Reflection on July’s theme: Be cleansed of shallow idolatries; affirm the Real. Ya Haqq. Alhaqqah, Mal-haqqah, Wa Maa adraka mal haqqaqah. Oh the Laying-bare of the Truth. How awesome that laying-bare of the Truth. And what could make thee conceive what the laying bare of the truth will be? [Surah 69: Al Haqqah] As we [...]
Reflection on June’s theme: Patience is consent to the present moment; patience is crowned with faith. One way I have tried to practice consent to the present moment this month is to observe and resist my complaining. The word consent comes from the Latin ‘con’ meaning ‘together with’ and ‘sentire’ meaning ‘feeling’. So consent to [...]
Reflection on May’s theme: Leave opinions and blame; be an objective witness, and serve in love. Initially this made me reflect on our outer world which is beset with apparent conflict and untruths, and the question of how to meet these without being drawn into judgement and blame. I don't believe we are being asked [...]
Reflection on April’s theme: The natural state of the human being is worship. The human needs God as the garden needs spring. Whilst growing up I was told: ‘Worship Allah, for if you worship you will be rewarded entry into the gardens of heaven.’ So I worshipped for an end result and for a better [...]
Reflection on March’s theme: This is the work of the heart, not the work of the head. ~Shams What is the work of the heart? Wouldn’t I know, if I knew myself better? So I wrote down some of my qualities. As I wrote I saw so many positive things! I was filling pages with [...]
Reflection on February’s theme: Character is the spiritually infused balance of Love and Intelligence. A thing’s character is its essence, its true nature. Yet we talk about building human character, as if character were something that could develop over time. If our character is our true nature, isn’t it something we were born with? Why [...]
Reflection on January’s theme: Awakened Being is attention guided by the Heart in everyday life. Surely we are immersed in everyday life for a reason? But reason often appears when we stop searching for it. Rumi says, ‘If you are too careful, Love will not find you.’ Looking aside from the bright star we see [...]
Reflection on December’s theme: Freewill is the effort to thank God for His gifts. ~ Mevlana I imagined an ant… She lives amongst a colony of a million ants. One day she drifts away from the colony and becomes lost in the forest. Alone, she wanders. The wind pushes and pulls her; every path she [...]
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.
Reflection on November’s theme: Wash your hands of the cheap metals of existence like the mature, so that you may find the philosopher’s Stone of love and become gold yourself. Reflecting on this month’s theme is quite a painful experience for this one. Though it is my deep longing and aspiration to be in this [...]