Featured Articles

Selfless Striving

September's Theme. The mystics endeavor to make Him their companion in all their spiritual states, insofar as they are able. When God discerns that attitude in them, He is merciful by causing them to attend no longer to their own weakness or strength in whatever they undertake or leave aside. Muhammad’s faith community is therefore characterized by liberality and ease…. This facilitation of every situation is made possible only through the contemplative vision of which I have spoken. ~Ibn Abbad of Ronda

A Religion of Love, Not a Religion of Fear

Excerpts from a talk given by Shaikh Kabir at City Circle, Bloomsbury, London, Sept 2, 2015. Egoism is the great corrupter of all human endeavors, including, and tragically, religion. Any true spirituality should methodically lead to the reduction of egoism and self-righteousness. Egoism is the ultimate idolatry, or shirk in Quranic terms, because it places the human nafs in the center instead of God. The out-of-control nafs, engorged on its own self-righteousness, justifies acts of extreme aggression and ugliness. Swelling with insane pride, exulting in finding an outlet for its rage, it spreads fitna, tribulation, and breaks the hearts of the true Muslims.

The Simplicity We Trust

Late on Saturday night of the recent retreat, "The Alchemy of Character," Kabir gave this short talk about the essentials of the inner life. Within each human being is a witnessing silence, a space beyond thought and emotional reactions, and it is from this state that we can truly practice, worship, and attain communion with the Divine.

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Discussing Spiritual Bypass

At the recent San Francisco retreat, "The Alchemy of Character," Dr. Sara Winter spoke about the tendency to avoid ego development needs and the messier issues of our lives through spiritual bypass, i.e. a state of premature transcendence, trying to circumvent the developmental issues of the self in the name of spirituality. Unresolved emotional issues and wounds can sabotage spiritual practice, interfering with our meditation and zhikr.

RUMI ALIVE, THE NEW YEAR, Camille Adams Helminski

A talk by Camille from a weekend of “Rumi Alive” with friends gathering in Alabama in remembrance in 2007. It opens with Mevlana’s prayer offering from Book IV of the Mathnawi which seems a wonderful prayer to offer in remembrance as we begin a New Year.

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CYCLES OF WITNESSING, TREE OF LIFE, Camille Adams Helminski

My ancestry led back directly, I discovered, through Deacon John Dyer and his wife, Freelove Williams, and further back to such a strong woman of Spirit whose story I had never known—Mary Dyer, the only woman in the history of the United States of America to be martyred for religious freedom. It was 1660 when she was hung on Boston Common by the Puritans, for promoting freedom of religious conscience. She went to her death with joy, witnessing to Truth, determined to honor the freedom of each soul to discover and relate to the Truth as he or she felt moved by the “Inner Light.” She was a Quaker.

GRATITUDE, Kabir Helminski

We can be grateful for the possibilities of service that life presents us with. The more we serve the better we feel, especially about ourselves. The mature character does not need, nor expect, to be thanked by others. The chance to serve, which is so good for ourselves, is itself a gift and is its own reward. Maturity is to serve without any expectation, and to be grateful to simply be.

A Day with Nur Artiran

On a recent trip to Turkey led by Shaikh Kabir and Camille Helminski, our group was lucky enough to be invited to the Sefik Can Foundation, under the direction of Nur Artiran, one of Turkey's most respected spiritual teachers. It gave us a valuable insight into Sufism as practised by modern Mevlevis in Turkey.

Practical Sufism

Sufism is not only the sublime poetry of a Rumi; it is also how we relate to others, how we receive a guest. The work of Sufism is not primarily acquiring information; it is more about clearing the mirror of consciousness. As rich as the treasure of Sufi knowledge is (an immense intellectual heritage), most of us would not have been drawn to this path if we had not encountered its love embodied in human relationships.

A Collection on Writings on Fasting

The elect of the elect fast by examining their thoughts and preventing their innermost consciousness from paying attention to anything other than God. These are the people of poverty, and their capital and provisions for wayfaring on the path to God are nothingness. . . .