it has misspellings.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Very Beautiful Selection Of Poems :)

Hi yolanda! - I thought of adding this bit to the comment that I just left for you under the videos below:

The poems by Rumi that you have posted here are also great - Thanks!

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 This is a very beautiful video, but music is missing for the middle part of the video.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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At the beginning of the video, it shows the Sufi shrines in India. 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Hi yolanda!

All these wonderful videos are a feast for the eyes, and the ears!

It's good to hear that you are progressing well with the book - The collection on 'Reality', and 'The Truth About Divinity', is quite a wonderful, and a very useful summary of what 'Mysticism' in general, and 'Sufism' in particular, are all about!

BTW, if you celebrate Christmas, a very Merry Christmas to you :)

P.S. I am planning to e-mail this collection to a number of my friends who are interested in this subject - I believe that it's a very unique, and quite an inspiring Holiday Gift! - Happy Holidays :) 

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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A poem by Rumi:

My desert is without end,
My soul, my heart must rend.
The world here out-pictured,
In which picture I descend?
If on the path you see a head
Rolling itself around the bend
Ask our secret from that head
On its answers you can depend.
What turned you to a flying bird
Solomon's confidant and friend?
How did you turn to a seeing eye
To the trees in our garden attend?
How did you become the tidal wave
And pearls and jewels to the shores send?
Not the seven skies below the heavens,
Our abode, even heavens transcend
Instead of the heavens and the world
In the pastures of Divine Union we blend.
How can I utter a sigh, for with each breath
More perturbed, more agitated, my trend.
How did this ear appear
Which heard our feathered friend
How birds of prey and game play
And in the fresh mountain air ascend.
The height of the seventh sky
Saturn will gladly defend.
What can I say, what do I know
Limits of this story I won't pretend.
Let go of this story and ask not
My broken hands, I cannot mend
You shall be worthy of the Divine
If this is what our Beloved intend.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Sufi whirling is in the video briefly.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Rumi's poem is at the end of the video.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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My Dear Yolanda,

Let me start by addressing some of the issues that you have raised:

Regarding women, Islam does not generally accord the same level of rights that men have to them 

For example, if you go to Saudi Arabia, for a woman to go to a public place, she has to be accompanied by a next-of-kin or husband .. Women can not drive cars there .. Furthermore, they can not vote either

To put it mildly, women are considered as Second-Class Citizens in most, if not all, of the Islamic countries

I would like to encourage you to focus more on the Mystical aspects of Islam, namely Sufism

Sufism, if properly understood, transcends all of these issues that I have discussed

In the last collection that I e-mailed you, on the subject of Reality, and The Truth About Divinity, some of these concerns have been addressed

Like I have always said, focus on the fundamentals of Sufism (Mysticism)

That's Where You'll Find True Liberty And Freedom!

Take Care Of Yourself Sweetheart :)

PT

P.S. I really want to encourage you to properly read the last collection that I e-mailed you - Within it, you will find the answers to most, if not all, of the questions that you have raised here :) - This may not be apparent initially, but it's there, in all its fullness!  

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 Dear PT,

     I read a lot today. Here is the highlights:

1)According what I read, stoning should be almost impossible 'cause Koran says that they need 4 unimpeachable witnesses who have observed the adultery in detail. I think nobody will commit adultery in front of 4 people.....Apparently IRI doesn't follow the Koran exactly and takes law into its own hands.

2) Koran does not say that women have to wear hijab. It only says that "draw their cloaks closely around them." I guess it is Khomenei's idea to make hijab mandatory. I hope it can become optional soon.

3) Apparently it is in the Koran that girls can only inherit half of what a guy can inherit. The interesting thing is that I don't hear other Muslim countries implement this, maybe I just don't know a lot of things.

4) Koran says "there is no God, but God!". In the Bible, 2nd of the ten commandments says "Do not have any other gods before me." They sound the same to me.

5) Ramadan seems to be hard to observe. It takes a super discipline person to observe Ramadan. I was wondering if people still have to work during the holy month.

I just hope my post is not impolite 'cause I do respect everyone here. If my post is a bad one, please let me know, I can take it down.

Take care and Happy holidays! God bless you!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Here is the lyrics:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSWJtxvaUY

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Pretty music with beautiful violin solo. The mosques in Spain look Persian to me. 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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 Vintage car museum

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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Kashan is beautiful, especially the Fin Garden!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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This video was made by an IC member.

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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 Iran is blessed with distinct seasons and snow in winter in certain parts of the country. I hope one of these days, they can improve the infrastructures and bring in more tourists and skiers. Maybe one day Winter Olympic Games can be held in Iran.....just hope things will improve!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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A poem by Rumi:

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THROUGH LOVE all that is bitter will sweet
Through Love all that is copper will be gold.
Through Love all dregs will turn to purest wine
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.
Through Love the dead will all become alive.
Through Love the king will turn into a slave!

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Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

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