As I was looking through Andrew Harvey’s book, “Teachings Of Rumi,” I found this wonderful story Rumi wrote in his Mathnawi. To me it explains how we establish beliefs, by seeing only a part of reality. It shows the differences we see, looking at the same thing. It describes how we can learn to trust our inner feelings by focusing on them, rather than just seeing things externally. It shows us that we are capable of imaging anything, in the face of the unknown, and it becomes real to us. If you touched your spirit in the dark, what would it feel like to you? OK, how about when you shine a light on it?

” Some Indians took an elephant into a dark house to exhibit it. People entered the house to try and find out what it was like, but since it was too dark for them to see anything clearly, they each had to feel the elephant with their hands. One person put his hand on the trunk and said, “This animal is like a water pipe!” The hand of another brushed its ear; it seemed to him like a fan. Another seized its leg and declared, “The form of the elephant is like a pillar!” Another put his hand on his back and proclaimed, “The elephant is like a throne!” Each time anyone heard a description of the elephant, he would understand it through the particular part he had touched. According to whichever section of the animal they had encountered, people’s affirmations differed. If each of them had held out a candle in the dark, all differences between what they said would have vanished. The eye of outward sense is only like the palm of a hand; how can you discover an elephant in its totality with just a palm? The eye of the sea is one thing, the foam another; leave the foam aside, and see with the eye of the sea.”

Hal Manogue is a poet and author of Short Sleeves A Book For Friends. Insightful thoughts for the 21st century. Hal’s 2006 collection and 2007 collection are available in bookstores and online. Visit Hal’s website: http://www.shortsleeves.net or blog: http://halmanogue.blogspot.com/ for more information about his work and life. Download a copy of the new E-Book,”Unite To Write” a collection of articles written by writers around the globe, that will inspire and fill you with useful information. It’s value is priceless. It’s Hal’s gift to you.