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The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle: Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses, it swings from one desire to the next, one conflict to the next, one self-centered idea to the next. If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go... Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there.

Hua Hu Ching - Taoism

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.

Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Baha’i Faith

NEXT SOULFOOD EVENT:

Grace to be said at mealtimes:

He is God! Thou seest us, O my God, gathered around this

table, praising Thy bounty, with our gaze set upon Thy

Kingdom. O Lord! Send down upon us Thy heavenly food and

confer upon us Thy blessing. Thou art verily the Bestower, the

Merciful, the Compassionate.

‘`Abdu’l-Bahá—Mahmud's Diary, page 327

– THE SOUL AND THE EGO –

SONG: “O Thou who seekest the Kingdom” by Azeen Tashakkor

“latent but unrealized ability or capacity”

“THOU SEEST ME, O MY GOD! DETACHED FROM ALL SAVE THEE.

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OPENING PRAYER

O God my God! I beg of Thee...

OGod my God! I beg of Thee by the ocean of Thy healing, and

by the splendors of the Daystar of Thy grace, and by Thy Name

through which Thou didst subdue Thy servants, and by the

pervasive power of Thy most exalted Word and the potency of Thy

most august Pen, and by Thy mercy that hath preceded the

creation of all who are in heaven and on earth, to purge me with

the waters of Thy bounty from every affliction and disorder, and

from all weakness and feebleness.

Thou seest, O my Lord, Thy suppliant waiting at the door of

Thy bounty, and him who hath set his hopes on Thee clinging to

the cord of Thy generosity. Deny him not, I beseech Thee, the

things he seeketh from the ocean of Thy grace and the Daystar of

Thy loving-kindness.

Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. There is none

other God save Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

Bahá’u’lláh

Video Presentation:

“Under One Sun” – Shameem (song)

"The bounty and power of God is limitless for each human soul. Consider what was the quickening power of the Christ when He was on earth. Look at His disciples! They were poor and uncultured men. Out of the rough fisherman He made the great Peter, and out of the poor village girl of Magdala He made one who is a power in all the world today. Many queens have reigned who are remembered by their dates in history, and nothing more is known of them. But Mary the Magdalene is greater than them all. It was she whose love strengthened the disciples when their faith was failing. What she did for the world cannot be measured. See what a divine power was enkindled in her by the power of God!"

(`Abdu’l-Bahá, `Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 88)

Video Presentation:

“The Great Human Garden”

8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and

lose his own soul? (King James Bible, Mark)

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A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: 'Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.' When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, 'The one I feed the most.

Native American Elder

The complete and entire elimination of the ego would imply perfection – which man can never completely attain – but the ego can and should be ever-increasingly subordinated to the enlightened soul of man. This is what spiritual progress implies.

Shoghi Effendi, Baha’i Central Figure

A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein

The foundation of the Buddha's teachings lies in compassion, and the reason for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of ego,

the number-one enemy of compassion.

Dalai Lama

It is the nature of the ego to take, and the nature of the spirit to share.

Proverb

Song: Elika Mahony “Realization”

The Ego is a veil between humans and God. Rumi

I beseech Thee…to make of my prayer a fire that will burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy beauty, and a light that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy presence.

Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith

If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time.

Deepak Chopra

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

C.S. Lewis

The soul is the horseman, the body the horse. Unless the rider is skilled and can master the steed and move as one with it, he either continuously struggles with it or is run away with by it. Most of us are clinging as hard as we can to our runaway selves these days; we know nothing about horses, we are solely occupied in not falling off and in not, if possible, having others notice our predicament – we are not trained riders at all; we need a good stiff course in equestrianism!

Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Baha’i Faith

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The authentic self is the best part of a human being. It’s the part of you that already cares, that is already passionate about evolution. When your authentic self miraculously awakens and becomes stronger than your ego, then you will truly begin to make a difference in this world. You will literally enter into a partnership with the creative principle.

Andrew Cohen, American spiritual teacher

Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.

Bob Marley, Singer-songwriter

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Matthew 16:26

Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.

Walt Whitman, Poet & humanist

The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the Spirit lies its greatest joy. If, then you experience mental resistance during meditation, remember that reluctance to meditate comes from the ego; it doesn’t belong to the soul.

Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian yogi & guru

`Abdu’l-Bahá was once asked: “How shall I overcome seeing the faults of others – recognising the wrong in others?”, and He replied: “I will tell you. Whenever you recognise the fault of another, think of yourself! What are my imperfections? - and try to remove them. Do this whenever you are tried through the words or deeds of others. Thus you will grow, become more perfect. You will overcome self, you will not even have time to think of the faults of others…”

Universal House of Justice, Baha’i Faith

Ego says, "Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace." Spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place."

Marianne Williamson, American spiritual teacher