The heart, which is called a mirror in Sufi terms, has two different actions which it performs. Whatever is reflected in the heart does not only remain a reflection but becomes a creative power, productive of a phenomenon of a similar nature. For instance a heart which is holding in itself and reflecting the rose, will find roses everywhere. Roses will be attracted to that heart, roses will be produced from it and for it. As this reflection becomes stronger, so it becomes creative of the phenomenon of roses.

The heart that holds and reflects a wound, will find wounds everywhere, will attract wounds, will create wounds; for that is the nature of the phenomenon of reflection.

Very often people have superstitions about a lucky or an unlucky person coming to the house: a lucky person brings good luck, and an unlucky person brings bad luck. What is it? It is only that the one who reflects bad luck creates bad luck. Wherever he goes he produces bad luck in his environment.

A mistress of a house said to a sage, "Since this maid has come to my house, every day glasses break and saucers break, and things become spoiled and destroyed." The sage could see the reason of it. He said, "As long as she lives in your house that will continue."

One often finds that a person joins a business, an industrial office, and perhaps he has not much means, but he has himself; and since he joined it there has been greater and greater success every day in that business, that industry.

The more we think of this phenomenon, the more we find that if there is anything that is reflected in our mind, we reflect it on the outer life; and every sphere that our heart has touched, it has charged that sphere with that reflection. The best explanation of the word reflection would be in the projection of a picture from a magic lantern upon a curtain; that curtain reflects the picture which the magic lantern has thrown upon it. And so the whole of life is full of reflections. From morning till evening we are subject to reflections. The association with the restless gives us restlessness. A certain person may not speak to us, but because he is restless our heart reflects it; and so the contact with a joyous person makes us reflect joy. The whole day this goes on with us, without our knowing it.

Sometimes the person whom we reflect has gone from our sight, but we are still reflecting him. That is the reason we can give for some tendency to do harm, or laugh, or cry without reason; it is all from reflection. A man whose heart is reflecting joy, wherever he goes will make people happy. The sorrowful, the troubled ones, the disappointed, those heartbroken, they will all begin to feel life; food will be given to their souls, because this person is reflecting joy. And the one who reflects pain and depression will spread the same in his environment, and will give pain and sorrow to others. And life is such that there is no end of pain and sorrow and trouble, and what we need is the souls that will reflect joy in order to liberate those in trouble, sorrow, and pain.