Sufis & The Secret Teaching
By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff
A real secret is something which only one person knows.
-Idris Shah
The purpose of this paper is to examine what the Sufis have to offer and a hidden or inner, spiritual teaching called by some The Secret Teaching. Rumors of this esoteric Secret Teaching have existed since the beginning of time and for most periods in human history aspects of this teaching could not be publicly revealed. Historically for its proponents, to reveal such a Teaching has led to death and considerable misunderstanding.
Because we are living in a more open age, a discussion about this topic may be undertaken with some of the elements of this Teaching identified. In part, the Sufis see their role as guardians of this inner, sacred knowledge; offering this previously hidden information/teaching because the elements have combined. It is now the right time, right place and the right people have gathered.
Right time, right place, right people equals success.
Wrong time, wrong place, wrong people, equals most of the real human history.
-Idris Shah
Historical Background
Since the beginning of man/woman’s appearance on this planet there has been a continual succession of spiritual teachers. This mostly hidden chain of Masters has protected and shared Spiritual Knowledge with those people who were capable of using it. Throughout the ages, the external form of this Knowledge has changed to meet the shifting needs of different societies and geographical regions, yet, internally all the Great Religious Forms are united in the Light.
Some have called this Way of Knowing, the Perennial Philosophy, the Secret Teaching or the One True Religion. In ages past it was offered by the Adepts in the Great Pyramid, it was the Gold of Alchemy and in more modern times the Wine that the Sufi becomes intoxicated with. Historically some of its exponents have included: Raymond Lully, Roger Bacon, Paracelsus, Geber, Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas and different Popes such as Pope Silvester II just too name a few.*
What is this Secret Teaching you ask? It is an inner spiritual knowing or experience of the Divine, and assumes an ever changing and evolving external form so it may be understood and we may grasp and use it. For our age offered below are some of the key aspects of this life altering elixir. Here take a sip of this wondrous, spiritual wine and may you grow closer to your true lasting self.
The Message
The message has always been the same. We are the ones who have forgotten. The religion is one and humanity has a common Source. Over time because people are different, culturally, messengers and religious forms vary. This confuses people.
The Light is the binding force of the universe and is the mother and father of us all. It is the great river from which we all came. On the surface the river’s water shifts due to changing currents and wind. Yet beneath the surface the water remains calm and tranquil.
In this age people are frightened and searching for something to help ease their fear and unite them. It is there but we have forgotten to go deep and embrace our common spiritual heritage.
Within each the Light is waiting to bring us Home and illume the darkness.
Selected Aspects
The following 15 points concerning the Secret Teaching are offered. Ultimately this Teaching is spiritual, taking on a physical form as required so that it may be known. These points or aspects are not considered exclusive to this Teaching and are found in other spiritual forms; indicating a level of connectivity between the differing forms and paths.
One Family. All the religions are one. Humanity is one family and we have come here to express more fully who we are and join in creation with the Source.
Individual Expression of the Source. In the Universe there is a uniting and primal energy that connects all things- some call this energy, the Source or God. We are a unique expression of this energy/creative force and have come here to more fully understand our relationship to this energy and sing its praise -joining in- with the melody of the spheres/universe as mature creative beings.
The Duality. While in this world, we can experience and express our self in many ways. We have left the world of spirit and entered into a world of forms. This duality of spirit and physical form, which is beautifully endless, further confuses people and they get caught-up and forget who they are- their duality. They are both physical and beings of Light, spiritual travelers, going from world to world expressing them self in many ways and the highest form of expression is always loving and helping another.
Disconnect from Spirit. Because we have entered a world of physical forms there is a basic duality and seeming disconnect from our higher, spiritual nature. Here in this world, we can both destroy and create- this is our birth right; the traveler who doesn’t give-in to his/her basic or lower self has learned to conquer his own obstacles and is on his way to fuller expression of the higher self. The higher self is always connected to the Source, and knows on an inner, spiritual level where it is going and the point of the long journey. We came here to be creators and join in King/Queen ship with the Source.
World Problems. All of the problems of living in this world are due to spiritual travelers forgetting who they are and giving into their lower self; this selfishness comes in many forms and is root cause of the destruction due to war and individual greed that routinely expresses itself on this planet.
Empty Place. Within each of us there is an empty place, a longing for our Home beyond the stars; this longing pushes us forward to fill the empty place within and remember who we are-Beings of Light- who have come here to express who we are in a multiplicity of form.
Forgetting Who We Are. Because of the beauty and variety of this physical world, many travelers get caught-up, forgetting for a time who they are and try to fill this empty place with all manner of things/people. For a time, they are ‘ill,’ have ‘world sickness’ and go about looking for the cure: which is spiritual knowing and Light. The Paths and servants exist, in part, to help others find their way back Home; starting the return journey, spiritually, while in this present physical form.
Love & Fear. All human emotions arise out of 2 basic, primal expressions of the physical duality; these are love and fear. Fear drives the lower nature and can cause people to think of self over others; while love is the ultimate expression of the higher self and most perfectly aligns with the Source. The higher nature is always connected with the Source; while the lower nature is concerned with personal physical expression and when exaggerated causes us to forget and drown out the call of the Higher.
Remember. When the spiritual remembers who we are- this is a beginning of conscious spiritual awareness and learning to express self more fully in a spiritual form.
Each Soul is Unique. Each traveler is a unique individual expression of the Source and as such has many unique capacities. Each has come here to express these capacities, helping self and others; more fully understand who they are.
Passing On. The very nature of the physical experience, because it is tied to time and place, is transitory and we must travel on. We have come here for a brief afternoon in the timeless eternity and take with us to the next place our love and all the love we share with people, other creatures and all the wonderful things we create in expressing our higher self.
Forgiving Self & Others. Those expressions of the lower self remain attached to us for a time, until we learn to shed them and reach higher. Through love these creations are altered and return to the universal ether. Forgiving self and others, we learn to travel higher.
Many Levels of Help. Throughout our stay in this world, we are helped by many, as we are helped by the Source with the life giving energy of the Light. This assistance comes in spiritual and physical form; many are assigned these tasks.
Inner Knowing. The Secret Teaching is an inner spiritual knowing and experience of the Source and its outer form is contained, in part, by the words offered here. Humanity is one family- all the religions are one- and the ills and evils of this world are due to traveler’s excess- putting their lower need before their higher and the need of others.
Listen to Your Heart. If you wish to know who you are- then travel inward; go beyond religion, go beyond fear; find your inner center or heart. Listen to its whisper for it will lead you Home and is always connected with the Source. Everyone is a beam of Light from a larger Sun and none is different in this regard.
The Religions
Traveler: There is only One God, or the Light,
Yet there are many paths and religions,
Why is this so?
Master: Each traveler finds God/Light
In a different way.
One traveler may seek salvation
As a loving spouse and parent
And another may find God’s Face
On a distant shore.
Each traveler is a universe
And in this vast expanse
It is easy to go astray.
Only the Light’s Grace
Leads the traveler home.
Religion may be compared
To a great river that feeds the land.
The river winds its way as a mighty force
And smaller tributaries are formed
To serve the distant regions.
Some travelers are satisfied
To drink of the smaller stream
And forget they must travel
The river to its Source.
Beyond the river’s gate,
The Ocean is waiting.
Traveler: Where is the boat
To journey the river
For I am ready to depart?
Master: O little one, you are so eager;
Yet you are already assail
And your soul is the vessel.
Your heart is the compass
And the Light’s Mercy is the breeze
At your back.
If you bow in prayer to the Light,
The Light will provide all you need
And Guide you to the Ocean.
Conclusion
For a time many forget who they are become lost and strike-out in selfishness and greed; this is the basic duality of the experience we have chosen to experience. To rise higher, remember who you are: a Child of Light and have brought with you everything you need for this experience; this knowing and love will help you with your journey through this world and the worlds to come.
Both Idris Shah quotes taken from Goodreads, accessed on 3/11/16, 9:10 am: www.goodreads.com/quotes/a-real-secret-is-something-which-only-one-person-knows.
For more information about The Secret Doctrine and other great historical exponents, the reader is referred to: Idries Shah, The Sufis, The Octagon Press, London, 1964, pg. 243.
About Dr. Stewart Bitkoff
Check out his book on Amazon: The Appleseed Journal.
Buy on Amazon: www.bit.ly/amazonappleseed.
Expectation & Emotion
by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff
If you could get rid
Of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the
Mirror of your perception.
-Rumi
Each spiritual traveler is born into a world of expectation. Daily, behavior and societal standards are presented by family, friends, co-workers, country, religion and self.
Over time these expectations form our operating system and world view. We want to go and do based upon what we have been taught and what we desire for self and others; expectations set standards for behavior that have attached to them a whole series of emotions. For example, joy at accomplishing our goal or sadness if we fail.
This set of personal expectations, in time, can entrap and bind- yet serves an essential function for society as a whole; and is often the basis for daily behavior.
For the spiritual traveler, these are the chains that must be temporarily broken. Cognitively and emotionally they are a door that blocks inner awareness. Attached to expectations are emotions that enrich and help make us human. However in a spiritual quest, they fill our consciousness and must be stilled temporarily so the Higher Impulse can be perceived. In this context, emotions and expectations are ‘a noise’ in our consciousness: blocking other things from happening.
Many times, spiritual travelers are unaware, because these expectations are hidden, that it is precisely these sub-conscious thoughts, along with their emotional attachments, that are blocking spiritual progress. In a spiritual quest, typical expectation sets run something like this.
- I have been meditating for five years and surely something should have happened by now. Or I cannot meditate for more than 2 minutes and surely this inability must be holding me back.
- Everyone knows, “we have been given enough for the journey;’ therefore I can pick and choose what I like from different paths. This technique has worked for me in so many other areas of life (i.e., picking a vocation, car and job).
- When performing spiritual exercises, praying, or doing good works we all have an expectation about how we will be rewarded; for example this activity will make me a good person, I will gain in good works and I feel good helping others. When the spiritual traveler has these often hidden feelings; these feelings become their reward and they do not travel further. This mind set is a form of ‘spiritual greed’ and must be disarmed by a neutral mental posture.
- When I reach a high level of spirituality, my life will be perfect and complete. Spiritual knowledge is one aspect of a healthy life; spiritual awareness serves as a catalyst to enable other things to happen.
- I love to meditate and pray; it makes me feel so peaceful and I am One with everything. Or I feel so good when I work at the soup kitchen, helping the homeless. Think about the emotional attachment.
In order to maximize spiritual potential, the traveler must learn to recognize when their expectation set is operating. Also the traveler must learn to differentiate between an emotional and a spiritual experience. While expectations and emotions are an important part of healthy living, for many, because they have not been disarmed- both become an obstacle to spiritual learning and experience.
You are a potential
Waiting to bud.
You are the door;
This blocks your way.
Pick-up the key.
Open the lock.
The key is inside of you.
Why do travelers
Have so much trouble accepting
We came into this world
To express our higher selves
And grow closer to God?
While our time in this world
Serves a multitude of purposes,
In some respect, it will have been wasted
Unless we come to accept this unifying principle.
Check-out my two books: Sufism for Western Seekers: Path of the Spiritual Traveler in Everyday Life and The Ferryman’s Dream. Both books are also in Kindle format and available on Amazon.com or local bookstore.
If you are interested in learning more about universal mysticism and Sufism, contact: [email protected].
Spring Renewal Tips: Simple Ways to Refresh Your Spirit
Spring (or at least the promise of it) is finally in the air. This is the season of rebirth. And it’s only natural that as dark, depressing winter gives way to budding greenery, we find ourselves longing for physical and spiritual renewal.
“We’re wired to feel joy and hope when we can see life bursting forth everywhere we look,” says David Solomon, a Christian minister and the author of The Dead Saints Chronicles: A Zen Journey Through the Christian Afterlife (Dead Saints Media, April 2016, ISBN: 978-0-9972454-0-0, $24.95, www.deadsaints.org) The Earth is literally clueing us in to the spirit of rejuvenation that people of all walks of life should embrace.”
Read on for nine simple tips to help you renew your spirit this spring:
Really savor life’s simple pleasures. Take time out of your day to enjoy the taste of delicious food (hello, Easter ham and marshmallow Peeps!) and perhaps a glass of good wine. Inhale the rich, mysterious fragrance of dirt as you prepare your garden. If you have a moment of pure silence, tune into that moment so you really experience it. Get a massage as a treat and make a point of staying present throughout.
“Life is abundant with gifts of indescribable beauty,” says Solomon. “The more you practice alertness and experience life happening now, the more you will be able to appreciate the good parts of life—because you are paying attention to them.”
Keep a spiritual journal. One of the best ways to practice self-care is to keep a journal. Solomon is meticulous with his journaling practice (he refers to his journals throughout the book as Chronicles), and having a written record of his life has been an invaluable factor in his spiritual journey.
Each day, take 10 or 15 minutes to write, he advises. Write what you feel: your thoughts, dreams, questions. By checking in with yourself daily through writing, you will gain a keen sense of what peace means to you, and your soul will go to work to find the answers.
Embrace an art form that gives you goosebumps. Art is one of the most transformative modes of communication. It helps us connect to our humanity and the Earth on a deeper level— sometimes that connection is even beyond words. Solomon, who practices Bonsai, believes that art helps us connect to our spirituality on a deeper level.
“Find your own meaningful form of art to either practice or appreciate,” he suggests. “Some examples may include painting or sketching, learning a musical instrument, or taking a sewing or acting class.”
Practice gratitude daily. Maybe you’re having a tough time right now, or maybe things are going a-okay (we hope!). Either way, get used to feeling grateful for the gifts you do have. Sometimes writing them down in a gratitude journal can help, but you don’t have to do that: Just use your senses and pause to reflect on the beauty you see, hear, taste, and smell around you.
“Gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving, because it forces you to continually find the silver linings during life’s storms,” comments Solomon. “Acknowledging the positives in your life makes even the roughest paths seem more tolerable and in time will make you more resilient.”
Find a spiritual practice that resonates with you. If you don’t want to go to church or adopt any sort of belief system, that’s fine. But it is important to work on connecting your body, mind, and soul in some meaningful way. Check out a yoga class, or meditation, or find a spot by a stream or lake that gives you a peaceful feeling. The possibilities are endless; you can even create a “shrine” in your home. It doesn’t need to mimic an altar; it’s enough to have a collection of photos and objects that remind you of people you love or make you feel serene.
Weave random acts of kindness into the fabric of your life. There is no better way to celebrate the spirit of Easter than being kind and loving to others. You don’t have to be showy; sometimes a smile is all it takes to brighten a stranger’s day. But if you really wanted to, you could buy a bunch of flowers and give them to a neighbor who seems lonely or heavy-hearted. Or just be extra generous when tipping your server.
“Paying it forward is a kindness that will only perpetuate love, and love is the primary force of Heaven,” adds Solomon.
Find something to smile about every day. Choosing joy over sadness is a continual journey. You’re not going to feel great every day. Bad things are going to happen. But choosing how you respond to life’s ups and downs will affect you deeply in the long run. That’s why it is so important to smile every day. Soon, you may notice that your outlook is more hopeful than ever before. And hope is what it’s all about.
Cultivate a springtime garden. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine what Heaven looks like. Let your imagination run wild. Now open your eyes and figure out how you can incorporate a literal interpretation of Heaven in your own garden or home.
Solomon, who has extensively studied the phenomenon known as the near-death experience (NDE), says that a common theme is that the Afterlife is a place of stunning, indescribable natural beauty. Many NDE survivors strongly believe that this place they visited is Heaven—and that visit changed their lives forever. Even if you’ve personally never “seen” Heaven, Solomon says you can envision it.
Once you have an idea of what Heaven looks like to you, find flowers and other plants that match the colors you envision. This is the perfect time of year to start a garden or even just plant seeds in a window box if you don’t have a lot of space. Pot indoor plants and trees to make your interior just as beautiful as the outdoors.
Find inspiration through music. You probably already know which music feels intuitively good to you. Find time every day to play music in your home that resonates and makes you feel connected to your own spirit—or to a higher power. Maybe you love to listen to jazz on Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee. Or, say, ’80s pop makes you feel joyous and giddy. (We’re not judging!) Find a time to get lost in your music and enjoy the peace you feel when that happens.
“The human spirit responds to music,” says Solomon. “It’s not surprising that many NDEs include descriptions of beautiful, otherworldly music. So whatever music feels good to you, incorporate it into your life to really internalize the hope and peace this season naturally brings.”
Creating your own Heaven on Earth is a powerful way to take a stand against dreariness, cynicism, and negativity. When you mindfully practice these tips (and come up with your own), you’ll find that each day becomes more colorful, more richly textured, more infused with joy and meaning.
“While Easter means different things to different people, each of us could stand to have a little more hope and peace day to day,” concludes Solomon. “Glimpses of Heaven are all around us, if we choose to open our eyes and acknowledge them. It’s my hope that the Earth’s rebirth here at the advent of spring inspires everyone to find a way to bring the essence of Heaven into their homes and hearts.”
About the Author:
David Solomon is a Christian minister. He is regarded as a leading philosopher and exponent of cosmological mythology, Bible interpretation, and prophecy. In addition to a lifetime of spiritual studies under renowned Christian and Buddhist teachers, David is the founder of a multi-million dollar payment processing company, Fast Transact, Inc. After receiving a terminal diagnosis of glioblastoma brain cancer in 2013, David retired to Virginia Beach where he currently focuses on completing The Dead Saints Chronicles series.
About the Book:
The Dead Saints Chronicles: A Zen Journey Through the Christian Afterlife (Dead Saints Media, April 2016, ISBN: 978-0-9972454-0-0, $24.95, www.deadsaints.org) is available at www.deadsaints.org/buy-the-
Is Technology Destroying Our Spirituality?
By John Nelson
While smart phones and social media allow us to expand our connection to others across the globe, they also split our focus and disrupt the flow of life in the present and can create a kind of adult ADD that impairs our ability to connect deeply or intimately with others. Even those aware of this dichotomy between connections and real connecting accept the tradeoff as they share their inner lives via this electronic interface and bathe in the glow of the self-gratification it brings. Others have said as much in different forums over the past ten years. What I would like to explore is how this seemingly innocuous tradeoff can lull us to sleep until one day, in the near or distant future, we wake up and look in the bathroom mirror and see the reflection of a cyborg-like creature looking back at us. For a split second we realize that something is amiss, some deeper connection to self, life, and some vague concept of a higher order, before we launch ourselves into our robotic life.
This is the situation faced by the main character in my novel, I, Human(Cosmic Egg, May 2016), set in the late 21st century when most people have neural implants that bestow 200 Plus I.Q.s but atrophy feeling and intuition and lead to massive emotional breakdowns. Alan Reynard wonders, recording his thoughts in a subprogram of his processor to be flushed later, “. . . if we hadn’t lost some essential quality as a species in our rush toward technological progress.” The problem for him and his techno minders is that after fifty years of their use, they have lost the capacity to understand, not less to program integrative functioning. The story revolves around Alan being sent to a spiritual healer in a borny enclave—those who refuse the mental upgrade—who has had some success in modifying these neural implants, which are made from human brain cells and are thus affected by subtle energy. They hope his sessions with her will reprogram his experimental neural processor, which they can then roll out to the masses as an upgrade to “fix the problem.” However, he has an awakening and gives his minders more than they had bargained for.
So how does our society, if this possible scenario has any predictive value, find itself in such a dystopian world? Well, as the proverb reminds us, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” or closer still Vigil’s version of it, “The descent to hell is easy.” It would be the result, I speculate, of the continual erosion of our self-reflective consciousness, or the “watcher” in our mindfulness exercises. Today most of us are already finding it hard to keep “present” with the frenetic pace of our lives, which seems to double in intensity each year—exponential growth is the term the techies use and attribute it to technological progress. So to keep up or just cope, we increasingly rely on tech devices like smart phones to manage the onslaught of information, and to pay our bills, read books or watch amusing U-Tube videos. In fact, as media sources claim, Millennials check their iPhones 43 times a day, and use them to connect to Facebook 14 times a day. This compulsive use comes while we’re eating lunch, working our jobs, even talking on the phone while emailing someone else, creating more split-focus.
Technology can be a great facilitator—I’m old enough to remember working jobs or writing novels without word processors and the Internet—and it improves efficiency but can also create a great dependency. It seems innocuous to have a digital online banking account and let the bank add up our monthly charges, instead of balancing our checkbooks. And it’s less stressful to have Internet exchanges with dozens of friends a day, instead of a sit-down with one person in which you look into their eyes and “feel” the truth of their being. Or, when we take our kids to a national park and let them keep their eyes glued to their “screens” instead of the “greens” of the natural world around them “to keep the peace.” As I said, this all seems rather innocuous, until the erosion of our feeling centers, which Jung would claim allows us to ascertain proper values, is such that a great many people can get taken in by a huckster running for political office because they can’t see beyond the sizzle to the bankrupted values of their platform.
It seems to me that technology can be such an extension of our mental framework that it becomes like our surrogate ego with all of its greedy needs, which are satisfied by its amazing reach into the world and its ready access to instant gratification. If you feel a mid-afternoon let down and need relief, online porn, shopping, and Chinese takeout are just a click away. If you can’t connect to your mate or boy/girlfriend, you can find superficial connections on an online dating site. If your boss doesn’t like your proposal, go shopping for a new job on an online professional headhunter site. This kind of kinetic environment just feeds the superficial aspects of our ego identification. Increasingly, if we don’t practice our mindfulness exercises like the author Jacob Liberman’s suggested 40 30-second mini-meditations a day and check out iPhones instead, we will lose our connection to the greater whole of ourselves and the universe at large.
This is how I see us buying into greater and greater technological intrusions into our bodies and minds to the eventual extent I depict in my futuristic novel. Just look at the plethora of pharmaceutical ads on television: 4.5 billion spent in 2014. Now think what they will offer thirty or forty years down the road: let’s say to go along with your Viagra or its future substitute, there’s a testosterone pump you can install that keeps the orgasms coming, as it were. Or, why suffer from depression—or use talk therapy or body therapy to integrate feelings—when there’s a Brave New World supermarket that makes Soma look like candy canes, and you can escape your misery for an hour or a lifetime. But, the real appeal I surmise would be enhancement technology, like the neural implants I posit in I, Human that raise I.Q.s to 200 Plus, allow you to read and absorb 30 pages of text a minute, make you a human calculator, and with logic circuits that can put a facile spin on any position. Just look how fast smart phones overtook us and shaped how we operate in the world. Could you resist the appeal of a neural implant, or not buy them for your children and watch them fall behind in school and get second-tier jobs?
How does the character in my novel pull out of his own society-induced tech coma? His experimental processor, while allowing the integration of more feelings, programs mental feedback like a monkey-mind on steroids. Alan must use an extreme mindfulness focus to counter and then offset its influence and stay sane. The trick is how to program new neural pathways into the processor that would be undetectable to the brain scientists of the day. He achieves this using rising Kundalini energy or the energy of life, which affects the human brain cells of his processor, and create the needed pathways to greater functionality for all.
My hope is that the extreme situation of my fictional world will motivate us, as the process of writing it did for me, to increase our connection to ourselves and to our concept of higher power, to be able to resist the ego temptations of such technology, which are here now with more coming down the road soon. Let me add that technology isn’t in and of itself bad, regressive, or evil, but how we use it determines its value, and that depends on who is using it and their consciousness.
About the author:
John Nelson is the sci-fi/visionary author of Starborn, Transformations, Matrix of the Gods, and the upcoming I, Human. He is also the author of The Magic Mirror, the 2008 COVR winner at INATS for best book of the year and best divination system. He is the former editorial director of Bear & Company and Inner Oceans Publishing, and today writes books and edits fiction and nonfiction at Bookworks Ltd. www.johnnelsonbookworks.com
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