LOVE LETTERS FROM A WIDOWER: THE MYSTERY OF SOUL MATES IN LIGHT OF ANCIENT WISDOM

(Quoted from the book:) "The ancient sages conceived the cosmic mandala’s inner circle, Blanca, the inner essence or Centre of the Universe, as an intrinsically dual Unit. There is a medieval novel about which you might have heard –the Romance of the Rose- that regales us with a beautiful illustration of this subject. It tells us about a young man interested in initiating himself in the mysteries of Love –which are also those of the Universe. One night, this young man dreams t hat he is walking down a road that ends before a wall. He knows he must pass to the other side of this wall, but in order to locate the door, he finds himself having to go all around its border. What is on the other side? On the other side of this circular wall, the dreamer finds a secret garden –the “Garden of Love” from medieval and renaissance iconography-, where, in the centre, a circular fountain stands. And the dream continues until it reveals that this fountain contains two pristine crystals, on which...

(Quoted from the book:) Talking about the Arabic ideal of chastity, Blanca, is talking about Udhra love, which is how courtly love is known in the Arab world. The name comes from a tribe who flourished between the seventh and eighth century in the Southeast of the Arabian Peninsula, in a remote valley in Yemen. The Bedouin tribe of the Banu Udhra, the “Sons of Virginity”, produced many poets; with the peculiarity that Udhra poetry is monothematic: it deals with one single issu e, spiritual love. But, in addition, the Udhra poets practiced what they preached: they became famous for cultivating the type of love they put into verse; a pure and chaste love, so intense (its intensity came from its purity) that it was said they “died of love”. The Arabic chronicles of the time tell about Udhras dying of no particular infirmity, but of love towards their lady. Otherwise, my dear, Udhra love verged on mysticism, on religion, to the point that orthodox Muslims denigrated and accused it of inter...