THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
	a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.sufi,alt.islam.sufism,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.consciousness.mysticism,alt.religion.gnostic
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (haramullah)
Subject: Allah the Most Compassionate and Beneficent
Date: 13 Sep 1997 13:27:56 -0700

49970913 aa2 

assalam alaykum, my kin.


"Mark Fenkner" :
# Does the benefit of inner work come from the action performed, or the
# struggle to perform the action?  

does the meal come from the preparation of the food or from the work which
goes into the preparation?  can these two truly be separated?  does the
rain come from the clouds or from the atmosphere of which clouds are part?
no easy answers do I see.


#  If I were to set myself to the goal of always being kind and generous to
# others, would I most benefit from struggling against my laziness and nafs,
# or from the final action of being kind and generous?

it depends entirely on who one is, on what our relation is to laziness and
to the nafs, to kindness and selfishness.  we may benefit a hundredfold,
another might be corrupted beyond redemption, all the while the recipients
of both our efforts may be blessed or cursed depending on *their* condition.


# ...If we were to consider that there is an inner benefit to being 
# motivated, would they be born with that benefit while I had to 
# work for it?

if motivation always conferred internal benefit regardless of its ease of
arising or source, then there could be a wide variation in where that 
motivation might lay, yes.  it might even change in location, from one
heart to another, first with me, then with you, flowing from one cup to
another in tempering alchemical mystery.


# ...Are some people blessed or is it that they must make other
# efforts, similar in strength to those not so blessed at birth?

on a road without specific beginning and end, who can be 'ahead'?
a blessing to one is a curse to another.  the sage nods and says
'so be it' and 'this too shall pass'.


Hafizullah@aol.com:
# Guidance /is/ forthcoming all the time, with every breath.  The 
# question is, do you recognize it as such or ignore it as part of 
# the background noise?  

for myself I am sure I miss very much of the instruction and guidance.
dwelling in my own thoughts, deceived by baubles of imagination and
cherished flimsy, I drift from chimera to mirage, occasionally
catching glimpses of sunlight through the dark clouds of ignorance.


# Do you recognize and act on it when it's telling you to do something 
# difficult or painful, or just when it's syntonic with your image 
# of yourself?  

this seems to vary.  there are times when I know I am engaging a very
important discipline and work that will bear fruit in my maturity and
temperance.  there are others when I am doing it for my glory and my
image of who I am, simultaneously constructing barriers to my growth
and a foundation from which I may later be able to humble myself.


# Is it your self-image you're acting from and re-inforcing, or is it 
# genuinely your soul?  How do you know?  

what a beautiful question.  how can 'I' avoid such a self-image?  only
when I see clearly my intuitive connection to the divine is this
possible, and I can't be sure of the strength of that linkage.  over
time the steps I make sometimes indicate to me their wisdom or folly,
but on the whole I look for reflections in the guiding response of my
kin and what comes of my acts generally in the world and myself.

what is a 'soul'?  so many things have I been told is this mystery:
my deepest essence, the entirety of my being, a connection between my
spiritual and material 'selves', the central hub from which the self
of my whole may achieve individuation or gnosis, a perfect image of
the divine incarnate, an ephemeral image without substance, a fiction
best forgotten, etc., etc.  in each description do I find some truth.


# ...If you're really expanding
# your awareness into subtler and more profound realms, how do you know 
# you're headed straight for the goal and haven't taken a sideroad?  
# The pitfalls are innumerable, and not everything that feels good is 
# growth-enhancing.  

sometimes I need to be pared back before new growth can occur.  as the
seasons and the flora of gardens, I can become overgrown, choking on
my development, extensions and ego.  abandoning and cutting back, I am
served at times by what at first seems a 'sideroad' where else I may
have faced roadblocks.

pleasure is only one of the indicators of this path, to be sure, pain
being another important gauge to be factored into overall maturation.
I used to run from pain, toward pleasure.  I discovered that in that
direction leads debauch and dissolution.  these are not criminal ends,
only they are not That toward which I would grow overall.  instead I
engage pain intentionally and discover through this a marvellous
process of renewal. 

like having my teeth cleaned by my dentist, at first it hurts and my 
eyes water.  I remain calm, and gradually the sting recedes.  later I 
glory in the feel of spartan simplicity.


sophia11@ix.netcom.com (Angelique Sophia Higgins):
# So what is the definition of "teacher." 

That which serves to instruct.  or, you.  or, no definition suffices,
for even I might instruct myself.  temporary and shifting might this
Great Sheikh within become, the Face of Allah, the One Prophet,
the element of cosmic perfection manifested in compassion.

peace be with you,

haramullah
 tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
-- 
(emailed replies may be posted);join the AMT syncretism!!;call: 408/2-666-SLUG!
see http://www.abyss.com/tokus; "Clement of Rome taught that God rules the world
with a right and a left hand, the right being Christ, the left Satan." - CGJung