There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It’s fluid,
and it doesn’t move from outside to inside
through conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

Rumi

For the next 20 Days I invite you to connect with Mindfulness through poetry. Leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed the poem or post your favorite poem.

Here is a step by step guide on how to engage with this practice:

1. Each day I will post a careful selected poem
2. Find a quiet place, sit comfortable and read the poem aloud to yourself, preferable more than once. An audio recording will also be available in case you prefer to listen to the poem
3. Take the poem into your heart and your body. Become intimate with it and allow it to guide you into intimacy with yourself
4. Allow a spaciousness of interpretation, openness of the senses and a deep experience of understanding, distinct from cognitive comprehension.
5. Spend some time with the poem, as a way of choosing to be present and mindful.
6. Bring the poem into your family and community. Share your experience with your loved ones, including Mindful Brain Community.