Mantra: “I trust my soul’s wisdom and embrace life fully.”

Topic 1: The Language of the Soul – Trusting the Wisdom Within

Metaphor:
Imagine standing by the ocean at night, listening to the waves. You don’t need to analyze the movement of the water or the physics of the tide to feel its rhythm. You don’t need to understand it intellectually to know that it speaks to something deep within you. The soul communicates in the same way—not through logic, but through feeling, intuition, and quiet knowing.

Or picture yourself holding a seashell to your ear. You think you’re hearing the ocean, but in truth, it is the resonance of your own inner world, amplified. We often seek wisdom outside ourselves—through books, teachers, and even the stars—only to find that the deepest truths have been whispering to us all along, waiting to be heard.

“The soul has been given its own ears to hear things mind does not understand.” – Rumi

Reflection:
We spend much of our lives trying to understand things with the mind, believing that wisdom comes from knowledge, analysis, and logic. But there is another kind of knowing—one that does not rely on intellect, but on presence.

The soul hears what the mind cannot comprehend. When we feel a deep pull toward something we cannot explain, when we sense an answer before we have even asked the question, that is the voice of the soul. But too often, we doubt it. The mind asks, Am I worthy? Is this real? Can I trust this feeling? And yet, love whispers back, Yes, you are. Yes, it is. Yes, you can.

Rumi reminds us that our hearts are not just vessels for emotion; they are temples of fire, places of divine wisdom. If we allow ourselves to listen—not with our minds, but with our whole being—we will find that the answers we seek are already within us.

There comes a time when external knowledge is no longer enough. We read, we study, we look to the world for answers, but the most profound wisdom does not come from outside sources—it rises from within. The soul speaks in a language beyond words, beyond logic. It communicates through intuition, deep knowing, and moments of stillness.

Let go of the need to understand everything. Instead, trust the voice within you, the one that speaks in quiet certainty. The time has come to stop searching outside yourself and instead, turn inward and listen.

Supporting Quotes:

“Inside any deep asking is the answering.” – Rumi
“Wisdom tells us we are not worthy; love tells us we are. My life flows between the two.” – Rumi
“I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.” – Rumi
“At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” – Lao Tzu
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass

Topic 2: The Light Within the Darkness

“What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.” – Rumi

Metaphor:
Imagine walking through a dark cave with only a small candle in your hands. At first, the darkness feels overwhelming, but as your eyes adjust, you realize the candle does more than just illuminate your path—it transforms the darkness itself. Without the shadows, the light would have no contrast, no meaning. It is through the darkness that we come to understand the power of our own light.

Reflection:
Pain is not an enemy; it is a messenger. We often resist suffering, trying to push it away or ignore it, but what if we approached it differently? What if we saw our struggles not as something to escape, but as teachers guiding us toward deeper understanding?

Every challenge, every heartbreak, every moment of despair is a doorway. If we listen, if we sit with our pain rather than run from it, we begin to see that it carries wisdom. The things that hurt us also shape us, refine us, and, in time, bless us. Like fire tempering steel, our struggles forge strength, resilience, and compassion.

Think of a moment in your life that felt unbearably painful. Now, looking back, can you see the ways it shaped you? Did it bring unexpected wisdom, a shift in perspective, or a newfound strength? Darkness is not the absence of light—it is the space where light is waiting to emerge. Trust that even in your hardest moments, something beautiful is unfolding within you.

Supporting Quotes:

“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” – Rumi
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” – Rumi
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran

Topic 3: Tasting Life Fully

“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.” – Rumi

Metaphor:
Imagine being served a rich, fragrant meal—an array of flavors, textures, and aromas laid before you. Yet, instead of savoring each bite, you rush through, distracted, thinking of what comes next. The meal is over before you even realize you were eating. Life is much the same. We are all given the feast, but not everyone truly tastes it.

Reflection:
Rumi’s words remind us of a truth we often overlook: while death is inevitable, truly living is a choice. So many people move through life on autopilot, caught up in routines, distractions, and worries, never pausing to experience the richness of the present moment. They exist, but they do not taste life.

To taste life is to be fully present—to feel the sun on your skin, to listen deeply to a friend’s laughter, to savor your morning coffee, to embrace both joy and sorrow without turning away. It means loving without fear, taking risks, and allowing yourself to be here, now.

Buddhism teaches impermanence: nothing lasts forever, and that is what makes each moment precious. Death is not the enemy—it is the reminder that life is fleeting, urging us to wake up and truly live.

Ask yourself: Am I tasting life, or just passing through it? Slow down. Breathe. Feel. Be present. Let every moment be something you truly experience—not just something you pass by.

Supporting Quotes:

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver

Topic: The Garden of Love – What You Nurture, Grows
Metaphor:

Imagine standing in a vast, open field with a small packet of seeds in your hands. At first, it may seem like nothing—just tiny, insignificant specks. But as you plant them, water them, and tend to them with care, something miraculous happens. Slowly, they take root, sprout, and grow into something vibrant and full of life.

Love works the same way. It does not appear fully formed; it grows where it is nurtured. The more love we pour into the world—with our kindness, patience, and presence—the more it blossoms, not just in our own lives, but in the hearts of others.

Reflection:
So often, we search for love as if it is something to be found—something waiting for us, hidden somewhere in the world. But Rumi reminds us, “When you seek love with all your heart, you shall find its echo in the universe.” Love is not a treasure to be hunted; it is a garden to be cultivated.

If we seek love with a closed heart, afraid to give, we may find only barren ground. But if we tend to love—by showing up for others, by practicing compassion, by being open to receiving—we begin to see it flourish.

Think of a time when someone’s kindness planted a seed in you. Maybe it was a moment of unexpected support, a loving word, or simply their presence. That seed grew, shaping you in ways you may not have realized at the time.

Now, ask yourself: What seeds am I planting? Am I nurturing love in my life, or am I waiting for it to grow on its own?

When we seek love with all our heart, we do not just find it—we create it. Love, like a garden, grows where it is tended.

Supporting Quotes:
“What you seek is seeking you.” – Rumi
“Plant seeds of love and kindness, and watch them bloom.” – Unknown
“The love you give away is the only love you keep.” – Elbert Hubbard
“A seed grows with no sound, but a tree falls with a huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence—grow in silence.” – Unknown
“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.” – Veronica A. Shoffstall
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WEEK 6.1 – A TRIBUTE TO RUMI

Eckhart Tolle wisely advised, “Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place.”  As we peel away the illusions of self, they dissolve, vanish, and retreat, much like darkness disperses when illuminated by mindful awareness. In this class, our aim is to assist ourselves in wiping away the emotional dust that has settled on your soul’s mirror, allowing you to once again perceive yourself and the world with clarity. Allow your mat to be your canvas and yoga to be your art.” – David Scott

“In order to understand the dance one must be still. And in order to truly understand stillness one must dance.” – Rumi

Honesty, or Satya, is a fundamental principle in the practice of yoga. It is the second of the Yamas, the ethical guidelines outlined in the eight limbs of yoga.  Satya encourages us to be truthful in our thoughts, words, and actions.

STORY OF – SWEET DREAMS
A boy and a girl were friends who shared an interest in Buddhism. They often went to the local temple to learn the teachings of the Buddha and practice the Dharma. The boy had a collection of crystals that he had received from his grandfather, and he valued them and used them for his meditations. The girl had a box of chocolates that she had bought from a festival, and she loved them as a special indulgence.

One day, the boy showed the girl his collection of crystals, and she was impressed by their colors and shapes. In turn, the girl showed the boy her box of chocolates, and he was enticed by their aroma and taste. He was very economically poor, and his family could never afford a luxury such as chocolates.

The boy proposed that they exchange their belongings, as a sign of friendship and generosity. He said, “I will give you all my crystals if you give me all your chocolates.” The girl agreed, as she thought that the prayer beads would help her recite the mantras.

The boy gave her all his crystals, but he secretly kept one, the most beautiful and meaningful of all, in his pocket. The girl kept her promise and gave him all her chocolates.

That night, the girl was happy with the exchange and slept peacefully in her bed, having sweet dreams.
However, the boy could not sleep, as he wondered if the girl had hidden some of her chocolates, just as he did with the crystal.

The next morning, the boy went to the girl and asked her, “Did you give me all your chocolates yesterday?” The girl replied, “Yes, I did. Why do you ask?” The boy said, “Because I did not give you all my crystals. I kept one, the most precious of all, in my pocket. I am sorry, I was greedy and dishonest. Please forgive me and take this crystal as well.”

The girl smiled and said, “I knew that you kept one crystal, because I remembered the one that was your favorite. But I did not mind, because I also kept one chocolate, the most delicious of all, in my mouth. I am sorry, I was also greedy and dishonest. Please forgive me and take this chocolate as well.”

The boy and the girl realized their mistake and hugged each other. They returned each other’s belongings and vowed to practice the Dharma more sincerely and faithfully.

Moral
If you do not give 100% in your relationships, you will always assume that your partner will not give 100% either. If you want your relationships to be built on trust, you must be a participating factor in that.
Honesty grows your character. By being honest in relationships, you hold your partner accountable to do the same. It allows you and your partner to continually think about your choices and how it can help (or harm) your partner and your relationship.

“Be where you are tonight and not where the ego is telling you that you should be.” – David Scott

“Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. Yoga teaches us this subtle dance of life. Learning when to try with more effort and when to surrender and let go, is the knowledge of yoga we gain on our mat through practice.” – David Scott

“The soul has been given its own ears to hear things mind does not understand.” – Rumi

Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are. – Jason Crandell

Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), (816 years ago – 2023) was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic originally from Greater Khorasan (Iran). Sufism is a branch of Islam primarily concerned with developing the spirituality, or more precisely the inner character, of a Muslim.

We would all love one another if we truly took time to understand one another. Rumi was unique because he brought so many cultures and religions together. At his funeral procession was an eclectic spectrum of world religions, with Muslims, Christians and Jewish believers, all walking together in a celebration of how his life’s work touched each one of them, somehow drawing humanity together as one.

Sometimes not getting what you want is a brilliant stroke of luck. . “Whatever you lost through fate, be certain that it saved you from pain.” – Rumi

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.” – Rumi

You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?

“I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.” – Rumi

“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi

“Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.” – Rumi

“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.” – Rumi

“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” – Rumi

“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don’t you?” – Rumi

“There is a voice that doesn’t use words, listen.” – Rumi

“The message behind the words is the voice of the heart.” – Rumi

“I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.” – Rumi

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” – Rumi (Fear is what stops us from crossing it – David Scott)

“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.” – Rumi

“Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.” – Rumi

“What you seek is seeking you.” – Rumi

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi

“Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, so wild flowers will come up where you are.” – Rumi

“The lion is most handsome when looking for food.” – Rumi

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” – Rumi

“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” – Rumi

“Life is balance of holding on and letting go.” – Rumi

“If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” – Rumi

“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.” – Rumi

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” – Rumi

“Be an empty page, untouched by words.” – Rumi

“What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.” – Rumi

“Look at the moon in the sky, not the one in the lake.” – Rumi

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” – Rumi

“Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” – Rumi

“The soul has been given its own ears to hear things mind does not understand.” – Rumi

“Inside any deep asking is the answering.” – Rumi

“Wisdom tells us we are not worthy; love tells us we are. My life flows between the two.” – Rumi

“The time has come to turn your heart into a temple of fire.” – Rumi

“Open your hands if you want to be held.” – Rumi

“The world is a mountain, in which your words are echoed back to you.” – Rumi

“When you seek love with all your heart you shall find its echo in the universe.” – Rumi

“When you lose all sense of self, the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish.” – Rumi

“Your heart is the size of an ocean. Go find yourself in its hidden depths..” – Rumi

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” – Rumi

“The lion is most handsome when looking for food.” – Rumi (The wounded deer leaps highest)

“The very center of your heart is where life begins – the most beautiful place on earth.” – Rumi

“Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the worlds.” – Rumi

“What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.” – Rumi

“The universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are” – Rumi

“This is a subtle truth. Whatever you love you are.” – Rumi

“What is planted in each person’s soul will sprout.” – Rumi

“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” – Rumi

“When you feel a peaceful joy, that’s when you are near truth.” – Rumi

“I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life.” – Rumi

“If you want money more than anything, you’ll be bought and sold your whole life.” – Rumi

“Why struggle to open a door between us when the whole wall is an illusion?” – Rumi

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” – Rumi

“Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart.” – Rumi

“Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you.” – Rumi

“Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.” – Rumi

“Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and twice as beautiful as you’d ever imagined.” – Rumi

“If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.” – Rumi

“I was dead, then alive.

Weeping, then laughing.

The power of love came into me,

and I became fierce like a lion,

then tender like the evening star.” – Rumi

“Doing as others told me, I was blind.

Coming when others called me, I was lost.

Then I left everyone, myself as well.

Then I found everyone, myself as well.” – Rumi

“I died to the mineral state and became a plant,

I died to the vegetal state and reached animality,

I died to the animal state and became a man,

Then what should I fear? I have never become less from dying.

At the next charge (forward) I will die to human nature,

So that I may lift up (my) head and wings (and soar) among the angels,

And I must (also) jump from the river of (the state of) the angel,

Everything perishes except His Face,

Once again I will become sacrificed from (the state of) the angel,

I will become that which cannot come into the imagination,

Then I will become non-existent; non-existence says to me (in tones) like an organ,

Truly, to Him is our return.” – Rumi

“I’ve been looking for a long, long time,

for this thing called love,

I’ve ridden comets across the sky,

and I’ve looked below and above.

Then one day I looked inside myself,

and this is what I found,

a golden sun residing there,

beaming forth God’s light and sound.” – Rumi