Last week in Acadia I asked a seagull, my friend Harry, to give a smile for the camera. The result is here posted on Utube - Click here and put your speakers on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bLHjjjbZls
---------------------------------------------------
I have a diagnosis on my hand issues which are carpel tunnel and a damaged ligament. Now I return this week for treatment and a prognosis. Not being able to use this hand without restrictions has been difficult along with not being able to sleep well because of the pain. However, I have found that observing just the pain without the added story lines that my reactive ego wants to overlay the situation with, without the emotional baggage of "I will never be okay again!" the pain is tolerable. Still constant pain is wearing and must be properly addressed.
Thank you for your prayers which to this point have been answered by giving me the answers to this condition.
What follows is an article about a Sufi approach to finding a constant sense of God's Presence in our lives. The Sufis are the mystical branch of Islam and those who live only for contact with our Creator. They like many of the so-call Christian "Mystics" have fallen in love with God and have been Called to a greater participation with God in this life than most of us are capable of doing.
The article speaks of practices that can help us prepare the way to having the experience of God's reality to a greater degree than just living day to day can bring. The disciplines mentioned can be easily be adapted to a broader Christian definition and even to a better understanding of how to come close to living in the present Moment. Feel free to change any of the words and allowing God's Spirit to move in and through you.
Please also remember that there is never only one path to God's Reality and that every religion has at its core something of the answer to how our longing for something greater in life can be found. Take what fits your own sensibilities knowing that God calls each of us to find our truth by moving towards God's Intention for us.
There are many paths to One Path
Eventually everything is attracted to The Light
Within our heart wondrous secrets of the Beloved are locked away. Humanity looks
everywhere but his or her own Heart, that's why the Master Craftsman hide His
most elegant Mysteries within the secret chambers of the Heart.
To open the lock one needs to know first that such a hidden place exists. And
one must embark upon the journey to find where the secrets are, and then one
must act diligently to proceed to unlock the mysteries which are many, veils
upon veil.
It is the spiritual practices which are meant to
sometime open the lock, sometime to polish the surface of the heart, sometime
to expand it like the expanding cosmos and sometime to illuminate the hidden
chambers of the Heart. These spiritual practices are the
Technologies of the Heart and the goal is to have a Heart in which the
reflection of the Beloved becomes a reality and the eyes of the Heart can
behold Him like the bright full moon in a clear night sky.
We find our existence inside a reality where Unity is
constantly manifesting itself within multiplicity. We, human beings who are
microcosm, have multiple universes just like the macrocosm, within ourselves.
Every single day our Heart experiences various states and conditions. We may
wake up in a morning very happy, cheerful and carefree, and then again after
few hours our inner state may change into an opposite state, a state of
anxiety, heavy-heartedness, depression and what not. Very few persons are
immune from such transition of state.
Those who walks in the Spiritual Path, generally experience a more stabilized
state of the inner Heart and are therefore far more tranquil and at peace in
their mind and intellect. Because of the remembrance of the Divine that
happens, a spiritual person inherit a more tranquil state of being. Even then,
at every level, every single human being is tested, they are given various
states to pass through as if passing through many valleys to finally reach the
Door of the Beloved.
One particular thing spiritual seekers strive to attain is the clearing out of
the dust or motes from the eyes of the Heart. Experienced Sufi Masters have
prescribed various practices that work as cleansing for the
Heart. Recently in the Yahoo Sufi Group called "Sufis
Without Borders,"
one of the member has shared or reminded rather, what Shaykh 'Abd al-Haqq
has once prescribed as 'good general all- purpose, broad-spectrum prescription'
to clear out the dust in one's own eyes, the dust (or motes) that often is
cause of various delusions and errors that life's veils constant throw at the
ego. These practices are best obtained and most effect when obtained from a
qualified and authentic Master of one's own. Never the less, they are general
purpose antidote prescribed by God's revelations and hence by God's permission,
when practiced, they work as a Technology of the Heart to
purify it from dusts.
(1) Taking refuge in God The first practice is the practice of refuge.
Taking Refuge in God, in the Supreme Beloved, in the Lord.
Taking Refuge in God is also the practice of humility, it is the practice of
orientation towards the Light, while turning away from many layers of darkness,
ignorance, illusions, dependency on the creation. This is the ongoing
journeying to the light, to knowledge, to gnosis and realization of one's ever
dependency on the Real.
This is the way station of becoming "like children." Just as a child
wishes to take refuge within the lap of a mother, just as an infant wish to
take refuge at the breast of her mother, so the seeker again and again wishes
to return to the Magnificent Refuge, without Whom there is no other. And this
consciousness of taking refuge is activated by mindful practice of first
pronouncing "I seek refuge in Allah, in God, from the darkness."
The sacred formula for taking refuge is: "A'uzu bi-Llahi minash-Shaitan
ar-rajim"
Here is a breakdown of the meanings:
A'uzu = I seek protection
bi = with, in
Llahi = God
min = from
ash shaitani = Satan, Devil, Darkness, false ego
ar rajim = the dispelled, rejected, shattered
The act of accepted refuge happens dynamically when the false ego is
dispelled from within. The condition to be received by the Lord in Divine
Protection is to sacrifice the ego. The ego is the cause of suffering. The one
who is more egoistic, the more he experiences hellishness in this world, every
awakened moments for him become a mini hell. To be enveloped with ego is to
live at the depth of hell on earth.
(2) Receiving the all-encompassing embrace of the Infinite
The second of the general
practice is to invoke the All Embracing Grace Quality of God through the sacred
formula, "Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim"
Which when pronounced together sound more like, "Bismilla hir Rahma nir
Rahim."
Bismillah, the above invocation is a key for it is the invocation of the
Holy Name. Many pious of earlier generation used this simplest of formula with
the greatest of sincere devotion to attract tremendous Divine Grace that would
perform miracles. When the Darkness is dispelled through the invocation of
refuge, it is followed by Bismillah.
Immediately after seeking protection in God from the dispelled negativity, from
whispering of the illusions and falsehood, the practice tells us to receive the
all-encompassing embrace of the Infinite by using "Bismilla-hir Rahma-nir
Rahim."
Here is a breakdown of the meanings:
Bi = with, in
ism = Name
Llah = God
ar Rahman = a Divine Quality, Universally Merciful / Most
Gracious
ar Rahim = another
Divine Quality, Exclusively Merciful
These two terms rahman and rahim refer to attributes of the One. While they are
often translated simply as Merciful and Compassionate, the roots of the words
point to a deeper meaning.
Both rahman and rahim are derived from
the Semitic root r-h-m which indicates something of the utmost tenderness which
provides protection and nourishment, and that from which all of creation is
brought into being. And indeed, the root rhm has meanings of womb, kinship,
relationship, loving-kindness, mercy, compassion, and nourishing-tenderness.
Generally speaking the literal translation of Bismillah is "In the name of
God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." But this fails to capture
either the true depth of meaning or the inspirational message of the beautiful
phrase.
The two Divine Qualities Rahman and Rahim and their meanings are the key to
appreciate this formula.
The term "rahman" describes that aspect of the source of all creation
which is endlessly radiating, endlessly nourishing, regardless of who or what
is receiving the endless flow of blessings.
Rahmân conveys the idea of fullness and extensiveness, indicating the great
quality of love and mercy which engulfs all of creation without regard to any
effort or request on our part.
On the other hand, the term rahim describes that aspect of the source which is
issued forth only in response to the actions and behavior of the recipient. It
is in this manner that God takes ten steps toward us when we take even a single
step toward God.
Rahîm conveys the idea of constant renewal and giving liberal reward in
response to the quality of our deeds and thought, expressing the continuous
manifestation of the Grace in our lives and its effect upon us as a result of
our own activities.
Where Rahman is the Divine Quality of Universal Radiance and Bestowal of Divine
Grace, Rahim is the Divine Quality which is also grace but at the same time
exclusive to each. Rahman is that quality which like Sun is constantly
outpouring to all, regardless of their status, whereas Rahim is the
Exclusiveness of God's grace where for each soul, God is the Most Precious
Beloved. It is Rahim which represent God's most intimacy to each soul, it is
the most Personal aspect through which God is the Wali, the Sweet Friend, the
Near Most of one's being.
So the second general practice of reciting the formula "Bismillahir
Rahmanir Rahim" can be rendered as:
- By means of
the very essence of God
- For the glory of our Creator
- With the light of the One
- With the guidance of The Divine
- As an instrument of the One
- In harmony with Divine Presence
- Receiving the all-encompassing embrace of the Infinite
(3) Entrusting one's affairs to God
After seeking protection, dispelling the negativity, darkness (which again is a
vast subject and brings in other aspects of purifying one's self from it), one
has to pay attention to trust.
Trust not just mean trust in a passive way, but in a very dynamic and organic
way where it must begin in trust in life itself, trust in one's own self (one's
essence) and finally trust in God.
A more Sufic term for this is Tawakkul or Reliance on God. This was part
and parcel of training of every spiritual disciple. Many of us call ourselves
Christian but have no idea what kind of Tawakkul Jesus used to instruct to his
disciples. While he would send out his apostles to various townships, to enable
them practice Tawakkul or Reliance on God, he would instruct them not to carry
any food, nor any material support but to travel only utterly depending on God
and never to ask anything to anyone except when they are called in or given
freely, unattached.
One of the sacred formula that points towards this attainment is: "Hasbun
Allahu wa ni'amal wakil."
God is enough for us and God
is the Best Guardian.
Hasbun = Enough for us
Allah = God
wa = and
ni'amal = Best
wakil = Guardian, Caregiver
Tawakkul is strength, nourishment, encouragement and sheer compassion from God
in the difficult part of his journey. The practice is the repeating the formula
both outwardly and inwardly with strength. The short version of this formula is
"Hasbun Allah" this means, "God is Enough." One has recite
it until one is engulfed by its truth that God is Really Enough.
The goal is to recognize our weakness as individuals and renew our strength
through the One from Whom comes all Strength, and thus also in every affair to
recognize God as the Mover and we're moved by God.
If we learned how to
entrust our affair to God the Most High, that would immediately prepare the
inner space of our being to transform into a tranquil garden of paradise. And
you can practice from today and experience it. It is God who took care of you
when you were in your Mother's womb, fed you with God's marvelous Grace, and
also fed you when you were unable to express even your own need for your
mother's milk, and it is the same Lord who is preserving you now, whether we
acknowledge it or fail to. It is giving back the trust to the One Who is worthy
of all trust is an important practice.
(4) Being grateful to God
If there is a single most important practice for psycho-spiritual well-being of
a human being it is his or her ability to appreciate, the ability to be
grateful. If a person could only contemplate on his own body, its mechanism, or
only a tiny aspect of let's say how our kidney works, how it is constantly
purifying the body in every single moment, or how the very tiny capillaries of
our body working constantly to reach oxygen supply and to take out undesired
carbon dioxide, one cannot help but marvel at the Most Marvelous One's
magnificent work. Yet, unfortunately our discourse in every branch of knowledge
has become discourse of covering up truth, covering up of So Much Magnificence.
The secret is this, the more we become genuinely grateful within our being, the
more our Heart attracts Divine grace. Divine love pours down like torrential
rain in proportion to the sincere gratefulness which flows from our heart,
gratefulness makes the heart attract more grace, more blessings, more abundance
of Divine peace and more rain of the Divine Grace.
According to the Sufis, "Shukr, giving thanks, is a knowledge and an
encouragement. It makes you aware of the source of your life and it reminds you
that God is the Answerer of prayers. Its first degree is thanks with the
tongue, which is dhikr. Its second degree is thanks with the whole body, which
is service to God both in the prescription adn in assisting Gods creatures. The
third degree is thanks with the Heart, which is thanks in the Presence of
Lordship, and recognition in the audience chamber."
The remembrance of shukr (gratefulness) therefore begin
with hamd, thanksgiving in every case. Al hamdu lillahi
wa-sh-shukrulillah.
The short formula is to say, "Alhamdulillah" which translate,
"Praise is for God." But to make it more relevant it is to simply
say, "Thank you God," "Thank you God for all the gifts you are
bestowing in every moment including this moment when You gave my heart the
capacity to remember You."
Like a wild horse which needs training before it lets a rider ride on it,
likewise everything needs training to master it. The Heart can be very heedless
and may run away with ten thousand things distracting it, so training it to be
grateful also requires practice. That's why the Spiritual Masters have asked to
repeat any of such sacred formulas so that by the very act of repeating, the
Heart is trained and the particular consciousness / quality is planted /
engraved on the Heart.
(5) Surrendering the totality and core of one's being to God
Each and every single atom surrenders to the Divine Commandment to carry out
its prescribed task in the very nature it is created for. Each galaxy surrenders
to the elegant laws of the universe as set by the Magnificent Creator. Every
tree grows according to the nature upon which it is commanded.
Human beings are made special, for they are given the capacity to recognize the
Lord consciously (and also granted freedom to not recognize or even deny) and
hence to surrender in free will. It is this very act of surrender which makes
human beings equal to the angels. The surrender to God is the core of every
faith, every teaching in every age.
The sacred formula of surrender is "La
ilaha illa Allah."
La = No
ilaha = God
illa = except
Allah = God, Allah, Almighty Lord,
Divine Incomparable
So the basic literal translation of it is "There is no god but One God,
the Divine Incomparable."
To repeat the sacred phrase "La ilaha illa Allah" is a very
meritorious act for it increase the faith, cures many unseen illness of the
Spiritual Heart, makes it recognize the Lord, and also stabilize one's essence.
When the phrase is repeated and one enters into its truth one will hear themselves
say this truth, "I am done with everything but You."
When the intensity of "La ilaha illa Allah" reaches its apex, one
repeats only its last part, "illa Allah" and when this is repeated
again and again and one enters into its truth levels, one will hear this truth
coming out from it as, "Only You."
To sum-up
Here are the practices once again:
1) Taking refuge in God
2) Receiving the all-encompassing embrace of the Infinite
3) Entrusting one's affairs to God
4) Being grateful to God
5) Surrendering the totality and core of one's being to God
--------------------------------------------------------
There are many paths to The One Path
---------------------------------------
God puts texture to everything
-------------------------------------------------
And a little humor:
Peace until next week, Bill Lagerstrom
