FOR ALL.
Dear Friends,
As you know, I have written two papers on the subject of Mindfulness, and now I want to complete the series with another short paper, with some ideas and observations which, I hope, will help you in your endeavours.
In what I have already written, I have, first of all printed a list of those things that one of the pupils really wants to learn, under the heading of “What does being in the Work mean for me?" I then stressed the need to really learn how to practise Mindfulness, stating that in no way would this practise separate us from the practises we already do, or the study of Rumi, Ibn'Arabi, and others. I said, "The practise of Mindfulness will help you in your daily lives, in your level of awareness and compassion, but practised regularly will help to "ground" all the studies you have worked with." It will help you to make sense of things. And it will surely increase your level of real compassion in a very remarkable way. In this practise, for example, we learn to observe, be aware, but without any judgement at all."
In other words, really practising Mindfulness can help us to see things as they really are, rather than having false opinions brought about by our own lack of knowledge, and identification with passing time.
In one letter from Europe I received recently the writer said: "Everything changed through becoming aware of Mindfulness, or contemplating with this attribute. Is this not an attribute of God and therefore hidden in us, to unfold when the time is right? I notice that life, prayer, breath, actions, words, almost everything you come in touch with becomes a different wonderful and precious taste when remembering Mindfulness..."
You will also remember that unless our intentions and motive are absolutely clear, there is always a danger that we fall into the trap of attempting to work with this practise for our own sake alone, rather than realising that it is about learning to become more awake in the present moment, and thus increasing our level of real compassion for all of God's creatures. It is not a practise for "self-development", but rather it is one step towards the dissolving of what is often called "The Little I" into the One Love of "I AM". Love is the heart beat of God.
Here is a Chinese saying by Chuang Tzu which illustrates so well what it could be like to just BE, and from that silence within, real decisions can be made and action taken. Remember the Sufi saying:
"A real Sufi is not allowed NOT to take action."
"You forget your feet when the shoes are comfortable. You forget your waist when the belt is comfortable. Understanding forgets right and wrong when the mind is comfortable. There is no change in what is inside, no following what is outside, when the adjustments to events is comfortable. You begin with what is comfortable and never experience what is uncomfortable when you know the comfort of forgetting what is comfortable."
Each of these readings, from the Chinese, or the Sufi tradition fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, when we are able to absorb the inner meaning in our own particular way. We always need to remember that each of us are individual manifestations of the Unity, and therefore there can always be subtle differences in each of our ways of understanding. Remembering this increases our respect for each other.
This saying is from a Hadith of the Prophet.
"God Almighty said: My servant draws nigh to Me with nothing more loved by Me than the acts of worship that I have enjoined upon him. My servant continues to try to draw near to Me with more devotion, until I love him. When I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, his feet on which he walks. When he asks Me for something, I will respond and when he takes refuge in Me, I will grant it to him..."
Finally, here are some words by Ibn'Arabi.
"When you realise the mystery of Oneness with the Divine, you will know that you are no other than God, and that you have always been and will always be beyond time and space. Then you will understand that all your actions are His actions, and your essence is His essence, and all your attributes belong to Him.
The soul then understands that it does not see God through itself but through God, so that it is not the soul which loves God but God who loves Himself. The soul sees God in all beings, but only because it is God who is looking. He is lover and beloved, seeker and sought." (tr.Timothy Freke)
What more is there to say? I pray that you will find benefit from these three papers. Please read them several times so that you can uncover the meanings within them. It is the bees which make honey, and they do so by absorbing and extracting the nectar of flowers. Each time we practise Mindfulness we are like the bees. Perhaps that is why, in the old Sufi tradition, pupils (who know) bring a pot of honey to the Teacher - a symbol of their understanding!
Reshad.
9th October, 2010.