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The Seven Valleys “After scaling the high summits of wonderment, the wayfarer comes to the Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness. This station is that of dying to the self and living in God, of being poor in self and rich in the Desired One. Poverty, as here referred to, signifies being poor in that which pertains to the world of creation and rich in what belongs to the realms of God. For when the true lover and devoted friend reaches the presence of the Beloved, the radiant beauty of the Loved One and the fire of the lover’s heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings. Yea, all that he has, from marrow to skin, will be set aflame, so that nothing will remain save the Friend. […]O My friend! Listen with heart and soul to the songs of the spirit, and treasure them as thine own eyes; for heavenly wisdoms, even as vernal showers, will not rain forever upon the Earth of men’s hearts, and though the grace of the All-Bounteous One is never ceasing and never stilled, yet to every time and era a portion is allotted and a bounty assigned, which is vouchsafed in a given measure. ‘And no one thing is there, but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it not down but in settled measure.’ Indeed, the clouds of the Loved One’s mercy rain only on the garden of the spirit, and bestow this bounty only in the season of spring. Other seasons have no share in this supernal grace, and barren lands hold no portion of this bounteous favor. O My brother! […] Not every branch will flower, nor will the nightingale sing thereon. Then, before the nightingale of the mystic Paradise repair to the celestial garden, and the rays of the morn of inner meaning return to the Day-Star of Truth, make thou an effort, that haply in this dust-heap of a mortal world thou may catch a fragrance from the everlasting rose-garden and live in the shadow of the inhabitants of this everlasting city. And when thou have attained this highest plane and most exalted degree, then shall thou gaze on the Beloved and forget all else. […]”
