Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month May 28th: "temple in the sky" by Ubugu

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

May 2016 is running towards its end and we have only four (4) days to go before we start our new Carpe Diem month June. You can find the prompt-list for June 2016 above in the menu or by clicking HERE.

I enjoy this month very much, because of the idea that we are making this month really together through completing Tan Renga. Because Tan Renga you all like I will bring back our weekly Tan Renga Challenge on Fridays, so after this month you don't need to miss it. By the way I recently created a new part of our CDHK family, "Chained Together", a new weblog about Tan Renga.

Okay back to today's episode of our Tan Renga Challenge Month. Today I have a nice "hokku" created by Ubugu (penname of Robert Gibson, whom was featured in our first episode of "In The Spotlight"). Ubugu created a nice haiku inspired on the Latifa Prayer, but I saw his haiku again after the publishing of our new e-book about the Latifa Prayer, so his haiku wasn't included in that e-book. So I wish to say sorry to Ubugu: "My excuses for this Ubugu". I decided, as a kind of peace offering, to bring it here as the "hokku" of our new Tan Renga Challenge.

Ubugu (penname of Robert Gibson)

Here is his "hokku":

temple in the sky
the road opens
a slice of blue sea

© Ubugu (penname of Robert Gibson)

Ubugu wrote in his email a little explanation for this haiku which I love to share here with you too:

[...] "Your latest prompt,The Latifa Prayer, has my mind so dancing and pondering.

Because I value the reader, I usually don't footnote my offerings. This allows them the freedom to make my words theirs. That said, today I bend that rule.  Below was my very first haiku, inspired by the childhood memory of my first seeing the sea. To me, it addressed the wonder and vastness of our world underpinned by incomprehensible wonders whisper-hinted to our imagination. The succinct beauty of the Latifa Prayer, for me at least, is cut from the same cloth. Reading it for the first time (thanks to you), I sensed connectivity.

I was eight years old when the experience of the aura above the sea and the sea got salted away; took fifty years to distill into this haiku." [...]

"Temple In The Sky"

It took me some time to create my second stanza to this "hokku", but I finally came up with something.

temple in the sky
the road opens
a slice of blue sea                                         (Ubugu)

heat dances above the horizon
childhood memories come to mind           (Chèvrefeuille)

I think this second stanza fits the scene and maybe Ubugu's story inspired me, but I have some wonderful childhood memories ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 1st at noon (CET). I will publish our new "hokku" on our Twitter account.

Carpe Diem Extra May 26th New exclusive CDHK e-book

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is with great pleasure that I can announce that our new exclusive CDHK e-book Latifa Prayer, based on the Theme Week of this month is ready for download.

You can find this new e-book in the left side of our Haiku Kai. I hope you all will like this new e-book. Happy reading!

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.

Carpe Diem Theme Week #4 (7 ): Latifa Prayer lines 6 & 7: "I love" and "I am prepared"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I don't know what went wrong, but I have still two lines for this last episode of our 4th Theme Week about the Latifa Prayer, that powerful and wonderful Sufi prayer with roots in Islam. So I have (again) a "double" episode, sorry for that.

Introduction:

The first line I love to share here of this "double" episode is "I Love". What is Love? I think its an energy that "sleeps" deep down in our heart, waiting to come to bloom. Love we have in several meanings. Love as in loving another human for his / her inner beauty (and outer beauty), an unconditional love I mean in this case. But there is also something we call love, but is more about sex without that unconditional love ... just because someone needs to have sex.

I think in the Latifa Prayer it's about that first kind of love, unconditonal love for all and everything. That love stays a mystery ... you can not go on a quest for that kind of love .... that kind of love overcomes you unexpected.

lotus flowers
rising from the depths of the pond
everlasting love
like a river flows onwards
uncertain of its goal

© Chèvrefeuille

Love is about your deepest desires, let your heart speak ... and not your mind.

The last line of the Latifa Prayer "I am prepared" connects you to all and everyone around, it connects you with the desires you want. I will connect you to your Higher Self.

Earlier this week I told you that there is a kind of Latifa Prayer Meditation and I love to share that meditation here with you. It's an easy way to meditate and it will make you happy or happier than you already are.

Meditation

Latifa Prayer Meditation:

Are you ready? Are you relaxed and in a nice comfortable position? Let me take you ... into the Latifa Prayer Meditation. As I am doing this meditation I always play relaxing music like e.g. the music of Karunesh . Just relaxation music. I am not a guy that sits in the "meditation-position" I love to lean back against the wall or lay down on the couch or my bed.
First I start to regulate my breathing to open my energy fields, my chakras. This takes mostly a few minutes. Than starts the Latifa Prayer Meditation:

1. At first you place your right hand on your left flank by the help of your left hand.  Always use your left hand to help your right hand. Than you say out loud: I exist. You breathe steady and softly and think about the reason why you exist. Questions will appear in your mind. Answer them.

2. Bring (by the help of your left hand), your right hand to your right flank. Say to yourself: I desire. Think about the things you desire and be aware.

3. Bring your right hand to your left lung. Say to yourself: I hope. Think about all the things you wish and want in life. Because of this you are going to be able to make space in your mind.

4. Bring your right hand to your right lung. Say out loud: I believe and I trust.  Believe and trust will make you stronger and will help you to let go of your hope and be certain about the things you doubt.

5. Place your right hand on your neck. Say: I let go. This area consists of all the things you keep to yourself like sadness, anger and your own voice. Because of letting these things slip out of your mind, you will breath better. Thinking of your own believes helps you to achieve this exercise.

6. Place your right hand on the centre of your chest. Tell yourself: I love. Loving is one of the strongest and purest feelings we have. Give your heart a chance to speak. Bring out your deepest desires.

7. To finish the prayer you bring your right hand above your bellybutton. Place your left hand on top of it and say the words: I am prepared. Being prepared will connect you with your own voice. The things you want and desire. (Source)

I hope you liked this meditation and of course that it has brought you positive energy.

 

(video by: LiLoveLi )

My response:

For my response on this episode I ran through my archives and gathered a few haiku which fit the theme of this episode:
 

dervishes whirling
seeking a higher consciousness -
third eye opens
© Chèvrefeuille

chanting their mantra
broomstick and rake in hand
true meditation
© Chèvrefeuille


the moon is rising
silvery waves resonate
in tune with my heart
© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... this was our fourth Carpe Diem Theme Week, I hope you did like this week.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 26th at noon (CET). Have fun. !! Next month our Fifth Theme Week is titled "Ascension" !!

Carpe Diem Theme Week #4 (5 & 6): Latifa Prayer lines 4 & 5 "I believe and I trust" & "I let go"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Yesterday I told you all that I hadn't time enough to create a new episode for our Theme Week therefore today I love to share two episodes in one. So in this episode we will look at line 4 and 5 respectively: "I believe and I trust" and "I let go".

Introduction:

Both lines are in the middle of the Latifa Prayer and that's no coincidence I think, because these two lines belong (in a way) together.  To "let go", you have to "believe and trust" that it will become okay. Without believe and trust you cannot let go. Why?

I will give it a try to explain that thought to you. Let me give you an example: "My grandson was bullied for a long time at his school. It hurt him that much that he had a time that he tried not to go to school or as he was bullied he ran away from school. One day, while he had to be at school, he stood for my home. (We live in the close surroundings of his school). He was crying and he was angry. He told me of the bullying. I just listened to his story and than I tried to analyze (together with him) what was happening at times he was bullied? He told me that he (mostly) started with yelling to the bullies or that he ran to his teacher to tell them what was going on".

And this is what I finally told him. "You have to ignore those bullies than they will have no fun with bullying". My grandson looked at me. "How can I do that? How do I ignore them?" "As they are saying things to you you walk away with head held high. You have to be proud on yourself, because you are special and they don't know that, but you do". Than he was a little while silent and I saw how his mind was "running". Than there was the smile, that beautiful strong and proud smile. "Thank you granddad I think I do understand what you have said. As I believe and trust in an on myself than the bullies will leave me and than I can let go and be happy".

From that moment on he was a proud boy and he even started to enjoy school. Of course sometime the bullies tried it again, but they never succeeded in their bullying as they did earlier.

I think this example shows us that we can "let go" the sadness and sorrows of our life just to believe and trust on ourselves and that some Higher power is guiding us.

The Altai Mountains

My response

In a way these two lines make the "I Hope"  line of the Latifa Prayer even stronger than it already is. This shows us (I think) that the Latifa Prayer is a very strong prayer and that's why we may use it. You don't need to say that prayer every day, but the Latifa Prayer meditation you can do easily every day.

Maybe you remember that Mongolian Myth "The Cry of an Eagle" in which an almost the same situation occurs with Maidar. I read that Mongolian Myth again and I enjoyed reading it again. So for my response on this part of the Latifa Prayer I reproduce the haiku from that story here:

whispering leaves
telling all wisdom of the steppes -
cry of an eagle

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... it was a joy again to create these post and I hope I have inspired you. This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until May 25th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem Theme Week #4 (4) Latifa Prayer "I hope"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our fourth Theme Week about the Latifa Prayer. In this episode we will explore the thrid line "I Hope", but first I have to make an announcement.
A few days ago I got an e-mail by Georgia (a.k.a. Bastet) she told me that her mother's health is worsening fast, so she will not be very often at Carpe Diem in the upcoming weeks. Please remember her and her mother and her family in your prayers. Thank you.

praying hands
seeking the wisdom of the Lord
the cry of an eagle 

© Chèvrefeuille, your host.

Introduction:

Today the third line of the Latifa Prayer "I hope". Hope is the one thing we never have to forget. There is always hope and as we will loose hope than what's than ...?
There are several ways to use the Latifa Prayer, one of course to pray it, but another use is in meditation and that meditation I love to share in the last episode of this Theme Week. The Latifa Prayer Meditation is built around the seven lines of the Latifa Prayer and in that meditation you have to use several gestures. For the third line "I hope" that's the following gesture:

[...] Bring your right hand to your left lung. Always use your left hand to help your right hand. Say to yourself: I hope. Think about all the things you wish and want in life. Because of this you are going to be able to make space in your mind. [...]

My response:

As I was preparing this new episode I ran through several posts here at Carpe Diem and one in particular came in mind. Maybe you can remember our series about the "Divine Tarot" in which we explored the divine in the Tarot. One of the cards of the Great Arcana is The Star and that card came in mind as I was doing my research for this episode. Let me give you a quote from that episode:

[...] "The Star (Jesus) represents a moment, a time, of renewed hope, inspiration and discovery. (The time of Aquarius in which we are living now?) We have escaped The Devil, as we saw in The Devil (XV) and The Tower (XVI) and we are now in calm waters. It's a major breakthrough, a new opportunity to rise to a higher state of consciousness. (In The Tower (XVI) there is a third window. That window means 'super consciousness' which is just granted to a few. It stands for the secret, ancient, deeper knowledge as hidden in the Crown of the Tree of Life, the Kabbalistic glyph, Kether or God Consciousness. And that knowledge is now in reach through the spiritual growth, through this Aquarius era.

gaining insight
re-balancing the Inner Self
the Crown is in reach

The Star (XVII) is the first of three cards of increasing light. A higher pathway will become visible, the way to Calvary. A way we have to go to enter the City of God. The Star is indicating that we are approaching the goal of Enlightenment". [...]

What has this to do with "I Hope"? I think this shows that all religions are connected with each other. All religions are seeking their goals walking upon their own paths, but in the essence of every religion lays Hope ... Hope to create a better world full of peace honoring each other's ideas, honoring our environment. Hope we can only reach by following the light (and I don't mean that Light of Christianity alone, but all light that comes to use by all our different religious and spiritual backgrounds) we need light to see our path ... not only that real path in front of you, but also that Inner Path we all follow with our heart and soul.

Without Hope all will be lost.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 22nd at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Theme Week 4 (3) Latifa Prayer "I desire"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to see how you are responding on this new Theme Week about that powerful Latifa Prayer and I am so glad that you all do like this new Theme Week. Today we are exploring the second line of the Latifa Prayer "I desire".

cold winter night
dreaming about the coming of spring -
cherry trees blooming

© Chèvrefeuille

In this haiku the desire for spring is the leading theme. After the long cold winter I am longing for spring and of course spring starts (at least for me) as my old Sakura in the backyard starts to bloom.

Introduction:

The second line of the Latifa Prayer is "I desire" and with that line you open your thoughts for your desires and become aware of them. What are your desires?

I once had the desire to write a novel I chased that goal and I made my desire real. I wrote a novel. Of course there are more desires I have and to bring another one up here ... Another desire I had was to become a well known haiku poet. As I fell in love with haiku in the late eighties I always thought that I would only be writing in Dutch, but at the start of this century I found the courage to publish a Dutch haiku translation to English and published it on the WWW. From that moment on I only wrote English haiku and became who I am now. Again one of the desires I had was fulfilled.

May we have desires? Of course you may have desires, you may chase goals you have set for yourself ... nothing wrong with that too.

It's my experience that chasing desires to become true gives a lot of pure energy. It's not wrong to have desires, but you have to be aware of them.

desire

My response:

But ... let us look at us as haiku poets. We all know that haiku has roots in Zen-Buddhism and as we look at Zen-Buddhism than having desires is something very different as meant above. In Zen-Buddhism the only desire possible is to become enlightened ... does that mean that haiku poets may not have desires? I don't know ... but as I look deep inside myself, in my Higher Self, that pure energy which is our guardian in our life ... than as a haiku poet I have just one desire. The only desire I have, not to become enlightened, but creating that one masterpiece in which I can read, see, feel and reveal the master, my master Basho, that's my only desire.

I am aware of that desire and it's my lifelong goal to once create that masterpiece, maybe I have done that already, but I am not aware of it ... 

Be aware of your desires ... don't feel ashamed when you discover your desires ... desires and being aware of them makes you human.

silent prayer
reaches for heaven
sunflowers bloom

© Chèvrefeuille

This Theme Week episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will be open until May 21st at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem Theme Week #4 Latifa Prayer episode 2 "I exist"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome a the second episode of our Theme Week about that wonderful and powerful Latifa Prayer. Today I will introduce to you the first "line" of this prayer, "I exist".

in deep prayer
eyes closed in devotion -
Lotus starts to bloom

© Chèvrefeuille

Introduction:

"I exist" ... what does that mean? Is it what René Descartes meant with his "Cogito Ergo Sum" (I think, therefore I am)? I think so. René Descartes lived in the 17th century and was a great philosopher and his "Cogito Ergo Sum" is what makes us human, but also spiritual. As we give our thoughts the freedom to run than we exist ... than we can see the deeper layers in all that's around us, we are all part of humanity and we are all connected through this "Cogito Ergo Sum".

But as we take a look at the Latifa Prayer's first line than maybe we see something different in it.

I exist or "Nafs":

The word nafs is usually translated as self or psyche. Its etymology is rooted in "breath" (similar to Biblical or Kabbalistic nefesh) and is common to virtually all archaic psychologies where the act of breathing was connected with life, animating otherwise lifeless object. In this respect, ancient notions of "Prana" in Hinduism, Greek "pneuma", Latin "spiritus" or Hebrew "Ruach" -all equate the basic visible process of breathing with energizing principle that confers existence to an individual human being. Some Sufis consider under the term "Nafs" the entirety of psychological processes, encompassing whole mental, emotional and volitional life; however, the majority of Quranic-based Sufis are of the opinion that Nafs is a "lower", egotistical and passionate human nature which, along with Tab (literally, physical nature), comprises vegetative and animal aspects of human life. Ego may be assumed as an equivalent for Nafs in modern psychology. The central aim of the Sufi path is transformation of Nafs (technical term is tazkīyyat an-nafs or "purging of the soul") from its deplorable state of ego-centredness through various psycho-spiritual stages to the purity and submission to the will of God. In essence, this is almost identical to Christian paradigm of "vita purgativa" and various stages the spiritual aspirant traverses in the journey towards God.

In the Latifa Prayer "I exist" is the base of all further spiritual growth through the Latifa Prayer. In this you can see the same thing as we see in e.g. Buddhism, growing through doing good things to become enlightened.

As we look at "I exist" in that way I think the spiritual layer of the Latifa Prayer fits us haiku poets like a glove. To create our haiku we need to understand that we exist and that we are part of nature, we are not nature's superior, but we are its friend and caregiver.
Nature is the base of our wonderful haiku ... so in a way ... I exist is the base for our haiku too.

My response:

At the start of this episode I shared a haiku from my archive with you and that haiku is I exist in the most absolute way ... the Lotus grows from deep down the waters, from the muddy bottom through the breaking light of the sun in the water to its existing as a beautiful flower on the water. The Lotus exists as a "marker" to point us at our goals ... becoming spiritual beings, becoming one with nature and with each other ... that's the message of the Lotus ... I exist lets make the world a little bit more peaceful.

dancing dervishes
reflecting movements
Lotuses dance too

© Chèvrefeuille

It wasn't an easy task to create this episode for you but I think I have done it in the right way. And now it is up to you to create your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form ... to give room to the idea that "you exist" ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 20th at noon (CET). 

Carpe Diem's Theme Week 4: (1) Latifa Prayer, introduction

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome the fourth Carpe Diem Theme Week. This Theme Week we will explore / discover a very ancient Sufi prayer ... the Latifa Prayer. This prayer is used very often in the Bahai religion, the Islam and in the Sufi religion.
Not so long ago I discovered this powerful prayer as the base of a meditation, but also a source to come closer to your Self, Higher Self or subconsciousness. I think in this time it's important to look at different religions and philosophies and I think the Latifa Prayer is the right way to look at how the world is meant to be.

Let me first introduce to you the Latifa Prayer, these are the words of the Latifa Prayer:

I exist

I desire

I hope

I believe and I trust

I let go

I love

I am prepared

And for this introductory episode I love to tell you something more about the background of this wonderful Latifa Prayer.

Lataif-e-sitta (Persian: لطائف سته‎‎) or al-Laṭaʾif as-Sitta (Arabic: اللطائف الستة‎), meaning "The Six Subtleties", are psychospiritual "organs" or, sometimes, faculties of sensory and suprasensory perception in Sufi psychology, and are explained here according to the usage amongst certain Sufi groups (key terms in this article are taken from the Urdu, rather than the original Arabic). These six subtleties are thought to be parts of the self in a similar manner to the way glands and organs are part of the body. Drawing from the Qur'an, many Sufis distinguish Nafs, Qalb, Sirr, Ruh, Khafi, and Akhfa as the six laṭaʾif.

Similar concepts in other spiritual systems include the Dantian mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts and meditation, the sephiroth of kabbalah and the chakras of Indian Tantra and Kundalini yoga.

Among Sufis spiritual development involves awakening centers of perception that lie dormant in every person. The help of a guide is considered necessary to help activate them in a certain order. Each center is associated with a particular color, a general area of the body, and often with a particular prophet. Activation of all these "centers" is part of the inner methodology of the Sufi way or "Work". Purification of the elementary passionate nature (tazkiyat an-nafs), cleansing the spiritual heart (tazkiyat al-qalb), becoming a receptacle of divine love (ishq), illumination of the spirit (tajjali ar-ruh), emptying egocentric drives (taqliyyat as-sirr) and remembering the divine attributes, often through repetition of the names of God, (dhikr) are a process by which the dervish is said to reach a certain type of "completion" in the opening of the last two faculties, khafi and akhfa.

And to conclude this first Theme Week episode I have the following haiku for you from my archives. This haiku was inspired on a beautiful piece of music by Karunesh.

dervishes whirling
- seeking a higher consciousness
third eye opens

© Chèvrefeuille

This first episode of our fourth Carpe Diem Theme Week Latifa Prayer is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 19th at noon (CET) !! four days to respond !!

As you all know I will create an exclusive CDHK e-book after every Theme Week. If you are participating in this Theme Week you give me, your host, permission to use your work (of course fully credited as I always do).

Carpe Diem Extra May 7th 2016 Carpe Diem Theme Week 4th edition.

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A few months ago I started with Carpe Diem Theme Week. This month we will have our 4th edition of the CD Theme Week. I recently read an article about Sufism, but more specific, the Latifa Prayer and I love to introduce that powerful prayer to you in the upcoming CD Theme Week which will start on Sunday May 15th and will 'run' to Saturday May 21st.
I am looking forward to this new theme week.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.