Passing Through

......

 Hi! Humility,

       Thank you for your compliment. Be very honest with you, when I read your quote, I thought about my behavior on IC 1st. I lost my temper before, I wrote something I am not supposed to. I hope I will not lose my temper again.....I understand that there are a lot of unfriendly debates taking place on IC.....I don't dare to go near anymore.....I only read others' posts without participating....Here are last 2 tough debates I participated, it was a while ago...

//iranian.com/main/2009/sep/protesters-tear-down-anti-israeli-banner

//iranian.com/main/blog/noosh-afarin/13-abaan-nov-4th-los-angeles

Your quote is definitely a motto for us! Thank you soooo much! I hope we all improve and thank you for being a role model for us!

May God bless you! 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear Friends

A number of you, asked in your e-mails to me, to share with you my thoughts and ideas on Miracles

I wrote the following piece in the hopes of addressing that:

Where’s My Miracle – I Am My Miracle, Look No Where Else, No My Darling, But Within You

Please feel free to fully participate and engage me in these discussions,

Tks,

PT

Dear Yolanda

Take a look at this article by Laurence Gailan, The Centrality of the Divine Feminine in Sufism, and see what you make of it. Gailan is himself an American Sufi shaykh affiliated with several orders. He also knows his stuff.

Hi yolanda!

You are absolutely correct in the fact that there are indeed individuals who have been so adversely affected in their lives, especially by the opposite sex, that they tend to over-generalize!

However, my observation goes beyond that: If you look around this web-site, you would see a great deal of animosity, enmity, and general unpleasantness not only in a few blogs, but in actuality, in a great many!

Let's hope that the message that I tried to convey last week-end in dear Souri's blog would positively affect these other people also!

As others have indicated, thanks for being a darling, and a generous soul,

Humility

P.S. Again, Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

......

Hi Humility,

        It takes a very special human being to write the quote like yours. Thank you for the quote.....Be very honest with you, I don't see that kind of quotes very often.......I read a deleted blog and a poem last weekend around 2:00 am in the morning......I could feel the tension.....I ran into great Iranians in my life and saw brave Iranians on TV......it is very unfair to say over 90% of Iranian guys are chauvinistic......I had 3 Iranian colleagues before...one guy was like my supervisor....this guy is my hero....he is willing to do anything for his family...he is ready to give his life for his family.....He loves his wife and kids and he coaches kids' soccer....the other Iranian guy invited me to meet his whole family.....I also had 2 Iranian Math teachers.....super kind to me.....they went the extra miles to help me out.....I did see one of Iranian teachers yell at the students one time 'cause students did not do homework and failed the Calculus test big time, he did not yell at me 'cause I did my homework and passed the test with flying color, sorry for bragging........They are all very nice to me. I hope you are not up-set with one negative blog......sometime people got bad experience, they tend to over-generalize everything....we have to forgive these people.......I truly hope we can put your message into practice!!

      I will order the book shortly, I am waiting for my Amazon.com gift certificate to arrive...

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Sweet and kind-hearted yolanda!

It was a wonderful surprise for me your bringing up the quote from dear Souri's blog from the other day.

I sincerely hope that we wouldn't forget the message in there, and actually make a serious attempt to put it to practice! There is no question in my mind that not only Iranian.com would be a better place, but also, we would feel better about ourselves as a people. Both Iranians, and Non-Iranians!

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving also,

Humility

P.S. I would like to urge you to get that book. You would truly be blessed by it!

.......

Dear PT,

        I look forward to your next blog....I am 17 minutes away from being freed from work. I am counting by the minutes O:))

Take care!!! 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

My Dear and Sweet yolanda

Thank you very much for your kind words

Looking forward to seeing you in the next blog

A Very Happy Thanksgiving To You Too :)

PT

........

 Dear Nur-i-Azal,

        I feel that I have no right to comment on your lost fiance (I don't qualify to do that), but I am amazed by how strong the relationship was between you and her. It must have be a great relationship. I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your post reminds me of my favorite movie of all time "A Walk to rememeber".

//www.amazon.com/Walk-Remember-Mandy-Moore/dp/B000P0J0DS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1259149580&sr=1-1

I show this movie every year, it moves people to tears. It is a beautiful love story with a sad ending 'cause the girl died of leukemia. I have watched this movie over 30 times. I also saved the highlights under my You-tube account. I also have the soundtracks of the movie. It is a true love story! .....Thank you for your recommendations....... I hope God gives you the strength and comfort. So sorry for your irreplaceable loss and thank you for sharing with us.....I believe everything happens for a reason.....I hope you have a lot of blessings!!!!

Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

P.S.  I like Reza Aslan, too. The guy was all over the TV during the post-election protests. I saw him on "Count Down with Keith Olbermann", "Rachel Maddow show" "The daily show" & "Hardball"...it is amazing that the guy came to US at age of seven and still is able to speak Farsi and the guy knows Iran so well. I visited his Face-book page, the guy has a lot of fans.....he is so smart and has a great sense of humor....I read his articles on Huffington post....I am a fan...once a while his fan-club e-mails me and gives me updates...

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.......

 Hi! Humility,

      I always enjoy reading your posts and blogs. I can tell that you love your home-country very much and want Iran to become better and better.....several days ago, I saved a segment from your post:

It's easy to be rude, condescending, overbearing, and vicious towards others. The measure of one's character is how one controls these animalistic impulses, rise above them, and act considerate, thoughtful, and respectful toward others! I would like to remind you that these are not signs of personal weakness, but indeed a sign of inner strength!

It really blew me away!! Thank you for setting up a great example on how to treat one another on IC. Thank you!!

  Thank you for recommending the religion book. I will try to get a copy on www.Amazom.com.

Take care and have a great Thanksgiving!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

......

 Dear PT,

      I watched the Armstrong video, it is just great! I agree with the lady that compassion is super important. We all need to have some compassion. We need to put ourself in other people's shoes.....some time people forget about compassion and say or do hurtful stuff to other people....it is just heart-breaking.....we all need to remember that we are humans, we are made of flesh and blood, we are warm-blooded...we have spirit and we have feelings.....I hope we can treat each other nicer and have less personal attacks on IC....

     Thank you so much for recommending this video. I have learned a lot! I will read more about other Persian poets. I predict I will like Rumi, Saadi, Hafez more than I like Khayyam....I feel Khayyam wrote about wine and women too much.....as a girl, it gives me the qualms.  I feel that drinking too much is bad.....having too many women is pretty bad too! :O)))  Guys need to have some disciplines and practice self-control. I still like Khayyam, he has a special place in my heart 'cause I learned about him 1st.

      I feel that it is impossible for me to learn Farsi 'cause Farsi looks like the hardest language in the world! I know if I read the translated poems, sometimes they don't rhyme as good as the Farsi version like they mentioned in the video you recommended.....but I still can learn something if the poems carry the  great messages, for example, Saadi poems promote peaceful co-existence.....

Thank you so much for everything, for your blog and posts!

Take care and have a great Thanksgiving!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Huston Smith ...

Is A Very Well-Respected Author

Hi yolanda!

I noticed your reference to Reza Aslan. As you may know, his primary focus is on Islam.

If you are looking for a good reference book on all of the World's Religions, I would like to recommend the following book:

The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith

I read this book many years ago, and I found it extremely useful!

Thank you, dear one

Dear Yolanda,

Thank you, dear one.

I lost my heart at 23, but then she ended up never leaving my Heart so really I only lost her in the physical sense while she has now become She and is always with me in Spirit and never leaves. Her job was to lead me to the supreme mysteries of the Spirit, and as much at it nearly killed me when she died, she did her job with me better than any of the highest realized spiritual masters and gurus out there ever could. After all, that's what really counts, the Spirit, which is all-things and in all things. This puny carbon matter and physicality, it really means nothing. We are so much more than it, if we only open our eyes like that Cactus in the Desert helped to fully open mine ;-)

I haven't read much of Reza Aslan's work, but I like the guy alot and where he is coming from. Maybe when you are finished looking at Reza Aslan, you can start taking a little look at Henry Corbin, especially,

//www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Celestial-Earth-Henry-Corbin/dp/0691018839

&

//www.amazon.com/Alone-Henry-Corbin/dp/0691058342/ref=pd_sim_b_1

My Ka'aba is my Heart which is the Image of Her Divine Face. And every moment I am circumambulating (tavvaaf) my Ka'aba, for She is in me and I am in Her!

Dear Friends

Thank you very much for your participation in this blog

If you have any further question, please share them with me

Sincerely,

PT

Dear yolanda

Thank you for your comment

I want you to know that Omar Khayyam and Rumi (Mowlana) just happen to be the most well-known Persian Poets in America

However, as you discovered yourself, there are other Great Poets such as Sa'adi, Hafez, Ferdowsi, and many others also

My suggestion to you is take your time in studying them .. The best way to read poetry is first and foremost in its original language .. In the case of these poets, that is Farsi (Persian) .. However, the second best thing, is to find a good translation that you like

Please visit your local library, or bookstore, to see if they have what you like .. If not, check on-line

There is one other thing that I would like to share with you: When I first came to America, the Great American Poet Walt Whitman had a huge influence on me

His poetry in Leaves Of Grass reminded me of some of the works of Rumi (Mowlana)

If you have never read this book, I highly recommend it to you

Finally, please let me know if you have any additional questions,

Take Good Care Of Yourself :)

PT

.....

 Dear PT,

     Thank you for all the links, I got to read & watch more...Thank God that Thanksgiving is coming, so I can have some free time....at this point, I can't even concentrate.......On Wednesday, at 1:23 pm, I can leave and go home, so I am aiming for 1:23 pm Wednesday, :O))

      When my Persian Math teacher told me about Khayyam, I really got excited, now I realized there are other great Persian poets. Thank you for providing all the videos and links. After I watch and read more, I will get back to you!!! I will watch other the videos tonight.

Take good care of yourself!!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.......

 Hi! Nur-i-Azal,

        I saved your other poem and e-mailed it to myself 2 days ago. Thank you again for the poem. I learned Ka'aba several months ago 'cause Ka'aba is on Reza Aslan's book:

//www.amazon.com/No-god-but-God-Evolution/dp/0812971892/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259070579&sr=1-3#reader_0812971892

Your new poem today:

"I am the One whom I love and the One whom I love is I. We are two spirits in one body, nay a Single Spirit sharing one body!"

It reminds me of verses from Christian Bible, something like "a guy eventually should leave his home and join his wife, two shall become one"......I also heard those verses a lot at weddings. It is very beautiful!

       So sorry for what happened to your fiance......Sorry!!!! I know that there is no comforting words to ease the pain!! So sorry!!....Thank God that your life is spared!!!........15 years ago, I had a car accident on 405 freeway, my car was totaled......I was not seriously injured....but I got sued by Larry Parker, the famous ambulance-chasing lawyer.......fortunately 'AAA' settled the lawsuit for me out of the court.....very scary experience......everyone has some problems in life........

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

I hope you have a lot of blessings!!!!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Cactus in the Desert

You good people are most welcome. There's tons of poetry like that in Sufi literature. Here's a famous one by Hallaj,

"I am the One whom I love and the One whom I love is I. We are two spirits in one body, nay a Single Spirit sharing one body!"

BTW, speaking of cactuses in the desert: a desert cactus literally saved my life some fifteen years ago after my then fiance, and the physical love of my life, died in a tragic car accident.

Dear yolanda

I am glad that you enjoyed the video

Remember, in Persian Poetry, Hafez, Sa'adi, and Rumi (Mowlana) have a very special place

The only other poet who has a similar stature to them is Ferdowsi  

However, his style of poetry was completely different from them

He was the author of Shāhnāmeh, the national epic of the Persian People and of the Iranian World

I am glad that you are interested in Persian Poetry

Please let me know if you have any additional questions,

Take Care :) 

PT

.....

Dear PT,

     I finised watching Bly's video. I wish they talked more about the Persian poets. I also discovered and watched Saadi video. It is very cool. OMG! I think I like Saadi & Rumi way more than Khayyam, Saadi talked about peaceful co-existence, that is very cool! I hope countries and people can get along, we don't have to kill each other or hate each other. When I have more time, I will read more about Hafez, Rumi, and Saadi......I agree with you that religions should focus on personal relationships and love more than the rules...sometime the rules are just the superficial stuff.....Esfahan and Shiraz are super beautiful, when I have a chance, I will go there for a visit. Several months ago, I watched a two hour Iran special produced By Rick Steve on KOCE, it is super interesting....Iran has a lot of pretty places...

Thank you for the link, I will watch the other 2 videos tomorrow and take care!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWohbzWz7rM

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXL0v_bOQB8&feature=related

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtAx9YHuD0&feature=related

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

As correctly said:

Remember my darling, with God, without divinity, our love, will indeed suffice
Our God in me, in total divinity, with much glory,  our love, will indeed suffice

......

Dear PT,

     Thank you for the recommendation! I will definitely watch them after work. I know your recommendations are always good stuff!

thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear yolanda

This is also a fascinating video to watch:

Armstrong: Charter For Compassion

Enjoy :)

.......

 Dear PT,

     Thank you for the video link, I will watch it after work.

Thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.....

 Thank you, Nur-i-Azal, for posting the beautiful poem!

thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear Nur-i-Azal

This is absolutely Beautiful

Thank you very much for sharing it with us

A famous poem by Ibn 'Arabi

Wonder,

A garden amongst the flames!

My heart is capable of taking on any form

A meadow for gazzeles

For the idols sacred ground

A cloister for monks

The pilgrim's Ka'aba

The Tablets of the Torah

The scrolls of the Qur'an

My religion is Love

And wherever its caravan turns along the Way

That is my belief, my creed, my faith!

From the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq (the interpretor of desire)

Watch This Video ...

Dear yolanda,

When I was looking for the Rumi video in the previous blog, I found this one also:

Poet ROBERT BLY on 'HAFEZ' and 'RUMI'

It's Fascinating :)

Dear yolanda

One's Behavior Speaks Much Louder Than What One Says

If IRI's Focus Were More On The Love Aspects Of The Religion, We Wouldn't Have Half The Problems  That We Presently Have In Our Beloved Iran

It's Truly One's Actions That Count, And Not One's Words

Tks Again,

PT