POEMS

Crossing  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  October 2004

The ocean is wider than the world
Its depths beyond sounding
When its surface is calm
The sun shines beautifully
But we sail only slightly
Toward the farthest shore

It is only when the wind is high
Enormous waves
Pitching the fragile boat
Wildly, dangerously
That we are hurled forward
Toward our destination

When the sun breaks through
The clouds again
It becomes a rainbow
In the heart

War is the Practice of Fear  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  September 2004

Fear has many faces
Fear of the other
Fear of the powerful
Fear of the weak
Fear of loss
Fear of pain
Fear of emotions
Fear of uncertainty
Fear of one’s own shadow
Endless

Getting Caught in the Love Triangle  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  August 2004

When our thoughts reflect love,
Our words are those of a lover
And our deeds are directed toward the Beloved
We are peace

Love is a dynamic force
Not a state we possess
It is a force passing through us
To receive it we have to give it to others
When peace emanates from us
Peace returns to us

Homeland  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  January 1993

If my love takes you away from this world
and makes you forget the past
and your heart sees only the moment
then come to me

Innocence is our nationality
Simplicity is our identity
It is given only to those who stay
to build the new homeland

Irrelevant Dreams or Relevant Utopias…  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  November 9, 2010

The journey towards peace begins with irrelevant dreams.

Dreams are imperfect and subject to contextual, cultural and historical biases,
Yet they open the way for a future where we can shield ourselves from the disaster of chaos,
Take at least some small steps towards the alleviation of massive poverty,
Reduce the burden of the world arms race,
And decrease the burden of repression on billions of people.

Utopias are useful tools to design intermediate steps,
To know what is our hope,
But utopias cannot be used to divert the energy of the world from intermediate,
small steps that are possible.

Loving Doing  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  January 1993

Please do not doubt
That one loving person
Can change the world

It’s the only thing that ever has

Why not you?
You can do it

The first step is self knowledge
The rest we can talk about
And loving together

Measuring Our Progress  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  April 2011

When we find ourselves learning, the mind is peaceful
We learn how to learn
We learn from the lame how to leap
We learn from the mute how to speak
We learn wholeness from trees
We learn from lips of fools
Sources of learning are infinite
Just polish the heart

New Eyes  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  October 2004

The world we have created is a product of our own thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.

The real journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

One  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  November 1992

I am the heart
That means, we must learn the alphabet of existence from the beginning
And return every morning
To practice the exercise
I am the mother of my senses, I feed them from the inside
And they are my mothers, they feed me from the outside
There is eternity only in motherhood
Through my senses I become the spirit of eternity
Through me, my senses become the essence of existence
We are one with the One

Qualities of Being  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  November 1992

There are seven
Four are feminine:
They are Will, Persistence, Logic, and Imagination

Three are masculine:
They are Order, Energy, and Logic

Order is the lover of Will
Energy is the lover of Persistence, and
Logic is the lover of Memory

Imagination is alone. It has no lover

Will is tall
Order is medium height
Persistence is neither short, nor tall
Energy is a little taller than Persistence
Memory is short
Logic is all athletic

Imagination is beautiful and alluring
She is shorter than the short and
Taller than the tall
She tells Will, Persistence, and Memory what to say to their
lovers, Order, Energy, and Logic
She shows Order, Energy and Logic how to court their sweethearts

Imagination reaches into the unconscious
As she reaches into the conscious
Imagination is one with the One
The One has no boundary, the One is all
All is without limit

Spring of Transformation  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  April 2009

Desire is inner poverty, even amidst wealth.
Detachment is inner riches, in poverty or health.
When one with our environment, it is not disposable.
Inner peace grows oneness … nonviolence grows love.

Quiet our mind
We find
We open up our heart.
Whatever we are doing
Can become a part
Of mindful, meditative, transcendental viewing.

Thinking solves some problems, but it creates another:
Thought of anything … makes that into “the other.”
A separate, different one … can hurt or gratify us.
We fear the hurt or grasp … for them to ratify us.

Quiet our mind
We find
We open up our heart.
Whatever we are doing
Can become a part
Of mindful, meditative, transcendental viewing.

Different forms arise … from out of the formless One.
So we are for sure connected … it is already done.
God is the One … remember Her, whenever you are disturbed: Remembrance brings us peace … it is a path superb.

Quiet our mind
We find
We open up our heart.
Whatever we are doing
Can become a part
Of mindful, meditative, transcendental viewing.

Surrender  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  June 2012

Surrender to the grace of the moment
Yes; no resistance to what is
Detachment from desire that things be different
Not what I want to happen
or
Even what should happen
but
rather
what wants to happen
and
what is my role in the process

Birds Have Faith  |  Abdul Aziz Said  | 

Birds flying embody great faith. We can empathize with their faith through meditation.

Close your eyes and imagine you’re a bird perched on a tree limb. Look down to the ground. What a great distance for a little bird! Look up and see the vastness of the sky.

Feel what it would be like, alone in the sky 100 feet above the ground: Be aware of the lack of support keeping you from falling to your death. Allow that fear of falling to arise. That is the amount of fear that is overcome by a bird’s faith in itself and its wings.

For the positive side of a bird’s faith: Imagine you’re back on the limb–and without fear you take off. Imagine yourself flapping your wings as you successfully rise higher and higher and higher. For as long as you want you soar alone–turning, diving, and climbing, high in a cloudless sky.

You are without fear. You are playing; you are in joy.

Birds have that faith. They fly with that fearlessness. They play in that joy.

The Poet  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  March 1993

The Poet is a mirror reflecting the splendor of existence
The poet is a seeker of the beyond, of restlessness and questioning
A seeker of eternal freedom
A poet is a witness of harmony
Mixing fire with snow
Darkness with light
Remaining aloof, yet familiar
Stranding flowers with stone
Exploring between magic and reality
Where everything is fluid
Totally interconnected

Peace  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  July 2008

When our thoughts reflect love, our words are those of a lover
And our deeds are directed toward the Beloved.
We are peace.
When Peace emanates from us, Peace returns to us.
We become peaceful – a source and mirror of peace.

PRAYERS

Great Things Begin in Small Ways  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  September 2001

Let us start and propagate an epidemic of sanity
On our campus, in America, in the Middle East,
And around the world.

Those who spread terror
Are knotted in hate and rigid thought.

Let us send
Life-giving germs of thought and feeling
That will encourage a little more open-mindedness,
A little less hate,
A little more calmness and acceptance of others.

Let every one of us
In our own little way,
Untie some of those knots,
And let that untying spread to those around us
And eventually, little by little, to the ends of the earth.

Wisdom and compassion are now,
As they ever have been,
The most priceless commodities in the world.

It’s a tall order,
But great things begin in small ways.

Prayer of Remembrance  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  April 2003

Let us remember
the children, women, and men everywhere
who live with injustice and disease
as their constant companions.

Let us connect with our sisters and brothers,
who spend their lives
establishing equal protection of the law,
and equal opportunity for all.

Let us celebrate all the people
who have spent their lives
helping make the world
a community of justice and peace.

Let us do what we can
that all creatures
may enjoy a fair portion
of the riches of our planet earth.

Let us honor our humanity
and ourselves.

My Religion  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  June 2003

My Religion
Am I a Jew?
A Muslim?
A Catholic?
A Protestant?
A Buddhist?
A Taoist?
A Hindu?
A Baha’i?

All the Ways are Beautiful
I am Everything
And Nothing
But it is best
When I remember
I am Nothing
A Freelance Person of Faith

Prayer for Peace  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  March 2011

Turning the tide from violence to peace begins with prayer.

In prayer,
We can nurture our light in the spirit of strength and compassion with the hope that it will illuminate the consciousness of darkened souls whose suffering has made a home to violence.

We pray that our light be used to warm and give comfort to those places in the heart that have surrendered to hatred and despair, and bring clarity and peace to their hearts.

This is a prayer of dignity.
We pray for human dignity to rise from the spirit by remembering all of the men, women and children who have lived and continue to live with fear and horror as present and constant companions.

This is a prayer of humanity.
We pray for the military and civilian men, women and children who themselves are struggling with the fear and ugliness of man’s inhumanity to man.

This is a prayer of interdependence.
Let us connect our hearts and energies with the world and its being so that those poor souls who are caught up in the storm of violence may know peace.

Prayer of Remembrance  |  Abdul Aziz Said  |  December 2011

Let us remember
the children, women, and men in Syria
who live with injustice
as their constant companions.

Let us connect with the souls of our Syrian sisters and brothers,
who gave their lives
to establish equal protection of the law,
and equal opportunity for all.

Let us celebrate the brave Syrians.

Let us pray that our light be used to warm
And give comfort to the Syrians
And bring clarity and peace to their hearts.

Let us connect our hearts and energies with the Syrians
On the journey to peace and freedom.

Whom God loves  |  Abdul Aziz Said  | 

Whom God Loves
Who seeks God finds God
Who finds God knows God
Who knows God loves God
Who loves God, God loves
Whom God loves