Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Spiritual practice of shadow

An Excerpt from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence by Deepak Chopra

Bestselling author Deepak Chopra discusses the miracles that can happen when we come alive to attention, intention, and coincidences. Here is a teaching story on the spiritual practice of shadow.

"A man entered a village and went to see the Sufi master, the wise old man of the village. The visitor said, 'I'm deciding whether I should move here or not. I'm wondering what kind of neighborhood this is. Can you tell me about the people here?' The Sufi master said, 'Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from?' The visitor said, 'Oh, they were highway robbers, cheats, and liars.' The old Sufi master said, 'You know, those are exactly the same kinds of people who live here.' The visitor left the village and never came back. Half an hour later, another man entered the village. He sought out the Sufi master and said, 'I'm thinking of moving here. Can you tell me about what kind of people live here?' Again the Sufi master said, 'Tell me what kind of people lived where you came from.' The visitor said, 'Oh, they were the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate, loving people. I shall miss them terribly.' The Sufi master said, 'Those are exactly the kinds of people who live here, too.' "

No comments: