LISTEN to the Master of the Jinn Audiobook Sample :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

PLEASE HELP!!! I have started working on recording the Audiobook of Master of the Jinn. Please go to the link and listen to part of the Prologue, which is the first trial run, and let me know what you think. Does it sound clear? is the pacing ok? etc. I had to put it on the website since WordPress does not accept MP3 files. If your browser does not supoort it, email me at Irvingk1945 at gmail dot com and I will email it to you.

http://masterofthejinn.com/author.html

Thank You for Helping :)

Ya Haqq!

Rumi’s Easter Poem – Happy Easter 2013 :)

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Easter is Sunday, March 31st this year, and I pray we all know at least once in our lives the rebirth of faith and love which is manifest each spring in the story of Jesus (pbuh).  And so, once again, here is Rumi’s beautiful homage:

________________

Everyone has eaten and fallen asleep. The house is empty. We walk out to the garden to let the apple meet the peach, to carry messages between rose and jasmine.

Spring is Christ,
Raising martyred plants from their shrouds.
Their mouths open in gratitude, wanting to be kissed.
The glow of the rose and the tulip means a lamp is inside.
A leaf trembles. I tremble in the wind-beauty like silk from Turkestan.
The censer fans into flame.

This wind is the Holy Spirit.
The trees are Mary.
Watch how husband and wife play subtle games with their hands.
Cloudy pearls from Aden are thrown across the lovers,
as is the marriage custom.

The scent of Joseph’s shirt comes to Jacob.
A red carnelian of Yemeni laughter is heard
by Muhammad in Mecca.

We talk about this and that. There’s no rest except on these branching moments.

– Jalaluddin Rumi, from The Essential Rumi, by Coleman Barks

Ya Haqq!

Calling Out to God

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

All night, a man called out “God! God!”
Until his lips were bleeding.
Then the Adversary of mankind said, “Hey! Mr Gullible!
… How come you’ve been calling all night
And never once heard God say, “Here, I AM”?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing!”

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.
Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
And fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met an angel, who asked,
“Why are you regretting calling out to God?”

The man said, “ I called and called
But God never replied, “Here I AM.”

The Angel explained, “God has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “God”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I AM.”

– Rumi

Ya Haqq!

The Mayonnaise Jar Lesson

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. 

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf ballsHe then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for cup of coffee with a friend.”

Ya Haqq!

The Poetry of Life

Love is the poetry of life
Gratitude its prose

Kindness the sentences
In patience composed

Prayer is the syntax
As Heaven knows

Be silent then, or
Speak truly

As the moon does
As the river flows

As each breath
Of our life goes

And each day
Of loving kindness

Is better than
The one before

And life itself
Becomes a poem

Until our last breath
And the farther shore

– Irving Karchmar, 2013