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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Joseph gives his Egyptian shirt to his ______ to lay over the eyes of Jacob, whose vision is then restored.

2. Rumi points out that while others are laughing and dancing, there are few who will hear the ________ hidden within the notes.

3. Rumi's poetry can be thought of as a conversation with _______, a discussion of what it is to be together in God.

4. Every day, Rumi says, people wake up with _________, but they need to continue to walk their spiritual path.

5. The Egyptian woman that is in love with Joseph is known as _______, clings to his shirt and tears it from his back.

Short Essay Questions

1. What should a person do with their life instead of acting from fear, according to the writings of Rumi?

2. Describe the metaphor Rumi uses when it comes to the black sky and the moon.

3. What happens when you fast, according to the narrator of the poem, in one of Rumi's writings?

4. What are some of the ways a person will be able to bring themselves into the present moment, according to Barks?

5. What is the metaphor Rumi uses in order to describe the pull of love in one's life and how one should be pulled by love?

6. What is the metaphor Rumi uses to urge the reader to take risks in their life?

7. Who does Rumi say will not be able to wake to the truth, according to the writings of Rumi?

8. What happens with Joseph's shirt when he gives it to his brothers to help their father?

9. What does Barks have to say about Rumi as being a True Human Being? What does Barks say this means?

10. What will happen to a person's present life when they are going on a spiritual journey, according to the writings of Rumi?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The story of Shams and Rumi is one which plays out from one page to the next in this book, a story of friendship and the sharing of knowledge.

Part 1: Why do you think Shams and Rumi got along as well as they did?

Part 2: Why do you think Rumi still felt the need to be competitive with Shams?

Part 3: Do you think all relationships are competitive on some level? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Rumi says that the emptiness inside of a person is what allows for music to be sung and heard.

Part 1: What do you think Rumi means by the emptiness inside of a person?

Part 2: Do you agree that having emptiness is essential for creating music in one's life?

Part 3: How do you think a person can cultivate emptiness in order to create music in one's life?

Essay Topic 3

Rumi tells the reader they must work as hard in the spiritual world as they do in the material world.

Part 1: Why do you think Rumi feels the spiritual world is so important in the life of the reader?

Part 2: How can one work as hard in the spiritual world as they do in the physical world?

Part 3: Do you think that you are working as hard in the spiritual world as you do in the material world?

(see the answer keys)

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