Healing the Dissatisfied Mind

The mind is always searching. For the most part it does not know what it is searching for, so will grasp at anything that attracts its attention. Such is the learning process. But its quest is for satisfaction. It is endlessly searching for satisfaction; for something that will satisfy it. It tries to define the object of its quest with words such as Truth, Love, God, Reality. But these imprecise definitions leave it with the continued enigma of “What IS Truth, Love, God, Reality?” It knows not what it is seeking, yet continues its unending search. This mental preoccupation distracts one from the healing perception that becomes available when the mind is at peace. So satisfying the mind, bringing it to a state of peace, is the primary requisite to healing the body since the body is a manifestation of the state of one’s mind. A body in conflict is the result of a mind in conflict, a dissatisfied mind.

We have it on prophetic authority that there are only two states of mind. There is the state of the mind that is at peace with God – and that is Heaven, and the state of the mind in conflict with itself that manifest aggressively toward others, which is war, and that is Hell.

Peace is not attained by the resolution of conflict. That is tantamount to “winning” the war. Peace of mind can only be attained by finding that which satisfies, and brings Peace to the mind.

We need to know what it is that we need to know. What will bring unending satisfaction to the mind, allowing the body to be free of occupation that it may perceive what it is created to perceive – Love, Peace, Ease, Grace, Constructive creativity, honor understanding, knowledge and the wisdom to apply it effectively.

What brings satisfaction to the mind is knowing what we need to know. Not necessarily knowing all of it, but understanding that the topic exists and the knowing of its details is a matter of study. So we need to be informed of what it is we need to know, and the mere knowing of this will bring a satisfaction without further enigma.

Our innate quest is for knowledge. And what we need to know is Knowledge of God. Focusing on expanding our Knowledge of God brings peace to the mind and frees the body to perceive its heavenly existence and adjust itself to that, thereby relinquishing its hold on the physical difficulties that were caused during the life of confusion and conflict.

A Note to Students

The more I study and practice, the more amazed I become at the integral relationship between trauma and physical difficulty. Even so-called 'systemic' illnesses are at least ameliorated by astute psychological conversation oriented toward the discovery of unconscious emotional reactivity, and at best they can be completely relieved and abolished forever.

Do you find it hard to believe that simple conversation can relieve pain and physical affliction?

Traumatic events leave a forcefully imprinted belief on the victim's psychological makeup. That belief will be faithfully relied upon as true and automatically and unquestioningly acted upon accordingly. It will not be questioned or re investigated until sufficient pressure builds that its consequences can no longer be borne or ignored. At this point a skilled and experienced self-investigator may have an opportunity to bring into question the underlying incorrect assumptions that are at the root of the problem.

This is not the kind of work that can be done alone. The reason for this is that the conflict of interest is too great. One the one hand the patient wants to uncover the root motivations of aberrant behavior, and on the other he believes them to be real and protects them - as he believes they protect him - with all his fearful heart.

This investigation into the physical and emotional impedances to a free and fulfilled life has been my life work for over 40 years, and I dare say I've become reasonably adept at it. If you feel you've lost touch in some way with your freedom, health and happiness, consider accepting my services for an in-troductory period of time. For further information, just call. My counseling is free of religious persuasion yet fully reliant upon the universal truths reflected by all religions and spiritual paths.

It's a shame that so few people know ‘how’ to believe in God, since proper application of principle increases benefit. Everyone thinks they know 'what' they believe (or not).  Everyone can objectify. But fear keeps people away from the subjective experience. Ask people what they are afraid of and it will ultimately come down to 'themselves'.

Nothing is easier to satisfy than the true self, for the true self is created in God’s image for the very purpose of experiencing and reflecting a happy, trustful existence, and manifesting their gratitude in the form of praise for God. Find your true self and you will find abundant satisfaction. Satisfaction can be enormously increased by paying attention to what really experiences it. This is the secret to life and healing. Find the source of healing (your true self) and apply it to what gets healed (yourself). Pay attention to your true self and your satisfaction will increase exponentially. Exponential increase in satisfaction leads to contentment and success. A solid and confirmed inner connection is the key to every success.

The Unabashed Believer

How can I be asked to deny my experience? With my 72nd B'day on Aug 24, 2013, and having fasted the Holy and Blessed month of Ramadan for 44 years, having been in the Sufi way for equally as long and had the honor, pleasure and enlightenment of knowing, sitting with and studying for lengthy periods of time under several of the great contemporary Sufi masters of the time, How am I not going to explain the quick and easy benefits of a simple yet accurate belief?

So the topic of this discourse is "Understanding Salvation and Living your Life in Heaven".

It is incomprehensible how many veils can be ripped aside by true dedication to a well guided practice. I've written elsewhere that the practice becomes simpler and clearer to explain as one continues with dedication on the path of practicing it.

The reality is that it is right in front of us and soooo close as to make it invisible to the naked eye. Scientific observation, which is what the ego/temporary self believes to be the reality, can't touch it. But the scientific mind in its highest manifestation, can conceive it, and this is where science and true spirituality converge.

It is our purpose to align our belief with Truth, which should be teachable as "The True Faith". (Refer to the section of Surrenderworks.com called "Tannisho", to see how the Buddhist Sect of Shinran handles this form of definition. [It's really quite stunning.])

Belief is an action. Sincerity is its power, and practice is its manifestation. This is for the student, and we all are. Faith is an object, a teaching. Accuracy is its only hallmark, for the teaching must come from and lead to the desired result, and that can only be determined and guaranteed by the results of it as seen on the teacher (who must, by default, be the result of its practice.)

Yes, there can be and are many false 'faiths'. But not throwing the b... you know - the possibility, nay, the certainty exists that there can and must be a true one. Now I'm not talking about or referring to any dogma at all - not Christian, not Muslim, not Buddhist. Want that? Go anywhere else. But I AM talking about an experiential reality, acclaimed in and by ALL religions and spiritual teachings as being the ultimate goal and destiny of all sincere practice in the search for truth - an experience from which one can understand the simplicity of the practice after having worked through all the complexities and having resolved all the confusion. That's where I'd like to come from in my explanation of the simplicity of Salvation (understanding its concept, practice and reality), and Living the Heavenly Life.

Belief in God

The difference between believers and disbelievers is this: believers ascribe consciousness to what science has proved already exists – nothing.

But what is consciousness?

Divine Science: The Attributes of Consciousness

Consciousness implies Life.

The attributes of consciousness are listed in Sufi lore as “Sifatu-Dhat”, or, the Qualities of Essence. These Essential Qualities are distinct in that they are Inherent and Necessary. They are not actions, and not attributes. Actions require an object and attributes require an attributer as descriptions require a describer. Qualities require neither and are inherent and necessary to consciousness. Their aggregate is what comprises consciousness.

There is a singular quality and some multiple qualities.

The singular Quality of Consciousness is the Necessity of Existence. `Ibn al-`Arabi calls it “Wajib ul-Wujud’, or “the Necessity of the Existence of God.”

And this is the major sticking point between those who ascribe consciousness to the Void in which all of existence exists, and those who do not. It is an interesting difference since it indicates the over or under use of the separate and different hemispheres of the brain. The deniers of Consciousness are locked, for the most part, in the rational portion of their minds, and are very mistrustful of intuition, if they recognize its existence at all. Since intuition must be cognizant of consciousness as the source of its inspirations, it must necessarily recognize its existence. These are believers, even if only somewhat. And there are stages of recognition.

After the acceptance of the existence of a Greater Consciousness, one can deduce the classical seven necessary and inherent Abilities. They are: Life, Knowledge, Will, Power, Speech, Hearing and Sight. These qualities exist inherent in consciousness independent of Its attribute or actions. They do not need to be used to be deduced as inherent without manifestation.

Consciousness must be alive. And it has a life of its own independent of anything it chooses to imagine of create. It must be Able to Conceive, Create, Act, Communicate and Respond.

The composite of these infinite abilities of an infinite consciousness is referred to as God (Al-llah) -The One. The Unique and Only possible singular owner of the qualities of Infinite Consciousness. And those who believe this have the distinct advantage when it comes to the development of the more intuitive and right-minded sciences such as love, compassion and understanding, as well as an expanded capacity for learning and implementing the left brained sciences of measurement. In other words, their intelligence is liberated from fear and the need for narrow-minded thinking and functioning on many more levels.

Truly guided religious science, often referred to as spirituality, is as profound as it can possibly be, and leads to a deeper understanding of how the world works which creates an opportunity for the believers and practitioners in this science to benefit from their understanding. One of the many things they like to do and excel at is the facilitation of these openings to success in others. These opportunities and understandings are called blessings and the key to their increase is found in their proper utilization. We are informed by Consciousness that Gratitude is the key to increase. “If you are grateful, I will give you more.” It’s only logical if you will give it just a moment of thought. And what is the proper way to manifest gratitude? Gratitude is simply “Doing what you can with what you’ve got.” Using the blessings as they were intended will bring the proper results, which is always a benefit to the believer.

The Benefits of Spiritual Fulfillment

Spiritual fulfillment is important because of the contentment and satisfaction that it brings, but there are other benefits as well. Contentment brings with it the capacity for a peace of mind which allows for truly constructive creative thinking. Great works of art and invention, as well as intellectual and artistic discovery come from the creative thinking capacity brought about by peace of mind. Important matters being resolved, one can get down to the art of living.

But even more significant is the actual experience and recognition of true satisfaction. Recognizing true satisfaction is important because of its usefulness in determining the truth of any matter at hand because truth and reality bring true satisfaction. In other words, if you are looking for truth, then know that truth satisfies. But if we are incapable of experiencing or eve recognizing true satisfaction, then by what other means are we to determine truth? If however we have the experience of true satisfaction as determined by the completion of a quest - a course of investigation and learning designed to bring about the experience of true satisfaction through the experience of fulfillment gained by a complete spiritual realization - then we can recognize that satisfaction wherever and whenever we experience it. This is what some folks refer to as their ‘truth meter’. If something heard, thought or discovered resonates with an already determined experience of true satisfaction, then it meets the requirement and satisfies the curiosity or quest that brought it about. After all, satisfaction is the goal of every quest.

The discovery of a spiritual teacher, for example, let us say the acceptance of a spiritual teacher, is based upon the experience of satisfaction one receives upon being in his or her presence or listening to his or her speech. If such presence or speech is based upon promises to be fulfilled later then there is room for suspicion that one is being deceived, for the satisfaction is not complete in the moment but based in the future dependent upon actions or cooperation. But if one experiences direct satisfaction, and can recognize the feeling of true satisfaction, then one can surmise that what one is hearing is truth. So, understanding the experience of true satisfaction becomes the gauge, so to speak, of one's capacity to recognize truth. And this experience of true satisfaction can only be certified by the completion of a tried and true course of study aimed at bringing about that satisfaction. Hence the quest for spiritual realization.

If you are faced on a journey with a fork in the road and a decision must be made as to the left or the right fork, a contemplative experienced in the knowledge of satisfaction will simply 'feel' into it to see which thought, left or right, brings the desired continuation of satisfaction and will choose that. One choice will feel right and the other less so or completely wrong. But if one's life is based upon conjecture, speculation, imagination and guesswork, one will not have the tool of unerring guidance at one's disposal and the fork in the road becomes a fifty-fifty chance without any sense of certainty.

So the ability to recognize satisfaction is the experience that guides one to the truth of a matter, and the absence of that knowledge leaves one guessing.

Spiritual Fulfillment: The Goal of Surrender

The goal of Surrender is to know and live in the Reality of God– that we may know and perceive the Divinity of life with our every breath and action. To live in our reality as it truly is - guided, knowing and surrendered to Divine Will - and to carry none of the illusions of separation and independent self-hood any more at all. Total Surrender to God is the true Spiritual Liberation. It is to be free of the compulsions of our comparative, competitive egoic delusion, and surrendered completely to the reality of our true existence in Al-llah! It is to walk through the veils, to be oblivious to ourselves and aware only of our life in God.

This Realization begins with envisionment, or ideation. `Ibn al-`Arabi wrote a whole treatise on the use of our imaginations as a means of approach to reality. We really do have to see it, and we really can. It is reported that Imam Ali, when asked if he could see God, replied: “Would I worship a God I could not see?”

So how do we go about seeing the reality of God? We do that through the exercise of our belief. Yes. Exercise - Practice Believing. After all - we are commanded to believe. Belief is not an accident as most people seem to think. It is a conscious choice. What we believe, we will see.

Islam is a reality on so many different levels. Firstly, it exists. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, want it or not, love it or not, whatever. It’s there, and it is not going away! Secondly, it’s an enigma to some and a revelation to others.

Thirdly, since every word is an indicator, a summary definition of some reality, we might well ask, what is the reality behind this word, Islam? Its ultimate practice is surrender. And what is the goal of surrender, and by extension, the reality of Islam? Here is the meat of the matter.

As stated previously, the goal of Surrender is to know and live in the Reality of God. So Surrender is the key to the gates of God’s own Heaven. This is a reality that can only be realized through practice. And practice consist – as defined in Qur`an – of belief and doing good works.

And concerning that, Imam `Ali has said about Islam: “Have you fully realized what Islam is? It is indeed a religion founded on truth. It is such a fountainhead of learning that several streams of wisdom and knowledge flow from it. It is such a lamp that several lamps will be lighted from it. It is a lofty beacon illuminating the path of Allah. It is such a set of principles and beliefs that will satisfy every seeker of truth and reality. Know you all that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for the attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standard of His obedience. He has favored it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undeniable wisdom, undoubtable arguments and unchallengeable supremacy. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and beliefs, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.''

Amir al-mu'mineen, peace be upon him, said: “This world is a place for transit, not a place to stay. The people herein are of two categories. One is the man who sold away his soul for the sake of his passions and thus became ruined, and the other is the man who redeemed himself by control of his passions and thus became free.

“There are two kinds of workers in the world. One is a person who works in this world for this world and his work of this world keeps him unmindful of the next world. He is afraid of destitution for those he will leave behind but feels himself safe about it. So, he spends his life after the good of others. The other is one who works in this world for what is to come hereafter, and he secures his share of the world without effort. Thus, he gets both the benefits together and becomes the owner of both the houses together. In this way, he is prestigious before Allah. If he asks of Allah anything it is not denied him.

“I wonder at the miser who is speeding toward the very destitution from which he wants to run away and misses the very ease of life which he covets. Consequently, he passes his life in this world like a destitute, but will have to render an account for it in the next world like the rich.”

Seeing through the Illusion of Money and Power

A note to the desperate reader –

In your desperation you might ask, with considerable epithet, how the f*&^ reading a treatise on metaphysics is going to help you out of your situation and into a better life when all you really need is some money – just a wee tad of charity would do.  Well, not unlike you, many others are also in the same situation of having no money, so you might think that these people cannot be of any use to you. But consider the difference between having no money and facing fear and destitution, and having no money but having everything one needs and therefore no use or need for money. Considering that deeply should lead you to the oft-repeated conclusion that money isn’t everything. In fact, it isn’t even something. It’s a concept associated with power, and some power is necessary in order to better one’s life. But even power does not come from money, for money without clear thinking is quickly vaporized, and one’s situation of desperation is never lessened. So where does power come from? Ultimately it comes from God. So why don’t we pray to God for power and not for money? Isn’t it obvious that with power we can get money but money without power is never well spent and often leads only to deeper problems? So let’s stop the incorrect practice of idolizing money. We do not pray to God for money. That would be stupidity displaying itself, and it rarely works except in some special cases. What we DO pray for is power, or the knowledge of how to earn some money (or get by without it). 

Power is easily accessible with a few mental deviations from normal desperation thinking. First, we must stop. Stopping is by no means easy, so we have to understand why it’s important or we will not devote the time and energy to its mastery. Stopping is more difficult than we think because we have learned to believe that only through persistence, even in stupidity and without any recognizably successful plan whatsoever, will our goal of obtaining money without offering anything in exchange be accomplished. So with that belief firmly in mind, the idea of stopping seems like total disaster.

Why stopping is important

Nevertheless, in order to board the train to a peaceful benevolent existence on this planet, one must first be able to leave the disaster express, and it’s hard to jump off if it is not stopped. So stop it we must. This just means taking a moment or two to breathe, to calm the excitement that feels like normal life to us, and allow ourselves to relax just enough to feel ourselves once again. The depth to which one must do this is equal to the distance one has created from one’s soul through misdirected action. The soul is the recipient of power and wisdom from the divine. The self, that mortal part of us that is susceptible to fear, anguish and mistake, must be in a state of communication with the soul in order to receive enlightened inspiration and be able to act upon it in peace. This is why the great martial arts masters emphasize stillness even in the pitch of battle. This is why the masters of successful living such as the Sufis emphasize that the key to success is realization and the key to realization is self-control. If your self is running away with you that’s exactly what it is doing, running though the dark and scary streets in fear and desperation. And unless that is exactly what is happening to you, if you are actually sitting for the moment in some place of at least temporary safety like your home, then for the moment that fear is only a fearful projection and not a reality, no matter how imminent you may believe it to be. The resolution is not to be found in further fearful thinking but in the very calmness and peaceful living that you strive for. So learn to stop fearful desperate thinking and replace it with calmness and peace. Then you will have at least a fighting chance.

Stopping is the fifth branch of eight in the Ashtanga Yoga system, and is the essential prerequisite to the expected success of the remaining three. These last three are the time-tested and honored disciplines of the system of spiritual accomplishment practiced by yogis and other success-oriented practitioners the world over. They can and have been practiced, once learned and understood, in any circumstance, even the most depraved, such as imprisonment or starvation. So it is important that their understanding is embedded deeply in your soul. The word yoga means communion. It is the highly sought state of total immersion in the reality of ourselves and proportionately related to the extinction of our fears. It is the end of the lower self’s domination resulting in its total extinction with only the reality of truth remaining. These are the equivalents to the fana and baqa taught about in Sufi lore. These practices becomes easier once our resistances are recognized and overcome, because it is actually Divine will anyway and our ultimate destiny that they be accomplished. That’s why the only thing we are required to do is surrender, after which nature, under an overarching divine influence, will take its course.

Without the willingness to see through the illusion of money and power - and by that I mean seeing it for what it really is instead of looking to it as a means of salvation - it will be impossible to attain to the life of your dreams. This is because as long as you believe in the illusion of money and power you will be believing falsely, making an idol and questing for the unattainable. It will always be escaping your grasp, just as this concept seems to be uninteresting to you because you think you know it already and it’s not what you want to hear because it will not help you to obtain what you are looking for as your means of salvation. It’s a worthless quest, and I’m sure you disagree. But indulge me. Even those who have money and power live in constant fear of losing it.

So there is the hurdle to overcome. Without that willingness it is pointless to read further into this work, because it’s all about living in truth, which is impossible so long as one insists on living in falsehood also.

As long as you keep holding onto the impossible falsehood of “if only I had some money, if only I had some power”, you will never attain to the truth that will set you free.

And this discourse is all about that truth.

Look at your life so far. If you are still singing that “I’m poor, I’m poor; well it’s true, isn’t it; and don’t try to convince me otherwise with the foolishness of your positive thinking and prosperity consciousness; reality is reality” mantra, I have only one question for you. “How’s it working for you so far?”

Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said “one cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it? “

Knowing what really matters

Think about it. Money is NOT what you really want - as an item alone it really is quite worthless. Its purported value is in what one has that earns it and what one spends it on. Think about the things that you really want and give up the useless quest for the useless. Money is only a medium of exchange, valueless in and of itself. Understanding the human qualities that actually earn money you will find that lowest on the list of priorities is money itself. None of the people who have plenty actually value money except for its usefulness as a medium of exchange. What is really taking place is the offering of some service or good in exchange for some other service or good of a perceived greater material usefulness.

Think about this final analysis because it is the key to understanding wealth and contentment.
 
Continuing to say “I have not” is not only a waste of time, it is totally self-defeating. Why would one want to cling to such a mindset? There is only one logical answer: revenge; to get back at someone; to show them the wrong of the harm they have done; to cause harm to another through causing harm to oneself.

The fundamental premise of prosperity is gratitude. In all divine scriptures the Benevolent Unity says to mankind that gratitude is the key to increase. How does that work, you ask? A functioning definition of Gratitude is “doing what you can with what you’ve got.” So to make that work you must take stock of what you’ve got, and you cannot do that while singing the old mantra about what you believe you do not have and what you want. So that mantra of death must be recognized for what it is and jettisoned from our repertoire of stories to tell. Once it is clear what is to be avoided, it becomes easier to focus on what needs to be done. And that is… 

We MUST take stock of our assets, spiritual mental emotional and physical. 

Attention is energy. As we begin to pay more attention to our assets and none to our shortcomings, they begin to increase in value - they take on hitherto unrecognized value. Remember, money is what one receives for something of value if one chooses to offer it in exchange. Bartering directly for the good desired from the money is also a means to attainment of the good. But the second aspect of the one who dreams for a living is to be actually aware of the good, material or otherwise, that one wishes in exchange for the money acquired.

In my case I can actually say that money has never been of interest to me and that’s why I rarely have any. But I can also say that I have all that I need. Knowing what the necessities of life really are (not money) and that these necessities will never not be there (as a promise from God) goes a long way to relieving the anxieties that cloud the rational thinking necessary to evaluate oneself in a divine light, thereby seeing the items of value that truly are in one’s possession and at one’s disposal for barter.

Another principle is: “If you can express your unfulfilled desire, you shall have it.” So knowing the reality of what you really want is important, because: “Ask and ye shall receive”.

Creating from Nothing

The first step to creating from nothing is writing. This bring concept into form. Metaphysics is literally the process by which concept is transmuted into form. And the preliminary effort needed is to write about it. How many metaphysicians do you know who do not write? Is not writing their primary form of conveying their teaching? And is not their teaching on the subject of metaphysics, the creating of something from nothing? And isn’t the degree of their success in that practice relative to the amount or quality of writing they do? 

One can almost say that if the subject of metaphysics is pure imagination then it is successful to the degree that the practitioner writes about it. Even science fiction writers are writing from their imagination, entertaining millions and being paid very well for it. Why is it that people do not want facts but in fact prefer fiction?

One can literally write one’s own future. Take for example the subject of metaphysics. The very subject, because of its inherent mystery, is of interest to almost everyone. Particularly when it is defined as the process by which personal wealth is created from nothing. The creation of something from nothing has been the subject of many a failed quest due to a failure of understanding. But with the proper understanding it becomes a source of immediately available funds leading to a definitive increase in personal wealth. All materiality is wealth. Everything created by man existed first as a concept of personal prosperity. Created for the benefit of all humanity, it must necessarily benefit also the one who brought it into existence. That which was found to be of no use was discarded in favor of that which was better.

There is no doubt that personal advancement in the form of increased wealth is one of the things foremost on a man’s mind. From that he sees himself as capable of having all the things that are desirable to make one’s life whole, complete and loving. There may indeed be subconscious doubts, suspicions and aversions to the various means men use to attain such a state of well-being, but if the means were purified of all association with repugnance, few men would turn down the opportunity to enhance their personal wealth. Metaphysics provides not only the answer but the means. As a matter of fact, metaphysics, being by definition the creation of personal wealth from nothing, is the only means by which a man can claim that his personal wealth was earned both legitimately and by himself alone. Compare it to a Science fiction writer whose wealth is produced from the brilliance of his own imagination, which becomes more brilliant and imaginative the more he uses it.

Turning to the writing of metaphysical discourse has been the last resort of many a penurious man and woman. And indeed it proved that when all else failed, the passing on of imaginative metaphysics became the very source of lucre that one needed in order to maintain. Well, indeed. If the practice of metaphysics is the creation of personal wealth from absolutely nothing, then it works. And if it works, it is well worth writing about and passing on to others interested in become inspired to some rather unconventional means to increased prosperity. Not only that, but it behooves us all to look much further into the source of this transformative process, namely, ‘Nothing’. Shall we investigate ‘nothing’, as an object of investigation? Can it really be that this ‘nothing’ is indeed the primal source of all wealth and materiality?

What will the investigation into ‘nothing’ lead to? Is it really nothing? Is nothing really nothing?

The reality of metaphysics relies heavily on the concept of divinity - Divine Grace, if you will. Hardly a metaphysician exists who does not have as a foundation to his discourse a solidly confirmed understanding of how God, or Divinity, works. And like many things, it only works for you if you actively believe in it.

So belief and legitimate prosperity go hand in hand, married inextricably to each other, down the lover’s lane. And that explains why there is so much failure in the world today. It could be nothing more than a deep inner aversion to the many means in use today for acquiring personal wealth – means that do not benefit but harm humanity. Wealth that is not legitimate but gained through the use of oppressive force can bring no lasting satisfaction and is only for the very short-sighted who are doomed by their own willingness to harm others for personal and very temporary gain. Are we working on our own or are we working in cohorts with power for the sake of personal gain?

So, the practice of metaphysics can only work if it is done in accordance with Divine Will. And that why there is so much failure and so much success.

So what IS Divine Will?

Divine Will is both absolute and relative. It is absolute in its absoluteness and relative in its relativity. This is absolute. There is no possible or conceivable manifestation that is not brought about by Divine Will. Even the impossibility of the impossible is Divine Will.

The temptation of illegitimate gain is by Divine Will. And the possibility of metaphysical profit is also Divine Will. The testing of mankind by good and evil is Divine Will. Is our affinity toward gain at any cost or is it toward human kindness.

Divine Will is benevolence, prosperity and happiness for all mankind. That some do not have it can be attributed to the malevolent intentions of others.

Writing brings concept into form. It is the materialization of ideas. If the ideas are at One with the Divine Will, then the writer will be the channel through which the idea manifests (materializes and reaches completion).

EMBODIMENT: Inhabiting the Body, Not the Mind

Embodiment is the Physical Perception of our Spiritual Reality

Embodiment is first and foremost the practice of and a means to self-realization. It is a multifaceted human capacity and in its identification, contemplation and achievement can be found the secret of health, and healing, spiritual rejuvenation in the form of ecstasy, happiness in the form of bliss, understanding in the form of satisfaction to the inquisitive mind, and a direct knowing of the knowledge of God.

Embodiment implies presence. In other words, you are nowhere else and fully present where you are. Presence is a reality, whether we realize it or not, and the realization of the truth and reality of this reality is the purpose of embodiment. Embodiment is the goal of the seeker, a truly magic elixir, and the resolution to most if not all questions. True embodiment is the essence of fulfillment; it is the fourth stage of the classical seven stages of perfection as described in many Sufi texts. It is not far. It is very near. Where else is our secret hiding if not in plain sight?

So what’s the problem? Why do we not realize it? It’s simply a matter of where we focus our consciousness – of what we choose to be aware or unaware.

Driven by our subconscious sense of dissatisfaction, we focus on what we believe will end it. And it's our dedication to this drive that keeps us mentally occupied. It's a classic fix-it mentality. Needing something to fix in order to justify our existence, we seek out any small dissatisfaction and devote ourselves to fixing it. We have been conditioned to believe that we have no right to be happy or satisfied without in some way having earned it. We believe that the root of our dissatisfaction lies in some deficiency in our actions. We’re always searching for something else - something more to do - and we never seem to know what it is. We choose to ignore or trivialize out innate happiness. We choose to forget that our dissatisfaction is merely the absence of a certain focus - the focus on our true nature and the inherent satisfaction within us.

Believing that our happiness comes from others, we have learned that the right way to remedy our dissatisfaction is to focus our attention off of ourselves and onto others, projecting in our minds some good coming to us from such a choice. This is the choice of “pleasing” rather than "healing". We learn it early on. It is our conditioned response to what we believe is the reality of life in this world, the illusion referred to in Qur`an and by Sufis as the “Hayyatu-Dunya”. Our act of being pleasing is the result of our conditioning and accepted as a necessity of life. We are rarely presented with any reasonable or viable alternatives, and when we are, such alternatives are considered preposterous and summarily dismissed. This rejection of alternative possibilities is also an integral part of our daily training and conditioning. It is referred to by Qur`an and Sufis as Kufr – rejection in the guise of disbelief.

Once having made the choice to focus our attention away from our selves and onto others, it is the nature of our so-call life in this world that it presents us with myriad endless distractions both pleasant and unpleasant in nature. It is the nature of this temporary world that its illusion overwhelms us. Dealing with it becomes our primary focus and eventually our only reality.

This temporary resting place is a world of education but it is not ‘the’ reality. Its purpose is to educate our souls in the power and beauty of God and in the nature of duality and the principles of cause and effect. It is a dwelling place for a time. Qur`an calls it “mata`un ila heen” - a place of rest for a while. It is a similitude of our True Reality, a likeness. Qur`an calls it a “mithal”, from the viewpoint of which our true reality is referred to as the “hereafter,” or “the life to come”. The purpose of this mortal existence is to provide our souls with a groundwork for social behavior, to learn aadab – the procedures of pleasant and fruitful interaction with others; to provide for us a framework for a truly heavenly life. Its purpose is to demonstrate to us the Realities of Our Lord and Creator. It is a world of rewards and punishments, of consequences, for it is truly this world of consequences in which and from which we gain our education.

There is a knowledge - a single knowing - the possession of which assures us a clear understanding of purpose and meaning in life. This assertion permeates openly or implied throughout all the teachings of all the times; its attainment is the underlying goal for the most profound quests throughout the history of humanity.

Embodiment was the goal of the ancient shaman healers whose innovative means were aimed at bringing the soul back into the body.

Embodiment is a requisite to self realization for it is through and only by means of physical perception that true realization or any benefit therefrom can occur. True self-perception as a goal is emphasized in the yoga sutras and paralleled with confirming verses from Qur`an and other scriptures. The ignorers of the message are they who harm themselves. The truly successful are those who realize the Truth. Who knows oneself knows ones Lord.

Embodiment is an integral part of realization. How can one be self-realized and not be present to one’s Truth? Embodiment both implies and necessitates feeling. This statement may seem obvious to the intellect, but the truth of the matter is that true feeling, no matter how much lip service or intellectual attention we may give to it, is still the most avoided faculty that the human creature possesses. If that were not the case the spiritual quest would not only be not so difficult, it could conceivably not exist in the realm of the necessary at all. After all, it is only our distraction from our true self that keeps us separate from our perfect realization.

Feeling is the physical agent of perception. Perception is our capacity to perceive, to know and be aware of all things, seen ans unseen, `alimul ghaibi wa shahadah.

Have you ever asked yourself why we are so ignorant of God that we have need for a so-called spiritual quest at all when God himself created us to know him? Many of the Masters have said that the quest itself is a part of the problem in that our determination to the path distracts us from the realization of the Reality. Often the Buddhists pose the question “which comes first, the realization or the cessation of seeking?” It is also said that the goal is not found by seeking but only the seekers find it. Nevertheless, the work of the path continues as long as one shall live because the other maxim is also true that “before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water; After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.” The Masters all say that the work is hard, the journey long and difficult, and yet there never was nor will there ever be a moment in which the Reality of God is not immediately present, available and obvious. Its knowing is inherent within us. Will we not take heed? Allah asks “O mankind, what foolishness is it that distracts you from the mercy of your Lord?”

Isn’t this a puzzle? What is this body that we so fervently attempt to avoid, take for granted, and deny? Where are we when we are “not” present? Where IS this “somewhere else” that we conjure in order to avoid our own self-realization? Why is presence a matter of concern and some difficulty if there really is nowhere else we can be? It can only be due to our mental programming, our conditioned thinking.

Distinguishing Thinking from Feeling

Few people can clearly distinguish between thinking and feeling, often confusing the words and their meanings with one another. And most people nowadays would be hard put to recognize that there even is a difference - thinking that feeling is thinking and thinking is feeling, that one's thoughts are one's feelings and not recognizing true feeling until it hurts. So to aid in the understanding of the knowledge of embodiment, let me point out and emphasize what might not be so obvious.

Let us make note that there is a clear and palpable distinction between thinking and feeling. And take it as a matter of fact that the thinking after realization is clearly different from the thinking before.

I'm sure once you understand my point, that you'll agree. Thinking is not feeling. Thinking is a distraction from feeling. Thinking is an avoidance of feeling. There is a clear distinction between the two. One is not the other and only in unified being is there any real connection. One cannot think one feels. Feeling requires 100% of one’s attention. They are as different as night and day, as man and woman, as heart and mind. One cannot do both at the same time. We are either doing one or the other and the preponderance of favor and habit is on the side of thinking.

If we understand that thinking is nowhere near the realm of feeling, we can then understand why we do so much of it. It’s classic trauma psychology. We go into our minds when we need to escape from feeling. We then determine that feeling is exactly what we do NOT want to do and that’s why we habituate occupancy of our minds.

It is our avoidance of our selves by our insistence on thinking that causes endless tension and anxiety in the body. What would happen to us if we contemplate true feeling - the word, the meaning and the actuality of true feeling? Do we even know what it actually means? But without feeling there can be no sense of embodiment, and without embodiment, no sense of presence. And without presence no happiness, no understanding, and only death awaits us as a relief for our agonies. This again is why we are admonished to die before we die.

I’d like to summarize with a key point emphasized by Mr. Gurdjieff in his teaching after returning from his travels in search of  the Masters of Wisdom and alluded to by Sayyid Idries Shah it in his book “Learning How to Learn.”

Surrendering to feeling, surrendering to our being, causes relaxation accompanied by an increase in our perception of reality. This cannot be done by thinking, and it is the beginning of the cessation of thinking. It takes us out of the individual self and establishes us in the generic self. In true Surrender we are one with all and the Reality becomes apparent.

The Relationship of Embodiment to Selfless Service

As mentioned before, embodiment is necessary for the experience of self-fulfillment, in that one cannot realize self-fulfillment without being in the body that is fulfilled. Self-fulfillment is the fourth in the classical seven stages to perfection. In the terminology of the Sufis. It is called an-nafs al-mutmainna. But make no mistake. Fulfillment itself, although a requisite to realization, is not enough. It must also be maintained. Think about it. Once we realize ourselves, how are we to fend off the recurring and very demanding residual memories of our previous life, and the propensities of our ingrained habitual upbringing?

And the answer is, through Selfless Service; the only way out of this dilemma.

On the Necessity for Positive Action

The following of positive practices is absolutely essential to success in life for two reasons. The first is that positive action brings positive results, and the second is that positive action avoids negative results.

Truly positive action is often not something that we can discover or practice on our own because:
1. How many times have we set out on our own to achieve some good only to find that it ended in failure or worse?
2. It is not possible for us to lose our individuality by exercising it. Albert Einstein said it this way: “You cannot resolve a problem with the same mindset that caused it.” Selfless action, coming from the self, is not selfless.

How is it possible for us to set out for ourselves selfless service if the motivation to do so is itself selfishly inspired? Even the desire to be selfless is selfish. This dilemma can only be resolved by following in service to one who is him or herself firmly established on the right path. Then the fruit of our labor is no longer for personal benefit, and personal benefit is a motivation which is otherwise inescapable. This is why all true spiritual organizations, and especially among the Sufis, have a Master; a visible manifestation of the results of following that path. And masters wish only to share. Sheikh Din is reported to have said that he’s never met a true teacher who was not intent on sharing with his students the joy and satisfaction to be had from self-realization.

Some positive signs of positive action are: an intelligent and comprehensible rendition of a time-honored, tried and true teaching of classic values; a manifestation of positive results in the character and material surroundings of the teacher; and a body of students who are benefiting from and testifying to the results of their following. In Buddhism they say “Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.” We say “Path, Teacher and Students”. Wherever these three elements are found there is a good chance of benefit being received.

Tying it all together

The embodiment of spiritual and divine qualities is true self-enjoyment. It is the liberation from the selfish desire for fulfillment that keeps us distracted from experiencing the reality of what we desire. The embodiment of spiritual and divine qualities is exactly the fulfillment we are seeking. It is the only thing that will allow us to fully and undistractedly participate in selfless service. It is the Ridhwanu’llah and its realization is wished by Allah upon all good and righteous people. We pray for it upon us. It is the resolution to the personal and psychological hang-ups that keep us focused on the acquisition of pleasure rather than on the enjoyment of it, and it is our focus on acquisition that keeps us distracted from selfless service.

Since thinking and feeling are not capable of being engaged simultaneously, perception through embodiment means the end of thinking and the beginning of knowing, as in ma`rifatu'llah. Most of what is referred to by the mind as feeling is in reality only thinking. Perception through embodiment is generic and therefore universal, it can be felt by everyone, and therefore can know everything, whereas perception through the mind (as in my perception of a thing) is strictly individual and of no more universality than a personal opinion. Generic means inherent within the creation and not imposed or acquired though the experiences of life, like ethnicity, language, education and personal preferences.

So Note. All anyone wants is to feel good, to enjoy oneself and enjoy life. Embodiment is essential to self-enjoyment, and It is the absence of self-enjoyment that keeps us focused on its acquisition, and our focus on pleasurable acquisition is the cause of our distraction from the very things we seek, namely - true happiness, self-enjoyment and selfless service. This sense of absence is a remediable misunderstanding. It can be remedied because it it not real, it is a result of conditioning.

And one more thing - The Role of Physical Health

Physical health is important – and embodiment helps

Good health is the key to good feeling, and feeling ‘good’ is the key to good health. Here there is a double play on the word ‘good’. In the first case it refers to well-being, and in the second to the sense of good as opposed to bad, evil or guilty. There is no doubt that a great deal of what we experience as pain is either psychosomatic or emotional in nature. Mankind is the only species with the capacity to punish itself, to cause itself pain from a feeling of deserving it – from a feeling of guilt.

Feelings of guilt cause pain in any degree, and especially the deeply buried or subconsciously present ones. That’s why forgiveness is stressed in spiritual teachings as the strongest of healing agents. Forgiveness expunges guilt, and the guiltless feel no pain, they feel ‘good’ and therefore allow themselves the freedom from the need for self-punishment that gives them the liberation to be happy and be well. And there is no doubt that Happiness Heals  and that sadness, depression and sickness are caused by its absence.

Imagine the evil of the ancients who knew these sciences and went out of their way to suppress them and keep them hidden from mankind solely for the sake of causing suffering and subjugation.

It is the role of the shaytan to keep us from the freedom of true self-enjoyment. By splitting our minds from our selves, causing us to jump into the world of imagination (mind, khayal, maya), keeping us in the world of concern for survival, and far away from the benefits of divine pleasure to be had through the enjoyment of self-perception, trust and non-concern.

Even the mention of non-concern brings up the haunting images of scorn and derision - the voices that shout at us to be realistic, to get in touch with reality, to take responsibility for ourselves and the plight of others. But what do innocent children know of all this? Where will they learn it if not from us? All the forces of fear and coercion are brought to bear in the effort to teach us, to train us, to compel us to fear as the others fear, believe as the others believe. And why would these forces be so marshaled against us if not to overcome an equally strong and opposing force, the force of the individual God consciousness, the awareness that does not see the world as a place for concern, fear and coercion but sees it as a place of joy, happiness and love, and wishes only to express gratitude for the opportunity to express gratitude. And Allah says in Holy Qur`an “If are grateful I will give you more.”

The nature of love is that the whole of creation is created from play (not clay) - the joyful intercourse of two equal and opposite forces. Now realize that a child is created from self-enjoyment for the express purpose of self-enjoyment. From that comes the best of creative self-expression that makes the world such an interesting, educational and enjoyable experience. What else would a loving and benevolent God want for his creation? Hence the theory that the universe is created for God’s pleasure, at God’s pleasure and by God’s pleasure – that God may experience the maximum pleasure of His own existence. What else could it be?

So if God’s purpose is a heavenly existence and a heavenly existence is made manifest by self-enjoyment, just listen to the birds in spring, how could our purpose be any less?

The fulfillment of this purpose is primary on all our radars. Fundamentally, all anyone wants is to feel good. Even though abandoned and forgotten, this purpose takes permanent precedent over all other priorities. That’s why it’s fulfillment is crucial to the development of society, and that’s why the purpose of society is to create an optimal environment for its fulfillment. Any society or community with that as its goal is worthy of whole-hearted participation, for in following that goal we will not only hasten the fulfillment of our own purpose in life but do the best for humanity as a whole by exemplifying a project and direction of true value and benefit, worthy of our service, which can then, and only then, become truly selfless.

And Allah is the Best of Knowers.

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Miscellaneous Notes:

Abdul Hameed Almaas, a prominent Sufi Psychologist in Berkeley, California, said in one of his many books on the subject, “Development of character is time spent with essence.”

Speaking about the Khwajagan the other evening we mentioned a book written by J. G. Bennett, a contemporary of Mr. Gurdjieff, entitled The Masters of Wisdom, and in the sixth and ensuing chapters Mr. Bennett proffers his interesting and unique rendition of history during the time of the Khwajas, Khwaja is a Persian word meaning “possessor of great wisdom”. These Khwajagan were soon to be known as the Naqshbandi Sufi Chain of transmission which can be said to have found its origin in the advent of Islam but which is widely known, as he aptly points out, to have existed for generations before and is likely rooted in the ancient shamanistic perceptions such as purported in the Taoism of Lao Tzu.

A foundational precept of the Masters of Wisdom as stated by Khwaja Mahmood Faghnawi, a famous patriarch and Grand Master of the Khwajagan, is: "The removal of the undesirable must precede the acquisition of the desirable." This was directed against the deceptive belief that one can be filled with the spirit (of divine love) before one is emptied of self.

In studying the teachings of our path and its masters, the recommendations and requirements are strikingly similar to if not exactly the same as the teachings of the yoga masters - moral precepts, breath control, poise, focus, contemplation and realization - which teachings are also thoroughly canonized in the many books on the subject.

Our natural satisfaction is always with us even as God is always with us, and that God is always satisfied. And by the absence of satisfaction I mean the focus of our attention away from our satisfaction as if we have no right to it, and that is called distraction. And distraction is the work of the Shaytan; to distract us from the pleasure of God for which we can be rightfully grateful and with the attainment of which we are no longer distracted and we can do anything; and selfless service is no longer a big deal since it is really the only thing we can do that makes any sense any longer.

What distracts us is our previous commitment to determination; our habituation to self determination. I like to call it diagnosis and prescription. We self-diagnose, i.e determine for ourselves what is wrong, and self-prescribe, that is, determine for ourselves what we are going to do about it. It often sounds like “I’ll never do that again”, or, “I’ll remember to always be good, or kind to others, or watchful for signs of impending danger”.