"My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks, and a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Ka'ba, and the tablets of the Torah and the book of the Koran. I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith."
- Ibn al-Arab, Ibn-Al-Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom (Classics of Western Spirituality Series)

‘Isn’t it a fact that the accursed Pharaoh threatened punishment on the earth,
Saying, “I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides
and hang you upside down.
You will not be spared punishment.”
He thought that they were in the same state of imagination, terror, distraction, and doubt,
Trembling in fear at these threats of the worldly ego.
He didn’t know that they were emancipated,
sitting at the window of the heart,
That they could tell the difference
between the shadow and their real selves,
That they were quick and alert, happy and alive.
Even if the mortar of Fortune should pound them into pieces in this material world,
Since they had seen the ever-present Origin,
They did not fear the Derivatives of Imagination. . .
The Prophet said that this apparently substantial world
Is but a sleeper’s dream. Some merely believe in these words,
But the mystic travelers have perceived it themselves,
Even without the Prophet’s words
Many are asleep in the daytime. Don’t think otherwise.
Your life may be as insubstantial
as a shadow cast by moonlight.
What you think is sleep and what you think is waking
Are both happening in your sleep.
What does it matter if a potter breaks a pot? He’ll make another one.
A blind man walking a road has a thousand fears,
But someone who can see knows the dangers and obstacles
Bring it on, Pharaoh!
We won’t be scared by the cries of ghouls!
Rend the fabric. We know who will re-sew it,
Or, if not, it’s better to be naked to embrace the Beloved,
Nothing is sweeter than to be stripped of physicality and personality’
(Mathnawi, III, 1721)

~ Rumi, Tales from Rumi: Essential Selections from the Mathnawi (Sacred Wisdom)

"If you're really listening, if you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world, your heart breaks regularly. In fact, your heart is made to break; its purpose is to burst open again and again so that it can hold ever-more wonders."

—Andrew Harvey, The Return of the Mother

“When the heart is happy it embraces the whole world. When the mind is happy it accepts the world as its very own. When the vital is happy it offers its very existence to the world. And when the body is happy it serves the world the way the world wants to be served…”

The Garland of Nation-Souls: Complete Talks at the United Nations
by Sri Chinmoy.

Keep your heart clear and transparent,
and you will never be bound.
A single disturbed thought,
though, creates ten thousand distractions.
Let myriad things captivate you
and you'll go further and further astray.
How painful to see people all wrapped up in themselves...

~ Ryokan

Unattached service does not mean indifferent work. Selfless actions are not soul-less, heart-less actions. You should put your heart and soul in all that you do. Remember always that you are serving the Lord Himself in all.

~Swami Sivananda

'It is only with the heart
that one can see rightly;
what is essential
is invisible to the eye.'

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

'It's Love
and the lover
that live eternally;
Set your heart
on this only:
the rest is borrowed.'
~Jalalu'uddin Rumi

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
Lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
~ Proverbs 3:5-6

… And if you fall sometimes, do not lose heart. Keep trying to walk your path with integrity. God will draw out the good even from your fall, just as the man who sells antidotes will drink poison to test their effectiveness. — Saint Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle

buy this book: Interior Castle

Remember: if you want to make progress on the path and ascend to the places you have longed for, the important thing is not to think much but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens you to love. — Saint Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle

buy this book: Interior Castle

True prayer and love are really
learned in the hour when prayer
becomes impossible and your
heart turns to stone.

— Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

buy this book: New Seeds of Contemplation

When the heart is purified, the mind is naturally turned towards God. The aspirant is attracted towards God. Eventually he is absorbed in the Lord, through pure love, self-surrender and worship. The Bhakta now becomes a cosmic entity. He has one continuous life. He has cosmic life.
~ Swami Sivananda

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Daily Readings

EXCELLENT QUOTE - about the heart

"If your cup is small,
a little bit of salt will make the water salty.
If your heart is small,
then a little bit of pain can make you suffer.
Your heart must be large."

Thich Nhat Hanh