Be That!

Stop Thinking !

Inhale,

Exhale,

and Realize 

You ARE the Will of God

So Be That!

Oh Light Bearer

Remember, oh lover of light,

When skies grow dark, every light shines brighter!

YOU are a light in the darkness,

shining like the Moon.

Zikar is never finished

 

Zikr is NOT finished, once we remember

For once we remember, Zikr becomes living presence.

How can we tire of drinking love's living rapture,

Where endless mysteries of lover and beloved are unveiled,

Like fresh water from an endless eternal Spring!

*Zikar is the sacred Sufi practice of Remembering the True Self.

No Longer Seeking God!

 

I no longer seek God, 

I know God is nothing other than what is unfolding this moment, in front of my eyes!

It may seem flawed, but in these flaws are hidden with perfection and purpose.

I no longer seek God for I know that I am this divine reality 

unfolding in each moment;

Given free will, and the divine power creation!

Oh my, what then should I do?

Well, don't think about it,

Listen, and then be true to what you hear.

Surrender is Joy

 

When surrender becomes joy, 

and joy becomes Grace,

We live every moment in gratitude,

And our Gratitude becomes our prayer,

arising from just being! 

Moth Light

 

What attracts the moth to the flame - Longing;

What draws the moth into the flame - Love!

 

 

The Cause of Union,

Moth and Flame,

Is the Moth’s yearning for the Flame,

and the Flame’s yearning for the Moth.

There's Always Time

There is always time

in the One, 

For there is no time,

As every time is this time, 

and this time is now.  

So never think it's too late!

Enlightenment #2

 

Enlightenment

Does not make you Holy,

It makes you Human!

To Be Human is knowing all beings are part of oneself, 

and to act accordingly! 

Hu = The All Pervading Consciousness (Shiva)

Ma = The Divine Mother or Goddess (Shakti)

N = instantiation

Human = The All Pervading Light Born in a Body

Every Ray of Light

 

Every ray of light

removes a veil

revealing Divine Presence.

Shadows only exist 

to bear witness to 

the Divine Light!

Enlightenment

It’s not a goal you can achieve - the more you try the more it fly's.

It’s not something you can buy or own - the more you pay the less you get.

You can’t fake it to make it, and if you say you are - you aren’t.

If you try to think it up - you will stink it up.

 

Yet, enlightenment is no mysterious thing.

It is a simple, persistent, heart felt sense of being One with others and all life,

Where the barriers of self-centeredness and veils of separation are thin.

Enlightened beings are not perfect, whatever that means;

They are fully human and happily embrace it;

They fall, but they know how to get back up.

They can be anyone, anywhere, at any time - you won't often recognize them;

When they speak, you don't much hear the words "I, Me, Mine"; 

They do not put themselves 'on a pedestal' - and shy away from self-assertion

and they will not announce themselves!

 

They are not distinguished by mysterious looks or books,

expositions of mystical doctrine, nor any particular religious garb.

Recognize them instead by their heart-light, 

their selfless service, their love of others -

by their simple humanity.

 

In their presence you are uplifted,

you feel light, love and inspiration, 

for they see and affirm your higher self, and

They seem to enjoy you, more than they enjoy themselves.

 

You will recognize the enlightened by a

joyful demeanor, loving presence, infectious optimism, 

and continuous consideration of others -

Nothing more, nor less than this!

New Perspectives

 

The resolution of polarities

will always bring a wholeness

from which new perspectives

may be Born!

Who is evolving?

 

It is not you

who are evolving;

It is the whole of Creation

that is evolving,

Of which you are a purpose-full part!

Evolution

 

Evolution is always moving

toward a greater awakening

of Unity within life.

Let Negativity Flow Past

 

When we react to negativity directed at us, is like throwing a boulder in the emotional stream of our consciousness - it creates turbulence. 

If we can remain still, open or expand our awareness to watch the negativity, without reacting, then the negativity becomes like dirty water in a stream flowing past. Once this happens, we can again see clearly, and act rather than react.

When we don't react, the full flow of Divine Presence can manifest in a situation - sometimes through us, at other times we are witnesses to it. When we witness in stillness, we help manifest whatever divine intent is meant to be.  

 

You can never die!

Oh thou, blessed one, child of Allah, made in that image and likeness, yet of your own unique expression…

Know that you have been made by God's Mercy and you will not be unmade; as a star you shine ceaselessly and are forever known by the knower of knowers (Ya Allah -Ya Khabir). You are ever evolving, burning, turning, creating (Ya Bari), and when your star being ceases shining its light outwardly in the manifest world, its light remains and goes on shining ever brighter in the inner world - it is mingled everlastingly in the fabric of manifested intelligences. So, your existence does never cease to exist, its shining turned but inward (Ya Batin), still participating in creation (Ya Khaliq) and birthing new existences (Ya Zahir – Ya Mawjud) - New souls, stars and universes. Ah, recognized or not, we Humans shine outwardly and inwardly as bright as any star in the universe of Allah’s being, and if perchance we think we lose this existence, nothing is lost except our separation.

Ibn al Arabi writes: “And most of those who [claim] to know Allah, make a ceasing of existence and the ceasing of that ceasing a condition of attaining the knowledge of Allah, and that is an error and a clear oversight.  For the knowledge of Allah does not presuppose the ceasing of existence nor the ceasing of that ceasing. For things have no existence [other than Allah], and what does not exist [separately] cannot cease to exist. For the ceasing to be implies the positing of existence [other than Allah] and that is polytheism.  So, if thou knoweth thyself without existence or ceasing to be, then though knowest God; and if not – then not.”

Knowledge & Knowing - the Mystics Perspective

There is a "Knowing" that comes from intuition, it is a non-cognitive cognition that arises in the heart when the light of the heart or soul is focused upon a certain need to know or when it asks a question.  This is direct apprehension of reality or of 'what is'.

"Knowledge" is the shadow of Knowing, coming from the attributes of objects or thoughts based on comparison of attributes.


An analogy of difference between 'Knowing' and 'Knowledge' is... if you imagine...
You are at a lake and you want to know what the water is like, so you ask someone who just came out of the lake, “Hey how's the water?"; the person replies, "Oh, the water is wonderful, its warm, refreshing, nice and cool!" This adds to your “Knowledge” bit not your "Knowing" of the Water; So to gain that "Knowing" you desire, you decide to go and jump into the water, immersing yourself in the water - and now you “Know”, withoug any doubt, what the water is like because you directly experienced it.

The Mystic seeks the Knowing of Truth or Reality not "knowledge". Knowledge may come from reading books or listening to lectures but this "Knowing", comes from Direct Experience, and this experience is gained from spiritual practice and meditation.

Who is a Light Bearer?

Who is a Light Bearer?

One who brings light into the world by any act of service, kindness, or self sacrifice for others... a smile on the street, a friendly gesture, picking up a stray piece of trash; giving or volunteering to help others; the sacrifice one makes for a spouse, child or neighbor; tolerance of others, then acceptance, then love; working for the greater good, protecting Mother Earth, teaching from the heart and asking nothing in return.

Light bearers may support other light bearers, near or far, by putting into the ethers heart felt blessings, or heart felt wishes of gratitude, respect and honor. This benefits both the giver and receiver!

Its Simply IDEAL

An ideal is a vision perfection we nurture and strive to attain.

When our ideal is shattered on the rocks of reality - it is only its limitation that is shattered, opening the door for us to find it again in a greater form.

An ideal is the means to growth, but its breaking is the means to evolution.

If your ideal is not shattered, you will never see what lies beyond it.

Make not an idol of your ideal!

Hazrat Inayat Khan wrote:

"The God-ideal is the flower of creation, and the realization of truth is its fragrance."

"In all directions of progress the ideal is the compass that shows the way."

"You must find your ideal in yourself; no ideal in life will prove lasting and true except the one you yourself make."

The Law of "Pratyaya" and Emotional Freedom or Imprisonment

We are like a magnet with two poles, a North pole and a South pole. These two poles can be compared to ones inner consciousness and ones outer consciousness or ones unlimited consciousness and limited consciousness. One part of our conscious reality is centered within the totality of all that exists and our whole being is linked with that reality; the other part or pole of our conscious reality is caught in a limited awareness of life. This limited awareness, which we use in everyday life (unless trained otherwise), results in limited mental-emotional expressions like: Fear, Jealousy, Greed, Depression, Anger, Sadness, Impatience, and Stress. And the continual practice of these limited mental-emotional habit patterns essentially orphans us from the unlimited pole of our awareness.

Thus in general, “Mankind, the great orphan” (orphaned from our unlimited consciousness), goes on and on practicing limited awareness - practicing every day at becoming more and more proficient at experiencing and expressing a only a very small portion of our own power, of our own consciousness, of own true being.

And one wonders, if we have such a great inner power why don’t we know it? Why have we put ourselves in bondage to these limited expressions of life, to the point where we feel powerless and defenseless to the onslaught of the circumstances of our everyday lives.

I will tell you – because we have engaged in kind of conditioned learning due to a law of consciousness that is called by Yogis “Pratyaya”. Pratyaya is nothing more than the principle that consciousness is like a mirror and whatever we focus upon (i.e. practice) we will manifest and grow in our consciousness, in our perception, in our feelings, in our thinking, in our actions.

But mystically, Pratyaya goes much deeper than this: Its like around every object that one perceives there is an energy field, a ‘Pratyaya’ that takes form, and as one looks upon that object one feels that energy field or Pratyaya - one feels the opinions of every previous person that looked upon or thought upon that object. If it were a picture of a loved one and you walked in and saw that picture there would be an energy field about it composed of the feelings of those that were close to that loved one, and, because of this very subtle ‘mirror nature of consciousness’, you would begin to feel and sense those other’s feelings and you would unconsciously respond to them. A similar example would be the case where someone walked up to you who was very depressed, or angry or tired and all of a sudden you also begin to feel tired, depressed, etc. by just being around them; or, on the other hand, someone who is very energetic and filled with love or vitality comes near you, and similarly you begin to feel their strength and you feel uplifted.

So, all beings are mirrors, mirrors not just to words that are said, but to the thoughts and especially the feelings of others, and most especially to the hearts of those one loves or anyone that one is closely interlinked or interrelated to.

Therefore, in life, ‘limited expressions beget limited expressions’ and unlimited or positive expressions beget unlimited or positive expressions’ – and the rule is ‘the stronger concentration wins’!  So let us strive to be stronger in our unlimited expressions in life than those who manifest these limited expressions - let us strive to manifest thoughts, feelings and actions that are positive, loving, generous, beneficial and compassionate, even in the face expressions of anger, hate, depression, etc.

Note: this is the first teaching my spiritual teacher, 

Amin Macko, gave to me.

I Was A Hidden Treasure

Let me share a creation story with you... In the lore of the Sufis there is a mystical saying:

"I was a hidden treasure and I longed to be known, so out of love I created the world that I might be known."

The “Hidden Treasure” is the Divine Reality awakened to its unlimited potentiality; but in this state, it was still an undifferentiated unity that could not see itself, and so it wondered: "How can I know what I am?" And then it knew! "In order to know myself I have to veil myself", to separate myself from myself!

Now this does not seem to make a lot of sense... that to know oneself one has to veil oneself - really? And indeed this raised yet another question… so again the Totality asked itself: "how can I do this, how do I veil myself?" And of course, being the Totality it immediately knew that it must manifest itself as “others”.

So, using the power of Ishq (love), it drew upon itself a veil, as the brides of old, whereupon immediately there arose the deepest longing and desire to reunite with itself!

And it is this very desire, this nostalgia, this seeking of the Totality to know what it is and where it came from, that manifested as the Universe and along with it the desire to be known; and within this great Universe, the ‘crown of its creation’ is the Human which is an embodied mirror of the Totality, a complete microcosm of that great Macrocosm.

And so it is  that we ourselves are a ‘Hidden Treasure that longs to be known’.  Everything we do is a progressive unveiling of this fundamental Truth of Creation, it cannot be otherwise as everything in existence is nothing but that Totality playing hide and seek with itself.