Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness & the Essential Self

196 Pages·2023·8.744 MB·English

by  Kabir Edmund Helminski, Eckhart Tolle

V N
I I
PRESENCE

LIVING PRESENCE
Otherpublications compiledand translatedby
KabirHelminski
TheRuins oftheHeart: SelectedLyricPoetry ofJelaluddinRumi
TheDrop thatBecame the Sea: SelectedLyric
Poetry of Yunus Emre
With Camille Helminski
A
Rumi: Daylight. Daybook ofSpiritual Guidance
Happiness WithoutDeath: DesertHymns ofAssadAli
LIVING
PRESENCE
A
Way
Sufi to
Mindfulness
and the Essential Self
Kabir Edmund Helminski
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Copyright©1992byKabirEdmundHelminski
Allrightsreserved.Thisbook,orpartsthereof,maynotbereproducedinany
formwithoutpermission.PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Helminski,Kabir,date.
Livingpresence:aSufiwaytomindfulnessandtheessentialself/
KabirEdmundHelminski.
p. cm.
ISBN0-87477-699-6
I.Sufism—Prayer-booksanddevotions—English. I.Title.
BP189.62.H45 1992 92-4974
297 .43—dc20 CIP
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6
Contents
Presence: AnIntroduction viii
The Cityof Separation: ATale ofTransformation i
SoulWork, ReflectingSpirit 6
CreativeEnergyandHuman Capacities 1
Balancingthe Outerandthe Inner 23
ThePowerofBeing 29
VoluntaryAttention 34
Meditation: TheRefinementofAttention 40
TheTyrannyofthe False Self 46
TheEssentialSelf 57
BefriendingtheEgo 63
PolishingtheMirrorofAwareness 67
ListeningWithin 74
TheDance ofPersonality 79
Gatheringthe FragmentedSelf 85
Mysteries oftheBody 92
.
Faithfulnessand Gracefulness 100
TheAlchemyofEffort 106
AimandSelf-Knowledge no
EmancipationfromFear 115
Suffering: ImaginaryandReal 121
DieBeforeYouDie 125
The Freedomof the Soul 130
WhatWe LoveWeWillBecome 136
Love the Transformer 142
TheReligionofLove 148
Worship: ContactWiththe Infinite 152
RefiningthePsyche 156
ServiceWithintheDivine Unknown 166
WhatSufismIs 171
Glossary 176
Acknowledgments
InmyspiritualsearchI oweagreatdebttosomanypeo-
plewhohavebeenguidinglights: formyearlyeducation
the Jesuits, especially Martin DArcy, SJ.; Shibayama
Roshi and Suzuki Roshi, the first Zen masters I ever met;
Murshid Samuel Lewis and Ram Das with whom I lived and
worked at the Lama Foundation; various students of Gurdjieff,
especiallyWilliamSegalandPierreElliot;ReshadFeildforhisin-
sights and friendship; Shaikh Suleyman Dede for his immense
good will, who guided us on the way of Mevlana Jelaluddin
Rumi; Celalettin Chelebi for his support and guidance; Hasan
Shushudforthesweetnessofannihilation; ShaikhTosunBayrak
al-Jerrahi forhis steadysupport; MuratYaganforhis unique clar-
ity and profoundly positive effect on my thinking; Ilhami Baba,
TurgutKoca, OrucGuvenc,Metin, Ihsan,HasanDede,andMu-
hittinBaba fortheirspiritual hospitality and conversation; Refik
Alganforhisinvaluablefriendship andguidance; Dr. AbdulAziz
Said for networking at the highest levels; and Dr. Assad Ali for
whatnowords canexpress.
Acknowledgments are also due to these people: my wife
Camille for her spiritual companionship over more than seven-
teenyears; Thomas Goldbergforhiseditorialsuggestions; David
andMarionMcClellandwho offeredtheirMauihome,whichbe-
came the settinginwhich this book came to completion;Jeremy
Tarcher, who generously demonstratedhis appreciation of these
ideas; and the very cordial and professional people atJeremy E
Tarcher, Inc.
vii
Presence:
An
Introduction
A
common theme runs through all the great spiritual
traditions. Itgoesbymanynames—awakening, recollec-
tion, mindfulness, dhyana, remembrance, zhikr, pres-
ence—andbynonameatall. Thisstateofconsciousnessaddsfur-
therdimensions to beingin this world. Beyond the narrowband
of awareness that has come to be accepted as the conventional
state of consciousness is a faculty that is the master key to un-
lockingourlatenthumanpotential.
In certain teachings, such as Buddhism, the practice of
mindfulpresence is the centralfact. InIslamremembranceis the
qualifierof aUactivity. In Christianitywemustlookto the expe-
rience of its great mystics and to prayer of the heart. But in aU
authentic spiritual psychologies this state of consciousness is a
fundamental experience and requirement. For the purposes of
ourreflections I shaUcalllipresence.
Presence signifies the quality of consciously being here. It is the
activation of a higherlevel of awareness that allows aU our other
human functions—such as thought, feeling, and action—to be
known, developed, and harmonized. Presence is the way in
which we occupy space, as well as howwe flow and move. Pres-
ence shapes our self-image and emotional tone. Presence deter-
viii