The Power of Poetry

We need to be reminded every once in a while, of the power of poetry to move our lives.

When I posted the poem "Palestine" on July 16 some people were kindly appreciative, and some (on another blog, were not :)

Yet few, outside the Arab World, noted the subsequent passing away on August 9, 2008, of Palestinian National Poet Mahmud Darwish, of whom it was said "In his work, Palestine became a metaphor for the loss of Eden, birth and resurrection, and the anguish of dispossession and exile. The poet Naomi Shihab Nye has commented about Darwish's work, "Darwish is the Essential Breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging...."

and I hope my poem in some way reflected that..

I want to let people know that without poetry ( a dance of words) or music (of sound) or art (of the senses) or healing (energy) we would not have a soul, because we could not even express, nor could we be moved to go beyond, ourselves. Each of you has a voice, and it deserves to be heard!

Many people are moved by the sonnets of Shakespeare, or the savage verse of Ezra Pound. Some have now come to appreciate the Sufi poetry of Rumi and Hafez, and I would like to encourage you to discover the Persian poetry of Indian poets Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ghalib. Above all, read Sappho, who distills worlds of longing into just one phrase.

But this post is a continuation of the previous, "Miracle in Toronto", and here I am literally warning you about the loss of soul.

These are the first poems I wrote, The Beginning, and The Man, from my book. Written in 1974, published 1990. I look at the rough, unpolished, writings of a young man and yet, it is what it is. The remembrance of lives past, and, seeing his future laid out for him...

The Beginning

There is a planet called Atlan. Thousands of years ago, people from the planet Atlan came to Earth. The story, however, begins at the beginning, where all beings are created. I was in God, in His peace and love. Then He told me that it was time to leave, to be born in a place called Atlan. I didn't really want to go, but He said it was the destiny of all his children to be born. To live and die, and to live again. For no man really dies, He said. There is a reason for your existing, and you cannot fulfill it in a mortal lifetime. Therefore, you are Immortal. Need you then fear anything? I'm afraid of being alone, I cried. You need not be afraid, He said, in his infinite kindness. There will always be Love....

Hurtling through space infinite
Countless stars flashing by
From the farthest galaxy
Thus came the spacemen

Man, infinitely small, alone
This was his god
Hunger of the flesh
We showed a way

Gods were we, priests,
This our purpose was
To come to mankind
And touch their souls

Atlantis, cradle of science
Time, space, mortality transcended
Forces controlled for man
One day destroyed Atlantis

Mu, birthplace of religion
In simple rustic life
Calm peaceful joyous meditation
God in our selves

Ah Crete! Beautiful jewel
In emerald undulating sea
Art, beauty, music, darkness
A flame was kindled

Nineveh looked at stars
From whence came men
And deep momentous knowledge
Of events to come

I remember my Egypt
I was a god
Who flew with eagles
Worshipped by all Egypt

The people adored us
Made offerings at altars
Our godhood condemned us
To lonely loveless existence

Yet Egypt was where
Love touched a god
For one fleeting instant
Made him man again

All through these lives
Have I searched for Egypt
Now I see pyramids
Sense your presence here

Do you remember when
We soared like eagles
Mystic moments of passion
Forbidden, unforgivable tragic love?

The Man
1974 A.D.

The day I met you
Magical moment in time
I saw many many
Lives of my past

In many of them
Were worlds of loneliness
With oases of calm
That I drank from

You, love, were there
Mystic everlasting woman
With eyes that shone
With warming soft flame

So was I lost
There were no defenses
Against a love ordained
Two halves together again

Long have I searched
For your soft caress
Love in your eyes
Ecstasy in our souls

What can I give
But mind, body, soul
If such is loving
Love me in turn

Your face haunts me
Would that I could
Capture it, even fleetingly
In painting, poem, song!

Wandering as we are
Through the desert of
Time, let us give
Shelter to each other

Love comes but rarely
Soul mates just once
Let me find her,
God, here and now!

We are all vulnerable
We live and die
When we are loved
Give me love again

Let me take you
Away on my carpet
And show you gods,
Kings, beautiful, wondrous things!

I see many things
And have countless gifts
This I know not
When will she appear

Mountains are lonely places
Yet we must climb
I take your hand
Will you take mine

I felt your body
Nestling, close to mine
And as we caressed
Our fears melted away

As we made love
Ancient magic, universal rhythm
We were whole again
We died innumerable times

I have eyes that
Mirror my soul
But I must know
What you see there

He looked into the night sky, remembering. This was how it had been from that time when they flew through the stars. So many memories coming back from the darkness, now a part of him. He looked into the sky again, beyond the darkness beyond the stars. To Atlan, where his life had begun. Now the years of searching were over, for he had found the Way. And it was this, above all, that had come back to him."I love you."

And I was the Man from Atlan...

And just one more, which was the only other poem I ever wrote before "Palestine".

I Dread the Morning

I dread the morning
that comes,
uninvited,
into my room of dreams

I miss the days
of my youth
that flew on wings
of possibilities and imaginings

Yet now,
in the twilight, I say:
Grim Reaper, I have defeated you,
Weeper, I have beaten you.

Naseer Ahmad

Miracle in Toronto

For those who predicted a disaster in Toronto: I said, "not while I live here".

I'll offer this to the world; make of it what you will.

In the early morning hours this Sunday August 10th, a propane facility in Toronto blew up. The blast could be heard for miles, and the fireball lit up the city. Witnesses described it as a "nuclear blast". Miraculously, even though it was in the middle of a residential area, only two people were killed, and other damage was minimal. Still, 12,500 people in a 1.6 km radius were evacuated for safety reasons.

By an interesting coincidence, I was talking to my disciple Isis on Saturday about this very prediction I'd made more than 30 years ago. And my statement to her was that all I could ever promise was those close to me would be protected. The rest of the world would have to find its way back to God, and inner peace, on its own. This is said lovingly. There is only so much that I can do for people who knowingly go about their paths of delusion and self-destruction, and I have grown weary of warning death and destruction to people who would not listen. The blast next morning was very close to her home but she didn't have to evacuate, the perimeter was set just two streets away.

Every once in a while I hold a special meditation service with my inner group of disciples. They've been trained in the Way of Atlan and therefore have realised many of their gifts. They still need feedback, connection with the community and myself to continue learning; it's a life-long path. The last one was held on August 2, 2008 when I said: the solar eclipse of August 1, the day before, would herald great change. On August 7 Georgia attacked a breakaway province, and in response, Russia invaded it. Thousands have been killed. There may be other wars, elsewhere.. I have long said that those who make war are possessed by demons, but I really want to talk about individual people; my message today is for them.

The theme for the world is, What is our next step? You all have only one purpose in life, and that is to find God. How you do it, and how you conduct your life, is up to you, but without God, you will not know peace. We had family over recently. How could they move forward if they didn't understand or believe in God? So many of their close friends were dying of cancer, and they were asking why, but didn't like the answer. And until you find that, you will be reminded over and over again.

I also talked about the dilemma of healers. At what point do you stop trying to save a drowning person? If in doing so you will lose your own life? So, do the best you can, but if you can't help, move on.

I keep being asked, what does this or that dream mean? Well, dreams are shallow superficial things relating to some psychological itch or past life artifact.. But disasters, weather changes, earthquakes are attempts by the Universe to bring about balance, and also, to warn us: wake up!

Exactly 3 years ago, on August 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 crashed on landing in Toronto, and burst into flames. All 309 people on board survived, without serious injury. This was the e-mail I sent then:

Miracle in Toronto

I'd mentioned to you many times before how I felt disasters happening in Toronto, and also that while I was here I would try to help prevent them, for as long as I could. I also felt that Toronto was a special place, as long as it was my home, and a lot of spiritual people have been drawn to Toronto for that very reason.
It's all about energy; when you create a space of energy then people are drawn to it, whether that is to you, or your living room, or your city. It hasn't been easy. I've struggled between the necessities of earning a living, wanting to finish my books, and helping people in need. And when you pick up on people in need, you drop everything to attend to that, which I myself have said isn't always the best thing to do.

I'll also mention my 2002 article "The end of the world" which is about not being afraid.
I'll mention how a week ago my wife Chloe found a 3 foot tall iron statue of a knight in armour in some one's recycling bin; it now sits in our back garden, and is a sign of fighting to protect the weak and defenceless.
I could mention how (my disciple) Eden and her husband Robbie left for England the day after. They could have been at the airport that day, or the crash could have taken place on Hwy 401, or a student's house, (her mother's under the flight path) but it didn't. 309 people walked out of the plane without major injury. Just as there were many close friends who escaped the London blasts this year.
A miracle happened in Toronto.
Look to the miracle in your own lives.

Naseer Ahmad 2005

So:

I knew there would be a great need for healing in the United States, with earthquakes and other disasters. I also knew things would only get worse. I still wanted to help, so I went with Chloe and Arune, for the 1993 Malibu fires, the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake, then again in 2000, 2001, and 2002. I had a vision of an earthquake in San Francisco, and went there to perform the ceremony that prevented that. Yes I have the power, don't you see? But if I use it endlessly to prevent things, you will never grow up. Still, I sent a disciple to New York six days before 9/11 to help people there.

Yes, I was in London, before the tube blasts. Yes, I was in Glasgow after a bomb attack. The weather changed when I got there, but I only helped the individuals who came to see me. And now I grow weary of that too.

Toronto has been my base for the last 38 years. While I lived here it was safe.

A plane crashed in 1978 at exactly the same location at Toronto Airport as the Air France flight. People were killed. I was living in London at the time. When I returned in 1979 a train carrying chemicals derailed just outside of Toronto and the resulting fireball was seen a hundred miles away. Again, the miracle was that no one was killed. Due to the possibility of a chlorine cloud the entire city of Mississauga, 218,000 people, were evacuated. No further mishap occurred.

Coincidentally, Eden and Robbie flew out of Toronto again, the day before the latest explosion.

I do not know if I will be staying in Toronto any longer. That depends.

This is a message to the people of this planet.

You have a choice now.

Believe in me

Help me

Follow me

I wish you peace, love, and joy.