Teaching from the Sufis:”Everything to you is from you and everything from you returns to you.This is the sunnat (habit) of Allah”When events occur,such as those in France recently,the instinctive response(I could say the response of the reptilian brain)is to look for the perpetrators and to blame them for the entire affair.This is probably necessary but it is not sufficient.A deeper response ,for both individuals and societies, is to look within and think”How have we contributed to this?”,If we understand really that the inner is determining the outer not the converse which is philosophical materialism -a philosophy that has seriously contaminated our thinking on all levels,we will begin to realize that we both as individuals and societies are responsible for our own troubles.So if we are Americans and don’t do anything to correct the incredible inequality of wealth in our country or we are Frenchmen and don’t really care about the disenfranchised in our country but prefer to judge them as lazy or primitive,there will be consequences.That doesn’t justify the terrorists behaviour but it is a deeper way of understanding it then just calling them psychopaths because we enjoy insulting the enemy.Calling them psychopaths is mostly a misuse of our psychiatric nomenclature.Psychopaths don’t risk their lives for a cause .Psychopaths have no loyalty to others or to groups.They are purely self-centered.These people are fanatics not psychopaths.Look it up if you don’t believe me. Salaams,Ibrahim
Truth and Logic
(In response to someone calling me a Trump fan-notice that I am trying to steer clear of politics in this blog.This post is more about epistemology-i.e. the means of acquiring knowledge- than about politics.I hope the readers can see that).
Trump is not my friend.As I have tried to explain to people before I do not live in a black and white world where people are all bad or all good.I believe that is a childish,immature way of perceiving Reality even if it is a popular one.Trump has some very important points to make-like getting rid of political correctness and lobby groups both of which are destroying America .On the other hand he is a greedy,materialistic and closed-minded person.That is the nature of Reality-ambivalence and ambiguity.Jellaluddin Rumi was perhaps the first teacher to illuminate me on that point.He said that anyone who doesn’t see the contradictory and paradoxical nature of reality can not be truly enlightened.Unfortunately we have all been taught by our Aristotelian school system that coherency is the measure of Truth.Nothing could be further from Reality.
Why we need religion-Video
Enlightenment is not Enough-Video
(If using a Mac you can find this on Youtube.Just Google Sufi Ibrahim Kreps)
Causation video
Qigong practice
Here is the link for our Qigong practice.For those who want to do this they can refer also to the book by Roger Jahnke called “The Healing Promise of Qi”
https://vimeo.com/142920491
Visit to NYC-Loch Kelly
What can you see?
That’s Loch in the middle.My brother Gary is on the other side.
Terrorist attacks in Paris
The real cause of all outer events is an inner reality.I felt that reality on my last two journeys to France and told people of the toxic environment in Paris.That is why problems cannot be solved at the level on which they occur.We need to go deeper.But that usually means putting into question our hidden assumptions and convictions and that is something most people are unwilling to do.So God intervenes and makes the messages louder.Still people
refuse to understand.”Surely man is contrary”The Quran
New York Visit.
Spent one evening with Loch Kelly and one with Kabat-Zinn. I still believe Loch has a superior method and I am intending to spend a day in retreat with him this Saturday.His method is simple,effective and user -friendly.
However Kabat-Zinn exceeded expectations.He carries a very clear”hal” and I felt it all the way home on the taxi-ride back ,despite the more worldly discussion going on in the car.It was what I call the pristine state.However his idea that the world is changing radically because of the spread of mindfulness in the West is part of the New-Age megalomanic discourse that proves the ungroundedness of these people -projecting their hopeful fantasies upon the sinister reality of materialism and deadly conflict all around us.And I thought they are trying to practice acceptance!?
Inner/Outer
Aphorism:Every outer problem has a parallel and corresponding inner problem..Often the outer problem cannot be solved until the inner one is recognized and dealt with.
You are not in control,no matter how valiant and diligent your efforts.The Real Controller can do a lot more to solve your problems then you can.But in order for that to happen, you have to give Him his due.Salaams