The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation [Paperback]

As human beings we stand on the threshold between two realities: the world of material existence and the world of spiritual Being. The knowing 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, lovely, 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, mystics of Islam, 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. InThe Knowing Heart,Kabir Helminski presents the Sufi way as a practical spirituality suitable for all cultures and times—and offers 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 relationships, and enhance our creative capacities. Most important, we learn how to meet the spiritual challenge of our time: to realize our sacred humanness."Helminski, writing with the ease and fluidity that comes with years of discernment, discusses the seven levels of the self, the important role of the spiritual teacher, the blessings of spiritual conversation, the courtesy of the path, the living word, and the sacredness of everyday life. The author's exquisite overview of Sufism and all its resources enables him to enchant us with the sayings of Muhammad, aphorisms that stir the soul, themes for contemplation from Rumi, and a helpful glossary."-Spirituality and HealthKabir Helminski is the author ofLiving Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self,as well as the translator of numerous books of lC4