Now is the Only Reality That Exists

Written for 'The Voice of Humanity Healing' and appeared there 17th June 2009

Almost every person on this planet spends most of their life living in a fantasy land of their own making. There are very few people that have even the vaguest idea of what the true reality of their existence is really like. This has been the sad story of an unconscious humanity for the entire span of our tenure on this planet.

We engage with the world every day of course. We have conversations with others that are based in the real world of the here-and-now. We go to work each day and come home each evening and we are largely conscious of this as we do it. We are always involved in some activity in the real world, whether it is sleeping, eating, going to work, visiting friends or relatives, cooking the dinner, going shopping…all of these things are based in the real world of our senses and we are aware of them as we engage in them. So how can it be that we live in a fantasy when our memories and moment-to-moment experience of the world, gives us all the information that we need to prove unequivocally that the world we that we live in is real and solid and indubitably, not a fantasy of any kind?

The reality is that yes, we may well be physically engaging with the world and consciously aware of what we are doing, but we are mostly, not on the whole present or mindful at the moment that we are engaged with that reality. Our engagement tends to be marginal and reliant on an initial and momentary repeat mental-visit as we physically go about whatever activity we are involved in. It is a partial and perfunctory involvement with life.

Whatever we are involved in; we are mostly unconscious of it most of the time. Our minds are on the whole busy with other things and ignorant of the activity that it has propelled the physical body into motion to deal with. Think about what is going through your mind at any moment of the day, regardless of the task you are performing. Possibly you are reminiscing about the lovely romantic meal you had last night whilst you are doing the washing up, or you are thinking about what you are going to do that evening as you get ready for work. Maybe you are thinking about the shopping trip you have to do later as you rush to get the kids ready for school or you are wondering if you made the right decision over that new pair of shoes you bought yesterday as you decide what outfit to wear for the day. Perhaps you are thinking about what you would like for lunch later whilst you complete some task at work or maybe you worry about whether you will get that job you have an interview for tomorrow as you get ready to go to bed. All of these types of thoughts are familiar to all of us and we have them whilst we engage physically with the world in tasks that although they might be triggers for the thought process, are in all other ways, entirely unconnected with the thoughts themselves.

Whatever the subject matter of our thoughts, they are almost always set in the context of the past or the future. We spend most of our lives in this state – looking back to the past at things that were and now are no more, or projecting into the future and looking at things that have yet to exist or may never exist, in the way that we envisage them.

Stop yourself from time to time and watch your thought process and you will see the truth of this. We all do it. We spend our lives in an unconscious state, only peripherally aware of the reality of the world and of the nature of the existence that is going on around us at that moment in time. We are unconscious to the nature of reality for almost the whole of our lives. Only rarely do we stop and fully engage with the moment as it happens, that is, being fully present, not peripherally present. Fully present means engaging the mind and the senses totally in the moment. Being aware of everything in that moment, not partially involved in some past or future experience.

Staying totally present in the moment – being fully and utterly aware of the nature of reality at the moment that it is happening, is no easy feat. The reason for this is that the majority of the time the present reality is pretty mundane or boring. How interesting is it to chop vegetables or to vacuum the carpet? To wash your hair or to iron a shirt? Not much really. Our lives are dominated by mundane things that it is hard to stay consciously focused on at all times. Our minds get used to the mundane nature of the here-and-now and decide to have as little to do with it as possible and go off searching for more interesting things to ponder. There are plenty of other things in the past or the future that are much more worthy of note to our minds way of thinking. In allowing this, we not only abdicate responsibility for our own thought process, we create a situation where it becomes incredibly difficult to stay totally aware of reality as it happens to us. Our minds get up in the morning and do their daily thing of finding something else to think about. To stay present in reality, we need to retrain our minds and bring them back under our control.

Most of us are not taught to reign in the mind and to train it to do our bidding. So how do we start to live in the present moment as it is happening to us? It is not really that difficult; though it can be incredibly dull.

The best way to begin to take back control of your own mind and thus to encourage it to stay present in the moment – in now, is to bring it to bear on whatever activity you are engaged in at the moment. It doesn't matter what it is, simply bring your full weight of consciousness to have an awareness of the activity. If you are digging the garden, notice how the soil feels under the pressure of the spade, smell the earth as it is turned, feel the pressure that you place on the spade. The tensions in your body as you exert the effort to turn the soil. Fell the texture of the spade's handle. Notice the sound of the spade going into the earth and any other sounds that might be around you at the moment: the passing of an aircraft, birds singing, a neighbour in their garden nearby, the sounds of passing cars…try to be totally present and aware of everything that is going on at that precise moment in time. Whatever the activity, we can all make the effort to try to be totally aware of the moment as it happens in this way.

The more that we engage with this type of activity, the more we are able to take back control of our mind and live in the present moment. We can actually start to live the life that is going on around us at the time that it is happening. We start to be fully aware of our lives and can take pleasure in it in a way that we were not previously able too – it becomes richer and fuller and more meaningful and we start to develop a truer understanding of life that had previously eluded us. The advantages of living life as it happens are numerous and profound. Life takes on a quality that we did not know was possible.

If we are engaged in thoughts of the past too much, we live in a world that is not only gone and dead, but conditioned by our own particular perspective on it and so it is not real. If we spend too much time living in the future, we spend our time living in a world that has yet to come – if it comes at all, that will again, be conditioned by our own particular perspective on it and our own conditioned view of the world.

Training the mind to be conscious of the world in the moment can be a long and arduous task, but the rewards are great. But does engaging with this practice give us a true and accurate perspective of the world? Do we start to fully see the world for what it really is? In part yes, but not fully.

Living in the moment allows us to experience the world as it truly is at that precise moment in time, from the perspective of our conditioned understanding and response to the world. It is real and there is no alternative to it – but it is a reality based on our perception of it and how we relate to it and 'read it'. What we are not aware of is a reality that is devoid of conditioned understanding. So even though we may be present in the moment, what we perceive of the world is based on all that we have previously learnt about it. When we pick up a knife to chop vegetables for instance, we bring to that moment, all of our learning and experiences of other knives. We relate to the object through this lens of our own making and so we do not actually have a true experience beyond the conditioning that we gain from our own experiences and from the information given to us by others. So even when we are present in the moment, our perception of reality is distorted by the past.

How for instance, do we see a tree for the first time every time we look at one? When we look at a tree, we bring to that moment, our knowledge, understanding and experiences of all other trees we have ever come across. We believe we have an understanding of that particular tree because of what we bring to it, but in reality we have no idea about that particular tree. To begin a relationship with the world as it truly is, and to see it afresh for the first time every time – to strip away our knowledge and experiences, we need to maintain as often as possible the practice of living in the moment – of not dwelling on the past or the future. In this way, we maintain a real and living relationship with the world and not one that is part fantasy and part peripheral engagement. We can begin to develop the ability to see beyond our conditioning and to see the world as it truly is.

Of course the object of this exercise is not to delete from our minds all of our conditioned responses to the world – these serve us in a multitude of ways and are what we need to help us to function in the world effectively. We do not want to reach a point where we have no concept of what a road or a fast approaching car means as we step off the pavement because we have stripped away our memories of the past and thus the tools we need to survive. The purpose of memory is to help us to survive and live fully in the world – it is not to provide a fantasy release from the drudgery of the moment.

What we do with our mind is key to our happiness. Our minds control our reality. How we relate to every aspect of our reality creates the world around as we perceive it. If we truly want to experience reality, the first step is to begin to train the mind to live in the moment. This is after all, the only place that reality exists.

Many blessings and much metta,

Steve

The Way of the Spirit - A Definition of Spirituality

The following short piece was originally written back in 2006 for the then, soon-to-be Reiki Jin Kei Do website that was being built by the lineage head; Dr Ranga Premaratna. That website never happened, so I thought it might be worthwhile to let this piece see the light of day and publish it here.

‘Spirituality’ and ‘spiritual’ are words that are bandied about a lot in the Reiki world. ‘Reiki is a spiritual system’, ‘Spirituality is at the core of the Reiki system’, ‘Reiki is spiritually guided life force energy’ etc…the word keeps coming up over and over again in the context of Reiki.

There is a sort of tacit assumption in this that when we refer to spirituality everyone knows what we are talking about but is it really that simple? Does everyone know, or does everyone just work on the same assumption that everyone knows when in fact no one is really that clear at all? If you get my drift… The problem with defining spirituality is that it is as individual as the clouds in the sky. It is also just as prone to shift and metamorphose as time goes by. It is not a fixed and immutable thing, but does have some properties that we can assume are pretty much universal from one definition to another, again in a rather cloud like way.

I found this definition of spirituality on the Internet in the free online encyclopaedia; Wikipedia:

The central defining characteristic of spirituality is a sense of connection to a much greater whole which includes an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence. Equally so, spirituality is concerned with sanity and psychological health. As with some forms of religion, the emphasis of spirituality is often on personal experience.

If we drop the unnecessary reference to religious awe and perhaps describe this as an experience of the ineffable instead, we have a definition that sounds pretty close to the experience of Reiki. Reiki is not something separate from Spirituality after all. ‘Spirituality is at the core of the Reiki experience’ really does sum up the mutually supportive relationship between the words. We find that with the essence of Reiki and the concept of spirituality; the two are embedded within each other. Reiki IS spirituality just as spirituality IS Reiki (though those outside of Reiki’s ambit may not necessarily use this terminology). If you don’t agree with this, then try this: Re-read the above quote with the word ‘Reiki’ replacing the word ‘spirituality’.

There is one other aspect of this definition that is worth emphasizing and that is the personal, private nature of the spiritual experience. It is not something that can be shared at all, though there is a commonality of understanding about the personal nature of the spiritual experience. It is an intuitive knowing that what is experienced on the personal level is also very much defined by the fact that it is common to all.

We do need to broaden the above Wikipedia definition however. What I think is important to come to understand is that spirituality is essentially about humanity’s search for the great Truth. It is about our aspiration to understand our place in the cosmic scheme of things and to get to grips with and know in a profound way that inner core experience that defines our nature as being as some have described it; ‘a spark of light within the mind of God’. It is through the practice of Reiki, particularly within this tradition of Reiki Jin Kei Do that we endeavour to come to realise this immutable Truth.

There is something else in Wikipedia that is worth bringing to your attention in regard to this aspect of the concept of Spirituality in relationship to the practice of Reiki:

One aspect of ‘being spiritual’ is goal-directed, with aims such as: simultaneously improve one’s wisdom and… achieve a closer connection to Deity/the Universe, and remove illusions of false ideas at the sensory, feeling and thinking aspects of a person.

And that spirituality is

the active and vital connection to a force, spirit, or sense of the deep self.

In exploring our spirituality we can see that one of its central attributes is a desire to improve or develop one’s wisdom. In coming to achieve a closer connection to the Universe – which surely is the consequence of the inner exploration (through Reiki) that has been described, we remove the illusions that arise due to the sensory, feeling and thinking aspects of our earthly existences and this naturally gives rise to wisdom. With the arising of wisdom there is a spontaneous desire to manifest compassion in the world and in following this inclination we are then lead to an even greater understanding of our true nature and our existence as spiritual beings and thus the realization and manifestation of greater wisdom.

Spirituality, in terms of Reiki then is the deep and sublime exploration of what it is to be human and to express the realizations of that search for Truth as wisdom and compassion in the world as an active and dynamic process (often and ultimately as an expression of healing). This then creates from the clay of the Universal Energy Field (God) an even greater understanding of the true nature of our core experience as human beings. Spirituality becomes cyclic; creating an outward flowing spiral of energy that impacts on and blesses everyone and everything within its field of influence.

Compassion

Feeling compassion for another being, is one of the most powerful, energetically sublime and spiritually evolved emotional states that we as human beings can experience. Compassion is however greatly misunderstood and often ascribed to feelings and emotions to which it does not rightly belong. Almost every day of everyone's life, moments arise that present us with, to one degree or another, the suffering of another person. They might only be feeling a little under the weather, or they might in fact be going through some life-changing, catastrophic event or the death of a near and dear one. Whatever the scale or seriousness of the situation, all of these things illicit from us, emotional states that are triggered by the emotional state of the other. More often than not however, the feelings that we experience are not compassion at all, but sympathy. There is a very big difference between the two.

Feeling sympathetic towards someone is often the immediate gut-response to seeing someone else suffer. Sympathy however is an emotion that at its core, implies a hierarchical structure, where the sympathetic person sees themselves as somehow better or better off than the person to whom the sympathy is directed. It is entirely devoid of of any real understanding of the nature of the other person's suffering and can often leave the sympathetic onlooker perplexed and at a loss as to what they can do to help. Sympathy is bereft of action.

The trouble with sympathy is that it is entirely outward looking and not generated from a heart of true understanding that we are all equal in our sufferings - though each person's suffering may have a distinct quality all its own. Sympathy is generated from the head. It is the result of logical thinking processes, informed by the heart, but ultimately a product of the mind. It recognises pain, sees within it qualities that it has also experienced and reacts in synchronicity with its own fear or concern over the feelings that this particular suffering generates. Compassion on the other hand is the product of the minds logic working in tandem with the feelings that come from the heart. For this to arise however, sympathy must first give way to empathy.

Compassion is a dynamic, powerful and infinitely sublime motive force that by its very nature changes the perceived reality of the recipient and that of the person generating the compassion, and the two become one, even just for a moment.

(Reiki Jin Kei Do: The Way of Compassion & Wisdom, pp 103)

Like it or not, we all experience moments in our lives when we go through deep pain or trauma. Most of us know how highly charged such emotional states can be and how they can often leave us in a state of total emotional paralysis: not knowing what to do, or where to go, or how to resolve the situation or perceive the prospect of any kind of future happiness. We get locked down into our own personal abyss of moment-by-moment suffering and often the only way out, is with the helping hand of another. These sorts of experiences are the catalyst that help us to mature emotionally and enable us to recognise in others the need for assistance when life is challenging for them. We start to develop the quality of empathy.

Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others. To be able to step into their pain and have a true understanding of their suffering; how it feels, where it comes from, what they lack and what they need to become whole again. It is the ability to feel deep inside of their pain and have a profound understanding of it, so much so that our reflective emotional response to it is that it could easily be our own pain that we feel. Empathy much more closely unites the feelings that are derived in the heart through a personal experience of suffering, with the logical understandings of the mind. Empathy however is still of little value in aiding someone who is in need of help. There is no part of an empathetic response that involves action, or any sort of meaningful solution to the other persons problem. Empathy is however a necessary precursor to the development of compassion.

Compassion must not be misunderstood as simply a heightened state of sympathy. This is critical as generally, it does indeed seem to be defined in this way. Compassion is active, sympathy is not. Compassion does not sit there in the heart or mind and simply project feelings of goodness towards the suffering person in a limp-wristed way. At its core, compassion is active and forceful and dynamic and weds the sympathetic mind of understanding, with the empathetic heart of feeling so that right action can be taken. Real compassion involves the recognition that we are duty-bound to do something to ease the suffering of the other person if it is within our means. Compassion however, cannot rightly exist without being informed by wisdom, and wisdom is the product of the mind and the heart working in unison. Whereas compassion is the active force of the heart that draws on the logical and experiential processes of the mind, wisdom is the logic and experiences of the mind drawing on the emotional understandings of the heart. There is a yin-yang relationship at work here - each requires the other to give it meaning and purpose, and indeed existence.

Sometimes we have no choice over whether to take action or not. We may see some terrible tragedy on TV or in the newspapers and feel deep compassion for those involved, but are helpless to do anything about it, other than send our good wishes, prayers, energy etc. If this is the most that we can do, then we should be satisfied that we did this as the effort is not wasted. There are other times where we are indeed able to take specfic action but may choose not too and instead leave the person who is suffering to experience their pain. There are often good reasons for doing so.

All pain, whatever its nature, is ultimately there to teach us something - it has no other purpose. We are required by the life plan that we have chosen to take the pain that meets us on our way through life and experience it to its fullest, and hopefully learn whatever it is that we need to learn from it. Sometimes, the pain can exist simply to push us in another direction because we have got stuck in an old pattern that we have become reluctant to shift. It is at times like these, that the helping hand of another is not always a good thing. It may seem so at the time as the immediate problem is alleviated, but actually, such misplaced help can often lead to a more painful experience further down the road as the lesson has not been learnt. The recognition of whether to aid someone or not is only possible with the help of wisdom. Wisdom however is not discriminatory, and recognises pain and suffering and the need for equable poise, regardless of who the suffering person is or their particular ciricumstances.

Of course, it is quite easy to offer assistance and love to someone that we hold dear or who has perhaps in the past helped us out of a difficult period of our lives. But the true spirit of compassion requires of us that we show kindness and offer our help towards all people, even those that we are indifferent to or might in fact not like very much because of some past hurt that they have inflicted upon us. To offer an unconditional expression of compassion in this way is one of the hardest challenges to face us in life. To realize true freedom and a full expression of the heart however, it is a path that we must take. It is the path of the Bodhisattva. To take this path, firstly we need a correctly orientated view of our own state of suffering and a much more equanimous view of the world around us.

It is easy to see suffering and injustice in the world and want to do something to change this state of affairs. However, the real problem; the place where the fixing needs to happen first, is inside of ourselves. It is our perception of the world and the way that we relate to the problems of the world and the suffering of others that should be the initial focus of our compassion and our efforts to bring healing and harmony. Once we work on ourselves and realize that we too have problems and are in need of compassion, that we too are not always in the right and can make mistakes, and that we need to forgive our ourselves and see ourselves as the rightful recipients of love and understanding, then we can truly begin to empathize with the suffering of others. In this spirit of true understanding, we can then offer active compassion in a way that will not only relieve the person's suffering but also promote a sense of wellbeing and happiness. We bring the wisdom of the mind, forged in the furnace of reflective experience, to bear on the heart-felt desire to do something to ease anothers pain.

Ultimately, we simply have to let go of the emotions that we feel and just be compassion. Compassion, whilst triggered by our own emotional states, needs to take on the quality of equinimity if it is to offer real solutions to the problems that exist in the world, whether on an individual or global level. We need to be able to step back from an emotion-driven response and allow wisdom to permeate our desire to take action and express our compassion. Once we can do this, as a result of our deep engagement with a self-focus on love and understanding, then what we have to offer to others, is not hampered by or coloured by our emotional state and thus there is a greater chance that it has the quality of right action.

Compassion in its fullest sense is indeed about taking action. It is about doing something of value in the world to alleviate the suffering of other beings. But it is a doing that arises out of a correct perception of the nature of reality, our place within it and that of the recipient(s) of our compassionate action. This perception is not arrived at easily and overnight; it is a (re-) learned response to the world that has at its core a commitment and a drive to develop ourselves spiritually and emotionally.

The development of compassion is not simply a bolt-on to the process of our pyschological and emotional maturing. It is one of the fundamental reasons we incarnated here in the first place. The process of allowing the conditions for the arising of unconditional love and compassion for all beings is one that is filled ultimately, with joy. Although we may face many challenges and many dilemmas as our awareness and sense of purpose increase, ultimately compassion and the process of developing compassion, is the key that will release us from the prison of our own mental and emotional dysfunctions.

Many blessings and much metta,

Steve

Islam's Gandhi - Part Two

During some recent research on Ustadh Mahmoud and his teachings, I came across this archive footage of the Republican Brotherhood from the 1970's and 1980's. The Republican Brotherhood is the name given to the former Republican Party in later years by Ustadh Mahmoud, to reflect its much more spiritual inclinations as opposed to its previously predominant political orientation.

I hope that these give you a better understanding and feel for the times and culture in which Ustadh Mahmoud and his followers operated.

Blessings, much metta and salam alikum,

Steve

Islam's Gandhi - Part One

This post originally appeared on 'The Voice of Humanity Healing' for February 13th 2009.

Over the coming months, 'The Voice of Humanity Healing' will be featuring a series of short articles and pictures, put together as a part of my ongoing research for my new book 'Islam's Gandhi' about the life and teachings of the Sudanese mystic Mahmoud Mohamed Taha. Certainly most of the pictures that you will see here, will not make it into the book and so this series will be presenting you with exclusive material that I hope will enrich your enjoyment of the final text when it is finally published.

Salam alikum,

Steve

Mahmoud Mohamed Taha - His life - Part One

Executed in January 1985 for crimes against Islam, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha was without a doubt, possibly one of Islam's leading modern heroes. Like his Indian near-contemporary, Mahatma Gandhi, Taha was a key figure in the fight for the independence of his homeland from British-Egyptian rule.

Born around 1909 in the town of Rufa'h on the east bank of the Blue Nile in central Sudan, Taha or 'Ustadh' Mahmoud (Revered Teacher) as he became known, came from a simple farming background. Rufa'h was then, as much as it is today a quiet and sleepy backwater. Nothing much happens there and people live out their lives in relative contentment, secure within a supportive and unhurried community. It was within the security of this environment that Ustadh Mahmoud spent his formative years.

Briefly moving to the village of Al Higailieg with their father following the death of their mother in 1915, Ustadh Mahmoud and his three siblings returned to Rufa'h n 1920. Their father had also passed away that year and had left the care of his children to their aunt. She allowed them to continue with their formal education, but it was only Ustadh Mahmoud who was to succeed within the rigorous and highly competitive educational system of the time. He went on to attend Gordon Memorial College (now the University of Khartoum) and in 1936, graduated from the school of engineering. He quickly secured employment with Sudan Railways, but this did not last for long and in 1941, he resigned and established his own private practice as an engineer.

It was during this period, from the late 1930's onwards that Ustadh Mahmoud took an active role within the burgeoning Nationalist struggle for independence from British-Egyptian rule. Dissatisfaction with the way that the struggle was being directed quickly set in however. The political parties that were vying for control of the country were compromising their ideals on full independence and succumbing to the divisive tactics of the colonial powers in an effort to secure favour. The educated elite were offering their support to the traditional religious leaders who commanded widespread support within the country at that time. For Ustadh Mahmoud, none of the available options seemed to offer much hope for the future of his country.

Along with others who similarly felt a deep sense of betrayal by those whose motivation seemed to be based on their own vested interest, whether political or religious, Ustadh Mahmoud established the Republican Party in October of 1945. The Republican's earliest publications began to set out their agenda for the establishment of a secular State, based upon a modernist understanding and orientation to traditional Islamic teachings.

By 1946, Ustadh Mahmoud and some of his colleagues had been sentenced to prison by the colonial administration for refusing to abstain from political activity. The Party's policy of open confrontation and political agitation had begun to threaten the political stability of the British-Egyptian authorities. Ustadh received a one year sentence but due to the vociferous and mounting pressure from the Republican's and their followers, a pardon was issued by the British Governor-General and Ustadh Mahmoud was released, having served only fifty days. Later that year however, he was again arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for his role in what became known as the Rufa'h Incident.

During that year, the government had outlawed the practice of Pharoanic circumcision - a practice that involved the removal of all of the external female genital organs. Although entirely in accord with the spirit of the new law and actively promoting an end to such abhorrent practices, the Republicans argued that legal interventions of this kind were extremely counterproductive and would only serve to drive the practice underground. Instead they argued for better education and an improvement in the general health and welfare conditions for Sudanese women. The opposed positions on the issue came to a head in Rufa'h when in an effort to mobilise public opinion against the colonial powers, the Republicans took up the case of a woman under threat of prosecution for subjecting her own daughter to the prohibited practice. Although the subsequent protest, lead by Ustadh Mahmoud lead to the immediate release of the accused woman, he quickly found himself under arrest along with other leaders of the Republican Party. Several thousand men had crossed the Blue Nile after Friday prayers into Hassaheissa - the administrative centre of the district to call for the woman's immediate release. Ustadh Mahmoud's arrest and incarceration over this incident proved to be a pivotal moment, not only for him and the Republican Party, but for also for the evolution of understanding of Islam.

Ustadh Mahmoud used his time in prison to undertake an intensive programme of prayer, fasting and meditation. Upon his release he committed to a further three years of self-imposed seclusion - known as a 'Khalwah'. Sometime later, in reference to this period, he said "When I settled in prison I began to realize that I was brought there by my Lord and thence I started my Khalwah with Him". Ultimately his five year programme of focused religious practice aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the message of God as laid out in the Qur'an, lead Ustadh Mahmoud to formulate what he called 'The Second Message of Islam'. Based on the insights that he gained into the Qur'an and the role of Islamic Law during the Khalwah, The Second Message articulated a new vision for the Islamic world. A vision in which the essential truths of the Qur'an and thus God's word, could be made not only relevant to a time and culture far removed from the one in which the Qur'an was laid down, but much more in line with the essential doctrines and expectations resulting from a true and full engagement with the word of God.

As a devout Muslim, Ustadh Mahmoud believed that all God-given revelations had ended with the Prophet Mohamed but none-the-less, he claimed that his vision and subsequent teachings on the future direction of Islam were God-given. In support of this he cited verse 282 of the second Sura of the Qur'an which states that 'God teaches the one who is pious and fearful of God'. He also cited the Sunnah (the examples of the Prophet) which states that the person who acts in accordance with what he or she knows, shall be granted by God knowledge of that which he or she does not know. It is this allusion to hidden or mystic teachings that is often used by the great Sufi masters in defence of their practices and orientations to Islam and that set them apart from the non-mystical teachings and interpretations of others. It was Ustadh's firm belief that through dedicated study and contemplative prayer and meditation, the believer can receive direct and unmediated enlightened understanding of the Word of God as revealed to the Prophet Mohamed.

In October 1951, Following Ustadh Mahmoud's period of religious seclusion and the dissemination of his new and comprehensive vision for the future of Islam, The Republican Party went through a major transformation from a political party into an organization dedicated to the propagation of Ustadh's spiritual teachings. Those members who wished to continue in a more politically active role broke away and joined other parties, whilst the Republicans, under the direct leadership of Ustadh began a campaign of spreading the The Second Message of Islam to the Sudanese public. This transformative process however did not preclude the Republicans from continuing their support for and dissemination of their deeply held convictions on a political front. The organisation simply re-orientated its principle focus, so that its view of the political landscape became inherently much more spiritual.

After a brief period working for the Water and Electricity Company in Khartoum, Ustadh resumed his private practice as an engineer. Initially continuing to spread his teachings through an ongoing programme of public lectures and newspaper articles, in 1955 he published a book entitled 'Usus Dustour As-Soudan' which set out an agenda for a new Sudanese constitution, which called for a presidential, federal, democratic and socialist Republic that contained at its heart a pacifist and inclusive agenda derived from his understandings of man's relationship to the Divine. Any attempt to impose laws derived from Islamic Sharia were anathema to him, seeing this as divisive and inviting distrust and animosity from the non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese.

In 1956, following the declaration of Independence on January 1st of that year, a committee was set up to begin the process of writing a new constitution for the country. Ustadh Mahmoud took his place on the committee as the representative for the Republican Party. After only a few months, frustrated and dissatisfied with the corrupt agendas of some of the representatives, Ustadh Mahmoud resigned his seat and cited interference from the executive authority as the reason. Ultimately the committee presented their findings and recommendations for a new constitution that were largely based on Sharia Law as demanded by the traditional sectarian religious parties.

In November of 1958 however, just prior to the adoption of the constitutional recommendations requested by the committee, a bloodless military coup seized power and all political parties, including the Republican Party were dissolved. Ustadh Mahmoud, not wishing to relinquish his vision of a new Sudan, seized the opportunity and wrote to the head of the new regime; General Abboud requesting that he implement the proposals of the Republicans for a socialist, democratic and federal government. He included with his letter, a copy of his book about the constitution. Although Ustadh Mahmoud's recommendations were dismissed out of hand, he continued to lecture publicly and spread his conception of the new Sudanese Republic and the role of Islam within society to all that would listen. His ideas however were intolerable to the closed minds of the religious traditionalists, who became more and more vociferous in their opposition to the Republican agenda.

After the dismissal of three students from the Islamic Institute of Omdurman for propagating the ideas of Ustadh Mahmoud, a ban was implemented prohibiting Ustadh and his followers from holding public lectures and denying them access to all the media. Restricted in this way the members of the movement went largely underground and confined their activities to the private homes of members and of sympathetic friends.

With the return of multi-party parliamentary government, the Republican Party was revived and once more continued with their programme of spreading the teachings of The Second Message of Islam through public lectures, newspaper articles and books. In 1966-67, Ustadh Mahmoud published three of his most important works: 'Tarieq Mohammed' ('Mohammed's Path'), 'Risalat Assalat' ('The Message of Prayer') and 'Arrisala Atthaniya min Al-Islam' ('The Second Message of Islam'). Two further books published in 1967 set out his proposal for direct talks to establish a peaceful co-existence between the Arab States and Israel. Ustadh Mahmoud was fundamentally opposed to the sort of Arab Nationalism as put forward by Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser as well as what he perceived as the primitive and anti-humanitarian applications of Islam being instituted in Saudi Arabia and promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood in other Arab states. Ustadh Mahmoud was certainly not averse to standing his ground and taking on the rest of the Muslim world in an effort to educate and enlighten others about what he perceived to be the true message of Islam.

In 1968, Ustadh Mahmoud's vocal opposition to the established Islamic order lead once more to his arrest. This time he had been accused by two Islamic University teachers of committing the crime of 'Ridda' or apostasy; a crime punishable by death. Ustadh invoked his constitutional right of freedom of thought and expression and refused to appear before the court. The accusations were investigated in his absence by the Khartoum Sharia (Islamic Rules) High Court. It is not currently clear as to the decision of the court, or whether the legal proceedings were in anyway interrupted by the military coup by the Free Officers Movement, lead by Jaafar an Nimeiri on May 25th 1969. Ustadh however lived and went on to continue his lecturing and public speaking for a little while longer. One of the first acts of the new regime however was to abolish all government institutions and to ban all political parties, including the Republican Party and so once again, the Republicans found themselves politically isolated and having to continue their activities underground.

This is the first part of the research and notes that I have prepared for 'Islam's Gandhi'. Further research notes will continue to be published here as the book takes shape. I am in discussion about this project with Ustadh Mahmoud's family and in time would hope to include here some of the interviews that I intend to undertake. A trip to Ustadh Mahmoud's home town of Rufa'h will also hopefully take place soon and I shall publish here any pictures of that visit along with new information as it is gathered. Please note however that this series of articles represents my working methods in the preparation of the manuscript for the book, and thus the series of articles may not necessarily follow a chronolgical order. I hope that you have found this initial introduction to the life of Ustadh Mahmoud Mohamed Taha - Islam's Gandhi - to be of some interest.

Many blessings and much metta,

Steve

The Supreme Ultimate

This post originally appeared on 'The Voice of Humanity Healing' for 31st January 2009.

Emblazoned across the backs of Young Guns leather jackets, melting into the amorphous realms of the Third Eye, adorning the walls of hippie student's dormitory walls, sparkling on the end of a silver earing as the sun catches it's twirling motion. The Supreme Ultimate, the Yin Yang (as it is known in the West) has become the universal symbol of something beyond, something destabilising, a call to arms to begin the revolution of the mind and a badge of one's commitment to all and anything that is not the way it is now. It's a trinket, an adornment, a puzzle and a revelation. It is a finger up to the establishment and a gateway to the realm of the Gods. A pattern, a badge, a symbol of power...whatever you want it to be, the Supreme Ultimate is it.

Whether we are familiar with the meanings, the origins and the uses of this archetypal, universal symbolic form, we all know it. We have all seen it countless times. It seems to have seeped into the consciousness, subconsciousness and meta-consciouness of the West and thus of the world. Owned by none, claimed by many, it is, according to the ancient Chinese sages, the physical manifestation of the concept of the ethereal omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of all that is.

The Supreme Ultimate is a deeply provocative act of revolutionising consciousness and has its physical and thus conscious origins within the realization of opposing forces. Essentially, the symbol is a representation of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things and how one gives rise to the other. In classical Chinese thought, all natural dualities are cast in terms of yin and yang: male and female, light and dark, good and bad, full and empty....all of these things are reliant for their existence on their opposite. There cannot be light without darkness, there cannot be male without female, there cannot be good without bad..there is an intrinsic interdependence of one on the other - and each gives rise to the other. As the sun climbs in the sky, as it reaches its zenith, there is within it, the seed of the coming night and slowly but surely it gives way to darkness, which in turn carries within it the seed of the coming day. It is a continuous motion of one leading to the other. The symbol is indeed designed to give the impression of movement.

The two aspects of the Yin Yang symbol constantly interact and never exist in a state of stasis. The outer circle of the symbol represents the whole, whilst the black and white sections represent aspects of the whole, and within each we can see the seed and the coming birth of the other aspect - its opposite. The Yin apsect of the symbol is the dark area and is characterised in terms of the feminine: slow, soft, cold, wet, tranquil and pliant, whilst the Yang aspect; the white section is characterised as male: hard, fast, dry, hot, aggressive and rigid. The white aspect rises on the left, whilst the dark aspect descends on the right.

The concepts of Yin and Yang are the fundamental principles behind all of the traditional Chinese martial systems - whether they be active or passive. In each we see the principles of passivity and pliancy in a constant dance of submission and assertion with the principles of activity and resistance; and all to astonishing effect. The Chinese martial arts, whilst being some of the most complete and boundlessly destructive methods of combat known to man, have within them the submissive grace of a debutante. They are the perfect encapsulation of the principles of yin and yang and thus express and live out in microcosm, the concepts of the Supreme Ultimate. Yet the Supreme Ultimate is empty as well as full. It is devoid of anything and expresses nothing at the same time that it expresses all and is full of everything that there is in existence. It is beyond expression and definition. Full amd empty are mutually counteractive concepts - but they express the duallity of existence. This duality is contained within the emptiness of the Supreme Ultimate.

The outer circle of the symbol - the whole - is the One. It is all that is and ever was and is greater and smaller than any other concept or theoretical construct known to man. Macrocosm and microcosm. The One gives rise to the two and thus opposition as well as harmonious co-existence. In the martial arts, we see this constant interplay and arising and falling of opposing forces, each containing the acceptance and potential of the ensuing form as it progresses. But more than this, the mind, the being that gives rise to and commands the arising and diminishing of these forces for the form and the art to be successful, must strive to become the outer circle of the symbol. He or she must become empty and full at the same time: ready to be placid and pliant, ready to be aggressive and submissive, ready to concede and grasp everything - to be empty and full at the same time is to have a deep knowing of the nature of the Universe beyond this Universe. To be still and concede that the arising of one or other of the aspects known as Yin or Yang can be called upon and infuse one's being at will.If you have ever studied Tai Chi and are familiar with the practice of 'Pushing Hands' you will understand the ideas, expressed through the Supreme Ultimate of rising and falling, pushing forward and giving way in an endless series of pliant, yet strong hand and arm movements. This basic Tai Chi exercise has much in common with the passage of our lives as we go from day to day. So how does the Yin Yang symbol relate to our everyday lives and how can we use the concepts behind it to help us move through life in a more peaceful and conscious way?

Our day to day existence is full of choices and decisions. Some of these are significant, some are not - or appear not to be, but all, in their own way have profound impacts on us - for our long term health and sense of wellbeing and for our spiritual growth. Even something as seemingly insignificant as our feeling in the morning when we rise and see that it is raining outside is a decision that we make, based on the principles of Yin and Yang. Regardless of the external conditions - the rain - we have the abillity to chose how we feel about it. We can be happy because it will water our garden or because we just like walking in it, or we can be miserable, because it is yet another wet, cold and unpleasant day. The rain is just the rain and expressing it's nature, but we are entirely in control of our feelings towards it and as a consequence of that decision, our feelings and mood may be coloured for the rest of that day. In becoming the emptiness of the Supreme Ultimate - embodying and realising the Oneness within our being, it is necessary to simply let the rain be. To not allow the arising of any thoughts as to our feelings towards it - whether we would think of them as positive or negative.

We might rightly say that it is a good thing for us to feel positive about the fact that it is raining, or our boss is not going to give us the promotion that we wanted, or that our car won't start today...or any of the plethora of events that happen to us throughout our days and our lives. Of course, having a positive approach to these things is eminently more desireable than a negative view, but if we wish to really see the world as it is, it is necessary to move beyond the duality of this or that, right and wrong, positive and negative. Each time that we raise a thought of any kind, we colour the world with the imprint of our minds. The consequence of this is that we never actually get to see or experience the world as it truly is.

When we are presented with a chair and asked "What is it that you see?" We answer "A chair" - but we only know it as a chair because of all our other experiences of chairs. We know what it is for, we know if it is comfortable, we know how to use it, we know if it is aesthetically pleasing...we know much about it because we have a data bank of knowledge on the subject of chairs. What we do not see is what it actually is that we are being presented with; stripped away of the clutter of thoughts and processes that we impose upon it. Try to see anything in the world around you, devoid of your own preconditioning - it is almost impossible.

But if we want to find true peace for ourselves, if we want to find the way to a life of bliss, we really do at some point need to not only realise the emptiness of the Supreme Ultimate within ourselves as more than a theoretical and spiritual construct, we must become the Supreme Ultimate. We must empty ourselves and simply accept the world as it is - see it as it is - experience it as it is and have an understanding and control of the nature of our potential to express duality in which ever way we chose. We live in a dual world, governed by the laws of duallity, and while we exist here on this earthly plane, we have no choice but to move through it in a dualistic fashion - choosing this or that, black or white, up or down but we need to do it from the space of emptiness that is the outer circle - the Oneness of creation. And we need to do it in the full knowledge that whatever choice we make, it has within it the seed of it's opposite that will also one day come to fruition.

As we watch the pendulum of our lives, we must see that it is riven with constant swings backwards and forwards between events, circumstances, emotions that we can characterise as positive or negative. It is all very complex and there are many interwoven strands and threads that mitigate against us being able to label one aspect of our lives as totally positive or negative, but in broad terms, we are all aware of the constant movement back and forth between one extreme and another. If we want to stop this swing for good instead of resting in the illusory space of the good times that will inevitably come to an end, then we must focus on the emptiness of existence. We must try to bring to our minds the understanding and feeling and knowing of being, in fact, the Supreme Ultimate given birth within the illusory world of duality.

Metta and many blessings,

Steve

Manifesting Your Dreams

This post originally appeared on 'The Voice of Humanity Healing' 24th January 2009.

We all have ambitions in life. We all have desires and aspirations for our futures. We all want to reach out for the stars and grasp that which we believe we are capable of. We all want something more than we have right now. It is a part of the human condition, and a wonderful part of it at that. It is actually a blessing: our desire for more than we are given when we are born. Our sense of wanting to be and to have and to feel more than we are gifted with at the moment of our birth.

Of course there are those who reading this, will say "I am happy and content with what and who I am right now", but this condition is not arrived at easily for most of us. Even those who can honestly proclaim such a beneficent state, possibly had to strive for it in some way in the past, or come to an internal and personal acceptance of this state at some stage in their lives. Very few of us are born with an innate sense of acceptance and joy at the process of our lives as it unfolds. Most of us yearn for some sort of change or improvement. This is how it should be and it is one of the reasons why we came into the world: to be and do and feel more; to strive to be all that we can be and to achieve our highest potential.

This desire springs out of a dissatisfaction with the way that things are right now. We are all prone to this, whatever the state or condition of our lives. The richest and the poorest, the ill and the healthy, the wise and the unwise, all want something that is not currently within their life experience. Ultimately, the motivating force is the perception of the lack of happiness that we have or the expectation that in gaining that which we desire, our happiness will increase or improve or indeed replace the sadness or misery that is now our lot. It is a worthy goal and one that we should n0t under any circumstances relinquish. Of course, the achieving of happiness is not ultimately predicated on the gaining of things and external conditions. The realisation of this truth however, is one that we need to discover for ourselves - it is a part of the spiritual path of increasing self-consciousness.

Regardless of this, there is nothing wrong whatsoever in aiming high and trying to gain the summit of your personal ambition. Whether it is the achieving of a desired for relationship, or the gaining of a better job, or the striving to be free of the restraints that a society, culture, family or other external force places upon us. Having an ambition, a goal is a worthy thing to have. The desire for happiness however that these things ultimately do not bring, will and must go on; propelling us to the next goal, the next achievement, the next great success.

Maintaining a sense that we can achieve our potential and gain that which we do not currently have is often not easy however. It depends in part on how far or high we are aiming and whether or not we have a strong enough internal belief system to keep us going when the going gets tough. Faith in our ability to achieve our potential or a commitment to keep going in the right direction is fundamental to success. A half hearted or limp wristed approach is destined for failure. Certainly, never allow others to steal your dreams. Whatever it is that you aspire too, however high the mountain is, whatever it is that you need to do to manifest your new reality, the very worst thing you can do is to give up because of the low expectations of others due to their commitment to a life that is less than it could be. Never let those who expect little from life, project their negativity or their lack of motivation on to you. The result will be that you will abandon all that you hold dear and accept less that you are capable of.

So what is the secret of success? How do ordinary men and women turn misfortune or poverty into great personal and professional achievements? There is one golden key and that is to have faith in yourself. To believe and know 100% that what you aspire too, is achievable - that you can do it. Being positive is not enough. Simply believing is not enough. These are great things and a part of the recipe of success, but to achieve the big goals, something more is needed. To get right to the top of your personal mountain, there is a need to know, deep inside of you, that you CAN make it. Don't believe it, KNOW it.

Those that push to the greatest successes in life - whatever they may be are the one's that absolutely refuse to contemplate failure. They are the ones that, through all of the obstacles, just keep going. Those that do not give up in the face of what appear to be insurmountable odds. When everyone else would abandon their dreams and resign themselves to the belief that they gave it a shot, but it was out of their reach, those that are relentless in their pursuit of their goal stand an excellent chance of achieving it. It doesn't matter what the goal is. Everything is possible. Everything can be achieved. Whatever it is that you want to do with your life, if you are determined enough and willing to put everything on the line to achieve it, then you most certainly can gain that which others gave up on long ago.

It is all down to your attitude. It is all down to your belief in yourself. You can do and have anything that you set your heart on. Just don't give up! Never give up! Keep going until you get what you want. But be flexible! Circumstances can change and a goal can become inappropriate. This can often happen. Allow life to take you in its current and be open to new possibilities, but keep pushing forward. Don't give up on your drive for success.

Goals can and do often change along the way. There is nothing wrong with this and shifting your focus is not a mark of failure...it is a celebration of the fact that you are not limiting yourself in anyway. It is an exultation of your ability to bend like the reed in the stream, to the possibilities and currents of life. The point is to just keep moving forward. Going in the right direction. Refocusing and reassessing and moving with life to where you want to be. We cannot always predict at the outset what the problems might be that we will encounter on our journey. The answer is simple: just stay flexible, and deal with whatever life throws up as you go.

All of this striving however, as I have said is ultimately not going to bring you lasting happiness. Let's not live under any illusion about this. Happiness is an internal state and not dictated by external forces. Happiness is a state of mind. Happiness can exist under any circumstances. Happiness is predicated on the right internal conditions, not on external ones. Happiness and not angst, or sadness or misery or emotional pain can be achieved with a simple change of mind. Just chose to be happy and you are. It would appear to be very simple, but if it were, we would not spend our lives in pursuit of external things. We would all simply chose happiness in whatever circumstances we find ourselves and give up all other external efforts, as what would be the point in striving anymore?

Striving is however a necessary part of being human. It is what brings joy to our day, gets us motivated in the morning, allows us to dream and to plan and to hope. It is what makes life rich and filled with possibilities. Aiming for our goals is just as much a part of the spiritual journey as engaging in meditation or mantra practice or chakra work or...you name it...these are all just different facets of the human condition, and every single thing that we do in life is a part of the journey to enlightenment or union with God. It is just another part of the tapestry of our lives.

Don't give up, don't fall at the first hurdle, don't let others put you off. Just keep striving, overcome everything that stands in your way and push forward in life. Eventually, you will succeed like you could never have dreamed.

Blessings and metta,

Steve

Love From Daddy

This post is taken from my blog 'Love From Daddy', which I post on an ocassional basis for my children Marianne and Sam. I thought it about time that I started to disseminate this material a little wider.

Dear Marianne & Sam,

Yesterday I went out to visit a place called Tuti Island. It is right in the middle of the Nile River and is near where the Blue and the White Nile's meet.

These first two photos are of the two men that took me to the island in a very old boat and me on the journey. It only took a couple of minutes. It was great to be back on the Nile again. I have not been on a boat on the Nile since I lived in Cairo and was there with your mum, Sam.

Tuti Island is right in the middle of Khartoum and not that far from the President's Palace and other important government buildings. So it is very odd to be on the island, walking down a quiet country lane, with donkeys on it, or sitting on a beach and knowing that you are still in the capital city of the biggest country in Africa.

I spent about three hours on Tuti yesterday, just wandering around and taking photographs for you. Even though it is winter here, it was still quiet a hot day. After walking a long way around Tuti, through the town and some of the farmland, I got a tuk tuk back to where the boats were, to get back to the shore and go home.

This next photo shows a view of the centre of Khartoum from the shore of Tuti. The big building is a hotel that was built by Colonel Gadafi of Libya, called the Burj. I went in there later for a coffee.

On the other side of the island, which is about 20 minutes walk away, there is a beautiful sandy beach, just like at the seaside. Only here, you would not really want to go swimming in the water. The locals do, but I certainly would not want to swim in the river.

Here is a photo of a tuk tuk. This is the only taxi service on the island though there are some proper vans and small lorries here too. Tuk Tuks are not allowed in Central Khartoum apart from on this island. This tuk tuk driver stopped and wanted me to take his photo.

Here is a quiet country lane on Tuti with a donkey taking a rest and having some food. It is strange to think that this is right in the middle of the city. There are not many cities in the world where you can go to the centre and find a country lane with donkeys walking and resting.

In this last photo is the Burj. This is the only really nice hotel in Khartoum and built by Colonel Gadafi of Libya. It is beautiful inside but has hardly any visitors or guests at all. It is not that expensive really, but does not get used much. I was told that even though it dooes not make enough money to stay open, the Libyan government funds it and so it stays open. I went here for a coffee on my way home from Tuti Island. The hotel and the island are only about a half hour walk away from my school.

I hope that you two are behaving and getting on with your school work. I am glad that you are enjoying your first time at school Sam and making lots of new friends. I am so proud of you my boy. Marianne, I loved the horror story that you showed me that you did for school and I am really proud of you too. You are a natural writer and I hope that you will write a lot more.

See you soon. Take care and be good.

Lots of love,

Daddy xxxx