This subject can be considered from three different points of view. In the first place, we consider our physical body, how it expresses all that it partakes of: food, drink, medicine. If a person has a grosser food it is expressed outwardly; if a person has a finer food, it is expressed outwardly; … [Read more...] about 5. The Interdependence of Life Within and Without (1)
4. Reincarnation (1)
People have often asked me: “What has the Sufi to say about reincarnation?” My silence at times, and “Yes” and “No” at times, has made it vague. Some perhaps thought that I did not believe in reincarnation, and that if I did not believe then the Sufis do not believe, naturally. This is not the case. … [Read more...] about 4. Reincarnation (1)
3. The Path of Initiation (1)
In the true sense of the word, initiation means, “taking an initiative” in a direction that is not generally understood by others. Therefore, initiation needs courage and the tendency to advance spiritually, although it may not seem to be the way of everybody in life. Therefore, the first duty of … [Read more...] about 3. The Path of Initiation (1)
2. The Intoxication of Life (2)
A person’s condition in life, every individual's environment and condition of life, creates before them an illusion, an intoxication, so that they do not know the condition of those around them, the people of the city in which they live or of the country in which they live. The intoxication not only … [Read more...] about 2. The Intoxication of Life (2)
1. The Intoxication of Life (1)
There are many different things in life that are intoxicating, but if a person would consider the nature of life, they would think that there is nothing more intoxicating than their life itself. In the first place, we can see the truth of this idea by thinking of what we were yesterday and comparing … [Read more...] about 1. The Intoxication of Life (1)
The Art of Personality
The Art of Personality, A Psychological Perspective, Katwijk, Netherlands (Summer School 2011) Murshida Rani McLaughlin The Art of Personality, A Psychological Perspective, Part 1 Katwijk, Netherlands (Summer School 2011) Murshida Rani McLaughlin The Art of Personality, A … [Read more...] about The Art of Personality
The Gathekas
Throughout this project, I have been aided by the editorial skills and sensitive eye of Latifa Kate Williams. We chose to replace generic masculine nouns and pronouns with the generic singular "they." This practice dates from the sixteenth century, long before "he" was declared to be a generic … [Read more...] about The Gathekas
Universal Sufism and the Unity of Religious Ideals
Sufism has been known in the West as the mystical branch of Islam, requiring adherence to Islam. But the Sufi Message has a different approach to mysticism; one which is open to sincere practitioners of all religions (or of no religion). This is the teaching of the Unity of Religious Ideals. … [Read more...] about Universal Sufism and the Unity of Religious Ideals