Sufi
Call from p. 10
them. While I personally wanted to sleep, my wife and I took turns doing the middle-of-the-night feeding. The lower soul in me was yelling, “Stay in bed,” and the higher soul was saying, “Get-up and care for your young one.” What made this easier was the love in my heart, and it pushed me forward and helped get me out of bed. Until all people see this dynamic working in themselves and rise above it — the need to get what we want (stay in bed) as opposed to what the situation requires (feed the babe) — there will be friction and lack of harmony. Caring For My Neighbor
Why should I care about my neighbor? There are many reasons to do so. First, nobody lives in isolation. We are social creatures who depend upon each other for our survival and quality of life. Second, if my neighbor is hungry and sick, at some point, these troubling conditions will affect me directly. I may catch whatever disease is affecting my neighbor. And one day if he continues to stay hungry, he will knock on my door demanding food. We see this throughout history. Eventually, oppressed people turn against their oppressors and take back whatever is rightfully theirs. This is a vicious cycle, and our best chance for co-existence is mutual sharing of resources. The Sufi Call says that within our universe there is a primal energy that is life-giving, loving and all-knowing. This energy is the enabling factor, and in time through a guided course of study, the individual learns to embrace and use this primordial element. Having a part of this element within, slowly the individual recognizes this energy as the Source of their inner burning. In the journey to completion, each is the prodigal son/daughter who returns, with spiritual capacity and is embraced by their Father/Mother to share in the kingdom and their birthright. Then, gradually as intended, the world becomes a better place: one person at a time. a Dr. Stewart Bitkoff is an avid student of Sufi Mysticism and the perennial philosophy. Professionally, specializing in the healing applications of therapeutic recreation, psychiatric rehabilitation and mental health treatment, Bitkoff holds a doctorate in education and has served as a faculty member for six colleges and universities. He is the author of Sufism for Western Seekers, The Ferryman’s Dream and A Commuter’s Guide to Enlightenment, among others. Visit www.stewartbitkoff.com. Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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Manifestation
The missing pieces by Mikaya Heart Much of what is written about the concept of manifestation makes people roll their eyes. Whatever your attitude, looking at the missing pieces in this process helps us to understand the true nature of reality, and then we can more easily choose a life that is pleasing and worthwhile. The first of these missing pieces is summed up in the question, “Who is doing the manifesting?” Something manifested you before you were born, and made choices that dictated the kind of life you have led, right? We can call this original source of creation by many names, such as higher self, soul, source, god, or all-that-i-am. What did all-that-I-am intend when it chose the character, the body and the environment into which you were born? And who does the choosing now that this human self thinks it is adult enough to make its own choices? The answers to those questions require us to adopt a very broad perspective on life in human form. All-that-we-are doesn’t know pain, fear, anger or frustration. It doesn’t know what it’s like to be limited. It’s fascinated by the possibilities inherent in a life in limited physical form. It wants to experience everything. Appreciating and accepting the wisdom of allthat-we-are doesn’t mean the human self can’t make its own choices, but it requires learning how to experience everything fully, because that satisfies all-that-we-are, and it will then allow the human self to move on to other things that will hopefully be more in alignment with what we humans consider pleasant. We cannot avoid the destinies that all-thatwe-are wants for us, no matter how much we might wish to do so. The skill of being fully present for an unpleasant experience is an essential aspect of the art of being human, enabling us to get it over with quickly. The beauty of acknowledging the source of all creation is that we are immediately a lot closer to what we really want. Many people, when they first think about what they want, will say more money. It’s great to have money — but once the basics are met, wouldn’t peace of mind be a lot more valuable? What about being able to embrace the fullness of our potential? Or operating from a place of trust
and leaving behind fears that keep us limited? Money is only a tool. Let’s move beyond the concept of financial welfare to something more profound. Another missing piece is about allowing yourself to feel the joy of having what you want, and allowing that joy to flow through your body. That is no small feat when you don’t actually have it yet, and you must have been feeling its absence, or lack, because otherwise you wouldn’t know you want it. You have to change this awareness of lack. It helps to have a positive attitude to life, a good partnership with your body, and a very strong imagination. It takes practice. And when we keep falling back to the default awareness of lack, the thing we want can’t come to us. We are unconsciously wishing it away instead of wishing it present. We have to acknowledge our deep-seated default beliefs so that we can change or replace them, yet they are so familiar that we are probably unaware of them. However, this process involves more than just our minds: it is also about our bodies. When we allow the energy of a desire to flow through our bodies, so that we jump for joy and laugh out loud — then we are really on our way to fulfilling our desires, and we can bypass the mental beliefs that block that fulfillment. A single article cannot possibly cover the art of manifestation in any depth but perhaps you are getting the idea that it requires the courage to do some serious soul-searching, far beyond egoic motivation. Ultimately, it puts you in touch with powerful creative abilities in this lifetime and further, which is tremendously rewarding. Some people may not support you, but many of us are choosing to look more deeply now — and we are all rooting for each other. a Mikaya Heart is an award-winning author, a spiritual mentor, a shamanic practitioner, and an ordained Minister of Holistic Healing, helping people to operate from a place of trust instead of fear. Her latest book is Life, Lies, and Sex: A User’s Guide to Being in a Body. She is working on a book about the art of manifestation. Although based in northern California, she leads a very varied lifestyle and travels a great deal. Contact Mikaya at mikayaheart@gmail.com and visit www.mikayaheart.org. Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.