Context: Michigan Church shooting. The real reason for all the shootings in the USA. Courtesy of Michael Jackson.”They really don’t care about us” !. With all the bureaucratic hurdles, with all the automation, with all the transhuman insensitivity, with the huge income disparities, with young men and women unable to find suitable partners and jobs it is very easy to understand why some individuals,more than we think, can realistically assume no-one really cares about them Hence the desperation!
The Adversarial Position
The Adversarial Approach-
The Great Hoax of Modern Times
One of the most commonly accepted truisms of Modern Times is that the way to the Truth is through the Adversarial Approach. So, on the legal front, you have the prosecution and the defense. In politics you have the Democrats and the Republicans or alternatively the left-wing and the right wing. Somehow through the confrontation of these opposites, one is supposed to be able top discern the Truth. This is a deep-seated error in Epistemology. In reality, instead of getting to Clarity and Truth, this approach leads to confusion and animosity. If you don’t understand what I mean, just look at what is happening in America currently. But like lots of consensually held illusions (think of the sun revolving around the Earth lol) they die hard. Partly because much of this conviction is Unconscious.
If you need a concrete example of this process watch the Senate hearings in the United States.These hearings were intended to seek clarity .But instead you have a bifurcation of expressed beliefs. The Democrats have one point of view and the Republicans have another. So what is being set up is a game-the game of who is the best debater. In the end everyone is a loser-especially the public that is just either more partisan or more confused after the event.
Another instance of this can be seen on the news networks. Just watched an interview by Dana Bash (left-leaning CNN) and a Republican senator. Each speaking over the other. Neither of them listening except as an occasion for a gotcha moment that can be played over and over again. The best part is at the end of the interview Dana, who by now has certainly built up a pile of animosity, states in an obviously hypocritical way.”and thanks for coming” Ya right. Now she can make a dartboard out of his picture to be able to release her frustrations when needed lol
There is a strange irony in this adversarial belief-system. We could call this belief, from a philosophical point of view , “Dialectics”. Dialectics claims that from the thesis-antithesis clash we get to synthesis on a higher level. But that is exactly what Marx and the Communists call their point of view. ”Dialectical Materialism”. So we are on the same plane-the plane of ignorance! Have you noticed that wonderful synthesis in China and Russia LOL?
In the field of Sufi Islam, we are repeatedly warned about this approach. The teacher of my Sufi teacher, Sheikh Abdullah Daghestani, says in his book: ” Argumentation destroys faith” In traditional Islam, one of the four great Imams, Imam Malik was known to walk out of the mosque if some-one started arguing. And in the Quran Allah says:” Man is mostly disputatious” He swt was surely not encouraging this bad tendency!
Now, when I examined my own learning process, I realized that I had learnt very little from discussions with opposing points of view. Mostly those discussions led nowhere and created more animosity than clarity. So I asked myself the question: ”How did I learn?” Yes, I do believe I have learnt a lot in this life journey lol. And the answer came back in an irrefutable manner.” Through listening to people who knew a lot more than me about the subject”! No, not discussing with them, debating with them or even interacting with them! Simple, honest, open-hearted listening. And that shifted my life course on several occasion.
People who are familiar with my approach know that My Epistemology is based not on logic and rationality, certainly not on debating, but on “Seeing”, “Hearing “ and” Feeling”. Let me give you a few examples
1-We will start with Hearing.
Two examples-neither from great scholars. lol In my pre-Islamic days like the people of my generation I had a girlfriend who was both highly intelligent and depressed. Her treating psychiatrist invited me in for a session one week. ( Did he think I was part of the problem lol. Maybe!). I outrightly refused in a way that can only be described as ironic given what followed. ”Psychiatry.That’s a bunch of bunk .It’s not even scientific” was my response. Have come a long way since then. My girlfriend, suitably upset, then went to talk with her also intelligent girlfriend and came back saying:” Me and Miriam decided that you are a “positivist’! I didn’t even know what positivism was! But it hit me hard and I knew I had to find out!
Now, if I had read a little, I could have come back and debated the issue. I could have defended Empiricism and debated her philosophic and Artistic Idealism. But for some reason, I didn’t. Instead, I began a long research project starting with a Sabbatical from medical school-a research project that is continuing up to the present moment. This research has made me question the so-called scientific process. Instead of debating, I heard the Truth of it. And I have not regretted it for one moment.
Another “listening event. I was in California looking to learn about the latest alternative psychotherapies. I didn’t go to Esalen but I went to the Esalen bookstore in Haight Ashbury.There was a young lady serving at the bookstore (probably early twenties) who noticed that I had a non-Californian accent and asked what I was doing in San Francisco.” I’m here to study Gestalt Therapy” I said, somewhat simplifying the process. She then looked at me with utter contempt and said: ”Gestalt Therapy, that’s not where it’s at, man” (typical language of the day lol).I thought to myself: ”This is the dumbest chick I have ever met’(also typical language of the day lol) and decided to leave. But as I was walking out of the bookstore shaking my head in disbelief, I turned around and said: ”Ok then where’s it at?” “Spirituality man, that’s where it’s at”. I walked out of the store still shaking my head ! However, the phrase kept repeating itself in my head like a beloved song from high school. ”Spirituality, man. That’s where its at”. Sure enough, soon after I got back to Montreal I met my first spiritual teacher, a Buddhist Lama sent to Montreal by the Dalai Lama to attend to the Tibetan community in Longueuil! And the rest is history.
Now if I had done what the current zeitgeist would recommend (Discussion? Debate? Conversation?) and debated the issue-spirituality vs. psychology) in all likelihood it would have led to an impasse and bad feelings .Instead, this seemingly banal interaction led to a life-changing experience!
2- Example of Seeing. I am in Jordan. I am out shopping when a Muslim “brother” meets me and invites me to dinner. It doesn’t take long for his small group to go into their Wahhabbi discourse and begin criticizing Sheikh Nuh ,my spiritual teacher of the time. I do my best to defend him (the debate mode lol) and after a few more minutes, I look at the group and say “ I can see no nur(light) in your faces. How am I supposed to believe your words.” And I left. Btw I had a very similar encounter with a Shia group in Montreal!
Example 2- a secular one. I was a Marxist at the time?! I am in a large meeting of left-wingers. All the local bigshots are there! I look around and at the Front Table only to realize that these people are worse than the democratic liberal government under Robert Bourassa. And that it would be a catastrophe to help them into power! End of my career as a Marxist!
3-“Feeling” (Alternatively could be titled “intuition” or “knowledge of the heart) I am in Plateau Montréal -the “in” area of Montreal, still searching. I go to a bookstore dedicated to the works of Alistar Crowley. I knew nothing about him before entering. But I knew it felt weird, very weird and I didn’t stay long. Later I learnt that he was a well-known Black Magician from England. My “feelings” had led me to the right conclusion!
Now, there are some prerequisites to achieving these kind of perceptions.. Some people have good instincts to start with.It is like a genetic endowment. Most of us have to work at it . Firstly we must be able to listen. Most people are listening through the veil of their belief-systems. Seeing and feeling are the same. If the ideas do not conform to what is already in their mind, they reject them. Many, many people simply reject anything new or unusual. And they are stuck in that way.
So what can we do to enhance our openness to the Truth. That is the Essence of the Sufi way. We pray, we do dhikr( mediation),we listen to wise teachers. But, most of all, we oppose our nafs (ego).It is called jihad-a-nafs. This is no mean feat. Most of the Muslims I have met don’t have a clue! They think wearing hijab and eating halal meat is enough. But the process of jihad-a-nafs goes far beyond that .It goes to the essential task of character-building. People who do that work seriously are like precious gems as opposed to stones. And you can learn to see them as such.
May Allah be with you on your journey. Sufi Ibrahim Kreps
American Delusions
Disclaimer: Throughout my life, I have had a deep affection for America. As a child, I used to dream of subways going to Boston where my cousins lived. I learnt so much in medicine and spirituality from travelling to American conferences and workshops.. And I always respected American ingenuity and open-mindedness and science. But something has gone really wrong there. And the seeds were well-planted in history!
Delusion #1 : There is no place in American politics for violence!
Are you kidding me?! America was founded on a battle against the British Monarchy, the exploitation of black slaves and the genocidal attitude towards indigenous people. All three were based on violence.Then there was the Civil War that cost 750,00 lives, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King! Not to mention Medgar Evans and Malcolm X. So to say violence has no place in American politics is utterly absurd. It is as American as Apple Pie and cheerleaders lol.
Delusion #2 America is the greatest country in the world or alternatively America is the greatest country ever! Really?! Well the UIN Human Development report regularly puts America in last place amongst the developed countries in ALL social parameters! That includes Infant mortality rate, levels of violence , levels of poverty .efficacy of the medical system etc.etc. As to the Division of Wealth America again ranks last of the developed countries although there are several third-world countries that outdo it! No honour to America there!
Delusion #3
The best way to arrive at Truth and Understanding is through discussion and debate. I would say that this is NOT a particularly American viewpoint .It is common to all post-Enlightenment countries but is it true?! Think about your own life process .How many times has your opinion been changed by discussions?! Personally, I have yet to see it! In most cases, people get more virulent and entrenched in their points of view through debate and discussion. It can even end in hatred and violence! Isn’t that what just happened with Charlie Kirk- a great advocate for “dialogue”.
In my experience, and now my thinking, the real learning happens in a totally different way! One person who has more insight and understanding speaks and the other(s) listen with an open mind. That’s how I learned medicine ,psychology and spiritually. Isn’t that what the Prophets and the saints of all religions did?! The Adversarial position which America is so fond of and is used in both political and legal settings is a total failure! For those wanting to understand more, I strongly recommend my articles on Epistemology at www.sufipilgrimsprogress.com
There is much ,much more to say but let’s leave it at that for now! Think about it!
Autism is Everywhere!
Autism /Aspergers is Everywhere!
According to current medical statistics, Autism Spectrum Disorder is now at 1/32.That is in contrast to the 1/2500 we were taught when I studied psychiatry in the 80’s.. The sceptics say that this is just because we are looking for it more or alternatively because the diagnostic criteria have changed.
Rubbish! In fact according to my observations, the rate of Autism is much, much higher than that! In fact, I would argue that every single child exposed to the equivalent of the American Vaccine mandate schedule has some features of autism!
As an example of the underdiagnosis phenomenon during my practice as a psychiatrist I remember having referred at least two clear-cut cases of autism to specialty clinics to confirm the diagnosis. Both cases were told they didn’t have Autism. In one case the man was superbly rational and knew how to avoid the specific criteria thinking it would be detrimental to his career aspirations. In the other case, of a Muslim man, who oddly fasted Monday and Thursday but didn’t do his salat on any regular basis. Any practicing Muslim could have told them that this was odd indeed. So they also could have confirmed this oddity, amongst others, if they had asked his wife! But they never did.
All of this brings me back to the comments of my highly esteemed psychiatry teacher, Dr.Heinz Lehman, when the DSM catalogues of diagnosis were first being used on a systematic basis .”We are now going to enter a period of ‘cookbook medicine” he stated. And sure enough we can see that all over the medical field.
So , bottom line a whole generation of children, possibly now the beginning of a second generation, is being seriously harmed! When confronted with these oddities, especially amongst young boys , another explanation given is that its due to “the screens”. It’s all because of too much technology, they would say. Oddly enough ,there is some truth to this hypothesis. Actually the vaccine-injury syndrome (mostly as there are other toxins that contribute), and the universal presence of electronics, are synergistically interacting. The more autistic features, the more interested in screens. and the more screen-time the more the children begin to look autistic!
Funnily, the Imam at our mosque has noticed this as well! .Not usually very aware of psychological issues lol,he recently stated in one of his khutbahs: ”How come there are so many cases of autism in our mosque?!”. He noticed but the doctors and pediatricians barely notice. Bring on the bonuses for more vaccines?!
So why are the numbers so underestimated. Now RFKjr. gave a presser recently on the more severe forms of autism, which he claimed were 25% of the group(an overestimate in my view). Many autistic people were very offended because he was saying that this group had no prospects for the future. They would never have careers and families and be independent. These were, in fact, the types we saw hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals when I was studying psychiatry! Now many of them are in group homes or under the care of exhausted overstressed parents. RFKjr. was trying to indicate that Autism was a serious problem and needed to be attended to. And I congratulate him for that effort.
However, the vast majority of Autistic spectrum/Aspergers are much more subtle. And that is why they go unnoticed. In fact there is a tendency to normalize the problem. And we all pay the price for that normalization- by continuing to deny the real cause(causes).”O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive (or to deny in this case)”!
So, what are these subtle signs of Autism. Many of these do NOT figure in the DSM criteria or do so in a very non-specific way. In a more global view, the central defect of the Autistic person is that “they don’t get it”. This is often extremely frustrating to their partners. So if we look at the world of politics, for example and some hugely successful Autism/Aspergers people, we see that Bill Gates did not get what evil was lurking in Jeffrey Epstein. It ended up destroying his marriage. And yes, there were others like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump who didn’t get it either-but for other reasons. Then there is Elon Musk who didn’t get it about Trump until well into his mandate. And then he didn’t get the proper way to leave either. Or how he cannot manage relationships with women whom he was well able to inseminate lol but unable to maintain relationships with.
Soft Signs
Even before the specifics, someone with inner vision can see the autism in the facial expression of the person and in the way his body moves-the gait. Dr. Lehmann claimed he could diagnose schizophrenia just by the gait of the patient as he walked in the office, He didn’t need the DSM criteria! The same is true for Autism.
1-Pickiness in eating. Yes, many children have some of this when they are very young. Much of this diminishes as we grow older. I remember myself as a child, I would only eat meat and potatoes lol.I hated fish and seafood was anathema. As I grew older, most of these preferences diminished and died away. But often I had to work at it. I still remember when pizza first came to Montreal. It was made with strong parmesan cheese as the Italians do. The first two or three times I ate it, I vomited it up. But because everyone around me was enjoying it, I persisted. The same with fish. But the Aspergers personality often maintains these preferences throughout life!
2-Incapable of genuine emotional expression -either love or sadness or anger or enthusiasm.( This feature can be worked on however as we will mention in the later part of the article)
3-Oddities of behaviour. (The DSM does mention that one but the oddities can be subtle) Think of Mark Zuckerberg’s hairdos lol .It’s a giveaway. Or Musk coming on stage with a chain saw! Or people who insist on wearing the same clothes all the time. I once had a brilliant psychoanalytic teacher who only wore a dark-blue blazer and grey pants. When asked about it, he said he wanted to keep the environment stable so he could correctly observe “the transference” lol Is psychoanalysis an Autistic cult then?! Some would argue such!
4-Unwittingly saying the wrong things in public-often things that are offensive to others! We had one of those in our medical school class. When I mentioned the possibility to another of our colleages at our 50th year graduation celebration, he would hear nothing of it. He wanted to continue hating on the man.
5-Having difficulty finding partners-especially for the males. The females do not have the same difficulty as men tend to be lacking in the same social awareness as ladies: ”If she’s sufficiently hot, he’s into it-regardless lol .The women, however, pick up on the oddities and have a negative reaction. They prefer a full-blooded macho braggard to a gentle, subtle soul-despite all their protestations!
I’m sure there is a lot more to this part of the story but let’s leave it there for now!
The Positive Side:
When I looked back at my friendships over my life history, I realized that most of my long-term friends were in all likelihood Aspergers people?! Why is that?!
Let’s look at the alternatives lol. There are the Personality Disorders- Narcissistic and Psychopathic like Trump. No thanks. Then there are the Obsessional Rationnalist Organizer types .They are the ones I find most annoying lolAnd then there are the “hale and hearty” athletes and party-goers. How boring and tiresome.! So Aspies may in fact be one of the better options. They can be….
1_ Intelligent -a la Bill Gates and Elon Musk.
2- They are often enough spiritually open-unlike the Rationnalists -my favourite group to hate on- especially since they have so much credibility in this messed up society!
3- Not aggressive as opposed to the Narcissists and psychopaths. They rarely bear grudges and can easily move on after argumentation despite their inherent stubbornness.
Treatment
Autism and Aspergers are notoriously hard to treat! I think that this is because our current paradigms are inappropriate. In children the ABB treatment is more like dog-training then pediatric therapy. And in adults neither psychoanalysis nor CBT has much to offer. So what can we do?!
I would propose a regimen of humanisation which would include the following
1-Staying away from “screens” and IT as much as possible. Unfortunately many of the most talented people in this area including A.I. have autistic features. For those who earn their living in this way, the therapy will have to take place outside of work hours lol .Alternatively if it is possible for these people to earn their living in more concrete ways like the trades or the heath professions or in services it would probably be more healthy for them to do so!
2-Engage in Relationships. This, of course , will be difficult-especially for the partners lol.
3-Spend time in nature or with animals. Anything that is ”organic” is likely to be helpful. Anything unreal and synthetic like videogames and board games and card games is likely to be harmful,
4-Identify emotions. Anyone spending time with an Aspergers person will begin to see glimmers of emotion-which the autistic person is likely to be unaware of. ”I saw some irritation in your face” you may say. Or “you seemed to really like that idea”(after seeing a hint of a smile).The Aspie will deny it, of course. But don’t be discouraged. Ultimately you will have some impact! Nothing like persistence! Especially if it doesn’t cross the line into harassment. You can also model for the “normal “emotions-like enthusiasm and sadness and even anger if it is not directed at them personally.
All of this is a beginning. As say the French: ”Ce n’est qu’un debut. Continuons le combat” (This is but a beginning. Continue the battle)
Salaaams, Sufi Ibrahim
“Facts are Facts” Really!
Context: A discussion about the state of the American economy after a Rachel Maddow opinion piece on the internet
This discussion involved a couple of old friends, both trained in well-respected MBA schools and with a long history of investment portfolio management( i.e much better informed then me about business and economics!). Both still believe in “facts”- whether they be government reports such as the Labour Board statistics or other economic reports or private company reports. Both are still Empiricists-despite decades of feedback by yours truly about the limitations of that approach lol!
I, myself, was very fortunate. At a young age I was confronted by a clever girlfriend for being a Positivist( another form of Empiricism) That challenge changed my life-over 50 years ago! But most of the people I know ,educated in the West, still believe in “facts” .In medicine they call that “objective evidence”. In science it is called statistical analysis in peer-reviewed journals .In politics it is whatever suits your political narrative lol
Getting back to Rachel Maddow for a minute, her thesis was that, as opposed to the Trumpian narrative that the U.S. has all the cards in its trade deal with Canada, America was going to suffer more from the tariffs than either Trump or many of the economists think and that Canada might actually gain an advantage in asserting its own independence.
The usual “ad hominem” critique then followed. Rachel Maddow is a well-known leftist with MSNBC , a Trump-hater and on top of it not that well-informed about the “facts”. in this particular dossier. However, despite all of that, her primary thesis may well be correct. Why do I say that?
As those who have been following me for awhile know, I reject the contemporary Epistemology of “objective evidence” and favour an Epistemology of “seeing ‘,”hearing” and “feeling”( in Quranic Arabic that is “basirat”, samiyya” and “fuad”)This way of accessing Reality includes looking at peoples hearts ,listening carefully to anecdotes and “searching the neighborhood” to see what is really going on!
When I apply this model ,I notice the following. Many, many people in both Canada and the U.S. are worried. Only 37% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. I hear more and more stories of people having a hard time finding jobs( I believe this is not only true in Canada but in the U.S. as well).I see more and more stories of small businesses having a hard time with the tariffs. Some are even closing down.” Poppy-cock” say the Empiricists .”The macro picture is unchanged” i.e. more government statistics lol.
And perhaps most of all, Americans are unhappy! They are now divided into Trump-haters, who are unhappy because he is in power and Trump sycophants who are unhappy because they have to embrace his lies as part of the package and embracing lies and denial is NEVER a formula for happiness!
Then there is the rest of the World that is increasingly anti-Trump and anti-American. The Canadians who are avoiding travel to the U.S. and plenty of other countries’ citizens doing like-wise I am sure. Being hated is rarely a formula for success! America which once was a beacon of freedom and success is now seen as tyrannical, bullying and manipulative.
None of this augurs well for the future of America. But so-called “experts” fixated on macro-economic data ” can see none of this! Empiricism and its sister philosophy Materialism has done so much harm! We can see this so clearly in the countries that embraced “Dialectical Materialism’. Now we can see it coming in those countries that have embraced “Scientific Materialism”. God help us all!
The Cause of Suffering
The Cause of All Suffering-
Individual and Collective.
Context: Looking at the horrible suffering in the world around us.
Byron Katie is a non-sectarian New Age spiritual teacher similar in her evolution to the better-known Eckhart Tolle of “The Power of Now” fame. I attended a couple of her workshops in America in the past. She made the following statement in front of a mid-sized auditorium.It was like a thunderbolt for me when I first heard it.! “All your problems come from the same place: You believe in the contents of your own mind”. Wow! Ajib. The Truth of it resonated deep within.
When I then looked at the international situation, I realized that this truth applied to collectivities as well as individuals. Let us see how that plays out.
But before we do, let me situate this statement in a theological Comparative Religion framework. The traditions that understand this statement best would be the Hindi-Buddhist tradition- not my chosen path however. These traditions understood and still understand that the mind (“manas” in Sanskrit ) is not our friend but our enemy! The reason that the Western traditions are not aware of this is that they have all been corrupted to a certain extent by Greek Philosophy which worships the mind, rationality and logic. Christianity grew up in the midst of this Greek culture(Greek was the intellectual language at the time of Jesus).In much the same area the Jews as well were absorbing the Greek mind-set. We can see this in the elaborate mind-productions of the Talmudists ( third to sixth century C.E) Btw there is no common measure between the statements of the great Jewish Prophets like Jacob and Moses and David and these Talmudic cerebralized scholars-except perhaps their belief in One God Lol!
And finally, the Muslims began translating the Greek texts into Arabic beginning during the Abbasid period and it reached its apogee during the time of Andalusia. For Muslim readers if you don’t believe me, read the hadith and the statements of the Sahhabis and contrast them with any of your preferred scholars and you will see the contrast. And btw ,it was not arbitrary that Allah chose Mohammed, saws, an unlettered man,for his final Prophetic Mission! I have seen the same phenomenon manifest amongst the shuyukh I have studied with and followed. There is an inverse relationship between their level of scholarship and their spiritual hal. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, O admirers of Harvard and Oxford and Al Azhar lol.
Before continuing, it must be stated that these “mind-productions” of the collectivities are also underpinned by very strong emotions. That is why it is often so difficult to untangle them from reality.
Now let us see how this plays out on the international front. Three situations of utmost misery will be highlighted although there are many more-beyond counting!
The Middle East-Specifically Gaza :
Israeli Jewish Thought: “This land was promised to us by God in the Bible. The greatest error of Israel is to push its military to harsh and unusual punishment out of what can only be termed vengeance.
Arab Muslim Thought:” This land is ours. We have settled here for hundreds of years.There is no place for Jews here. The Jews are colonialists from Eastern Europe. Thus: ”From the River to the sea” The greatest error of the Palestinians and the Arabs was to not allow for the legitimate presence of Jews on their territory.
Reality: The Children of Israel and the Arabs have been fighting about this land over and over again since Abraham had two sons-Ismail-the father of the Arabs and Issac-the father of the Jews. That’s about 4000 years! The Jews had been mostly absent for a long time because of political and religious oppression. Now they were called back by Divine destiny (Muslims should not be denying the hand of God in all of this as the concept of ‘qada’ is basic to our religious beliefs!) But the Arabs and Islam have their rights as well. Did Allah not tell us in the Quran that he made many nations-so that they would know each other?! Bottom Line: the Arabs and the Jews need to make a just arrangement. Everyone outside of the Muslim and Jewish tribal world knows that! But these outsiders are not subject to the same collective, tribal ideologies and sentiments as the latter two.
- B) The Russia Ukraine Conflict
Russian Thought: Ukraine is not a real nation. They should be part of the Russian Empire as they were in the past
Ukrainian Thought: We are a sovereign country We want to be part of the Western world
Reality: Russia and Ukraine have a lot in common. They are both adherents to the orthodox Church. They both have a long history of corruption and anti-Semitism. Even their languages sound similar. A suitable arrangement needs to be made that allows for their similarities and differences.
N.B. As a Canadian I think we have a workable model to present to the World-the arrangement between the English and the French Canadians who also have a lot in common and notable differences.( For the naysayers, we will leave aside for now our treatment of the indigenous people which Canada is trying to come to terms with just as America is trying to come to terms with its history of slavery)
The Mass Deportations of Illegal Immigrants in America:
Government Thought: We have far too many illegal immigrants in our country. Many, if not most of them, have criminal records. We need to get them out as soon as possible. We were elected to do that
Immigrant Defenders’ Thought
Many of us have been here for a long time. We have worked hard and raised our children here to build a new life. This mass deportation is cruel and unjust.
Reality:
For whatever reasons, America has allowed in more immigrants than they can manage. ( In Canada which has been more honest about this issue, if not more generous, we have no such problem. So America brought this upon themselves) Whatever the reasons, they are unlikely to be of the benevolent nature. Many were allowed in to furnish cheap labour or for a political calculus by the Democratic party who saw future left-wing voters. In any case, they are here. Now that the borders are more or less sealed, America needs to do whatever it can needs to do about deeportations in a manner that is judicious, law-abiding and humanitarian. Treating all immigrants prima facie as if they were criminals does a disservice both to the immigrants and to the traditions of the founding of America itself.
As you can see from these few examples, ideology, principles, beliefs with all the emotions that underpin them leads to more and more suffering.
The only solution possible is to observe Reality clearly. Once properly perceived, that Reality will lead to proper decision-making. May Allah help us all !
Spiritual/Religious Bypassing
Spiritual/Religious Bypassing
As opposed to most of the articles on my blog, which come from my own observations and inspirations, this article is written due to a special request from an old friend who feels it is an important issue to address .I felt that my own writings on the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model were sufficient to prevent people from a uni-dimensional approach to practice. Obviously that has not been the case lol. Old ideas and habits die hard. So let us proceed to formulate this same teaching in another way.
So what is “spiritual bypassing”? This is a quote from Wikipedia; Spiritual bypass or spiritual bypassing is a “tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks”. The term was introduced in the mid 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist.( A Buddhist?! No surprise there lol. Anyone refusing to believe in God, and by extension Divine Law, is at risk to justify any errant behaviour as a justifiable personal choice!)
On this particular question I have concluded that the Dalai Lama is the second-best marketer in the history of religion lol. He saw that most Westerners were inclined to atheism, so he made a point of saying repeatedly that Buddhists don’t believe in a Creator God, despite the fact that the Buddha himself never made such a categorical statement! So who was the best marketer of religion?” you may ask…. Paul of Tarsus lol .He similarly observed the sociology around him and concluded: ”The Greeks and Romans with their long polytheistic traditions will never accept Mosaic Law! So let’s drop that as a criterion for being a Christian and say that all you need is to love Jesus and you are a Christian. This, despite the fact that Jesus a.s. himself said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).Talk about not listening to your teacher?! But he was wildly successful lol! Just look at the world around you! Christianity remains the most numerous in followers!
Based on personal experience, I would like to broaden the category to Religious Bypass as well. My definition: ” Religious bypass involves people practicing the outward form and rituals of a tradition without paying attention to the deeper issues of self-awareness and self-control (what we in Sufism call “jihad -a -nafs-the battle with the ego) which inevitably overlaps with a lack of morality and ethics.
Let’s start with a few examples… While I was on Sabbatical in Damascus in 2007-2008, I had a good friend who was an Egyptian engineer. He kept insisting that I go pray with him the Fajr prayer at the other end of the city. Usually we prayed at the Sheikh Muhyideen mosque near my house. But he wanted me to experience a certain Imam who gave lectures every morning after the Fajr prayer. So one day I accepted his invitation. My Arabic was not good enough to understand what was being said but my friend did his best to translate what he could. Honestly, not very impressive lol( the Eastern scholars all sound the same. It’s the echo-chamber of the ulema- no place for original thinking! but that is not the point here.
As we left the mosque to have some breakfast, he said to me: ” Did you see the man sitting right next to the Imam.?” I had seen him but had no particular impression that I could acknowledge. ”Well, that man comes here every morning without fail -as an act of piety. In the past, I worked on contract for three months for him but he never paid me! He always had reasons not to pay” H-m-m. So this pious man was cheating his employees as did Trump with his contractors building the Casinos in New Jersey lol. At least Trump makes little pretense of being pious. Although his near-death assassination experience got him thinking lol.
Another example in the same spirit from the same time period. During Ramadan that year I would have people over for Iftar -to break the fast .One of them was a very studious, pious man- an Indo-Pakistani man living in England who knew a lot more Arabic and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) than I will ever know! He came to break fast regularly at my place during Ramadan. At one point I noticed that he never brought anything himself. So I mentioned it to him. No response. Then I told him that if he didn’t bring something, anything, I would no longer receive him. He tried again! So I put him out-never to be seen again. It should be mentioned here that this same man was bragging to me about his various properties in England-so he was no pauper or I would have fed him willingly!
Now these are the kind of stories that non-believers use to show how bad religion is. My own Dad would tell me stories of men who prayed regularly at the synagogue but would cheat people in business just as regularly So these are the religious bypassers- people who do the outer practices but are missing the essential attributes-like generosity, compassion for others and kindness.! But what about the spiritual ones?!
For that let’s go back to the sheikh who probably had the greatest influence on my understanding of our religion and of Sufism-Sheikh Nazim I followed Sheikh Nazim for 12 years in the eighties and early 90’s. Whenever I would arrive at his zawwiyah or mosque in Peckham, London, he would say “Dr. Ibrahim. We are so happy to have a psychiatrist here. Welcome to our Mental Hospital “lol. Outwardly, this was a joke but if we dig deeper, as in many of the statements of the sheikh, there was a deeper meaning. Many of the people that came to be with him had mental health issues. Now, there is nothing wrong with people seeking spiritual help for their psychological issues. And many of them did need that help. But generally, that is not enough. Some could have benefitted from psychotherapy, others clearly needed medications and still others might have better started with job training so that they could earn a living for themselves and their families.
A related anecdote…Just before I embraced Islam in East Jerusalem, I met a teacher of Kabbala at the Western Wall. I asked him what it would take to study with him and he said that first I would have to be married, have a job that would allow me to provide for my family and have studied Torah for seven years! Then and only then would he teach me. My first thoughts were that this man had no idea about Western spiritual seekers lol We are way too impatient for anything like that. And I went on my merry way to find a Sufi teacher who started the journey right away. In retrospect, though, I realized the wisdom of what this Kabbalist was saying. No spiritual bypassing for him! Get your feet on the ground and then we will embark on the spiritual journey. Much misery and even tragedies could be avoided with that philosophy!
Ok. Let’s get back to the Wikipedia definition: “avoiding facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks”. I would add in here moral issues ( “superego lacunae” the psychoanalysts call them lol.)
Another story. I had a good Sufi friend who lived in upstate New York and drove a taxi in Manhattan for a living. Nearby where he lived in South Fallsburg was a Hindu Guru known as guru Mayi- Swami Chivilisanada. She had lots of followers in America as well as in Quebec. One of them had a used car to sell and my friend bought it from him without having it properly checked out by a mechanic- believing that the seller was a moral person-being a spiritual-seeker.. After a short time, he realized that the car was full of defects and wanted to return it. The Yogi aspirant outrightly refused saying: “The God in me (a very Hindu concept) sold it to the God in you (are you kidding?!) So how could there be anything wrong with it?!” Can you believe it?! Unfortunately, I don’t know the end result to this story but that is not the point here. The point is that one can use spiritual terms to do very unspiritual, even evil things.
But what about the issues of emotional development that the Wikipedia definition points out? One of the most common places it shows up is in marriage and other relationships. Now, the Islamic tradition encourages us to look for partners who have piety. But often that turns out not to be enough. It must be said that many of the Ethnic Muslim parents prioritize wealth and social status before piety! That is even worse! What is really needed is an overall assessment of” fitness to marry” but very few people are able to do that .So conflict and misery and failure ensue in many cases.
So what may be some of these factors that overshadow the spirituality of the partner and cause havoc in the relationship. Probably the most common ones are personality disorders! There are Narcissists galore amongst the outwardly pious, psychopathy is by no means rare also (from whence the sexually abusive gurus like Mooji, Swami Muktananda and Sai Baba.) We have them as well in Sufism but the adherence to Shariah does limit some of the more obvious manifestations. Then there are the dysfunctional males who are not able to earn a living or think that having a second or third wife will solve their problems-whereas that usually ends up multiplying them, As well, there are the unempathic-completely unable to put themselves in the other persons shoes.
So what are we to do about all of these issues? Many spiritual seekers are unwilling to undergo psychotherapy. Many of those who do end up outwitting the therapists who believe in their narrative and end up colluding with their clients in “other-blaming”. Job training is fine, but then the individual needs to exercise initiative in order to translate that into a regular income stream. And empathy? That is a tough one-hard to teach and hard to learn. Some people just don’t seem to have it. More “Swiss-cheese brain “- like the ones with superego lacunae?! Not usually observable on MRIs lol
At this point, many people are sure to ask me: ” So, what do we do about it”? Good question, I guess. But we have to start with observation-to see what is really going on- besides projection, distortion and self-justification. Then we need to proceed. But there is one element missing most of the time in both psychotherapists AND spiritual teachers alike-appropriate confrontation “Nehi al Munkar” (forbidding vice -in Islamic terms) .Both therapists and spiritual teachers like to take the “nice-guy” approach and thereby enable their clients and followers.
Many years ago, a young Italian lady came to see me for relationship issues. These had been going on for more than ten years! I asked her why she had not come earlier and she said that her best friend told her not to saying:” It’s no good. Because even if you do something wrong. they will tell you that you are right”! I complimented this lady’s friend : ”Your friend is spot-on “I told her. She has seen an important flaw in the therapeutic process. But don’t worry” I’m not like that” lol. Which is why some clients choose to leave. Sorry, I am not going to avoid “the elephant in the room”. In my defense Terrence Real the well-known and brilliant Couple Therapist tells similar stories from his practice! Some people can’t deal with the Truth!
The exact same thing can happen in the Spiritual Process! My last sheikh Abu Qassim Bilkhairy was the first one I met to articulate this clearly: “There are sheikhs of Barakat (read good vibes, good feelings) and sheiks of Tarbiyya (training)” he stated. And he was of the latter. But most of the shuyukh are people-pleasers-despite Islamic teachings to the contrary. And, in that way, they enable their disciples in their bad behaviour.
Another form of spiritual bypassing, other than simply not fighting their desires, can only be described as “hypocrisy”. How many times have I seen murids who praise their shuyukh to the heavens but, when they are told to do something they don’t like, they completely ignore the instructions. My medical practice taught me the need for “follow-up” and if you don’t watch closely you could easily miss this one. But it is an essential error. And it occurs much more often than you imagine. In all fairness, some of this is due to the subtleness of the instruction. And that can be the fault of the teacher who “doesn’t want to upset” his student. I remind people regularly that the Prophets a.s. all of them, upset a lot of people! So getting people upset is not a sign of vice! May Allay protect us from all of these deviancies.
.Salaams, Sufi Ibrahim
“Lies,Damn Lies and Statistics”
“Lies, Damn lies, and Statistics”: Multi-Disciplinary Debate
This is from a conversation with an old friend of mine-trained in the Epistemology of MBA school at McGill and Concordia University while I was being similarly brain-washed in McGill’s medical school lol. See if you can follow the logic/illogic of it. I am responding here to his assertion that according to “the facts’ the Trump initiatives are not having as much effect on the economy as were predicted.
When I heard this hypothesis, I immediately heard the inner voice saying ”false” lol and started scanning my experiential world and the first thing that came to mind was Vermont!
Just one example-the effect on Vermont ! I am sure there are many others-like scientists and hard-working federal employees who lost their jobs without justification and hard-working illegal immigrants trying to build a life in America. Much of this may not show up in the official figures. That’s why I don’t believe those figures are ” The Realty” In fact many of those figures are designed to hide reality rather than expose it!
From AI!( verified by yours truly lol)
Yes, Vermont is experiencing a noticeable decline in Canadian visitors, impacting the state’s tourism and economy. This drop is attributed to a combination of factors, including political rhetoric and uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
Reasons for the Decline:
- Negative Political Climate:
President Trump’s rhetoric and trade disputes with Canada have created a negative perception among some Canadians, leading them to reconsider travel to the U.S.
Economic Concerns:
Potential tariffs and trade tensions have made some Canadians hesitant to spend money in the U.S., impacting spending habits and tourism.
- Shifting Travel Patterns:
Some Canadians are choosing to travel within their own country or to other destinations, rather than visiting Vermont.
- Reduced Cross-Border Traffic:
Official data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a significant decrease in travelers crossing into Vermont from Canada, especially during peak travel periods.
Impact on Vermont:
- Tourism Revenue Decline:
Reduced Canadian tourism is hurting businesses, particularly in northern Vermont and towns near the border.
- Reduced Spending:
Canadian credit card spending in Vermont has decreased significantly, impacting local businesses and economies.
- Economic Downturn:
Tourism is a vital part of Vermont’s economy, and the loss of Canadian visitors is having a noticeable effect on the state’s overall economic health.
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That’s why, in my Epistemology, personal experience, anecdotes and even hearsay are much more significant than official figures. Wasn’t it one of our Yiddishe ancestors Benjamin Disraeli who talked of” lies, damn lies and statistics” lol Still relevant 150 years later!
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PS I think you could do us all a service by doing a “deep dive”, as they call it, into many of these official economic statistics to see how they are jerrymandered and manipulated- most of them I suspect.
I am by no means an expert (as if that gave someone any credibility nowadays lol) but I remember hearing about how they generate unemployment statistics! They don’t count the underemployed (part-time people or people not working in the area for which they were trained) So a licensed engineer working as a pizza deliverer is considered fully employed?! As is a part-time Taco Bell employee! And then they also don’t count those who have given up looking for employment-for whatever reason. Thus the statistics becomes very misleading at best.
So if I want to understand what is going on in employment I watch those people around me looking for jobs and see what happens.
Just ran into an old friend who was trained in heating and air-conditioning but was never able to find a job in that area despite being assured by the trade school he attended that there were jobs for ALL graduates. So he worked at slightly above minimum wage at a finance company for years. Then he lost the job and it took him 18 months and numerous applications to finally get a job as a greeter at Walmart! He seemed happy to get anything he could!
Then there was my Sufi student who entered the job market as an IT programmer. Our prime minister was touting the field and saying Quebec needed many more of them. But each time he applied there were 200 other applicants! Not exactly a sellers’ market lol
Where does that show up in the employment statistics?
I would be interested to see what you find if you really look seriously into how these statistics are generated. I think you will discover a lot of surprises-as I did when I first looked into medical studies and listened to others who had done likewise.
Let me complete my thought here. So, if we begin looking at the employment situation, and start with “the facts” lol( which is what we see on mainstream media all the time) we conclude “best employment situation ever! Lowest unemployment rate ever!” But if we look at it from my Epistemology (my experience and the many people I am in touch with) I would conclude “Difficult, perhaps very difficult employment situation”. Who is right lol? Can there be any doubt?! And then you ask : “Why do people not get it?! Because they are being lied to on a daily basis, since birth! It’s the lie of Empiricism. And it needs to be challenged over and over again if we are to break the spell!
Happy Trails to you lol, Joel Ibrahim AKA Sufi Ibrahim
Data!
As opposed to the current consensus I see data as toxic! It clouds the heart ,dulls the spirit and stresses the mind. But we need some of it ,not nearly as much as the scientific mind-set thinks, in order to proceed.So I recommend doing what we did in psychopharmacology lol Using the lowest ,effective dose!I call that attitude “Essentialist” and that is where I stand Think about it.
Super-egoic Distortions in Islamic Fiqh
Super-egoic Distortions in Islamic Fiqh
Yes, that’s a mouthful lol. Let’s break down the vocabulary before we get started! Freud separated consciousness of human beings into three parts-ego, id and superego. (We will not address his lack of understanding of spirituality and religion at this point. But his psychological understanding was ground-breaking.) So, for him, the ego was our rational aspect, the id was our desires (“hawa’ in Arabic) and the superego was our conscience. Then he went further and saw that in some people the conscience, which although deficient in some, like psychopaths, could also be overactive in others- those we are going to address in this article. He then labelled those superegos as “punitive” or “sadistic”. And that-the sadistic superego- is one of the major toxins in all religious communities and one of the many reasons why people reject religion!
Now let’s be clear. The founders of our religion-the true Prophets and saints had no need for this overactive superego. They were universally energized, uplifted, even ecstatic beings by definition. That’s why they were appointed to those high positions in the spiritual hierarchy. But amongst their followers and often amongst the priestly class were people of lesser upliftment and less transcendent motivations. We can consider them as the religion’s bureaucrats and like all bureaucrats they get bored and unmotivated. So they need some “juice”. And the juice they get is from making other adherents guilty and miserable and afraid. In that way they are manifesting their “sadistic superegos”.
And don’t be fooled! All religions have them-not only Islam. I remember as a Jewish secularist, seeing young boys at their Bar Mitzvahs going up to the altar to recite the Torah from memory and being harassed by elderly parishioners for mistakes they made in the recitations! In Islam we could call these “tajweed” lessons lol! They are all fine and good if carried out with wisdom and kindness. I remember literally losing it with my tajweed teacher in Jordan when, after reciting two ayats perfectly, I tripped up on the third and he pounced on me -as was his habit! “You have no idea of pedagogy “ I said to him in my weak Arabic. ”At least the Western teachers know how to congratulate you when you do something right”. He was dumbstruck-because that is the way he was taught. My father told me that, in his days if you got something wrong, the rabbis would twist your ear until it really hurt. And we wonder why the conflict in the Middle East persists lol. In these two anecdotes, you have the entire story. But let’s not deviate into politics for now! It’s too tempting and too controversial!
Christians, of course, are not immune from this phenomenon. Catholic sisters used to whip their thighs, much like the Shia do on Ashura, until they bled. Priests would go around their neighbourhood, threatening women if they had not had a child that year, with the hellfires. And God only knows what went on in the Missionary schools as expressions of the teachers and administrators “sadistic superegos”.
For the sake of brevity ,I am not going into details about the Hindu-Buddhist lineage .More of the same I am certain. We all know about Zen masters and their nasty bamboo sticks. The Chinese showed us pictures of the Tibetan Buddhist cages where they kept their prisoners(not that the Chinese do any better1 The atheists are just as cruel. Often more so. And the Hindus have some of the most painful ascetic practices as well. While visiting a guru in Kerala I was told that one of her German disciples was living in a hole underground for the last several months. That was considered a high-level spiritual practice!
Ok. That’s the intro. I think by now you get the point. But what I really wanted to do here is give more ordinary examples of this phenomenon-things that we may encounter on a regular basis in the practice of our religion. What triggered my reflection on this subject was something I noticed every year during Ramadan. Towards the end of the fast the Imam would almost inevitably say something like the following. ”Ok It’s all fine and good that you have now been fasting for 25 days. But many of you will slip after Ramadan into your previous behaviours and it will all be for naught. If you don’t continue with your Ramadan level of piety, all is lost” That all seemed to me cruel and heartless! How about instead “Congratulations for all your efforts -fasting for three and a half weeks. You will certainly be rewarded for it. And I hope you keep it up”. Never heard it in 48 years of Ramadan. No the superego has to chime in and say “it’s still not enough. You could be doing better.”!
Now, the second term that may be unclear in the title is “Fiqh”. Usually translated as Jurisprudence-the rules of the religion and how to apply them. Let us take three examples of how the superego surreptitiously creeps into the equation.
- The Niqab(face-covering) .(We will not discuss the issue of the hijab at this point. Almost all religions, Buddhism may be a notable exception, require head covering-both for males and females!) But the niqab is special. And many of the shuyukh recommend it or even require it. Yet if we go back to the two most important scriptural references on the question Quran 24;31 and the Asma hadith ,in both cases the face is excepted from the covering .In 24:31 it says: ”They should not display their adornments except what ordinarily appears( (most of the traditional scholars said that refers to the face and hands).The Asma hadith is even more clear! The Prophet tells the older sister of his wife Ayesha to cover everything except(again!) and then he points to the face and hands.
- So where does the niqab idea come from. A strange twist of logic, where A becomes not-A lol. And I thought “mantiq”(logic was one of the Islamic sciences that scholars were supposed to study! One of the possibilities is the “more of the same” logical error. If something, like covering the head is good, then more, covering the Face, must be even better. That is patently bad logic. Ask a toxicologist if you need more proof lol P.S. I once had a patient who almost died from an overdose of water which gave her cerebral edema1 even too much water can be dangerous.
The other explanation I have heard from Taliban sources. That “zinat” the word in the ayat for ornaments also can refer to beauty. And the beauty of the woman is in her face. Interesting twist, no doubt, but a twist nevertheless. That is not what the ayat says!. So more misery for the l,adies from the superegos of male scholars.
2– The Time of Fajr prayer.
N.B. I was put onto this problem by none other than the somewhat unorthodox Trinidadian sheikh Imran Hossein. I am not very impressed by his politics and his eschatological theories where Russia saves the world?! But he does have other more valid theories and an interesting way of approaching studying the Quran. I think this insight about Fajr came from his studying what the Quran and hadith actually said rather than how the ulema have interpreted it!
Nowadays most Muslims use a printed or online calendar to determine their prayer times. And these times are mostly generated by astronomical calculations. It appears that for fajr there is some debate about 15 degrees and 18 degrees. I haven’t got into the minutiae because I disagree with the premise of using science when we have clear-cut sunnat to follow.
When the ayats appeared about prayer time and the beginning of fasting the Sahhabbas were not clear. The Quran stipulated 2:187 that it was the time when you could see the difference between a white and black thread. Still it was not clear how to use that directive so the Sahhabbas asked the Prophet saws. Then the Prophet saws explained that it was at the appearance of the first light on the horizon (the scholars call that the second dawn).
Now, if you use the calendars that are provided to us , you will never see that light at the given times. The scientists got it wrong again! Any surprise after Covid?! A friend of mine claimed that was due to light pollution in the city. Possible? But I have now verified it in the countryside on several occasions and in Third World countries-like the Tunisian villages. And it remains true in each of those contexts. The light is never there at the times on the calendar! For the ulema, this should be a serious concern. After all, it means that many Muslims are praying fajr during the time of Tahhajjud. Personally, I am not such a stickler for details but many of them are. On a sidenote here, but one that gives us some context, Western meteorologists also try to determine the time of dawn and their definition is similar to ours-“the first appearance of light”. However if you look it up in your local area, you will be shocked. It is often at least an hour later than our calendars say about fajr. So twice the time gap that Imran Hosein is claiming. Much to reflect on!
3-Miscellaneous issues-all involving the operation of the punitive superego
- a) The Habashi sect have their own qibla calculations. According to them if you are off by a few degrees your prayer is not accepted. So go back and do your last thirty years of prayers?!
- b) One of the scholars from the Sheikh Nuh community went to Pakistan to study Islamic finance. He was shocked by the rigidity of the students around him. They were more or less condemning him to the hellfires for his pants going down beneath the ankle. He came back quickly to Jordan lol
- c) Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen bank. The economist Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Prize for the development of microcredits with the Grameen Bank. (Yes, I know he has become a controversial figure in his own country but that is not germane to our present discussion) With this tool many of the poor citizens of Bangladesh and India were helped out of poverty. This did not prevent him from being severely chastised by the Islamic scholars of Bangladesh as interest is considered by most of them to be prohibited in Islam. They couldn’t factor in all the benefit people were getting. Fortunately the Bangladeshi people are of a mild temperament. If this had happened in an Arab or Afghani context ,he may well have been assassinated!
The list goes on and on…I hope the overall message is loud and clear. As Sheikh Nazim used to tell us: ”Wear your religion lightly-not like a heavy cloak that burdens you” Otherwise you may become one of those religious malcontents whose only real plaesaue is in making other people miserable.
Joy and Happiness and Upliftment to you all, Sufi Ibrahim