A master and his disciple are riding across the Saudi Arabian desert.  The master makes use of every moment of their ride to teach the disciple about faith.  "Trust in God," he says.  "God never abandons his children."

At night, in their camp, the master asks the disciple to tie the horses to a nearby rock.  The disciple goes to the rock, but remembers what the master has taught him: "He must be testing me," he thinks.  "I should leave the horses to God."  And he leaves the horses unfettered.

In the morning, the disciple sees that the horses have disappeared.  Revolted, he comes back to his master.

"You know nothing about God," he exclaims.  "I left the horses in His care, and now the animals are gone."

"God wanted to care for the horses," the master answered.  "But to do that, he needed your hands to tie them."

A master and his disciple are riding across the Saudi Arabian desert.  The master makes use of every moment of their ride to teach the disciple about faith.  "Trust in God," he says.  "God never abandons his children."

At night, in their camp, the master asks the disciple to tie the horses to a nearby rock.  The disciple goes to the rock, but remembers what the master has taught him: "He must be testing me," he thinks.  "I should leave the horses to God."  And he leaves the horses unfettered.

In the morning, the disciple sees that the horses have disappeared.  Revolted, he comes back to his master.

"You know nothing about God," he exclaims.  "I left the horses in His care, and now the animals are gone."

"God wanted to care for the horses," the master answered.  "But to do that, he needed your hands to tie them."

Life is not about giving or receiving advice.  If we need assistance, it is better to see how others solve -- or fail to solve -- their problems.

Our angel is always present, and often uses someone else's lips to tell us something.  But it usually reaches us in a casual way, generally at a moment in which -- although we are attentive -- our preoccupations prevent us from seeing the miracle of life.

We must allow our angel to speak to us in the way he knows best -- when he thinks it is needed.

The master says:

"Advice is a theory about life -- and the practice of life is generally quite different."

A padre in the Charismatic Renewal movement in Rio de Janeiro was riding on a bus when he suddenly heard a voice saying that he should stand up and preach the word of Christ right there.  The padre began to converse with the voice: "They'll think I'm ridiculous!  This is no place for a sermon."  But the voice insisted that he had to speak out.  "I'm a timid man, please don't ask this of me," he implored.

The internal impulse persisted.

Then he remembered his promise -- to accept all of Christ's designs.  He stood up -- consumed with embarrassment -- and began to speak of the Evangelist.  The riders listened to him in silence.  He looked at each of the passengers, and all were staring directly at him.  He said everything that he was feeling, completed his sermon and sat down.

Even today, he has no idea what task he was performing there on the bus.  But that he was performing a mission, he has no doubt whatsoever.

An African witch doctor is leading his novice through the jungle.  Although he is quite elderly, he makes his way with agility, while his young novice slips a falls many times.  The novice picks himself up, swears, spits on the traitorous ground and continues to follow his master.

After a long hike, they reach a sacred place.  Without pausing, the witch doctor turns around and begins to walk back to where they had started.

"You have taught me nothing today," says the novice, after falling again.

"I have been teaching you something, but you have failed to learn it," says the witch doctor.  "I'm trying to teach you how to deal with life's mistakes."

"And how should I deal with them?"

"The same way as you should deal with the falls you have taken," answers the witch doctor.  "Instead of cursing the place where you fall, you should try to find out what made you slip in the first place."

The father superior of the monastery at Sceta was visited one afternoon by a hermit.

"My spiritual advisor does not know how to direct me," the hermit said.  "Should I leave him?"

The father superior said not a word, and the hermit returned to the desert.  A week later, he returned to visit the father superior.

"My spiritual advisor does not know how to direct me," he said.  "I have decided to leave him."

"That is wise," said the father superior.  "When a man perceives that his soul is discontented, he cannot ask for advice.  Make the decisions needed to preserve your passage through this life."

A young woman comes to see the wanderer.  "I want to tell you something," he says.

"I have always believed that I had the gift of curing.  But I never had the courage to try it with anyone.  Until one day, my husband was having great pain in his left leg, and there was no one available to help him.  I decided -- with some embarrassment -- to place my hands on his leg and ask that the pain disappear.

"I did this without really believing I would be able to help him, and as I did so, I heard him praying.  'Please, Lord, make my wife capable of being the Messenger of Your light and your strength,' he said.  My hand began to become hot, and the pain disappeared.

"Afterwards, I ask him why he had prayed that way.  He answered that it was in order to give me confidence.  Today, I am able to cure, thanks to those words."

The philosopher, Aristipus, was enjoying his power at the court of Dionysus, the tyrant of Syracuse.  One afternoon, he came upon Diogenes preparing a meal of lentils for himself.

"If you were willing to be courteous to Dionysus, you would not have to eat lentils," Aristipus said.

"If you knew how to enjoy lentils, you would not have to be courteous to Dionysus," Diogenes answered.

The master says:

"It is true that everything has its price, but the price is always relative.  When we follow our dreams, we may give the impression to others that we are miserable and unhappy.  But what others think is not important.  What is important is the joy in our heart."

A man who lived in Turkey was told of a great master who lived in Persia.  Without hesitation, he sold all of his belongings, said good-bye to his family and went off in search of wisdom.

After several years of wandering, he found the hut where the great master lived.  With fear and respect, he knocked on his door.

The great master appeared.

"I am from Turkey," the man said.  "I have come all this way to ask you just one question."

The old man was surprised, but said, "Fine.  You may ask me one question."

"I want to be clear about what it is that I am asking.  May I say it in Turkish?"

"Yes," said the wise man.  "And I have already answered your only question.  "If there is anything else you want to know, ask your heart.  It will provide you with the answer."

And he closed the door.

The master says:

"The word is power.  Words transform the world, and man as well.

"We have all heard it said: 'We should not talk about the good things that have happened to us, because the envy of others will ruin our happiness.'

"Nothing of the sort.  Those who are winners speak with pride of the miracles in their lives.  If you release positive energy into the air, it attracts more positive energy, and makes t
>se who really wish you well happy.

"As for the envious and defeated, they can only do damage to you if you give them this power.

"Have no fear.  Speak out about the good things in your life to whoever will listen.  The Soul of the World has a great need for your happiness."