The Knowing Heart A Sufi Path of Transformation

by HELMINSKI, KABIR

• ISBN13: 9781570625664
• ISBN10: 1570625662
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-24
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

As human beings we stand on the threshold between two realities: the world of material existence and the world of spiritual Being. The "knowing heart" is the sacred place where these two dimensions meet and are integrated. In Sufi teaching the human heart is not a fanciful metaphor but an objective organ of intuition and perception. It is able to perceive all that is beautiful, lovely, and meaningful in life-and to reflect these spiritual qualities in the world, for the benefit of others. Every human heart has the capacity and the destiny to bring that world of divine reality into this world of appearances. The Sufis, mystics of Islam, have been educators of the heart for some fourteen centuries. Their teachings and methods are designed to help us awaken and purify the heart, to learn to listen to our deepest knowing. InThe Knowing Heart,Kabir Helminski presents the Sufi way as a practical spirituality suitable for all cultures and times-and offers insights that are especially valuable for our life in today's world. In cultivating a knowing heart, we learn to experience a new sense of self, transform our relationships, and enhance our creative capacities. Most important, we learn how to meet the spiritual challenge of our time: to realize our sacred humanness.

Author Biography

Kabir Helminski is codirector, with his wife, Camille Helminski, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge and practice of Sufism. He is the author of Living Presence and the translator of four volumes of Rumi's poetry, including Love Is a Stranger and Rumi: Daylight.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
The Process and the Completion
A Lover's Tale: A Story	3	(1)
The Postmodern Situation	4	(10)
A Human Way of Life	14	(6)
Completion: The Drop That Contains the Ocean	20	(10)
The Idea of Spiritual Training	30	(7)
The Knowledge of Love
Love's Universe	37	(9)
The Spectrum of Love	46	(6)
The Inborn Power of Love and Presence	52	(9)
The Map and the Psychology
Inner Struggle: The Structure of the Self within Sufi Psychology	61	(8)
The Knowing Heart: Threshold between Two Worlds	69	(15)
Themes for Contemplation from Rumi	84	(12)
Radical Remembrance	96	(8)
The Transparent Self	104	(13)
Relationships and Community
Grapes Ripen Smiling at One Another: Leadership and the Group Process	117	(17)
The Way of the Dervish	134	(6)
In the End Is Our Beginning: A Story	140	(3)
Spiritual Conversation	143	(6)
The Courtesy of the Path	149	(6)
What Is a Muhib, `Ashiq, Murid, or Shaikh?: A Story	155	(6)
Tradition and Sources
The Living Word	161	(13)
The Example of Muhammad	174	(4)
Sayings of Muhammad	178	(3)
The Sacredness of Everyday Life	181	(12)
The Needs of Our Time
What Is a Truly Universal Spirituality?	193	(8)
Soul Loss and Soul Making	201	(12)
Ecstasy and Sobriety	213	(10)
This Drunkenness Began in Some Other Tavern	223	(10)
Nuances
The Hu of the Human	233	(7)
The Path of Blame: The Melami Deconstruction of the False Self	240	(8)
Become What You Are	248	(5)
The Education of the Heart	253	(8)
Refractions of a Single Light: Aphorisms	261	(8)
Glossary	269	(8)
Index	277	(10)
About the Author	287