8:30 am in a lower middle-class suburb of Montreal.Watching “normal” Canadian life unfolding from my balcony.Mothers driving their kids to school and walking them and one pushing a stroller probably taking her child to daycare before it is able to walk! No fathers to be seen.Are these couples divorced or do the men have earlier shifts(possible)?They do seem to appear from time to time.Children with their heavy back-packs looking stressed about what is going to confront them at school.Some waiting at the corner for their school-buses.No-one seems particularly happy or even present! Does it really have to be like this?Is this the “the greatest civilization” as the Trumpians and Pinkerites would have us believe? Or is this the real unidentified humanitarian disaster that few dare to identify let alone talk about?!You probably know where I stand on that one lol
Truth and non-Truth
Rudy Guliani says”Truth isn’t Truth” and everyone attacks him.But what he is saying is absolutetly true!- in modern society.Lawyers,politicians and marketers plus I must add overly cerebral intellectuals and determined atheists and fascistic scientists like those who work for Monsanto have totally undermined our sense of truth so that we no longer can tell the difference between truth and falsehood, unless we do some serious self-reflection and spiritual work.This is NOT the case for the vast majority of people.
Sound Explanation of Sufism
Have a look or a listen.
Salat
The ulema tell us that the salat five times a day is an “obligation”.However,obligations naturally stir up opposition in our nafs.I now prefer to see it as an “opportunity”-an opportunity to reconnect with our Creator five times a day when otherwise we would be too preoccupied with the rat-race of life in this world.What wisdom in this religion!
The Retreat Program
The Retreat Program
We will be doing our first Sufi Pilgrim’s Retreat program at the end of August and so I would like to clarify the program here.
Goals: We have two major goals: 1) to provide optimal conditions for people to improve their intimacy with their Lord. This involves a peaceful, natural environment(The Gaia Wellness Centre is a particularly beautiful and uplifting site) and diminishing stress by having the least outward responsibilities possible(thus the cost of staff providing food and living arrangements)
2) to work on establishing a daily spiritual practice routine that people can continue after the Retreat. The psychologists call this process “generalizing” i.e. structuring it so that the effect of the retreat process continues over time.
NB It is understood that any actual “results”, whether experiential or behavioural, of the process is in the hands of God(or the Universe if you so prefer.) Our job is just to do our ‘”due diligence” effort-wise.
The basic time structure will be based on the Islamic protocol but non-Muslims are more than welcome and they will be given alternative practices according to their own needs. Also, the main focus will be on individual practice punctuated throughout the day with collective exercises as outlined below. There will also be individual meetings with the leader as needed to determine which individual practices are most appropriate for the specific student.
Approximate daily schedule:
4 a.m. Tahhajud (Night prayer based on the Naqshbandi formula-to be explained at the seminar)
5 a.m. Salat al Fajr followed by dhikr of the name
7:30 Breakfast (All meals are vegetarian because of the Centre’s orientation. For Muslims this can represent “azhod”(renunciation) but this is not inconsistent with Islamic attitudes. In fact, some of the more traditional retreats involved outright fasting during the day. We, however, are following the Middle Way.
8:30 a.m. Chi Gong in group followed by individual exercise programs
12:a.m. Lunch
3:30 P.M. Wird al Amm(to be explained) followed by Dhikr of the name and Mindfulness
6:00 p.m. Dinner
7:30 Ted Talk on Sufism followed by the Wisal and questions arising out of the daily practice
10:00 lights out and silence.
N.B. The open times are to be used for nature walks, quiet contemplation and individual practice. There will be some rules around the use of technology so that it does not overly distract us but I haven’t figured that one out yet.
Ahlan and Salaams, Sufi Ibrahim
The Evil Empire
People who know me, are aware of my general abhorrence of conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, I have become gradually convinced that we are now confronting “The Evil Empire”! This empire is made up of greedy multi-national corporations, the political class that is complicit with that greed, the liberal, progressive journalists who have bought into the mythology of real democracy and “due process of the law” and scientific fascism which is used to deny the obvious toxicity of much of agricultural and construction processes and the noxiousness of electromagnetic smog . All of this contains the seeds( which have by now germinated and are growing rapidly) of our inevitable destruction. Note also that most of the so-called intelligentsia are complicit as well justifying the greed with terms like “rationalization, cost-cutting and efficiency”) and denying the extent of the dangerous pollution by putting into doubt the perception of it and marginalizing the studies that support these observations. They could call this entire Gestalt “The Perfect Storm”. Others may call it “The Apocalypse “and it is now in clear view!
N.B. One of the least useful tools for seeing this reality is reason. As the psychoanalysts have so astutely shown, most of this “reason” is actually the defense mechanism of “ rationnalaztion” designed to support any pre-existing convictions or desires. Instead we must begin developing the three doors of perception- “seeing”(basirat-inner vision”),hearing(the ring of truth) and feeling -the perceptual spparatus of the heart. That is our only hope but it requires a totally new form of education- far distant from what is offered in our universities and educational institutions.
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An Existential Statement
I have come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of people!- people who want to learn and people who want to maintain their positions. I am doing my best to avoid wasting my energy on the latter type!This is no easy matter as the latter category often pretends to be or believes itself to be open- minded,so one needs to develop a sense of observation to see the illusory nature of this supposed”open-ness”.
Politics,ugh!
Congratulations Europe! No,not for your meaningless World Cup Win-for fining Google billions of dollars.Anti-competitive,monopolistic practices are a veritable scourge in the modern so-called “capitalist” societies which are actually cartels of multi-national corporations that have way too much influence on government-WAY MORE than any possible Russian collusion.I have seen the effects personally,on my friends and relatives in business, who were essentially nullified by anti-competitive large firms.And our bloody governments are asleep at the watch OR on the payroll as the case maybe.Oh believers in all those various cocomanie conspiracy theories,THIS is the REAL conspiracy!And it’s right there in plain view!
Cultural Differences lol
Some minor cultural differences lol: For the British, “children should be seen but not heard”.Unfortunately that is also true for adults!;For Jews you can do as you like provided you accept to be blamed no matter what you do;for Germans you can do as you like provided you do it perfectly;for Arabs you can express yourself provided that you accept the terms of reference precisely;for Trinidadians you are perfectly free provided you neither expend too much energy or take “unnecessary” initiatives” and last but not least if you’re French you can do as you like provided that it’s pleasurable.Enjoy!And oh yes if you’re American it’s “exceptional” no matter what you do.You’re great by definition!
Wahhabism and Feminism
Inspiration:Wahhabism, with its original good intentions of correcting deviation in the religion,has entered into the Unconscious of the Islamic ummat just as Feminism ,with its original good intentions of eliminating the mistreatment of women,has entered into the Unconscious of the Western community.Both have had serious deleterious effects on their communities.As to Wahhabism it has undermined the vital inner life of the Islamic community.And as to Feminism,it has created untold havoc in the realm of family relationships.It is not uncommon in medicine for the treatment to be more harmful than the disease.So beware!