This false sense of self that we call "I" is nothing but a lie. When we enter the silence of meditation and prayer, we experience the light and peace that we've been holding inside us.

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, better known simply as Rumi, was perhaps the greatest Sufi mystic and the finest Persian poet of all time. He had a great influence on Muslim writing and culture.

It is believed that Rumi would turn round and round while reciting his poetry, and it is this dance which formed the basis for the Whirling Dervishes, after his death. Dervish means doorway, and the dance is believed to be a mystical portal between the earthly and cosmic worlds.

Poem: Lose Yourself

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself in this love.
When you lose yourself in this love,
you will find everything.

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Do not fear this loss,
For you will rise from the earth
and embrace the endless heavens.

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Escape from this earthly form,
For this body is a chain
and you are its prisoner.
Smash through the prison wall
and walk outside with the kings and princes.

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself at the foot of the glorious King.
When you lose yourself
before the King
you will become the King.

Lose yourself,
Lose yourself.
Escape from the black cloud
that surrounds you.
Then you will see your own light
as radiant as the full moon.

Now enter that silence.
This is the surest way
to lose yourself. . . .

What is your life about, anyway?—
Nothing but a struggle to be someone,
Nothing but a running from your own silence.