Older Themes

Hu means the intimate connection with the Divine Presence that can be found within every human being. The practice of Sufism is meant to lead us to this intimate connection, to knowing the immanent, abiding support of Allah. The very first step in making this connection is relaxation. In some Sufi schools the student is led through a precise, detailed visiting of different parts of the body in order to deepen relaxation. But this is only the beginning. Eventually we must relax from the emotional and mental tensions we carry. We must consciously relax by releasing any resentment, anxiety, or fear. We must even look at the unnecessary burden of guilt or shame we are carrying. If we need to be forgiven for something, if we need help in overcoming a weakness or a sin, we ask for forgiveness and strength, and then we relax into trusting Allah. Relaxation, of course, does not imply passivity or self-satisfaction. Relaxation, ultimately can bring more energy, hope, and remembrance as we come to know that we are connected to an infinite and abundant Source. Relax into the Remembrance of Hu.

Ours is a religion of love. If we accept this simple premise, then we can accept that we are to become an expression of the Divine Love. This love is not preferential; it does not withold itself from people who may be veiled from love. The preferential ego may find this difficult to accept and put into practice. How will the world become a place where love is lived, if we do not express the Divine love to all beings? If we become love, the beloved is everywhere.

Shams says, "All your problems come from reading your own letter all the time, and not listening to the melody of the darling." When muttering "I" or "me" at the door of the beloved, we only remain outside.

Every time we wash ourselves, let us also reflect on the inner cleansing, which is to wash the heart of petty desires. Gaibi, a Melami poet, says: May I neither be proud of my worship, nor pleased with my wisdom. May I be freed of all my petty desires. Let no heart be hurt because of me.

interconnectedness of life casey kotas Threshold Society Theme for November 1996 In the name of God, the Infinitely Compassionate and Merciful O you who have attained to faith, when you go forth in God's [...]

God offers a parable: A person who belongs to many partners who are at variance with each other and a person loyal to one master are these two equal? Alhamdulillah! But most of them have no knowledge. Qur'an, Az-Zumar, 39:29

The purpose of presence is to allow us to listen to the Heart with enough continuity that we can hear its subtle guidance when it comes. Reason, although insufficient alone, may help us to confirm the guidance of the Heart. We are learning to perceive more sensitively from the Heart, to overcome doubt, uncertainty, and fickleness. Objective Faith is certainty of the Heart.

Threshold Society Theme for July and August, 1996 "The self-righteous person finds fault with the world and spreads fire in the name of religion. The religion of lovers is an inner fire which spreads only [...]

A bird flies to its nest by means of wings: the wings of the human being are aspiration. In the case of the lover who is soiled with good and evil, don't pay attention to the good and evil, pay attention to the aspiration.

The Law, by which we mean any true religion or ethical system, will set some limits on the ego's cravings, while giving the self its due. The self has a right to healthy and unselfish pleasures, but it does not have the right to take from others, either through power or deception, in order to gain its own advantage or satisfy itself. This is the teaching of all real religions, and it is the essential foundation upon which the next stage of human development depends.

We are embodied spirits--spiritual beings imprisoned or enshrined in bodies of flesh. We can make the mistake of paying too much attention to the desires and needs of the body. Then our spirits weaken and shrink. And we can make the mistake of hating our bodies, of denying our bodiliness in the name of some notion of spirituality. Then we live incomplete and unhealthy lives. Neither of these are the way of Sufism.

We live in a culture preoccupied with materialism and amusement, with compulsive consumption and drudgery, with busyness and speed, with cynicism and individualism. We live in a culture that has lost its bearings and knows it, but does not know in which direction to turn. We all sense the loss of soul, the loss of an inner direction, and we are swimming against a tide of unconsciousness. Psychologically we are searching for antidotes to our numbness, loneliness, and depression. To ignore these conditions of modern life is only a form of denial.