Cherokee Wisdom

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

The Current Struggle for the Soul of Islam

"In recent decades, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology has made substantial inroads throughout the Muslim world. Islamic fundamentalism has become a well-financed, multifaceted global movement that operates like a juggernaut in much of the developing world, and even among immigrant Muslim communities in the West. To neutralize the virulent ideology that underlies fundamentalist terrorism and threatens the very foundations of modern civilization, we must identify its advocates, understand their goals and strategies, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and effectively counter their every move. What we are talking about is nothing less than a global struggle for the soul of Islam." - Abdurrahman Wahid

Self Manifestation

...Tasawwuf (Sufism) is the process of uncovering the truth, not the process of seeking it. We seek knowledge until we find what we are looking for, which is perfect self expression, self manifestation. The whole world is a self manifestation (of God) and it exists for that very purpose. We each need to be able to manifest in our own way as free, loving, cooperating individuals in communion with self as communion with God. .. - Ali Ansari

The Ego and the Heart

I struggled hard but did not reap the fruits of my labors. Then I gazed into myself and found that my ego and my heart were unified. When the ego and the heart are united, a portion of all that shines upon the heart is seized by the self. Thus I came to know the cause of my dilemma, that the light illuminating my heart was being seized by my ego. -Al-Nuri, in "Islamic Sufism"

Religion: What's Missing?

The true point of all religions is to provide a formula (teaching) and catalyst (teacher) for alchemy (the spiritual transformation of the student); the guided transformation of lead (the childish ego) into gold (the spiritually mature adult). So all teachings must have their outward formulas, but without the chemist, the alchemist, the transformed teacher to act as guide, these laws are without reality, meaningless and ineffective. Under mature guidance, the religion of Islam is a spiritually and socially transformative influence par excellence, and the Sufi way is widely known as an alchemy for spiritual evolution.
- Ali Ansari

On the Need for Self-Discipline

Gluttony feeds on itself. The more that the appetite is indulged, the stronger it becomes - and the harder it is to control. But if the appetite is restrained, then it soon grows weak and feeble, and finally disappears altogether.

-Razi, "Kitab al-Muluki"

The Spirituality of Sadness

Melancholy may enter your soul, and ambush your happiness; but it will prepare you for true joy. Melancholy drives out all other emotions and feelings, so the source of all goodness may occupy the whole house. It shakes the yellow leaves from the tree, allowing fresh leaves to grow. It pulls up old bodily pleasures by the roots, allowing divine spiritual pleasures to be planted. Melancholy takes many things from the soul, in order to bring better things in return.

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Always Follow Through....

"Initiating a good deed is a matter of choice, but seeing it through is obligatory."
- Imam Ali (a)

Time with Parents

"If you think you are so enlightened," Ram Dass said, "go and spend a week with your parents." That is good advice. The relationship with your parents is not only the primordial relationship that sets the tone for all subsequent relationships, it is also a good test for your degree of Presence. The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again. ~ Eckhart Tolle -- A New Earth

I am a Burning Candle

I am a burning candle;

You are the morning light,

If I do not see You, I burn;

if I see You, I vanish.

This is my condition in separation and closeness.

I can bear neither separation nor proximity.

-Author Unknown

What is True Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is the process of recognizing and releasing your self limitations.

It is the process of Life itself.

Life is Awareness Release Training -

the A.R.T. of Learning to Recognize, Accept, and Clearly Distinguish between -

Self, Soul, and God.

- Ali Ansari

Turning Tragedy into Triumph

"As this the 38th anniversary of my wounding in Vietnam approaches, in many ways I feel my injury in that war has been a blessing in disguise. I have been given the opportunity to move through that dark night of the soul to a new shore, to gain an understanding, a knowledge, an entirely different vision. I now believe that I have suffered for a reason and in many ways I have found that reason in my commitment to peace and nonviolence. We who have witnessed the obscenity of war and experienced its horror and terrible consequences have an obligation to rise above our pain and suffering and turn the tragedy of our lives into a triumph. I have come to believe that there is nothing in the lives of human beings more terrifying than war and nothing more important than for those of us who have experienced it to share its awful truth.
We must break this cycle of violence and begin to move in a different direction; war is not the answer, violence is not the solution. A more peaceful world is possible." ~ Ron Kovic

Trying To Become Good

A number of spiritual teachings tell us to let go of fear and desire. But those spiritual practices are usually unsuccessful. They haven't gone to the root of the dysfunction.

Fear, greed, and desire for power are not the ultimate causal factors. Trying to become a good or better human being sounds like a commendable and high-minded thing to do, yet it is an endeavor you cannot ultimately succeed in unless there is a shift in consciousness.

This is because it is still part of the same dysfunction, a more subtle and rarified form of self-enhancement, of desire for more and a strengthening of one's conceptual identity, one's self-image.

You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge. But it can only emerge if something fundamental changes in your state of consciousness. ~ Eckhart Tolle

Wisdom

The practical application of wisdom is in understanding that all problems are wisdom problems and that in learning to apply wisdom to one problem you are actually learning the process of applying wisdom, not just solving the problem. Problems are there not just to be solved, as the linear, literal goal-oriented mind would assume. Problems are there to teach us the wisdom of solving problems, for as we have already discovered (no?) -- in Reality there is no problem to resolve! ~ Ali Ansari

The Path

The path is not 'to God' per se [for there is nowhere to go - God is not of or in any place], but, rather to the conscious recognition and realization that, in fact, nearness to God is the station of us all... "It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein" (Qur'an, 50:16). This is the Truth, to deny it is to simply deny reality itself. Embracing or entering Islam does not require doing anything other than realizing and accepting what already is. The path, therefore, is the path through the veils, the illusions, the misperceptions that God is somewhere 'out there' to go to. Islam is the path of realization, the path of Self-discovery; for it is through this process of uncovering our True Selves and negating all that stands in our way of achieving our highest potential that we achieve God-realization and become complete human beings.

Daily Reminder to Myself: Understanding Hardship

"Personal Security is only real if it abides during and withstands the testing of outward hardship. It's easy to feel secure if and when your circumstances are secure, but it's only superficial if it holds up only under secure outward circumstances. For this reason hardships exist and are expected, even desired portions of life. For they test and build the mettle of our interior strength and security, and force us to find it when it's missing. And all this is so that our transition, which is an inevitable reality of life and a common goal for us all, may be handled with the reality for the realization of which life itself was created." - Ali Ansari

Where is Love?

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. It is not necessary to seek for what is true but it is necessary to seek for what is false. Every illusion is one of fear, whatever form it takes. And the attempt to escape from one illusion into another must fail. If you seek love outside yourself you can be certain that you perceive hatred within, and are afraid of it. Yet peace will never come from the illusion of love, but only from its reality." - A Course in Miracles

The Problem with Young People....

In my job interview today I was asked by one of the panelists what I thought was wrong with the youth of Malaysia. I responded that I thought we (i.e. the adults) were actually the problem with youth. I added that young people are merely responding to the world we have created for them. If you look at what we have built, how we conduct ourselves, the example we set (collectively), is it any wonder that youth are acting (and reacting) the way they are? Simply put, children and youth are our mirrors -- they reflect our hypocrisy and show it to us through their words and actions. So you wanna change young people? Then change yourself first.... "...Allah does not change a people's lot unless they change what is in their hearts..." (Qur'an, 13:11).

Daily Reminder to Myself

Whoever sets himself up as a leader of other people should start educating himself before educating others, and let him teach by his conduct before teaching by his tongue. And the education and refinement of one's self is more worthy of respect than the education and culture of other people.

~ Hadrat 'Ali (translated Cleary)

We Belong to God

I belong to God, as has often been shown; yet I also belong to myself. He becomes Himself through me. I live in Him, and I live in myself. I have two aspects, He and I, divine and human. But He is not I, and I am not He. My actions are the theatre in which He expresses Himself; to Him I am a vessel.

-Ibn Arabi, “Fusus al-hikam”