Rumi: Lift You Like A Prayer To The Sky

Set against the backdrop of the sound of the ocean, Henry reads a beautiful romantic poem from Rumi, then suggests a perhaps not so obvious interpretation of the work, but is just as beautiful. There is really no point in speculating on how Rumi actually intended his work to be interpreted; we weren’t there. However, the wonderful thing is that many different interpretations can contain equally valid and beautiful wisdom.

Transcript

Consider this beautiful poem written by Jalaluddin Rumi almost 800 years ago.

I've come to drag you out of yourself and take you into my heart.

I've come to bring out the beauty you never knew you had and lift you like a prayer to the sky.

If no one recognizes you,

I do,

Because you are my life and soul.

Don't run away.

Accept your wounds and let bravery be your shield.

It takes a thousand stages for the perfect being to evolve.

Every step of the way,

I will walk with you and never leave you stranded.

Wow.

Imagine what it would feel like if your spouse or partner wrote these words to you.

So incredibly beautiful and romantic.

A kind and loving soul at your side to reflect your beauty back at you lovingly.

A soul that recognizes you,

Sees you,

Validates you.

You are everything to this soul.

They are praising you,

Encouraging you to take your weaknesses and imperfections as your superpower.

And the soul will have patience and stay with you for as long as it takes for you to realize your magnificence,

Always at your side.

It kind of takes your breath away,

Doesn't it?

I wonder if Rumi wrote this for his wife.

He could have even written it for his best friend and the inspiration for his writing,

Shams.

If you read the passage with that in mind,

It still works.

But I'm going to challenge you.

Let's take this one step further.

And read the passage as though you are saying it to yourself.

I'll read it again.

And this time as you listen to my voice reading,

Think of it as you saying these words to yourself.

I have come to drag you out of yourself and take you into my heart.

I've come to bring out the beauty you never knew you had and lift you like a prayer to the sky.

If no one recognizes you,

I do,

Because you are my life and soul.

Don't run away.

Accept your wounds and let bravery be your shield.

It takes a thousand stages for the perfect being to evolve.

Every step of the way,

I will walk with you and never leave you stranded.

Now that is powerful,

Incredibly powerful.

The first time I read it to myself,

For myself,

I was brought to tears.

My heart and soul just crave this.

We need to love as a sometimes difficult one,

But it is a journey that must start within.

We must love ourselves,

Be patient and understanding with ourselves.

We need to recognize our magnificence and see that all our imperfections makes us perfect.

And we will never give up on ourselves,

Always offering ourselves kind words of encouragement,

Not scolding or deprecation.

The loving relationship we have with ourselves is the most important one that we can have.

We only ever have the capacity to love another as much as we love ourselves.

Thank you Rumi.

Your wisdom is truly timeless.

Thank you.

Reviews

After the first playing I instinctively thought “I need to be that person, for myself”.
Beautifully read 🙏❤️

Beautiful! This came at the perfect moment in my journey of doubt and self-discovery.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Beautiful words. Beautiful voice. Your compassion comes through even on insight timer.

What a profound effect that had on me this morning Henry!! I've listened to this before, a number of times, but today it came in for landing! The magnitude and beauty of self-love as the path to loving others. Thank you Henry for your beautiful voice and sound compositions and lighting Rumi's wisdom up within. Thank you so much.
Namaste and many blessings to you in your vocations
Deb from Tasmania 🌏🪷

Very beautiful. Thankyou for the seagulls . Thankyou for your care.

Yes! To himself. "I looked for G-d and found only myself, I searched for myself and found only G-d"

Just beautiful!
one is so hard on oneself ... the harshest
Self compassion and understanding is the way to self love
🙏🏼

🙏So much gratitude for this.My daily practice is this…hearing Rumi’s words spoken with your beautiful voice and spirit moved me to tears🙌💓🙏Namaste

That was so beautiful and when i listen to it for myself, it was very overwhelming and in the same time reconforting. Thank you for this wonderful reading🙏💫✨

Sublime. A beautiful reading, the heart opens to the eyes.

Beautiful love to welcome myself into this day. many thanks

An exquisite reading and empowering to turn these words onto ourselves. Thank you friend. 🙏🏼✨

When you read the poem the first time I was reading it to myself. 🥰

Ultimate love, how refreshing! So glad u shared this!

This a deeply moving reading of a profound poem. Thank You

Wow - so incredibly powerful. Made me feel tenderness for the love that left me behind decades ago.

Yes, I feel this passage resonate deeply in my body, mind, heart and and spirit. Thank you for helping me Light up my day 🙏

Helpful perspective to imagine saying the prayer to oneself👏

My dog is named Rumi and says this was written about him 😊❤️🙏 -pets are a great reminder/reflection of unconditional love.

Incredibly beautiful 😍 So much gratitude to you for sharing Rumi’s wonderful, powerful poem 💕🙏🏼💕