The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation

310 Pages·2023·13.421 MB·English

by  Kabir Helminski , Eckhart Tolle

$29.95
-(Canada $44.95)
s human beings, we stand on the
threshold between two realities: the
world of material existence and
the world of spiritual Being. The “know-
ing heart” is the sacred place where these
two dimensions meet and are integrated.
In Sufi teaching the human heart is not
a fanciful metaphor but an objective organ
of intuition and perception. It is able
to perceive all that is beautiful and
meaningful in life—and to reflect these
spiritual qualities in the world, for the
benefit of others. Every human heart has
the capacity and the destiny to bring that
world of divine reality into this world of
appearances.
The Sufis have been educators of the
heart for some fourteen centuries. Their
teachings and methods are designed to
help us awaken and purify the heart, to
learn to listen to our deepest knowing. In
The Knowing Heart, Kabir Helminski pre-
sents the Sufi way as a practical spirituality
suitable for all cultures and times—and of-
fers insights that are especially valuable for
our life in today’s world. In cultivating a
knowing heart, we learn to experience a
new sense of self, transform our relation-
ships, and enhance our creative capacities.
Most important, we learn how to meet the
spiritual challenge of our time: to realize
our sacred humanness.

_THE
KNOWING
HEART
5s, —_—_
A Sufi Path of
Transformation
Kabir Helminski
SHAMBHALA
Boston & London
1999
SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 1999 by Kabir Helminski
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Tee Ay OR SANG Yee Hara
Printed in the United States ofA merica
This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets
the American National Standards Institute z39.48 Standard.
Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc.,
and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd
Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Helminski, Kabir, 1947—
The knowing heart: a Sufi path of transformation
/ by Kabir Helminski. — tst ed.
p. cm.
ISBN I-57062-408-9 (alk. paper)
1. Sufism. I. Title.
BPI89.H45 1999 98-31122
294.4'4—dc21 CIP
Dedicated to those anonymous friends
who recognized my longing as their own,
without whom I could not have learned
what little I know of the Heart.
Cel ae tid a ee ee‘ -
Contents
Author’s Note
xi
Acknowledgments Xill
THE PROCESS AND THE COMPLETION
A Lover’s Tale: A Story
The Postmodern Situation
A Human Way of Life 14
Completion: The Drop That Contains the Ocean
20
The Idea of Spiritual Training 30
THE KNOWLEDGE OF LOVE
Love’s Universe 37
The Spectrum of Love 46
The Inborn Power of Love and Presence 52
THe Map AND THE PSYCHOLOGY
Inner Struggle: The Structure of the Self
_within Sufi Psychology 6I
The Knowing Heart: Threshold between Two Worlds 69
Themes for Contemplation from Rimi 84
Vii
Vill : Contents
OSes
Radical Remembrance 96
The Transparent Self 104
RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY
Grapes Ripen Smiling at One Another: Leadership and
the Group Process cE
The Way of the Dervish 134
In the End Is Our Beginning: A Story 140
Spiritual Conversation 143
The Courtesy of the Path 149
What Is a Muhib, ‘Ashig, Murid, or Shaikh?: A Story 155
TRADITION AND SOURCES
The Living Word 161
The Example of Muhammad 174
Sayings of Muhammad 178
The Sacredness of Everyday Life 181
Tue NEEDS OF Our TIME
What Is a Truly Universal Spirituality? 193
Soul Loss and Soul Making 201
Ecstasy and Sobriety S35
This Drunkenness Began in Some Other Tavern 223
NUANCES
The Ha of the Human 233
The Path of Blame: The Melami Deconstruction of the
False Self 240