Of The Conference of the Birds,Reason and Love,Excuses and Deliverance

drawing/ collage by marguerita

The Valley Of Love

Love's valley is the next, and here desire

Will plunge the pilgrim into seas of fire,

Until his very being is enflamed

And those whom fire rejects turn back ashamed.

The lover is a man who flares and burns ,

Whose face is fevered , who in frenzy yearns ,

Who knows no prudence , who will gladly send

A hundred worlds toward their blazing end,

Who knows of neither faith nor blasphemy,

Who has no time for doubt or certainty,

To whom both good and evil are the same,

And who is neither , but a living flame.

But you ! Lukewarm all you say or do,

Backsliding, weak - O, no, this is not you!

True lovers give up everything they own

To steal one moment with the Friend alone -

They make no vague , procrastinating vow,

But risk their livelihood and risk it now.

Until their hearts are burnt , how can they flee

From their desire's incessant misery ?

They are the falcon when it flies distressed

In circles, searching for its absent nest -

They are the fish cast up upon the land

That seeks the sea and shudders on the sand.

Love here is fire; its thick smoke clouds the head-

When love has come the intellect has fled;

It cannot tutor love, and all its care

Supplies no remedy for love's despair.

If you could seek the unseen you would find

Love's home, which is not reason or the mind,

And love's intoxication tumbles down

The world's designs for glory and renown-

If you could penetrate their passing show

And see the world's atoms, you would know

That reason' eyes will never glimpse one spark

Of shining love to mitigate the dark.

Love leads whoever starts along our Way;

The noblest bow to love and must obey-

But you, unwilling both to love and tread

The pilgrim's path, you might as well be dead!

The lover chafes, impatient to depart,

And longs to sacrifice his life and heart.

by Farid Ud-Din Attar

The Conference of the Birds metaphorically maps out the journey of the human spirit in its quest for truth. We could stay the “Stormy Search for the Self”. The story begins when the birds of the world gather together to seek out their King. Their leader, the hoopoe, tells them that they have a King whose name is the Simorgh but that he lives far away and the journey to him is fraught with dangers. The birds, each of whom symbolize different parts of us (patterns of behaviour or sub-personalities as Assagioli called them), are at first anxious to begin their search, but when they realize how difficult the journey is, they begin to make excuses. How often do we procrastinate and choose not to follow our heart’s desire through fears and false assumptions. The nightingale, that aspect of ourselves that is caught up in the purely physical world, cannot leave the rose, the hawk is happy with his position in court serving earthly Kings, the sparrow is too afraid even to begin. The hoopoe, representing inspiration, persuades them to continue their search although it will be difficult. The group formally appoints the hoopoe as its leader. Once the journey has begun the birds ask questions about its course, like the pupil asking the teacher (Hoopoe) questions. The Hoopoe answers using illustrative anecdotes and stories. The birds then cross seven valleys: • Search • Love • Insight into Mystery • Detachment/Independence • Unity • Bewilderment • Fulfillment in Annihilation. At the end of the quest, the birds find that the Simorgh has been with them, guiding them from within throughout the whole journey. The King they sought was non other than themselves. The goal of the Quest is the Self or the Soul. The moment that they discover this depends on the word play: thirty (si) birds (morgh) are left at the end of the Way and the si morgh meet the Simorgh, the goal of the quest. 'Attar began The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-tair) with an invocation praising the holy Creator in which he suggested that one must live a hundred lives to know oneself. But you must know God by the deity, not by yourself, for God opens the way, not human wisdom. 'Attar believed that God is beyond all human logic. The soul will manifest itself when the body is laid aside. One cannot gain spiritual knowledge without dying to all things. Not necessarily physical dying, but the letting go of false assumptions, negative emotions and fears.

Farid ud-Din Attar was born in Nishapur, in north-east Iran. There is disagreement over the exact dates of his birth and death but several sources confirm that he lived about 100 years. He is traditionally said to have been killed by Mongol invaders. His tomb can be seen today in Nishapur.

As a younger man, Attar went on pilgrimage to Mecca and traveled extensively throughout the region, seeking wisdom in Egypt, Damascus, India, and other areas, before finally returning to his home city of Nishapur.

The name Attar means herbalist or druggist, which was his profession. It is said that he saw as many as 500 patients a day in his shop, prescribing herbal remedies which he prepared himself, and he wrote his poetry while attending to his patients.

About thirty works by Attar survive, but his masterpiece is the Mantic at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds). In this collection, he describes a group of birds (individual human souls) under the leadership of a hoopoe (spiritual master) who determine to search for the legendary Simurgh bird (God). The birds must confront their own individual limitations and fears while journeying through seven valleys before they ultimately find the Simurgh and complete their quest.

The 30 birds who ultimately complete the quest discover that they themselves are the Simurgh they sought, playing on a pun in Persian (si and murgh can translate as 30 birds) while giving us an esoteric teaching on the presence of the Divine within us.

Attar's poetry inspired Rumi and many other Sufi poets. It is said that Rumi actually met Attar when Attar was an old man and Rumi was a boy, though some scholars dispute this possibility.

Farid ud-Din Attar was apparently tried at one point for heresy and exiled from Nishapur, but he eventually returned to his home city and that is where he died.

A traditional story is told about Attar's death. He was taken prisoner by a Mongol during the invasion of Nishapur. Someone soon came and tried to ransom Attar with a thousand pieces of silver. Attar advised the Mongol not to sell him for that price. The Mongol, thinking to gain an even greater sum of money, refused the silver. Later, another person came, this time offering only a sack of straw to free Attar. Attar then told the Mongol to sell him for that was all he was worth. Outraged at being made a fool, the Mongol cut off Attar's head.

Whether or not this is literally true isn't the point. This story is used to teach the mystical insight that the personal self isn't of much real worth. What is valuable is the Beloved's presence within us -- and that presence isn't threatened by the death of the body.

Love is a Wonderful Thing,Not a Gadget, Not a Toy

drawing by marguerita

You don't remember me,
but I remember you 't was not so long ago,
you broke my heart in two
Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart, caused by you, you
If we could start anew, I wouldn't hesitate
I'd gladly take you back, and tempt the hands of fate
Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart,
caused by you, you, you, you, you
Love is not a gadget, love is not a toy
When you find the one you love, he'll fill your heart with joy
If we could start anew, I wouldn't hesitate
I'd gladly take you back, and tempt the hands of fate
Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart, caused by you, you
No, no no no now, no, no no (You...)

Lyrics by Little Anthony

Enough of Wars,Politics,Blood and Tears

watercolor by marguerita

We need to ask tough questions

collages by marguerita
Once again, as in the run-up to the War in Iraq, too few people in Congress and the mainstream media are asking tough questions.
Few people seem willing to ask whether the main solution that's being talked about- sending more troops to Afghanistan--will actually work. If the devastating policies of the current administration have proved anything, it's that we need to ask tough questions before deploying our brave service members--and that we need to be suspicious of Washington 'group think.'
Otherwise, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
Obama Must Get Afghanistan Right

"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Is waiting for life to be fair a losing proposition?

collage by marguerita

Many people who have chronic kidney disease don't know it, because the early signs can be very subtle. It can take many years to go from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to kidney failure. Some people with CKD live out their lives without ever reaching kidney failure.

However, for people at any stage of kidney disease, knowledge is power. Knowing the symptoms of kidney disease can help you get the treatment you need to feel your best. If you or someone you know has one or more of the following symptoms of kidney disease, or you are worried about kidney problems, see a doctor for blood and urine tests. Remember, many of the symptoms can be due to reasons other than kidney disease.Healthy kidneys clean your blood by removing excess fluid, minerals and wastes. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and your blood healthy. But if the kidneys are damaged, they don't work properly. Harmful wastes can build up in your body. Your blood pressure may rise. Your body may retain excess fluid and not make enough red blood cells. This is called kidney failure.If your kidneys fail, you need treatment to replace the work they normally do. The treatment options are dialysis or a kidney transplant. Each treatment has benefits and drawbacks. No matter which treatment you choose, you'll need to make some changes in your life, including how you eat and plan your activities. But with the help of healthcare providers, family and friends, most people with kidney failure can lead full and active lives.

Behind a mystery lies a truth. Just do it.

drawing by marguerita
A brain-imaging experiment I conducted in 2006 explains why antismoking scare tactics have been so futile. I examined people’s brain activity as they reacted to cigarette warning labels by using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a scanning technique that can show how much oxygen and glucose a particular area of the brain uses while it works, allowing us to observe which specific regions are active at any given time
.We found that the warnings prompted no blood flow to the amygdala, the part of the brain that registers alarm, or to the part of the cortex that would be involved in any effort to register disapproval.
To the contrary, the warning labels backfired: they stimulated the nucleus accumbens, sometimes called the “craving spot,” which lights up on f.M.R.I. whenever a person craves something, whether it’s alcohol, drugs, tobacco or gambling.
Op-Ed Contributor - Inhaling Fear - NYTimes.com

Brain Pollution and the Real Reason You Shouldn't Use Drugs

Studying the effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain has clearly been one of the most informative and fascinating parts of my work. I had a sense growing up that drugs and alcohol weren't helpful to my overall health. I might add, this notion was helped along by getting drunk on a six pack of Michelob and half a bottle of champagne when I was sixteen years old - I was sick for three days. After that, I've been lucky enough to stay away from drugs and alcohol. After doing this work there's no way you could get me to do marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, PCP, inhalants or any more than a glass or two of wine or beer. These substances damage the patterns in your brain, and without your brain you are not you.

There is really quite a bit of scientific literature on the physiological effects of drug abuse and alcohol on the brain. SPECT Scans have demonstrated a number of abnormalities in substance abusers in brain areas known to be involved in behavior, such as the frontal and temporal lobes. There are some SPECT similarities and differences between the damage we see caused by the different substances of abuse. I'll discuss the differences in drug abuse patterns below. There tends to be several similarities seen among classes of abused drugs. The most common similarity among drug and alcohol abusers is that the brain has an overall toxic look to it. In general, the SPECT Scan studies look less active, more shriveled, and overall less healthy. A "scalloping effect" is common amongst drug abusing brains. Normal brain patterns show smooth activity across the cortical surface. Scalloping is a wavy, rough sea-like look on the brain's surface. I also see this pattern in patients who have been exposed to toxic fumes or oxygen deprivation. My research assistant says that the drug brains she has seen look like someone poured acid on the brain. Not a pretty site.

SPECT can be helpful in evaluating the effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain. On 3D surface brain images, several substances of abuse appear to show consistent patterns. For example, cocaine and methamphetamine abuse appear as multiple small holes across the cortical surface; heroin abuse appears as marked decreased activity across the whole cortical surface; heavy marijuana abuse shows decreased activity in the temporal lobes bilaterally and heavy alcohol abuse shows marked decreased activity throughout the brain. These findings tend to improve with abstinence, although long term use has been associated with continued SPECT deficits seen years after abstinence. SPECT can be helpful in several ways in drug and alcohol abuse. First, 3D surface SPECT brain images of drug and alcohol abusers can be used in drug prevention education. Second, SPECT studies can help break though the denial that often accompanies substance abuse. When one is faced with their own abnormal cerebral perfusion it is hard to remain in denial. Third, SPECT may help evaluate if there is an underlying neuropsychiatric condition that needs treatment.

In our experience, the effects of smoking marijuana use typically cause decreased activity in the posterior temporal lobes bilaterally. The damage can be mild or severe, depending on how long a person used, how much use occurred, what other substances were used (nicotine is a powerful vasoconstrictor) and how vulnerable a particular brain is. For more information see Dr. Amen's article High Resolution Brain SPECT Imaging in Marijuana Smokers with AD/HD, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Volume 30, No. 2 April-June 1998. Pgs 1-13.

Notice the study without marijuana shows decreased temporal lobe activity (likely from the chronic marijuana usage), but also patchy increased uptake, especially increased activity in the deep left temporal lobe (often associated with anger, irritability and anxiety). The study with heavy marijuana usage shows marked overall decreased activity, especially in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes (associated with attention, memory and motivational problems) but also there is a decrease in the overactive areas noted in the "off marijuana" study.

This scan series argues for the possibility of "self-medication," but unfortunately this medication has the side effect of causing the potential for long term damage to his brain.