A Poem by Sufi Poet Rumi

We are as the flute, and the music in us is from thee;
we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from thee.

We are as pieces of chess engaged in victory and defeat:
our victory and defeat is from thee, O thou whose qualities are comely!

Who are we, O Thou soul of our souls,
that we should remain in being beside thee?

We and our existences are really non-existence;
thou art the absolute Being which manifests the perishable.

We all are lions, but lions on a banner:
because of the wind they are rushing onward from moment to moment.

Their onward rush is visible, and the wind is unseen:
may that which is unseen not fail from us!

Our wind whereby we are moved and our being are of thy gift;
our whole existence is from thy bringing into being.

The four actors in your brain

I know a very wise woman who explained the workings of the brain to me in the following way.  She said we had four parts in our brains that each play a different role and each tell us different things.

The first part is the Reptile.  The Reptile tells you all the root lies that you believe about yourself.  Things like:  “I’m crap”, “I’m no good.” and “I’ll never amount to anything much!”

The Monkey is your personality.  It’s the one that says: “Don’t you mess with me!”, “I’m not going to talk to you for the whole day!”, “I’ll get you for this one!” and “Your the one that married me, this is my personality now you deal with it.”

The Higher Self is the one that says:”Let it go.”, “Don’t let it get  to you.” and “This too shall pass, don’t make such a fuss about it.”

The Trancendental Self is the one that says: “All that remains is the love.”

This might all sound a bit fuzzy to you, but if you are mentally aware of which part of your brain is acting at any given moment, it becomes possible to be mindful enough to keep yourself from reacting in a way in which you wouldn’t want to.

So what to say on your first post?

It’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be.  There are so many things I would like to say.  So many things on my mind, but taking off at a breakneck speed, I’m sure, will scare you guys off.  That’s if there even is anybody reading this.

Well, let’s start at where I’m from.  I’m from South Africa.  That’s the country at the southern tip of Africa (obviously), the country of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and many other heroes who worked hard for a miraculous outcome for this country after apartheid died.  But it is  now also a country of HIV/AIDS, of poverty and indescribable violence and cruelty.  But it’s not as bad as the world media makes it out to be.  If we could get rif of the criminals, alleviate poverty, eradicate HIV/AIDS and have excellent education, this country would be paradise.  It’s people is what makes it special.  We have an unique way of standing together, of forgiving, of being tough and resilient and of starting over.

We are especially excited about the FIFA World Cup that we are hosting in 2010.  Don’t believe all the stories you hear.  We will be ready and the event will be a resounding success.

I guess I’m telling you all of this because your home country plays a large role in defining you.  It says a lot about who you are.  So there you are.  There’s a little taste of who Albert Hawkins is.

By the way, more about the reptile and the monkey will follow later…