Sohbet 290625 The Witness

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Transcript

The Wayward Princess 

A CERTAIN king believed that what he had been taught, and what he believed, was right. In many ways he was a just man, but he was one whose ideas were limited. One day he said to his three daughters: 'All that I have is yours, or will be yours. Through me you obtained your life. It is my will which determines your future, and hence determines your fate.' 

Dutifully, and quite persuaded of the truth of this, two of the girls agreed. The third daughter, however, said: 'Although my position demands that I be obedient to the laws, I cannot believe that my fate must always be determined by your opinions.' 'We shall see about that,' said the king. 

He ordered her to be imprisoned in a small cell, where she languished for years. Meanwhile the king and his obedient daughters spent freely of the wealth which would otherwise have been expended upon her. The king said to himself: 'This girl lies in prison not by her own will, but by mine. This proves, sufficiently for any logical mind, that it is my will, not hers, which is determining her fate.' 

The people of the country, hearing of their princess's situation, said to one another: 'She must have done or said something very wrong for a monarch, with whom we find no fault, to treat his own flesh and blood so.' For they had not arrived at the point where they felt the need to dispute the king's assumption of Tightness in everything. From time to time the king visited the girl. Although she was pale and weakened from her imprisonment, she refused to change her attitude. 

Finally the king's patience came to an end. 'Your continued defiance,' he said to her, 'will only annoy me further, and seem to weaken my rights, if you stay within my realms. I could kill you; but I am merciful. I therefore banish you into the wilderness adjoining my territory. This is a wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts and such eccentric outcasts who cannot survive in our rational society. There you will soon discover whether you can have an existence apart from that of your family; and, if you can, whether you prefer it to ours.' His decree was at once obeyed, and she was conveyed to the borders of the kingdom. 

The princess found herself set loose in a wild land which bore little resemblance to the sheltered surroundings of her upbringing. But she soon learned that a cave would serve for a house, that nuts and fruit came from trees as well as from golden plates, that warmth came from the Sun. 

This wilderness had a climate and a way of existing of its own. After some time she had so ordered her life that she had water from springs, vegetables from the earth, fire from a smouldering tree. 'Here,' she said to herself, 'is a life whose elements belong together, form a completeness, yet neither individually nor collectively do they obey the commands of my father the king.' 

One day a lost traveller—as it happened a man of great riches and ingenuity—came upon the exiled princess, fell in love with her, and took her back to his own country, where they were married. After a space of time, the two decided to return to the wilderness where they built a huge and prosperous city where their wisdom, resources and faith were expressed to their fullest possible extent, 

The 'eccentrics' and other outcasts, many of them thought to be madmen, harmonized completely and usefully with this manysided life. The city and its surrounding countryside became renowned throughout the entire world. It was not long before its power and beauty far outshone that of the realm of the princess's father. By the unanimous choice of the inhabitants, the princess and her husband were elected to the joint monarchy of this new and ideal kingdom. 

At length the king decided to visit the strange and mysterious place which had sprung up in a wilderness, and which was, he heard, peopled at least in part by those whom he and his like despised. 

As, with bowed head, he slowly approached the foot of the throne upon which the young couple sat and raised his eyes to meet those whose repute of justice, prosperity and understanding far exceeded his own, he was able to catch the murmured words of his daughter: 

'You see, Father, every man and woman has his own fate and his own choice.' 

Oft Sultan Saladin, according to a Sufi manuscript, met the great teacher Ahmed el-Rifai, founder of the Rifai Order, the 'Howling Dervishes', and asked him several questions. This story was related by the Rifai in answer to the inquiry: 'What reason, if any, have you for supposing that the imposition of the rule of the Law is insufficient for maintaining happiness and justice?' The meeting took place in 1174, but the story, which is known in other traditions than the Sufi one, has been used since to illustrate the possibility of 'a different state of consciousness' in man. 

from Idries Shah

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The Witness.

shaykh ibrahim ansari

Imagine each of us has a Witness within, unaffected by any of the outer circumstances into which we are born. This witness is not gender or age based.

This Observer is watching when certain lessons are learned, how problems are solved (or exacerbated). Plus, there is all the beauty, paradoxes, loves and joys happening around the Watcher.

It has many names. In ancient Rome it was called Genius for men and Juno for women. It was related to a kind of guardian angel or Guide or even Soul. All humans have this inner Watcher, but during one's life, it is pushed aside or covered with a mask we call ‘me’. For the moment, let's name this your Soul just for this article. Also, for the sake of a different perspective, let's imagine that this Soul is the real you, and is constantly aware, gathering information about your journey here on the Earth, and deep within yourself.

Now, this is not just any adventure. We are not talking about only this moment or life, but a grand odyssey that extends through many lives and many times. Some lives you are a female and in others male, experiencing a vast gamut of situations, relationships, and discoveries. You have experienced families, gain and loss, wars and famines.

The idea behind most spiritual paths is to help you clarify which is the mask and which is your Soul. There are millions of reminders of this truth scattered throughout your life: metaphors, analogies, stories and visuals to remind you that what you see and feel is not even half the truth, (or maybe all lies) of what is actually occurring.

This kind of ‘hide and seek’ game might be the true state of life. You are given the elements of the mask to see if you can identify what is true and what is false. A moment of ‘awakening’ occurs when you realize the mask is not you. The concept of time itself shifts and is not exactly what you thought it was/is.

Perhaps some of us have been going around this merry-go-round for millennia, whereas others might be just getting started. Maybe that is why the polarity we are all experiencing now is revealing old souls who know from experience why compassion, mercy and empathy are vital for the human race to continue, while the newer souls have yet to learn that truth.

Science is evidence and experimentally based. This hypothesis: that you and your witness are here to learn is purposely mysterious, but never hidden. As Mevlana Rumi says "Truth is an open secret", meaning, if you look for the truth, you will find it is always available.

We may not remember our previous lives or deaths, but just consider how much you know now, and how many mysteries still follow you. There are so many unresolved stories, coincidences, and dramas… A chapter ends, but the story continues.

How do you awaken the witness? Well, that can be both difficult and simple. Begin by intending to want to know the truth about life and death. One might ask, “Please help me to see and know the truth about myself and my life." If you keep this question in the forefront of your consciousness, you will notice data and information appearing with the answers. WARNING: have no expectations, and stay grounded. The responses may be subtle or knock you off your feet, so remember to breathe slowly and deeply. Consider slowly and carefully your experiences and your observations. Keep a journal of what you learn and notice.

Should you seek teachers and other sources of information? Absolutely! But any teacher or teachings you find will only show you how to find your Witness and deal with it appropriately. The work and discover is all yours. Your truth will probably not be found with others, so part of tuning in to the journey will be to learn how to factor in the subtle, silent or quiet appearances (of clues, hints and intuitions), and learn to look beyond and beneath the surface.

“I only believe what I can see with my own eyes.”

Don't rely on your eyes. There are optical illusions as well as delusions.  Images can be faked, hacked and distorted. If it is true, it will ring so in both your inner and outer worlds. Seek the source of everything.

Your Soul is the observer of your inner and outer worlds. Develop a relationship with it, know that it has no opinion but is there to see it all-as though it is reporting back to Allah to record what you are experiencing.

It feeds on and radiates love. When threatened it retracts and considers. Trials and tribulations increase its growth and depth of understanding. Failure is where it thrives and matures. How you deal with failure and success shape the Soul.

Try and observe yourself in your relationships - as though seen from a corner or other point of view. Become objective in your dealings with the outer world, and consider that you are the ambassador of everything that happens inside you. If we extrapolate from that, so is every single other person. Let’s treat each other as representatives of a very complex nation. We have no idea what kind of negotiations, wars or conflicts are occurring. It would be kind and generous to have good manners and respect.

We all want to be loved.