August 2018 archive

Program 11: Rumi, the Storyteller: the Lion, the Rabbit, and the Elephant


Storytelling is humanity’s oldest and most favorite way to connect with one another. Those who tell their life story well are no longer strangers to others. In good stories, complicated thing become clear and palpable. Rumi is a great storyteller. He makes his thoughts accessible. In one story, he tells us about an elephant who goes to a pond to drink water. Seeing his reflection in the water for the first time, he is so scared that he runs away. Rumi’s point? We do not look at our shortcomings because you we know will be scared. But we see the shortcomings in others easily and blame them. “Look at yourself, and see the good and the bad” he says. “It will encourage you to fix it — and to be kinder when you see it in others.” There are many more stories to listen to.

Episode transcript

Program 10: I wonder Which “me” is me?

Who are we, what controls us, emotion or rationality. How should we approach Rumi’s poetry, with our hearts or our minds? After the enlightenment, thinkers and philosophers – starting with Descartes – divide human beings into body and soul, one earthly and the other heavenly. For Rumi, we are one big bundle of many things: fear, courage, analytical abilities, and total confusion. There is no either/or because our human experience is a continuum. Emotion and rationality are not enemies, they are each other’s extension, sometimes the same thing. Getting confused can be a prelude to seeking clarity. Think what you would do if you had a great piece of fabric and wanted to have a dress made…