Mar 2015

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 do we have to develop it?

To say that someone “has character” means that he or she has taken some real steps toward becoming a true human being. To have character means to be fully formed; to have no character, or a bad character, is to be undeveloped in an unbalanced way. Just as a bodybuilder who builds certain muscle groups but not others is not really well developed, someone who develops his mind but not his feelings, or his will but not his mind, will be unbalanced. He will have flaws and weaknesses in his character.

So character is something we have to work on. But we need to develop it on the basis of who we really are as God made us. God “stamped” us with our true character before we were ever born; our job is to develop, to actualize, what God has stamped us with. Just as to “envelop” means to wrap something up, to “develop” means to unwrap something. Character development, then, is the process of unpacking what God has provided us for our journey through this world, and into the next. Various experiences in this life may stamp us and mold our character. But since all experiences ultimately come from God, everything we encounter in this life is part of God’s knowledge of the character He has stamped us with, in eternity, before we came into this world.

In Arabic the word for character, with the connotation of good character, is khuluq, which is related to the word khalq, creation. Character is the form in which God has created us; our responsibility is live up to it – to conform ourselves, in time, to the shape in which God has created us, in eternity.

~ Charles Upton, from The Book of Character, edited by Camille Helminski

March’s theme is: This is the work of the heart, not the work of the head. ~Shams

We welcome your reflections on this theme. Please email thresholdsociety@yahoo.com.

Integral Sufism: Living Tawhid (The Practice of Oneness)

Given what’s in today’s headlines, how can we awaken what is noble in the heart of our traditions and offer it to humanity? How can we return to the paradigm of Oneness that once created a spiritual civilization? How can we live it personally, in society, and spiritually? What shall we do with the oneness? Beyond all oppositional postures is the possibility of embodying grace and being the custodian of consciousness. We hope to share some inspiration and methods to achieve these ends.

Sunday 12th April, 12:30 to 6pm. Talk begins promptly at 1pm.
Christ Church Hall, Wanstead Place, London E11 2SW
Tickets: £25 Adults, £15 Concessions. Pay on the door.
We have limited capacity so we would ask you to please reserve your place via eventbrite to ensure you do not miss out: thresholdsociety.eventbrite.co.uk

Shaikh Kabir will also be offering an event for a different audience and context (Christian, psychology-oriented, a beginner’s talk on Sufism) at The Meditatio Centre in Islington on Saturday 11th April, but he considers the Wanstead talk a priority for Threshold friends.

The 99 Names of Allah

Chickpea Press are crowdfunding to help publish their new book, The 99 Names of Allah, an inspiring and colourful guide for younger readers, parents and teachers. Creatively introducing the Names that describe Allah, this book aims to engage the heart and illuminate the richness of Islamic spirituality.

This project fills such an obvious need, and does it so beautifully, one wonders why it hadn’t happened until now. Probably so that exactly these people would be the ones to do it. It provides an entry point into a spiritual Islam that every parent would like to give to their children, and illuminating their own understanding in the process. Inshallah, it will be recognized as a classic.

~ Shaikh Kabir Helminski

The crowdfunding bid finishes on March 22nd. Please share and support this work: igg.me/at/99NamesofAllah

Living Presence Workbooks

We have six copies of the Living Presence workbook available for people who wish to study the material in more detail. Please contact Hana if you would like a copy held for you to collect at the London zhikr: hanaiqbal@hotmail.com

Mevlevi Zhikr recording

Access the full Mevlevi zhikr recited by Shaikh Kabir and Shaikha Camille and support your daily practice. Listen online or download.