HOW TO FIND CONTENTMENT according to Rumi

INTRODUCTION: One Monday evening, in East Lansing, Michigan, in 17-degree weather, I ventured out to a very modest frame home where about eight to ten people had gathered. After a few opening comments by our host, we all joined in a circle and began going around and around to the sound of Middle Eastern music, and repeating Arabic phrases, which have totally eluded me now.

It was not something I did well – going around in circles or trying to sing in Arabic. But I thoroughly enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm of the others. They were gracious and accepting, and afterwards we had some wonderful food – none of which I could name.

Later that evening, and several times since, I’ve thought, “What the heck was I doing there? Why was I going around in a circle, trying to sing in Arabic, and repeating words that I didn’t have a clue as to what they meant?”

It was and is a classic instance of Sufism, the search for spiritual connection in Islam, of whom Jalaluddin Rumi, or Rumi, is best known in the West. He was born in the 13^th century in what is now Afghanistan, but was then a part of Persia or Iran, as we know it today. He was a poet, lawyer and mystic.

We’ve already sung one of his songs, “Come, come whoever you are.” But consider just a few of these other credits:

In 1997, he was ranked as America’s best-selling poet. In 1998, New York clothes designer Donna Karan, unveiled her spring line of fashions, while musical interpretations of Rumi's poetry, composed by Deepak Chopra played in the background. Philip Glass and Robert Wilson have written an opera that includes 114 of Rumi’s poems in the libretto. And back in the 19^th century, he was mentioned extensively by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was at one time a Unitarian minister, as well as by the enormously significant German philosopher Hegel.

Any poet from the 13^th century who has such unique and lasting credits has to have something going on in his life and work to be taken so seriously. I would like to suggest that he has a lot of relevance to who and where we are, anytime we begin to take seriously what, if any, our relation to the cosmos should be.

Consider for a moment: What if I were to capture a bug and hold it in my hand? There would be no doubt whatsoever that the bug was leading a very fragile and limited life. That’s what we mean by finite.

Now what if I chose to squash that bug. That’s the end of the bug, right? Wrong, kemo sabe. The bug is no longer alive, but no matter whether I bury its body or burn it, there is a certain part of that bug which will never cease to be. So on the one hand, it’s finite: “Zap,” and its life is gone. But on the other hand, in some fashion or other, it will always exist!

As Wernher von Braun said, “The Universe does not know extinction, only transformation.” Every finite thing that is, leaves an infinite footprint. If we are sensitive to the Infinite, it means we will see it in every dimension of existence, and in every phase of life…even in a bug.

In his work, Rumi tells us over and over that he is attempting to put into language through the vehicle of poetry, the nature and significance of the Infinite.

All that was and is, will always be in some form. Nothing ceases to exist; it only changes. Tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes, and erupting volcanoes occur. The devastation and loss are sometimes beyond counting. The familiar is destroyed. The recognizable is no longer visible.

But Earth keeps turning, the sun keeps shining, the planets keep rotating. Even though enormous catastrophes have occurred.

In life, death, divorce, illness, and loss pile up. How could they happen…to us! Can you believe that one day, the we who we are, will no longer be?

I’m playing golf tomorrow with my son (He wanted me to be sure and tell you, that he not only beat me in golf last week, but he beat me bad.). There was a time when he was only a dream to his mother and me, then he was a little baby that I held in my hands and arms, then a little boy who was so precious, then a teen, a college student, now a husband and soon to be a father. Life goes on. And as it does, so do we. The pace of existence doesn’t slow. The morning sun will shine, and the moon will rise at dusk.

Knowing that, there are those of us who say, Wait a minute. If life has such an inexorable pace to it…if every day my finiteness is constantly exposed…then stop the world for a moment. I want to get off. I want to look at life as close as can be…I want to squeeze out of it the last drop of meaning, love and hope possible.

Rumi recognized that we can have an instinctive and mystical response to the ordinary events of life. We can have a more joyful daily existence. And he couched that in the faith of Islam, in the language of poetry, and in the joy of the whirling dervish and dance.

If we are finite – limited, defined – and in so many ways we are, we also have the capacity to know that we are finite…to be consciously aware of our limitations. In other words, we know that we know. Because we know of our finitude, we are also aware that there it is a huge blessing to be aware of our awareness…so that we can live intentionally…and take seriously the living of these days.

Now, let me make an aside here. There are many of us who for whatever reasons were turned off by the religious enterprise at some time or other in our lives. I think back to my young adult days and how hard and faithfully I tried to hold on to my very proscribed upbringing. Such things as believing that:

n Every word in the bible was literally true; no, that’s not it – every word in the King James Bible was literally true.

n Every adult in the world was headed for hell; to escape that end, every person must confess their sins, and believe that Jesus died to save them from their sins.

n If we human beings prayed hard enough and believed even harder, God would intervene in human affairs.

Now there were lots more, but those give you a little clue as to what I was raised on, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And when I finally was able to say out loud, that I didn’t believe the bible is literally true (after four years of Greek and countless college courses, and even reading the bible on my knees at night before going to bed)…to say out loud that the notion of hell is barbaric, primitive, and nonsensical…to say out loud that change in the world comes by hard work, and many times faith and prayer, but not because someone far off changed her or his divine mind.

Now when those kinds of belief changes take place, why then be religious? Why do any of the things, which we understand as part of the religious enterprise? Why not just toss it all, and say, “I don’t believe.” Period. Exclamation point.

In logic there is a statement, which the great Unitarian philosopher, Charles Hartshorne, once repeated in a class of mine. It’s this:

So in my early, young adult days, I tried to believe “all” – everything. And when I simply could no longer compromise my integrity any further, what happened? I went all the way over to the other extreme. None of what I had believed was true. I was a “born-again” atheist…a dedicated, bona fide humanistic materialist, absolutely certain that all the things that my parents and colleagues and friends had taught me was a crock.

But extremism has little to recommend it. In between the extremes of it’s all wrong, or it’s all right, there is what the Buddha called, the Middle Way, and what Dr. Hartshorne simply called “some.” Some of the extremes are true, and some of them are false. So let me give you some of those “some,” with the help of Rumi.

According to Rumi, there is no need, as he says in one poem, “to keep pounding on an open door.” I want to postpone saying too much about this, because of next month’s series. But there is an encompassing reality to life before which we all stand. What you name is private and personal. But not naming it does not delete it.

2. The process itself of accessing the Infinite adds a positive dimension to our lives.

It makes us more caring…more courteous…more kind. Now notice, I did not say, “Believing six impossible things before breakfast” will do that. No, what you believe is up to you. I’m simply saying that taking time to take time…spending time in focusing on life in all its glory and contradictions…investing part of your life in a process of inner discovery can pay huge dividends.

3. But for those dividends to be realized, it means engaging in a specific, spiritual practice…something we do, but not only something we do, but something we do regularly.

It’s like a learned skill: We improve with practice. It needs to become like brushing our teeth each morning: We don’t even think about not brushing our teeth. So to for spiritual practice: The more we do, the more it means to us.

APPLICATION

So, how can we appropriate all that I’ve highlighted? Or as the series has asked, how can we find contentment? In answering that, let me refer to a superb recent issue of Time Magazine (Jan. 17, 2005) on happiness, some 50+ pages. One of the key statements in the large number of articles was this: “It’s clear that we can change our happiness levels widely – up or down.”

In this instance, happiness means three things, which it seems to me is synonymous with the meaning of contentment:

But how do we do that? Here are two things. One thing we can do that kept coming up in the series in Time at first sounded trite, but the more I read, the more impressed I was. It’s this:

Daily, or at least once a week, take time to write down three to five things for which you are currently thankful – from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Change them regularly, and reflect back on them. It creates an attitude of gratitude…it’s a matter of counting our blessings.

In one of the studies on this practice of gratitude journaling, which was conducted by a researcher at the University of California, 1,000 people were selected for the study and divided into three groups. Each group kept journals, but three different kinds: the first group kept a journal of their moods, ranking them on a scale of 1 to 6; the second group also kept a journal but they listed the things that annoyed or hassled them throughout the day; and the third group kept a journal, plus they added this activity:

Guess what: The third group not only had a measurable jump in their overall feelings of happiness – more energetic, more enthusiastic, and more alert -- but listen to this: they also spent more time exercising, were more likely to have regular medical checkups and engage in routine preventive health actions.

All of that from keeping a gratitude journal. Daily, or at least once a week, they took the time to write down three to five things for which they were currently thankful – from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Studies have shown that people who meditate regularly have less anxiety and depression, experience more enjoyment and appreciation of life, and their relationship with others is improved. Meditation facilitates a greater sense of calmness and empathy, as well as acceptance of one’s self and others. In addition, we feel more confident and in control of our lives.

So after a month of focusing on different ways to find contentment, these are two simple, but enormously promising recommendations: keep a gratitude journal and practice meditation. The first is rather self-explanatory, but with the second, we may need a little help.

That’s why starting this coming week on Wednesdays at 6:30, we’re beginning a Buddhist meditation series. Leading it is Jerry Koenke, who is not only a practicing Buddhist, but also a former Roman Catholic priest, and he has just spent the last six months going through an intense meditation experience, here and at the Shyambala Center north of Denver. Each of us should consider being a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity. I know that I am.

It makes a wonderful follow up to the academic presentation on Buddhism that Dr. Mark Ehman presented this past Fall. Amen and Blessed be.

According to Rumi, “With us, the name of every thing is its outward appearance; with the Infinite, the name of every thing is its inward reality."

For a few minutes, get comfortable in your seat, and to help you concentrate, brainwave studies show that it’s important to close your eyes. And then, listen to the music. Listen to it rise and fall, go high, go low, repeat the same note. Relax and meditate.

“A fish wants to dive from dry land into the ocean, when it hears the drum beating "Return."

Hear the Infinite calling, from within. In the hustle and bustle of life, how critically important to savor the moment, to listen.

[1] A sermon given January 30, 2005 at All Faiths Unitarian Congregation, Ft. Myers, Florida, meeting in the Foulds Theater at the Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Boulevard, Ft. Myers, FL, by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Robinson, minister