If we were asked, and sometimes even if we were not asked, about what we believe to be the problem, if any, with the way various public officials go about their duties, most of us would be quite prepared to share our opinions on this matter. We all seem to feel we have some insight to offer about the difference between good and not-so-good government.
Interestingly enough, whatever the accuracy of our perceptions about the political process may be, many of us tend to be oblivious to the quality and character of governmental operations within ourselves. This lack of awareness could be because many of us may not consider what goes on inside of us to be much like a governmental process.
However, the politics which goes on in the external world does not rise ex nihilo. It comes from within us. Indeed, external politics is, in a sense, internal politics writ large.
The characteristics of internal politics are quite similar to properties found in external political processes. For example, there is a need for decision making and the implementation of such decisions. In addition, within us, there are activities which resemble: think-tanks, spin doctors, lobby groups, image consultants, intelligence gathering operations, ethics committees, regulatory agencies, judicial review boards, dirty tricks operations, military forces, legislative bodies, prison systems, and revenue generating enterprises.
All of the foregoing internal processes affect the character and quality of the decisions made by the individual. Moreover, because of the problems and pressures generated by the dynamics of the decision making process, one finds many other features of our inner government which share some common themes with certain aspects of politics.
For instance, many of our internal governments are capable, in various ways and degrees, of: biased agendas; partisan politics; corruption; dereliction of duty; human rights violations; grid-lock; revolution (both peaceful and violent); fraudulent conduct; cover-ups; repressive measures; irresponsible spending programs; breaking promises; and both minor, as well as, major scandals of one sort or another.
Like external governments, our internal governments: make both good and bad decisions. Similarly, our internal governments, like their external counterparts, get both good and bad advice from a variety of sources.
Again, like external governments, our internal political systems often are involved in crisis management operations. These operations, frequently, are as much a reflection of the problematic way we govern ourselves, than they are an expression of life-problems arising independently of our style of mismanaging our internal government.
When the ego is running our internal government, our affairs are in the hands of a politician exemplifying all of the characteristics we tend to associate with the stereotypical bad politician. Indeed, bad politics on whatever level is, in general, a function of the activities of the ego.
The ego, like many politicians, tends to be very charismatic and polished in public situations. However, at the same time, the ego is ambitious, vain, and arrogant.
The ego knows, as almost any politician does, how to get things accomplished through pushing the right emotional and psychological buttons. In fact, a considerable portion of the resources available to the ego, are expended to gather intelligence about the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the various players in the political game.
In addition, the ego has the gift of gab and is always on the stump making internal political speeches, filled with stirring platitudes, about this and that issue or situation or person. Like its external world twin brother, the ego is forever making solemn promises and undertakings which are rarely kept.
The ego, as either head of the internal government or as leader of the 'loyal' opposition, knows how to threaten, cajole, manipulate, flatter, pressure, compromise, bribe, neutralize, and cheat for purposes of political gain. Political gain, however, is not necessarily measured in terms of worthwhile accomplishments.
More often than not, political gain is a matter of doing whatever is required to stay in power or to be able to influence the decision making process in a manner which is favorable to one's interests. The doing of things, whether good or bad, are merely means to the more important issue of securing or maintaining control.
The ego, of course, is not as much in charge of things as it often likes to give the impression is the case. The ego is under constant pressure from a variety of intense lobbying groups that are extremely demanding, temperamental and fickle. Some of these lobby groups are: jealousy, revenge, malice, prejudice, hostility, lethargy, lust, greed, and desire.
When the ego blunders and commits public relation gaffes in its dealings with the external world, the spin doctors of the ego go to work. Their assignment is to try to make things appear as if what everyone knows is the case is not the case. The spin doctors are incessantly trying to give a take or a slant on things which puts the ego in the best possible light with respect to its intentions, motives, and conduct.
In ways reminiscent of its external, political counterpart, the ego is subject to becoming entangled in bribery, corruption, scandals and kick-backs of one sort or another. For the ego, such things are just unfortunate risks it runs, on occasion, in order to get, or keep, its government up and running.
Like many politicians in the external world, the ego doesn't really care what damage it does to others or to the environment in the pursuit of its political agenda. Compassion, generosity, fairness, kindness, servitude, sincerity, honesty, integrity, justice, equality, rights, freedom and so on are, all too frequently, just empty words which are trotted out every so often to enhance the image and dazzle the suckers.
Nonetheless, the ego understands, as do many politicians in the external world of government, some degree of discretion must be exercised in the implementation of its governmental policies. If one steps on too many toes or ruffles too many feathers, there will be negative, perhaps, embarrassing, political fallout.
Consequently, the ego tends to play a maxima/minima game. The object of this game is to generate strategies which will permit the ego to give up the least for the most return on it's efforts. Quite a few rational think-tanks in the employ of the ego are set to work on this task.
In an attempt to establish, at least, the appearance of order and intelligibility within the world of internal politics, the ego sets up: various planning groups; watchdog committees on ethics; regulatory agencies, and assorted judicial bodies. Unfortunately, like its external world Doppelganger: plans are not carried out; violations of the ethical codes are often overlooked; regulations are not enforced, and a great many arbitrary, unjust and inconsistent judgements emerge from the appointed judicial bodies.
The ego's short-term and long-term goal is control along with the perks which come with such power. Everything and everybody else must be accommodated to this program.
One of the biggest fears of the ego in this respect concerns the possibility that the rightful heir to leadership of the internal government should seek to return from the exile to which it is has been banished by the ego.
The rightful heir is the spiritual essence of the individual.
The ego has powerful resources and allies on which it can call if there is such an uprising. The body, emotions, desires and the rational mind can all be employed to suppress any move toward spiritual liberation of the homeland.
Dirty tricks, negative campaigning, disinformation, filibusters, procedural delays, and terror campaigns can all be used by the ego to prevent the rightful heir from returning to the seat of executive power. Moreover, the ego can lead the internal government into an emotional and intellectual gridlock so that nothing gets accomplished and, thereby, the status quo is preserved.
Fiery, impassioned addresses will be given by the ego. In these speeches, numerous charges of censorship, repression, rights abuses, and curtailment of freedoms will be leveled against the spirit and its supporters. The spirit will be painted as a threat against all that is good and right with the present, incumbent government of the ego.
If necessary, steps will be taken to imprison, or lay siege to, the one who would depose the ego. Various deployment of troops, blockades, minefields, and ambushes can be arranged by the ego for these purposes.
Through years of mismanagement, bungling, neglect, short-sightedness, selfishness, and corruption, the ego has done tremendous damage to the spiritual infrastructure and the ecological balance of the internal world. Therefore, a tremendous amount of work is necessary to bring about a reform of government.
There are many frustrations, setbacks, difficulties, and obstacles involved in such a spiritual reclamation project. Many sacrifices will have to made before the internal government starts operating according to its potential.
This, too, the ego will try to use to its tactical advantage. As with all corrupt governments, there is an inertia and malaise which settles on the land.
The ego has distributed patronage in various forms. Pleasures, ease influence, status and comfort are at risk if the ego loses control.
To resist the flow of things in such a world, is extremely hard, dangerous work. It takes a lot of effort.
The ego can offer, in the present, ease, comfort, gratification, diversions, and so on. Alternatively, the spiritual side only can offer a future dream of realizing our essential potential through struggle and sacrifice in the present.
The psychological and emotional advantages all seem to be on the side of the ego. Yet, the spirit has a nobility of cause and purpose which resonates very deeply and powerfully in the halls of internal government.
The call of spirituality has a purity and integrity which is very appealing and alluring. Furthermore, there is a sense of justice, beauty and truth inherent in the call of spirituality which cannot even be remotely simulated by the tawdry, impoverished political style of the ego. The possibility of happiness, peace, satisfaction, contentment and love which are part of the platform on which spirituality runs is very attractive.
Restoring decency, honor, and integrity to internal government is a very complex task. The magnitude of the challenge intimidates many of us.
Many of us believe reforming external government is somewhat easier and more practical than to attempt to reform internal government. We often tend to believe, under the influence of the ego, that the problems of the world are generated, for the most part, by others and not by ourselves.
Consequently, many people direct their efforts, energies, time and resources toward working on the problems of the governments of the external world. In effect, we embark on a quest which is dedicated to get other people to change in certain desirable ways, when we, ourselves, often are not prepared to change in equivalently desirable ways.
However, according to the Sufi masters, this kind of thinking has its priorities confused. We will not be able to reform the governments of the world until we have reformed our own internal governments. The chaos of the world is but a reflection and projection of the chaos of our internal worlds.
The foregoing priority of the Sufi masters does not mean we have to abandon the external world until after one has completed the task of reforming the internal government. Instead, they suggest we see our interaction with the outside world as opportunities to work toward developing programs, policies and projects which operate in line with, and give expression to, the spiritual principles necessary for the reform, care and maintenance of good internal government.
Acting in accordance with the foregoing dialectic cannot help but have, if God wishes, positive, constructive ramifications for enhancing the quality of the social and political atmosphere in the external world. The development of better communities and governments in the external world requires that we repair the problems in our spiritual infrastructure. We, then, need to take the benefits which are made possible by these repairs and invest them in, among other things, rebuilding our families and communities through the spiritual lessons learned while reconstructing the infrastructure of our souls.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Expansion
Becoming initiated and stepping onto the mystical path is a very exciting time for an individual. It is a period of expansion.
The person feels exhilaration. One has started the most important journey of one's life. Perhaps, one feels a sense of direction, purpose and belonging which previously had been absent or marginalized in one's life.
Very likely, initiation has been the culmination of a fairly intense period of: uncertainty; wavering back and forth; doubt; anxiety; exploration; and, reflection. Somehow, whether by careful consideration or a feeling in one's heart or in some other way, one finally decides to commit oneself to the mystical path. One experiences a lifting of tension and a accompanying sigh of relief.
One can't wait to read about the path and talk with one's fellow travelers. One looks forward to spending time with the teacher and receiving instructions concerning practices.
One entertains the future with a mixture of anticipation and bewilderment. One doesn't know what to expect. One wonders when one will have a mystical experience and what it will be like.
One thinks about stories one has heard or read concerning the great mystics of the past. One marvels at their wisdom and wonderful moral qualities. One feels a degree of pride for being permitted entry to the same path on which they have been wayfarers.
Enthusiasm courses through one's body and mind. One tries not to miss anything which is said, or goes on around one, concerning the path.
This initial encounter with a species of expansion lasts various lengths of time for different people. For some, it lasts for a few days. For others, it lasts for a week or a month. For others, it lasts longer. Moreover, different people experience it to varying degrees of intensity.
Eventually, however, many of these feelings fade. One may still feel excited about, enthusiastic toward and happy with the decision to step onto the path and, finally, be underway on one's journey. Nonetheless, one's feelings in these respects do not remain as intense or as focused as they had been earlier. The feelings are not as pervasive and constant as they had been. They are somewhat sporadic.
The problems of the world or with one's life begin to seep back into the center stage of one's consciousness. One's ego begins to create problems in a number of different ways. Doubts, questions and anxieties may begin to assert themselves.
One may be having difficulty in establishing a regular pattern in relation to one's spiritual work. Perhaps, one is encountering difficulty in freeing up time for the practices one has been given. One may be experiencing some sort of tension or resistance in relation to certain aspects of the path which are troubling to one.
One may begin to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the undertaking to which one has become committed. One may be confused by some of the teachings or wonder how they can be implemented in a feasible manner in modern society.
Now, one is experiencing a form of spiritual contraction. Everything seems difficult, frustrating, problematic, and somewhat of an unmanageable burden.
Before, during the experience of the expansionary aspects of initiation, everything kind of bubbled and flowed. Things seemed to come easily. Life was light and happy or pleasant.
In contraction, things appear to drag and have a heaviness about them. Events do not flow. They trickle and, maybe, not even that.
Everything seems to come with tension and conflict attached to it. One may feel somewhat alienated and out of sorts. One has to struggle.
These cycles of expansion and contraction will continue to occur on the Sufi path. They may change their modalities of manifestation as one makes, God willing, spiritual progress along the mystical path, but they are an important structural feature of the path.
When the heart is opened up, when one feels close to God, when one is gaining spiritual insights and understanding, when one embraces submission, and so on, then one experiences various kinds of happiness, joy, peace, and contentedness. These are expressions of spiritual expansion.
On the other hand, when, spiritually, one's heart feels closed down, when one feels far away from God, when one does not seem to be acquiring any spiritual insight or understanding, and when one is struggling with one or more aspects of the process of submission, one experiences being down, separate, restless and uneasy. These are expressions of spiritual contraction.
Both expansion and contraction have much to teach one. In a sense, the lessons of contraction till the soil of the soul and heart and prepare them to receive the seeds of expansion so that the latter may grow.
The lessons of expansion, on the other hand, provide spiritual strength, sustenance and consolations. Through the spiritual support which comes, by the grace of God, from the experience of expansion, one is enabled to continue with the aspects of the spiritual journey involving the struggle and work of contraction.
The difficulties of contraction, in turn, will pave the way for further expansion. The tears of contraction will be exchanged for the tears of expansion. The tears of struggle will be transformed into the tears of joy and ecstasy.
Along the Sufi path there are many different stations. These stations deal with themes such as repentance, longing, patience, dependence, gratitude, and love, to name but a few.
When one is struggling with the challenges and trials peculiar to such stations, one goes through a form of contraction which is appropriate to that station. When, by the grace of God, one is opened up to the mysteries of such stations and becomes adorned in the qualities of those stations, one experiences a form of expansion which is consonant with those stations.
Some people are able, by the grace of God, to find peace, contentment and even happiness during periods of contraction. They have been given a deep rooted understanding that all things, including contraction, come from God.
Consequently, they are at peace with, and discover contentment in, the condition of contraction because it has been sent by their Lord especially for them and their spiritual progress. For them, contraction becomes a gift to be savored, appreciated and, yes, enjoyed.
Alternatively, by the grace of God, some people, while in a condition of spiritual expansion, nonetheless, feel a special form of contraction which has its own bliss and beauty. This species of contraction concerns the condition of being true servants of God. Although these people have been raised to the highest spiritual realms, they humble themselves before God and do not have any desire other than to be the servants of Divinity.
Those who undergo this sort of "contraction" are extremely happy and well-satisfied with such a condition. They do not feel down or uneasy or restless. There is no heaviness or difficulty associated with it. There is no sense of its being a burden or a struggle. Those who enjoy this spiritual condition have found an essential kind of contentment and peace.
In fact their experience is characterized by all of the qualities of expansion. However, the people of this condition know they are the servants of God. They are not God in any essential way.
This distinction between Divinity and the servant is sometimes marginalized in certain conditions of expansion. Nonetheless, the distinction is always present, and it is absolute.
The placing of the above distinction at the center of consciousness, understanding and actions constitutes, relative to the transcendence of God, a contraction of sorts. The distinction between Divinity and servant indicates that no matter how great the spiritual expansion of an individual may be, it is insignificant in the context of God's incomparable greatness.
In many ways, distinctions between expansion and contraction tend to lose significance in these advanced mystical stations. Whatever may be the truth in relation to such stations, these lofty spiritual heights are a long, long way from the point of departure at the time of initiation and one's initial taste of expansion.
The person feels exhilaration. One has started the most important journey of one's life. Perhaps, one feels a sense of direction, purpose and belonging which previously had been absent or marginalized in one's life.
Very likely, initiation has been the culmination of a fairly intense period of: uncertainty; wavering back and forth; doubt; anxiety; exploration; and, reflection. Somehow, whether by careful consideration or a feeling in one's heart or in some other way, one finally decides to commit oneself to the mystical path. One experiences a lifting of tension and a accompanying sigh of relief.
One can't wait to read about the path and talk with one's fellow travelers. One looks forward to spending time with the teacher and receiving instructions concerning practices.
One entertains the future with a mixture of anticipation and bewilderment. One doesn't know what to expect. One wonders when one will have a mystical experience and what it will be like.
One thinks about stories one has heard or read concerning the great mystics of the past. One marvels at their wisdom and wonderful moral qualities. One feels a degree of pride for being permitted entry to the same path on which they have been wayfarers.
Enthusiasm courses through one's body and mind. One tries not to miss anything which is said, or goes on around one, concerning the path.
This initial encounter with a species of expansion lasts various lengths of time for different people. For some, it lasts for a few days. For others, it lasts for a week or a month. For others, it lasts longer. Moreover, different people experience it to varying degrees of intensity.
Eventually, however, many of these feelings fade. One may still feel excited about, enthusiastic toward and happy with the decision to step onto the path and, finally, be underway on one's journey. Nonetheless, one's feelings in these respects do not remain as intense or as focused as they had been earlier. The feelings are not as pervasive and constant as they had been. They are somewhat sporadic.
The problems of the world or with one's life begin to seep back into the center stage of one's consciousness. One's ego begins to create problems in a number of different ways. Doubts, questions and anxieties may begin to assert themselves.
One may be having difficulty in establishing a regular pattern in relation to one's spiritual work. Perhaps, one is encountering difficulty in freeing up time for the practices one has been given. One may be experiencing some sort of tension or resistance in relation to certain aspects of the path which are troubling to one.
One may begin to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the undertaking to which one has become committed. One may be confused by some of the teachings or wonder how they can be implemented in a feasible manner in modern society.
Now, one is experiencing a form of spiritual contraction. Everything seems difficult, frustrating, problematic, and somewhat of an unmanageable burden.
Before, during the experience of the expansionary aspects of initiation, everything kind of bubbled and flowed. Things seemed to come easily. Life was light and happy or pleasant.
In contraction, things appear to drag and have a heaviness about them. Events do not flow. They trickle and, maybe, not even that.
Everything seems to come with tension and conflict attached to it. One may feel somewhat alienated and out of sorts. One has to struggle.
These cycles of expansion and contraction will continue to occur on the Sufi path. They may change their modalities of manifestation as one makes, God willing, spiritual progress along the mystical path, but they are an important structural feature of the path.
When the heart is opened up, when one feels close to God, when one is gaining spiritual insights and understanding, when one embraces submission, and so on, then one experiences various kinds of happiness, joy, peace, and contentedness. These are expressions of spiritual expansion.
On the other hand, when, spiritually, one's heart feels closed down, when one feels far away from God, when one does not seem to be acquiring any spiritual insight or understanding, and when one is struggling with one or more aspects of the process of submission, one experiences being down, separate, restless and uneasy. These are expressions of spiritual contraction.
Both expansion and contraction have much to teach one. In a sense, the lessons of contraction till the soil of the soul and heart and prepare them to receive the seeds of expansion so that the latter may grow.
The lessons of expansion, on the other hand, provide spiritual strength, sustenance and consolations. Through the spiritual support which comes, by the grace of God, from the experience of expansion, one is enabled to continue with the aspects of the spiritual journey involving the struggle and work of contraction.
The difficulties of contraction, in turn, will pave the way for further expansion. The tears of contraction will be exchanged for the tears of expansion. The tears of struggle will be transformed into the tears of joy and ecstasy.
Along the Sufi path there are many different stations. These stations deal with themes such as repentance, longing, patience, dependence, gratitude, and love, to name but a few.
When one is struggling with the challenges and trials peculiar to such stations, one goes through a form of contraction which is appropriate to that station. When, by the grace of God, one is opened up to the mysteries of such stations and becomes adorned in the qualities of those stations, one experiences a form of expansion which is consonant with those stations.
Some people are able, by the grace of God, to find peace, contentment and even happiness during periods of contraction. They have been given a deep rooted understanding that all things, including contraction, come from God.
Consequently, they are at peace with, and discover contentment in, the condition of contraction because it has been sent by their Lord especially for them and their spiritual progress. For them, contraction becomes a gift to be savored, appreciated and, yes, enjoyed.
Alternatively, by the grace of God, some people, while in a condition of spiritual expansion, nonetheless, feel a special form of contraction which has its own bliss and beauty. This species of contraction concerns the condition of being true servants of God. Although these people have been raised to the highest spiritual realms, they humble themselves before God and do not have any desire other than to be the servants of Divinity.
Those who undergo this sort of "contraction" are extremely happy and well-satisfied with such a condition. They do not feel down or uneasy or restless. There is no heaviness or difficulty associated with it. There is no sense of its being a burden or a struggle. Those who enjoy this spiritual condition have found an essential kind of contentment and peace.
In fact their experience is characterized by all of the qualities of expansion. However, the people of this condition know they are the servants of God. They are not God in any essential way.
This distinction between Divinity and the servant is sometimes marginalized in certain conditions of expansion. Nonetheless, the distinction is always present, and it is absolute.
The placing of the above distinction at the center of consciousness, understanding and actions constitutes, relative to the transcendence of God, a contraction of sorts. The distinction between Divinity and servant indicates that no matter how great the spiritual expansion of an individual may be, it is insignificant in the context of God's incomparable greatness.
In many ways, distinctions between expansion and contraction tend to lose significance in these advanced mystical stations. Whatever may be the truth in relation to such stations, these lofty spiritual heights are a long, long way from the point of departure at the time of initiation and one's initial taste of expansion.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 29
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Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 29 is now available for downloading. This edition includes poetry, Quranic recitation, music, an original story entitled The Sufi and the Snowman, an essay entitled Devolution, and a commentary entitled Shari'ah, Part 2. We hope you will join us.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Anab's Kindle Books for iPhone
There is a new FREE Amazon Kindle app for the iPhone. All kindle books can now be read on the iPhone without an Amazon Kindle. The app seems to work very well.
If you have an iPhone and would like to find out more, just visit the iTunes app store on your computer or on your iPhone and download the free app. You will then need to enter your Amazon account user name and password after clicking on app on your iPhone. Then sync your phone and computer. You will then be all set to visit the Amazon Kindle store and start getting books for your iPhone.
If you have an iPhone and would like to find out more, just visit the iTunes app store on your computer or on your iPhone and download the free app. You will then need to enter your Amazon account user name and password after clicking on app on your iPhone. Then sync your phone and computer. You will then be all set to visit the Amazon Kindle store and start getting books for your iPhone.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Anab's Spiritual Peaks and Valleys MP3s are now available at Amazon for instant downloading. If you would like to listen to previews, click on this link:
Amazon Spiritual Peaks and Valleys
Amazon Spiritual Peaks and Valleys
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
160 pages
Shari'ah: A Muslim's Declaration of Independence by Anab is now available at Amazon, either though the general Amazon site or through our estore.
To find out more about this new offering, click on the following link if you wish:
Shari'ah
Monday, February 16, 2009
Spiritual Peaks and Valley's, a compliation of 27 poems set to music, is now available at CD Baby. You can go there and listen to samples, and, if you like, download (99 cents per track) any of the individual tracks that you like, or, if you wish, you can download the entire CD.
These tracks will soon be available at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other places of discerning taste. :)
Thank you for your support. To find out more, click on the following link:
Spiritual Peaks & Valleys at CD Baby.
Catalysis
Catalysis is a process affecting the speed at which a chemical reaction takes place. This is accomplished by introducing an agent into a reaction system that is capable of either speeding up, or retarding, the rate at which such a reaction proceeds.
In those circumstances when a catalytic agent speeds up the reaction process, the agent is known as a positive catalyst. Agents which impede the reaction rate of a given system are referred to as negative catalysts.
In some instances, a reaction will proceed in the absence of the right kind of catalyst. However, the reaction will do so only very, very slowly. In other cases, a reaction will not proceed at all in the absence of appropriate kinds of catalyst.
Not all catalytic agents perform their function in the same way. Some agents have the ability to bring various components of a reaction into closer proximity than would be possible in the absence of that agent, thus speeding up the rate of reaction of those components.
Other catalytic agents have the means of increasing the surface area necessary for certain reactions to take place. With more surface area available for interaction, the reaction proceeds more quickly than would be the case under non-catalytic circumstances.
Still other kinds of catalyst speed up or slow down reactions by changing the conformational and/or ionic character of the components of a reaction. This is especially true in the biochemical reactions of living systems.
Some catalytic agents have the capacity to lower or raise the level of energy necessary for a given kind of reaction to occur. Thus, for example, when the energy of activation for a reaction is lowered by introducing the appropriate kind of catalyst, the reaction can proceed much more quickly with the same amount of energy in the system than would be the case 'normally'.
Some catalytic agents retard the rate of reaction by becoming competitors with one or more of the components involved in a reaction. When such catalysts occupy surface areas or membrane sites and, thereby, make them unavailable for components necessary for a given reaction, this competitive inhibition, as it is known, slows down the rate at which the reaction proceeds.
There are many other modalities of catalysis. However, the few which have been mentioned are enough for present purposes.
According to the masters of the Sufi path, spiritual development or progress, especially in the mystical sense, either will not take place without catalytic assistance, or, it will do so only at an exceedingly slow rate. In fact, to the extent spiritual progress does occur at all in the absence of the appropriate catalytic agents, it, nonetheless, will be incapable of permitting the individual to make much headway toward the ultimate purpose of spiritual growth which is the realization of the true self.
Mysticism is not an endeavor in which an individual working entirely independently can succeed. The mystical heights cannot be scaled through sheer brilliance, talent or determination.
There are no solitary ascents on the mystical path. Support and assistance and catalytic additives are all necessary for anyone who seeks to reach the top.
Sufi masters do admit that not all people have the same spiritual capacity. Like gifts of intelligence, artistic talent, beauty, athletic ability and so on, spiritual potential is not distributed equally.
These differences in spiritual potential may affect the speed with which spiritual development proceeds. On the other hand, spiritual capacity is not the only factor affecting the rate of progress.
In fact, someone who has less spiritual potential than another individual might not only develop more quickly than the gifted person but actually travel farther on the path than her or his more gifted companion. Qualities of sincerity, perseverance, desire and effort also affect whether, and at what rate, spiritual growth takes place.
The sine qua non of catalytic reagents is God's grace. Absolutely nothing takes place without the presence of this support and assistance.
One could say every modality of help, support, assistance, protection, and catalysis (both positive as well as negative) one encounters on the Sufi path is an expression of God's grace. Differences in the form or character of the locus through which the grace comes, does not alter the underlying reality of grace standing behind such variable manifestations.
Notwithstanding the foregoing comments, spiritual catalytic agents come in different varieties. Prayer, fasting, chanting, charitable acts, spiritual etiquette, night vigils, contemplation, meditation, and reading sacred texts, all, each in its own way: both, give expression to God's grace, as well as, serve as a means to open one up to more grace.
Each of the above mentioned practices or observances has unique spiritual benefits and effects. The Sufi master is one who, by the grace of God, knows what the aspirant requires, at any given time, in the way of practices. Since we are all different spiritual capacities and potentials, some spiritual catalytic agents may be more effective forms of assistance to some of us, than others, among us.
Furthermore, the package of practices may change in character during the course of the spiritual journey as our catalytic needs change during the journey. For example, at certain stages of the path, the teacher may indicate to the student that invoking a certain Name or Attribute of God may be especially beneficial for the individual. At another stage, another Name or Attribute of God may be given for invocation.
At one stage, the spiritual guide may recommend the individual become busy with charitable works. At another stage, more emphasis may be given by the teacher to concentrating on the inculcation of spiritual etiquette in the aspirant.
The general package of practices and observances stays roughly the same. However, the combinations and focal concerns involving this general package may shift during the journey: from stage to stage for a given person, as well as from individual to individual.
In all of this, the Sufi master is somewhat like a spiritual chemist who has expertise in, among other things, the use and effects of different spiritual catalytic agents. Using one of these catalytic agents may help alter the spiritual orientation of the individual's heart in a certain way. Use of another catalyst may help retard the rational mind's interference in spiritual matters.
Use of another agent may have a catalytic property of opening the individual up to various spiritual experiences. This may have the effect of increasing the spiritual "surface area" available for certain kinds of reactions to proceed.
Still other catalysts, in the form of specific spiritual practices, may have an effect comparable to a lowering of the energy of activation necessary for a particular spiritual process to proceed. Alternatively, use of a given catalytic medium may provide the individual with the enabling power needed to overcome normal obstacles standing in the way of making spiritual progress on some aspect of the path.
Some spiritual catalysts may help change the shape and character of one's understanding. Other spiritual catalytic agents may give expression to a form of competitive inhibition by preoccupying the individual with, say the remembrance of God, and, as a result, helping to prevent the world or the ego from gaining access to sites of attachment within consciousness or one's heart.
The primary form of catalytic agent is the spiritual guide or master. Practices, of one sort or another, all have their value and their special catalytic properties. However, one could be engaged in such practices from now until the end of time without any significant essential spiritual benefit manifesting itself as long as one did so in isolation from a spiritual teacher. All of the Sufi masters are in agreement on this point.
The teacher is, in a sense, the straw that stirs the drink. Or, perhaps, more appropriately, the teacher is the one who has responsibility for ensuring that all the right catalytic ingredients and reactants get into the drink in the right proportions and in the correct sequence and at the most efficacious time.
God, of course, provides the drink, the straw, the tavern, the drinkers, the entertainment, the trained staff and everything else which is necessary for the reactants to be able to come together to have the desired spiritual results. The teacher is the one who is looking after things on behalf of the tavern's proprietor. The teacher is the one who, by God's grace, becomes the locus of catalytic manifestation through which things are brought together in the Sufi tavern in an organized and effective manner.
In those circumstances when a catalytic agent speeds up the reaction process, the agent is known as a positive catalyst. Agents which impede the reaction rate of a given system are referred to as negative catalysts.
In some instances, a reaction will proceed in the absence of the right kind of catalyst. However, the reaction will do so only very, very slowly. In other cases, a reaction will not proceed at all in the absence of appropriate kinds of catalyst.
Not all catalytic agents perform their function in the same way. Some agents have the ability to bring various components of a reaction into closer proximity than would be possible in the absence of that agent, thus speeding up the rate of reaction of those components.
Other catalytic agents have the means of increasing the surface area necessary for certain reactions to take place. With more surface area available for interaction, the reaction proceeds more quickly than would be the case under non-catalytic circumstances.
Still other kinds of catalyst speed up or slow down reactions by changing the conformational and/or ionic character of the components of a reaction. This is especially true in the biochemical reactions of living systems.
Some catalytic agents have the capacity to lower or raise the level of energy necessary for a given kind of reaction to occur. Thus, for example, when the energy of activation for a reaction is lowered by introducing the appropriate kind of catalyst, the reaction can proceed much more quickly with the same amount of energy in the system than would be the case 'normally'.
Some catalytic agents retard the rate of reaction by becoming competitors with one or more of the components involved in a reaction. When such catalysts occupy surface areas or membrane sites and, thereby, make them unavailable for components necessary for a given reaction, this competitive inhibition, as it is known, slows down the rate at which the reaction proceeds.
There are many other modalities of catalysis. However, the few which have been mentioned are enough for present purposes.
According to the masters of the Sufi path, spiritual development or progress, especially in the mystical sense, either will not take place without catalytic assistance, or, it will do so only at an exceedingly slow rate. In fact, to the extent spiritual progress does occur at all in the absence of the appropriate catalytic agents, it, nonetheless, will be incapable of permitting the individual to make much headway toward the ultimate purpose of spiritual growth which is the realization of the true self.
Mysticism is not an endeavor in which an individual working entirely independently can succeed. The mystical heights cannot be scaled through sheer brilliance, talent or determination.
There are no solitary ascents on the mystical path. Support and assistance and catalytic additives are all necessary for anyone who seeks to reach the top.
Sufi masters do admit that not all people have the same spiritual capacity. Like gifts of intelligence, artistic talent, beauty, athletic ability and so on, spiritual potential is not distributed equally.
These differences in spiritual potential may affect the speed with which spiritual development proceeds. On the other hand, spiritual capacity is not the only factor affecting the rate of progress.
In fact, someone who has less spiritual potential than another individual might not only develop more quickly than the gifted person but actually travel farther on the path than her or his more gifted companion. Qualities of sincerity, perseverance, desire and effort also affect whether, and at what rate, spiritual growth takes place.
The sine qua non of catalytic reagents is God's grace. Absolutely nothing takes place without the presence of this support and assistance.
One could say every modality of help, support, assistance, protection, and catalysis (both positive as well as negative) one encounters on the Sufi path is an expression of God's grace. Differences in the form or character of the locus through which the grace comes, does not alter the underlying reality of grace standing behind such variable manifestations.
Notwithstanding the foregoing comments, spiritual catalytic agents come in different varieties. Prayer, fasting, chanting, charitable acts, spiritual etiquette, night vigils, contemplation, meditation, and reading sacred texts, all, each in its own way: both, give expression to God's grace, as well as, serve as a means to open one up to more grace.
Each of the above mentioned practices or observances has unique spiritual benefits and effects. The Sufi master is one who, by the grace of God, knows what the aspirant requires, at any given time, in the way of practices. Since we are all different spiritual capacities and potentials, some spiritual catalytic agents may be more effective forms of assistance to some of us, than others, among us.
Furthermore, the package of practices may change in character during the course of the spiritual journey as our catalytic needs change during the journey. For example, at certain stages of the path, the teacher may indicate to the student that invoking a certain Name or Attribute of God may be especially beneficial for the individual. At another stage, another Name or Attribute of God may be given for invocation.
At one stage, the spiritual guide may recommend the individual become busy with charitable works. At another stage, more emphasis may be given by the teacher to concentrating on the inculcation of spiritual etiquette in the aspirant.
The general package of practices and observances stays roughly the same. However, the combinations and focal concerns involving this general package may shift during the journey: from stage to stage for a given person, as well as from individual to individual.
In all of this, the Sufi master is somewhat like a spiritual chemist who has expertise in, among other things, the use and effects of different spiritual catalytic agents. Using one of these catalytic agents may help alter the spiritual orientation of the individual's heart in a certain way. Use of another catalyst may help retard the rational mind's interference in spiritual matters.
Use of another agent may have a catalytic property of opening the individual up to various spiritual experiences. This may have the effect of increasing the spiritual "surface area" available for certain kinds of reactions to proceed.
Still other catalysts, in the form of specific spiritual practices, may have an effect comparable to a lowering of the energy of activation necessary for a particular spiritual process to proceed. Alternatively, use of a given catalytic medium may provide the individual with the enabling power needed to overcome normal obstacles standing in the way of making spiritual progress on some aspect of the path.
Some spiritual catalysts may help change the shape and character of one's understanding. Other spiritual catalytic agents may give expression to a form of competitive inhibition by preoccupying the individual with, say the remembrance of God, and, as a result, helping to prevent the world or the ego from gaining access to sites of attachment within consciousness or one's heart.
The primary form of catalytic agent is the spiritual guide or master. Practices, of one sort or another, all have their value and their special catalytic properties. However, one could be engaged in such practices from now until the end of time without any significant essential spiritual benefit manifesting itself as long as one did so in isolation from a spiritual teacher. All of the Sufi masters are in agreement on this point.
The teacher is, in a sense, the straw that stirs the drink. Or, perhaps, more appropriately, the teacher is the one who has responsibility for ensuring that all the right catalytic ingredients and reactants get into the drink in the right proportions and in the correct sequence and at the most efficacious time.
God, of course, provides the drink, the straw, the tavern, the drinkers, the entertainment, the trained staff and everything else which is necessary for the reactants to be able to come together to have the desired spiritual results. The teacher is the one who is looking after things on behalf of the tavern's proprietor. The teacher is the one who, by God's grace, becomes the locus of catalytic manifestation through which things are brought together in the Sufi tavern in an organized and effective manner.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Now available at Amazon: Sam Harris and the End of Faith: A Muslim's Critical Response.
117 pages
$9.99
Monday, January 26, 2009
Stories - MP3 downloads at Amazon
There are 12 stories now available in MP3 format at Amazon. They will download into your iTunes or Amazon MP3 program.
To view our current listings, click on the following link: Amazon MP3s
To view our current listings, click on the following link: Amazon MP3s
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 28 is now available for downloading. This episode includes a poem by Rumi, Quranic recitation, an essay entitled Dependence, a short story called The Ceremony, and a commentary entitled Shari'ah, Part 1. We hope you'll join us.
This photograph is in memory one of our two cats, Callie, who recently passed away. We miss her.
Sufi Reflections No. 28
Friday, January 02, 2009
New eBook at Mobipocket - Phenomenology of Charisma
The Phenomenology of Charisma is a critical overview of a book by Len Oakes, an Australian, who wrote Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Personalities. The present work addresses a number of problems inherent in Prophetic Charisma involving not only issues of psychology and sociology but, as well, various themes entailing spirituality. This edition of Phenomenology of Charisma is comparable to about 55-60 pages in a normal-sized book.
Dr. Whitehouse graduated with honors from Harvard University and received a doctorate in education from the University of Toronto. He is the author of over nine books, including: The Chaco Canyon Tapes, Streams to the Ocean, The Essence of September 11th, Sam Harris and the End of Reason: A Muslim's Critical Response, and The Sufi Lighthouse.
For more information about this book, click on the link: Phemomenology of Charisma
Sufi Curriculum
Many people believe mysticism is just a lot of pie in the sky, cloaked in bizarre rituals. These same people tend to maintain mysticism is highly subjective, with little practical relevance to the real world. In addition, there is a strong suspicion among such people that spiritual guides are flim-flam artists who either want your money or wish to enslave you, or both.
Mystical teachings are considered by many people to be come-ons which are vague and confused, promising fantastic powers but delivering little, if anything, which is substantial and tangible. Moreover, many people operate under the assumption there is really no difference between mysticism and either magic or the occult.
Generally speaking, people who hold the foregoing kinds of view have never met, or spent time with, a genuine mystical guide. Most, if not all, of their ideas on the matter are opinions based on received doctrine from someone else who, also, is essentially ignorant about things mystical.
They may have come in contact with individuals who claimed to be authentic mystical teachers but who, in reality, were not genuine. However, just as there is a difference between a counterfeit article and that which is being counterfeited, so too, there is fundamental set of differences between, on the one hand, true mystical teachers and teachings, and, on the other hand, pseudo mystical teachers and teachings.
As is the case with all other subjects, there are people who know what they are talking about when it comes to mysticism, and there also are people who do not know what they are talking about but try to sound as if they do have such knowledge. If the audience being addressed on such matters is ignorant of the truth, a false teacher can appear to be as impressive as a true teacher.
The problem faced by the average individual who is interested in mysticism is the following: trying to figure out how to differentiate between genuine tender and its counterfeit. A little gift of the gab, along with a modicum of charismatic showpersonship, plus a dash of chutzpa, can dazzle a lot of people into confusion and error.
Mysticism has absolutely nothing to do with the occult or magic. There may be dimensions of reality which do give expression to magical and occult phenomena, but the mystical path is independent of, and entirely transcendent to, such phenomena.
Mysticism is not about pie in the sky. Mysticism is about the nature of the reality of our essential capacity and identity.
Mysticism is not impractical. It gives expression to eminently useful principles and practices which help us resolve and deal with the problems of day-to-day life.
Mystical teachers are not flim-flam artists who have an abiding interest in money and control of other people's lives. Genuine mystical teachers are artists of truth and love who are unfailingly dedicated to compassion and helping people to realize their full capacity as human beings.
Mystical teachings are not a collection of rambling, obscure and vague pronouncements. True mystical teachings are very specific, often in-your-face, challenges to, and confrontations of, the false self.
Mysticism does not give expression to the ruminations of fanatical subjectivity. Authentic mysticism is the exact opposite of subjectivity.
The more subjective one is, the further from the truth one is. One of the objects of the mystical path is to induce us to give up the many subjectivities which govern and ruin our lives.
The promises of the mystical path are rather substantial and concrete. We will have to struggle and persevere. We will have to exercise patience and do justice. We will have to sacrifice our egos.
We will have to accept difficulty and hardship with equanimity. We will have to learn how to swim in a sea of incredibly strong undertows of confusion and doubts.
We will have to generate not just feelings of compassion for others, we will have to strive to actively and tangibly show compassion for others. We will have exercise sincerity in all we do. We will have to undergo the greater pain and trauma of the death of the false self before we endure the pain and trauma of the lesser death of the physical body.
If, by the grace of God, we are able to accomplish all of the foregoing, then, if God wishes, we will attain the peace, joy, freedom, understanding and love which comes with the realization of our essential capacities and our true identities. Sufi masters have themselves experienced all of this, and their lives give a running testimony to the truth of what has been promised, both with respect to the struggles and difficulties, as well as in relation to the possible fruits of one's endeavors.
A curriculum is sometimes described as the means or method used to bring an educational goal to completion. The curriculum of the Sufi path involves a no-nonsense, rigorous discipline which has a beginning, a middle and an end.
The goal of the mystical path is to know, love, worship and serve God in an unceasing, intense and direct manner. In order to have a chance of realizing this goal, a variety of subjects and methodologies must be experientially engaged, ingested and implemented in the fabric of one's life.
One must study the psychology of the false self. One must be trained in the requirements and nuances of spiritual etiquette which are capable of not only combating the false self but also are able to give expression to spiritual qualities of purity and harmony which supplant the machinations of the false self.
One must learn the nature and significance of objectivity. In conjunction with this, one must become well versed in the sources of spiritual distortion, bias and error.
One must come to understand the parameters and possibilities inherent in different spiritual instruments and modalities within us. In addition, one must learn how to calibrate these instruments and modalities so they give reliable, useful experiential results.
One must be helped to gain facility with a variety of practices and techniques such as chanting, meditation and contemplation. The how, when, why, and what of these practices involve a variety of principles and cautions which are not always easily acquired or implemented.
One needs to develop a taste for, appreciation of, and insight into, the meaning of the events and experiences which one encounters along the Sufi path. The scope of human potential is immense, and learning how to sort out the numerous forces (both problematic as well as beneficial) which act on us and through us, is a very complex issue.
One must learn how to bring balance, harmony and justice into all dimensions of one's life and one's interactions with the rest of creation. The middle way is the golden mean to a properly ordered life in each of these respects. However, coming to understand exactly what this involves in any given instance, requires much practice and struggle.
All of the foregoing areas of investigation are part of the Sufi curriculum. They each have important contributions to make in assisting the individual toward the realization of the goal of the Sufi path.
Anyone who, God willing, sincerely pursues the mystical curriculum under the guidance of a genuine guide, will come to experience, first hand, that mysticism, in general, and the Sufi path in particular, are very, very different from what most people suppose to be the case. Such people will come to know mysticism is not an incoherent, subjective, impractical, occult-like set of speculations and theories which are incapable of satisfying the promise of self-realization and direct experience of Divinity.
This regression line is our link of faith with our experiences. The slope of the regression line is a ratio of what has been experienced to our assessment of that experience.
We extrapolate and interpolate with respect to the future on the basis of that regression line's slope. As new experiences and assessments are added, we stay with, or plot a new, regression line.
According to Sufi masters, the more one experiences the states, stations, tastes, expansions, contractions and so on of the path, the deeper, richer and stronger will one's faith become. There is nothing blind, dogmatic, closed, irrational, or static about this process.
As one learns, grows, develops, changes, and matures on the path, the structural character of one's faith undergoes growth, maturation, development and so on. This transformation of faith is a function of one's own direct experiences and the teacher's guidance in helping one to come to an understanding of the significance, value and meaning of such experience.
As is the case with all mundane species of everyday faith, so, too, mystical faith weds together knowns and unknowns. On the basis of what is known or understood, one develops a commitment to certain dimensions of what is unknown and unseen.
As faith develops, the horizons of the unknown may be pushed back to varying degrees. However, the horizon symbolizes the inexhaustible nature of existence and our relationship with God. No matter how much we advance toward the horizon, the horizon always recedes into the distance.
God willing, we increase in spiritual understanding, insight, wisdom and knowledge, but there will always be unknowns which modulate our interactions with Divinity. Nonetheless, we continue to use what we know as the basis of our orientation toward what is unknown.
When we have faith in God, we rely on God to be our trustee in all affairs. As we acquire enhanced degrees of faith, our faith is transformed, God willing into a certitude that God will never abuse our faith or trust. This certitude is based on reflective experience and not on blind, unthinking, dogmatic belief and opinion. Unfortunately, a lot of people confuse being convinced of something with being certain in the mystical sense. Mystical certitude is a function of direct demonstration and experiential evidence of a sort that brooks no doubt as to its authenticity and truth. The experiences are overwhelming and incontrovertible in nature, and, more importantly, they are corroborated in independent ways by other people and other experiences.
To be convinced of something, however, merely means one has a strong opinion. Furthermore, this strong opinion is often held in the absence of any direct experiential demonstration.
In addition, such an opinion of conviction often is rooted in an interpretation of experiences which leaves room open for considerable doubt. An individual might acknowledge the legitimacy of such doubt under these circumstances if the person meditated on the matter very much or with any degree of rigor, care and consideration.
However, all too frequently, people of strong convictions, whether spiritual or non-spiritual in character, are uninterested in entertaining any doubts concerning their firmly entrenched beliefs. On the other hand, with practitioners of the Sufi path, the examination and exploration of doubt can lead to some very beneficial insights and understandings. One is encouraged to work with doubt, not to deny and repress it.
Mystical teachings are considered by many people to be come-ons which are vague and confused, promising fantastic powers but delivering little, if anything, which is substantial and tangible. Moreover, many people operate under the assumption there is really no difference between mysticism and either magic or the occult.
Generally speaking, people who hold the foregoing kinds of view have never met, or spent time with, a genuine mystical guide. Most, if not all, of their ideas on the matter are opinions based on received doctrine from someone else who, also, is essentially ignorant about things mystical.
They may have come in contact with individuals who claimed to be authentic mystical teachers but who, in reality, were not genuine. However, just as there is a difference between a counterfeit article and that which is being counterfeited, so too, there is fundamental set of differences between, on the one hand, true mystical teachers and teachings, and, on the other hand, pseudo mystical teachers and teachings.
As is the case with all other subjects, there are people who know what they are talking about when it comes to mysticism, and there also are people who do not know what they are talking about but try to sound as if they do have such knowledge. If the audience being addressed on such matters is ignorant of the truth, a false teacher can appear to be as impressive as a true teacher.
The problem faced by the average individual who is interested in mysticism is the following: trying to figure out how to differentiate between genuine tender and its counterfeit. A little gift of the gab, along with a modicum of charismatic showpersonship, plus a dash of chutzpa, can dazzle a lot of people into confusion and error.
Mysticism has absolutely nothing to do with the occult or magic. There may be dimensions of reality which do give expression to magical and occult phenomena, but the mystical path is independent of, and entirely transcendent to, such phenomena.
Mysticism is not about pie in the sky. Mysticism is about the nature of the reality of our essential capacity and identity.
Mysticism is not impractical. It gives expression to eminently useful principles and practices which help us resolve and deal with the problems of day-to-day life.
Mystical teachers are not flim-flam artists who have an abiding interest in money and control of other people's lives. Genuine mystical teachers are artists of truth and love who are unfailingly dedicated to compassion and helping people to realize their full capacity as human beings.
Mystical teachings are not a collection of rambling, obscure and vague pronouncements. True mystical teachings are very specific, often in-your-face, challenges to, and confrontations of, the false self.
Mysticism does not give expression to the ruminations of fanatical subjectivity. Authentic mysticism is the exact opposite of subjectivity.
The more subjective one is, the further from the truth one is. One of the objects of the mystical path is to induce us to give up the many subjectivities which govern and ruin our lives.
The promises of the mystical path are rather substantial and concrete. We will have to struggle and persevere. We will have to exercise patience and do justice. We will have to sacrifice our egos.
We will have to accept difficulty and hardship with equanimity. We will have to learn how to swim in a sea of incredibly strong undertows of confusion and doubts.
We will have to generate not just feelings of compassion for others, we will have to strive to actively and tangibly show compassion for others. We will have exercise sincerity in all we do. We will have to undergo the greater pain and trauma of the death of the false self before we endure the pain and trauma of the lesser death of the physical body.
If, by the grace of God, we are able to accomplish all of the foregoing, then, if God wishes, we will attain the peace, joy, freedom, understanding and love which comes with the realization of our essential capacities and our true identities. Sufi masters have themselves experienced all of this, and their lives give a running testimony to the truth of what has been promised, both with respect to the struggles and difficulties, as well as in relation to the possible fruits of one's endeavors.
A curriculum is sometimes described as the means or method used to bring an educational goal to completion. The curriculum of the Sufi path involves a no-nonsense, rigorous discipline which has a beginning, a middle and an end.
The goal of the mystical path is to know, love, worship and serve God in an unceasing, intense and direct manner. In order to have a chance of realizing this goal, a variety of subjects and methodologies must be experientially engaged, ingested and implemented in the fabric of one's life.
One must study the psychology of the false self. One must be trained in the requirements and nuances of spiritual etiquette which are capable of not only combating the false self but also are able to give expression to spiritual qualities of purity and harmony which supplant the machinations of the false self.
One must learn the nature and significance of objectivity. In conjunction with this, one must become well versed in the sources of spiritual distortion, bias and error.
One must come to understand the parameters and possibilities inherent in different spiritual instruments and modalities within us. In addition, one must learn how to calibrate these instruments and modalities so they give reliable, useful experiential results.
One must be helped to gain facility with a variety of practices and techniques such as chanting, meditation and contemplation. The how, when, why, and what of these practices involve a variety of principles and cautions which are not always easily acquired or implemented.
One needs to develop a taste for, appreciation of, and insight into, the meaning of the events and experiences which one encounters along the Sufi path. The scope of human potential is immense, and learning how to sort out the numerous forces (both problematic as well as beneficial) which act on us and through us, is a very complex issue.
One must learn how to bring balance, harmony and justice into all dimensions of one's life and one's interactions with the rest of creation. The middle way is the golden mean to a properly ordered life in each of these respects. However, coming to understand exactly what this involves in any given instance, requires much practice and struggle.
All of the foregoing areas of investigation are part of the Sufi curriculum. They each have important contributions to make in assisting the individual toward the realization of the goal of the Sufi path.
Anyone who, God willing, sincerely pursues the mystical curriculum under the guidance of a genuine guide, will come to experience, first hand, that mysticism, in general, and the Sufi path in particular, are very, very different from what most people suppose to be the case. Such people will come to know mysticism is not an incoherent, subjective, impractical, occult-like set of speculations and theories which are incapable of satisfying the promise of self-realization and direct experience of Divinity.
This regression line is our link of faith with our experiences. The slope of the regression line is a ratio of what has been experienced to our assessment of that experience.
We extrapolate and interpolate with respect to the future on the basis of that regression line's slope. As new experiences and assessments are added, we stay with, or plot a new, regression line.
According to Sufi masters, the more one experiences the states, stations, tastes, expansions, contractions and so on of the path, the deeper, richer and stronger will one's faith become. There is nothing blind, dogmatic, closed, irrational, or static about this process.
As one learns, grows, develops, changes, and matures on the path, the structural character of one's faith undergoes growth, maturation, development and so on. This transformation of faith is a function of one's own direct experiences and the teacher's guidance in helping one to come to an understanding of the significance, value and meaning of such experience.
As is the case with all mundane species of everyday faith, so, too, mystical faith weds together knowns and unknowns. On the basis of what is known or understood, one develops a commitment to certain dimensions of what is unknown and unseen.
As faith develops, the horizons of the unknown may be pushed back to varying degrees. However, the horizon symbolizes the inexhaustible nature of existence and our relationship with God. No matter how much we advance toward the horizon, the horizon always recedes into the distance.
God willing, we increase in spiritual understanding, insight, wisdom and knowledge, but there will always be unknowns which modulate our interactions with Divinity. Nonetheless, we continue to use what we know as the basis of our orientation toward what is unknown.
When we have faith in God, we rely on God to be our trustee in all affairs. As we acquire enhanced degrees of faith, our faith is transformed, God willing into a certitude that God will never abuse our faith or trust. This certitude is based on reflective experience and not on blind, unthinking, dogmatic belief and opinion. Unfortunately, a lot of people confuse being convinced of something with being certain in the mystical sense. Mystical certitude is a function of direct demonstration and experiential evidence of a sort that brooks no doubt as to its authenticity and truth. The experiences are overwhelming and incontrovertible in nature, and, more importantly, they are corroborated in independent ways by other people and other experiences.
To be convinced of something, however, merely means one has a strong opinion. Furthermore, this strong opinion is often held in the absence of any direct experiential demonstration.
In addition, such an opinion of conviction often is rooted in an interpretation of experiences which leaves room open for considerable doubt. An individual might acknowledge the legitimacy of such doubt under these circumstances if the person meditated on the matter very much or with any degree of rigor, care and consideration.
However, all too frequently, people of strong convictions, whether spiritual or non-spiritual in character, are uninterested in entertaining any doubts concerning their firmly entrenched beliefs. On the other hand, with practitioners of the Sufi path, the examination and exploration of doubt can lead to some very beneficial insights and understandings. One is encouraged to work with doubt, not to deny and repress it.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Falling into Grace
Many people appear to believe something was lost when human beings succumbed to a dimension of themselves which was vulnerable to being incited to not heed the command of God about refraining from interacting with a certain aspect of the Garden of Eden. In other words, when both Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) rebelled against God's command (and they were equally at fault for listening to that which they should not have), they were cast out of the Garden and sent down to Earth.
As a result, some people maintain that human history is, in part, a story about human beings seeking to regain Paradise. According to such a perspective, life is about retrieving that from which we were removed so long ago.
As such, the focus of this approach to things is on how our lower carnal soul is the enemy within which must be purified and transformed. Consequently, much of the emphasis of this way of looking at things is toward redeeming the lower soul through good works of one kind or another.
Unfortunately, this perspective tends to gloss over a very essential, but not readily obvious, aspect of the story of Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both). Although, on the one hand, the disobedience was due to human weakness - something with which God has created human kind - nonetheless, on the other hand, the aspiration for knowledge is not a function of our capacity to rebel but, rather, is a dimension of the human being which transcends that capacity and gives expression to an entirely different facet of human spiritual potential.
Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) did not rebel for the sake of rebellion. They rebelled because: (a) they had a carnal soul which was vulnerable to pursuing things in an unauthorized fashion, and (b) they had an innate himma or aspiration within them which was not satisfied with the Garden of Eden ... whch sought something - namely, knowledge - that transcended this garden a kind of knowledge which was unlike anything else in the Garden of Eden and to which both Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) were inexorably drawn.
This wellspring of aspiration was also created by God. God had foreknowledge of the choice which human beings would make - that is, to disobey God's command, but human beings freeely chose that of which God had foreknowledge.
The way through which human beings pursued this inner, inarticulate, ineffable thirst and desire for knowledge did not meet with God's approval. Nonetheless, God did approve of the other aspect of the niyat or intention which sought out that (i.e., knowledge) which was beyond the Garden of Eden, and, in effect, it is a choice that God wished for human beings to make for, through that choice, human beings would, God willing, begin their journey toward the secrets of the Hidden Treasure which concerned humankind and for which Creation was brought forth to know (each creature in accordance with its capacity), but this time they would have to do so through a way or path, as well as in accordance with a law, which was authorized by God.
In a sense, both the very best and the very worst of human potential was on display in the choice which led to Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with both) being expelled from the Garden of Eden. Being expelled was the opportunity to seek the knowledge which was off-limits while they were in that garden ... in other words, human beings, via our ancestors Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both), fell into Grace.
People who wish to restrict the purpose of life to just matters of heaven and hell (or the regaining of Paradise) are failing to understand something of essential importance about the alleged Fall. There is an innate dimension within us that craves the knowledge about which God commanded Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) not to approach. There is something within us which is willing to risk much in order to seek out such knowledge.
Human beings didn't create this potential. God did.
One of the lessons of the Fall is that there are right ways to do do things and wrong ways, as well. Another lesson of the Fall is that God is forgiving and merciful. Still another lesson of the Fall is that we have not been exciled from the Garden of Eden as a punishement but in order to set in motion an opportunity ... an opportunity which God wished human beings to grab hold of during their life on Earth.
Some individuals seem to be of the opinion that what God forbade under certain circumstances and conditions was an absolute prohibition in which human beings should never seek that for which they had a God-given aspiration. As such, life for these individuals is often all about self-denial and never wishing to do anything which would risk the return to Paradise. For such individuals, the himma for knowledge is something which we should shy away from even now because they appear to believe that the prohibition is still in effect.
There are others who believe the Fall was merely one act in the Divine Passion Play - an act which was staged by a God Who knew that which we did not. Such individuals believe the Fall was arranged by God to serve a higher purpose. Human beings were set up by Divinity so that our spiritual Phoenix might, God willing, rise from the ashes of disobedience.
Adam and Eve may have been wrong for how they went about things ... but, then, what did they know. However, they were not wrong for aspiring to that which God wished to invite them through the very presence of that aspiration.
The law, God willing, creates the space necessary for the way to have an opportunity to be pursued. And, in turn, the way, if God wishes, creates the space through which the truth of reality, or haqiqa, is, God willing, realized.
The Fall is not an indellible stain on the soul of humanity. The Fall is how we, with God's assistance, "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again" on the real purpose of existence.
As a result, some people maintain that human history is, in part, a story about human beings seeking to regain Paradise. According to such a perspective, life is about retrieving that from which we were removed so long ago.
As such, the focus of this approach to things is on how our lower carnal soul is the enemy within which must be purified and transformed. Consequently, much of the emphasis of this way of looking at things is toward redeeming the lower soul through good works of one kind or another.
Unfortunately, this perspective tends to gloss over a very essential, but not readily obvious, aspect of the story of Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both). Although, on the one hand, the disobedience was due to human weakness - something with which God has created human kind - nonetheless, on the other hand, the aspiration for knowledge is not a function of our capacity to rebel but, rather, is a dimension of the human being which transcends that capacity and gives expression to an entirely different facet of human spiritual potential.
Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) did not rebel for the sake of rebellion. They rebelled because: (a) they had a carnal soul which was vulnerable to pursuing things in an unauthorized fashion, and (b) they had an innate himma or aspiration within them which was not satisfied with the Garden of Eden ... whch sought something - namely, knowledge - that transcended this garden a kind of knowledge which was unlike anything else in the Garden of Eden and to which both Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) were inexorably drawn.
This wellspring of aspiration was also created by God. God had foreknowledge of the choice which human beings would make - that is, to disobey God's command, but human beings freeely chose that of which God had foreknowledge.
The way through which human beings pursued this inner, inarticulate, ineffable thirst and desire for knowledge did not meet with God's approval. Nonetheless, God did approve of the other aspect of the niyat or intention which sought out that (i.e., knowledge) which was beyond the Garden of Eden, and, in effect, it is a choice that God wished for human beings to make for, through that choice, human beings would, God willing, begin their journey toward the secrets of the Hidden Treasure which concerned humankind and for which Creation was brought forth to know (each creature in accordance with its capacity), but this time they would have to do so through a way or path, as well as in accordance with a law, which was authorized by God.
In a sense, both the very best and the very worst of human potential was on display in the choice which led to Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with both) being expelled from the Garden of Eden. Being expelled was the opportunity to seek the knowledge which was off-limits while they were in that garden ... in other words, human beings, via our ancestors Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both), fell into Grace.
People who wish to restrict the purpose of life to just matters of heaven and hell (or the regaining of Paradise) are failing to understand something of essential importance about the alleged Fall. There is an innate dimension within us that craves the knowledge about which God commanded Adam and Eve (may Allah be pleased with them both) not to approach. There is something within us which is willing to risk much in order to seek out such knowledge.
Human beings didn't create this potential. God did.
One of the lessons of the Fall is that there are right ways to do do things and wrong ways, as well. Another lesson of the Fall is that God is forgiving and merciful. Still another lesson of the Fall is that we have not been exciled from the Garden of Eden as a punishement but in order to set in motion an opportunity ... an opportunity which God wished human beings to grab hold of during their life on Earth.
Some individuals seem to be of the opinion that what God forbade under certain circumstances and conditions was an absolute prohibition in which human beings should never seek that for which they had a God-given aspiration. As such, life for these individuals is often all about self-denial and never wishing to do anything which would risk the return to Paradise. For such individuals, the himma for knowledge is something which we should shy away from even now because they appear to believe that the prohibition is still in effect.
There are others who believe the Fall was merely one act in the Divine Passion Play - an act which was staged by a God Who knew that which we did not. Such individuals believe the Fall was arranged by God to serve a higher purpose. Human beings were set up by Divinity so that our spiritual Phoenix might, God willing, rise from the ashes of disobedience.
Adam and Eve may have been wrong for how they went about things ... but, then, what did they know. However, they were not wrong for aspiring to that which God wished to invite them through the very presence of that aspiration.
The law, God willing, creates the space necessary for the way to have an opportunity to be pursued. And, in turn, the way, if God wishes, creates the space through which the truth of reality, or haqiqa, is, God willing, realized.
The Fall is not an indellible stain on the soul of humanity. The Fall is how we, with God's assistance, "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again" on the real purpose of existence.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sam Harris and the End of Faith: A Muslim's Critical Response
Sam Harris and the End of Faith: A Muslim's Critical Response is now a Mobipocket eBook, as well as an Amazon Kindle Book.
If you would like to read more about this 70 page book, just click on the following:
New Bilquees Press eBook title
Also, Shari'ah: A Muslim's Declaration of Independence is now a Mobipocket eBook. To find out more, you may click on the following:
Shari'ah
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Sufi Reflections Podcast - 27
The 27th edition of Sufi Reflections Podcast is now ready for downloading. Among other features, this most recent podcast contains the third and final part in the series which critically explores Sam Harris's book The End of Faith You can download the newest podcast by linking to: Sufi Reflections Podcast 27
Monday, October 13, 2008
Book Sale - First Edition of Streams to the Ocean by Anab Whitehouse
For a limited time, the first edition of Streams to the Ocean - A Contemplative Introduction to the Sufi Path is being offered at a reduced price. This book was written in 1996 and is a great introduction to the Sufi path. It has also been enjoyed by people who are not new to the Sufi path.
You will not find this edition available for sale at Amazon.
To purchase your copy, click the "purchase" link.
By purchasing this book, you will be supporting the Sufi Reflections Podcast and helping us make room for new inventory and print new titles. Thank you. We hope you will enjoy the book!
PURCHASE STREAMS TO THE OCEAN - A CONTEMPLATIVE INTRODUCTION TO THE SUFI PATH (First Edition)
Monday, September 01, 2008
Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 26
Sufi Reflections Podcast No. 26 is now available for downloading. We hope you'll join us!
Episode 26: DOWNLOAD
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