The poet Omar Khayam,( Persian?), said , "if you have enough money for two loaves of bread buy one loaf and with the rest of the money buy flowers to feed your soul."My mother bought me a book of his poetry one Valentine's day when I was young and I have never forgotten it. Strangely enough the feeding of the soul isn't a common concept in our culture. You would have thought that a culture that was basically prosperous enough to spend lavishly on leisure would have popularized it. I suppose it's the basic pragmatism of the American psyche that wants to see plenty of bling and bang for bucks to prove to itself that indeed it is doing well while still suffering under the burning hunger of eating what does not nourish. The nourishing of the soul is always satisfying and as such does not create more needy greed; satisfaction is the end of hunger and doesn't feed into the cycle of increasing rapacious wanting and needing. It's like celebrations where children are flooded with gifts without having the time to wonder and enjoy the newness of each one. At the end of the party we have children that are hyper-active and needy for more and more because they are mistaking the gift for the excitement of more and more newness. They grow up hungry and greedy because they are missing the nourishment that gives satisfaction;they have no way of identifying for themselves what they really need, food for the soul. It would be good for that concept to grow, sharing the treasures of the moment.

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This is an interesting analogy. I have used the term seeker but never considered it a matter of looking outside of self....but rather a deeper look within ones self. It's not a separate action but rather as matter of evolving in ones spiritual journey, here on earth. My personal experience has been that spiritual revelations, the expanding awareness of God and the expectations of the moment are a matter of introspection.

With respect to imitating Jesus, I agree that there is no need to imitate. My interpretation is not one of imitation but rather of authentication of oneself by understanding the pure essence of the spirit of love that Jesus represents and to access that spirit within oneself and to reflect that understanding for the benefit of others, as a matter of God's intentions for my life.
Authentication gives each of us our own key to access the divine within and the unique gifts we each have to share on the journey God has for us to travel.

Many year ago a Buddist friend shared a philosophical insite that I would never forget. He said that to know ones self is to forget ones self.

That one phrase went round in my head for many years before I finally realized that it meant that if you can let go of your own selfish interests long enough to see the needs in others you find a much greater understanding of your own. This is true, in terms of spiritual character as well as material needs.

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. "
The

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Matthias, I LOVE that prince and the frog analogy. I guess I am the princess and the toad. LOL

If we can see acknowledge the prince and princess in our selves and each other as well as we see the frog and toad, we would love, love, love. And evolve ever closer to the prince and princess I think.

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I am so enlightened by this article as it conveys the explanation of things I have been "seeking" but knew somehow wasn't exactly the correct path.

As my seeking, disatisfaction & alienation from this life has caused alot of anger & unhappiness, I have been just now learning of myself and of patience & more importantly, of self love.

This article explains it all quite clearly & is helpful in continueing my 'unfolding'. My acceptance of self & of others will bring greater joy and faith. I am looking to put out positive energy and to flow with what is.

It is obvious that more of us are striving for a more enlightened path in this 21st century, finally.

I am still longing for the day when truly, money, profit and the "bottom line" is NOT the objective in our hearts.

This is my cursed expectation for which i have lost my patience over. I am working on this in my character.

Thanks & love to all.

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A beautiful excerpt! My particular favorite is, "The frog and the prince inhabit the same body". Extraordinary.

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Yes, the journey is inward. In our journey, we should seek to recapture the child we once were and lay aside our hatred, anger and desire for vengeance on those who have wronged us. The deadly sins tend to be self-perpetuating.
Here is one of my recent dreams: I was cast in a play, but I hadn't rehearsed and forgot to bring my copy of the script. I told the director, who turned and walked away from me.

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I couldn't agree more with this excerpt if I tried. Especially this part: "Even if you could manage the Herculean task of imitating Jesus every moment of your life, unless you find your essence, the end result would be unreal. Fortunately, imitation isn’t necessary. By removing the obstacles and resistances that hide your essence, you reveal yourself to yourself."

Imitating someone because you want to be like them is not a bad thing but you can't put on that person's costume and become them. You have to just be who you really are - that is the REAL goal - and every time you are able to dissolve the the obstacles and resistances you reveal that to the world and to your self.

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I have to keep that in mind me the real love and http://authspot.com/poetry/limerick-poem-i-am/God is truth very powerful statement

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