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Quote by Kabir Helminski

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In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching

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Kabir Helminski
Kabir Helminski

Kabir Helminski is a renowned author born in 1947. His works primarily focus on spirituality, philosophy, and mysticism, which have won him a wide readership. more

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“On the spiritual path we choose to give a certain amount of time and effort to be in the company of the Divine consciously and intentionally. It‘s appropriate to have, as we have in our Tradition, times of the day dedicated to this. There are times when we make an effort to bring ourselves into the presence of God. In our Tradition there is a physical effort involved in worship – the postures of bowing and prostration during salaat, or the practice of turning. It‘s „doing,“ not just a „being“ in Sufi spiritual practice. It‘s „doing“ with „being.“ The physical efforts in the ritual prayer also are done in time. We undertake the ritual prayers at the times indicated, following what we believe to be a heavenly, ordained pattern, not merely at our convenience, not just when we want to. (p. 3)”

PrayerMeditationSufi WisdomTreshold SocietySufi PathKabir HelminskiRemembrance Of GodSufi Spiritual Practice
Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“Don‘t put it off, don‘t wait too long. When we truly commit ourselves to a spiritual path and practice, something in Reality rises up to support us. The destiny of what we‘re designed to be becomes real, and the fate of unconscious behaviors is avoided. Or, even if not avoided, our mistakes become learning experiences, blessed by some invisible Mercy. As Yunus Emre said, „Ever since the glance of the mature fell upon me, nothing has been a misfortune.“ (p. 5)”

SufismSufi WisdomTreshold SocietySufi PathKabir HelminskiYunus Emre
Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“In our Tradition, we use the body to experience the presence of God. We can teach the body what it feels like to surrender to the Divine as our forehead touches the ground during prayer. This is something the body needs to tangibly experience. (p. 6)”

PrayerSufismSufi WisdomPresence Of GodTreshold SocietySufi PathKabir HelminskiSurrender To The Divine
Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“Our first murshid (spiritual guide), Suleyman Dede, never claimed to do anything himself. When Suleyman Dede visited the United States, he said, „God brought me to this country, and He has taken me to all these different places, and He has arranged for these meetings to occur, for people to come, and He has made me say certain things. It is really amazing because I am not doing anything.“ (p. 10)”

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Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“It's said in our Tradition that the human heart is a treshold between two worlds. The treshold is between the limited material world and the infinite spiritual reality. The heart is the treshold. We should be on that treshold all the time, bridging these two worlds. When we live in that reality and are aware of that presence, we are in remembrance. It changes everything. We can realize that we are not just the content of our experience. We're also this beautiful context, which is divine and purposeful, guiding us stage by stage to deeper and deeper truth. Every stage of our life, if we're seekers, leads to a greater richness of meaning in our lives. Then we can be grateful even for the thorns because we know it has come from the Beloved. (p. 26-27)”

EnlightenmentAwakeningSufismSufi WisdomTreshold SocietySufi PathKabir HelminskiRemembrance Of GodThe Heart
Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“All the heart wants is expanding friendship. It is not the kind of friendship that is a social satisfaction and can even lead to dependency and attachment. Rather, it is the friendship of other conscious hearts, who are in that state of remembrance and in that state of coherence and resonance. That's what lifts and heals us. That‘s why Sufis have their dergahs and communities. Sufism is not arranged as an individual tutorial. It‘s not a path for hermits. There may be periods when one benefits from solitude. However, there‘s transformation in friendship. The transformation results from knowing one another and accepting the truth that everything is purposeful. Whoever walks through the door of the Sufi dergah has been invited. We‘re all friends of the Friend. Community is part of the mechanism of transformation. Because Western society is so individualistic, we find ways of avoiding relationship and seek transformation that will occur at our own convenience or according to our own preferences. Sometimes people reach the stage where they say, „I might be better off alone. I think I‘m getting enough of this spiritual stuff that I could do it myself.“ They give up the friction of relationship and the challenge of it, and retreat into their own world. It‘s not usually a healthy sign. However, everyone is free. On this Path, no one is coerced. It‘s not a cult. There‘s no group pressure. If somebody walks away from a Sufi circle, nobody chases after them, except perhaps out of friendship. Sufis don‘t interfere with anybody‘s will. We all have free will. We are happy to find friends who share a common yearning. We are helped and healed by that yearning. We are healed by each other. (p. 27)”

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Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“The Prophet Muhammad said, „Die before you die.“ We are being told to know the after-death state now, while we are alive. The mystics say that just as the embryo fears being born from the womb into this world, we fear our next birth. We fear being born from the womb of this material existence. The embryo can‘t imagine there is anything better than the warmth, comfort, and easy life it experiences in the womb. When it uncomfortably emerges into the expanded world outside the womb, it finds beautiful colors, fragrances, sensory experiences, and relationships. As human beings, we may similarly fear emerging into the expansive world that is beyond the boundaries of our egoistic existence. It‘s a goal of this spiritual path to be living in two worlds at once. By doing so, we can bring heaven to earth. (p. 33)”

EnlightenmentAwakeningSufismSufi WisdomSpiritual TransformationSufi GnosisTreshold SocietyProphet MuhammadSufi PathKabir Helminski
Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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“Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem Consider the Sun in its radiant brightness. And the Moon as she reflects. Consider the day as it reveals the world and the night as it veils it darkly. Consider the sky and its wondrous structure and the earth and all its expanse. Consider the sky and its wondrous structure and the earth and all its expanse. Consider the human soul and the order and proportion given to it and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God. Truly, the one who purifies it shall reach a happy state and the one who corrupts it shall truly be lost. [Surah ash-Shams 91:1-10]”

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Book:In the House of Remembering: The Living Tradition of Sufi Teaching
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