Rumi called his teacher "the friend." And that's what we need. We need friends.

We need to claim our power for something beautiful, something harmonious and something globally healthy.

Don't persuade, defend or interrupt. Be curious, be conversational, be real. And listen.

I have noticed if I pull from fear or despair about the state of the world, I get tired, ineffective, afraid and sometimes mean-spirited.

If you're interested in opening the doors to the heavens, start with the door to your own secret self. See what happens when you offer to another a glimpse of who you truly are. When your heart is undefended, you make it safe for whomever you meet to put down his burden of hiding, and then you both can walk through the open door.

No one has the answer; only you know the way home.

Talking to each other instead of talking about each other is not some kind of nicey-nice (ph) idea. It's the difference between societies falling apart and societies getting something wonderful done.