Spiritual Healing Activity

Welcoming You!

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 01:57:00 +0000

Office of the Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shakti Genn, Secretary
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary

The vocation of spiritual healing is a special gift and cannot be taught or learned. The secret of spiritual healing resides in the absence of the self when confronted with the all-pervading Healing Power.

"The breath of those healthy in mind and body is vitalizing. The breath of the spiritual beings, whose love and sympathy goes out to others, is naturally healing." Hazrat Inayat Khan

Learn More

Sympathy

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 03:05:00 +0000

Dear friends,

In a lecture delivered during the years 1918-1920, Murshid exclaimed,,

“How beautiful are the words of the Prophet: 'The shrine of God is the heart of man.'How true that is! … When man has come to know the real beauty of God, he will find that it dwells only in one place: in the heart of man. God is love, and He is found in the heart of man.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden – Love,Harmony and Beauty

Then, from this understanding, Murshid drew a lesson in sympathy for the troubles and despair of our fellow humans; a lesson for healing.

"For whoever really experiences this joy of life, finds that it becomes so great that it fills his heart and his soul. It does not matter if he has fewer comforts or an inferior position than many in this world, because the light of his kindness of his sympathy, of the love that is growing, the virtue that is springing up in his heart, all fill the soul with light. There is nothing now that he lacks in life, for he has become the king of it.

Such a person becomes a healer, a real healer. He heals a person with his glance, with a kind word, with his hand, by his comfort, by his nature. What a healing that is! Unpretentious, unassuming; the real healing is when a man is in sympathy with another's trouble and gives him a helping hand. He is the possessor of the true wine. He who can send from his eye the glance that proves the sympathy and help he is anxious to give, what a healing power he has! Is it not like a young bird being taken in beneath the brooding wings? There cannot be a more beautiful process of healing than this among all the different methods by which people have endeavoured to heal.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden – Love,Harmony and Beauty

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Tuning the Heart

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Tue, 15 May 2018 15:01:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Early last century our Murshid, Hazrat Inayat Khan commented,

“Hundreds of wireless messages are passing by us during every hour of the day, but only the instrument that is tuned to the right note can receive them. The discovery of wireless telegraphy has been…a most illuminating example on the physical plane of what is always happening in the spiritual spheres.”

These days our early 21st-century wifi technology, social and news media, video conferencing, etcetera, make this even clearer on the physical plane. As Murshid observed,

“Distance is no longer any obstruction, and just as in the physical world a receiver is necessary, so also in the spiritual world; for the law is universal both in the spiritual realm, the realm of reality, and in the physical world, which is only the shadow of the real one.”

Let us take a moment to reflect on what note(s) we (as instruments and receivers) are tuned to. And, for our health, which “is surely wholeness [and holiness] of body, heart and mind, complete harmony of the whole being,” consider Murshid’s advice below.

“Let us see to it that our hearts and minds are tuned to the higher vibrations, so that only those things that are good, pure, holy and of good report can enter and dwell there. Let us keep out the idle thoughts, the unkind thoughts, the envious thoughts that come knocking at the door of the heart…”

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 8-Health and the Order of Body and Mind, Ch.23-Spiritual Healing

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Living Faith

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 17:10:00 +0000

Dear friends,

In this bulletin we look at why the spiritual healing leader only includes the names of those who have requested or agreed to spiritual healing, or those they positively know are open to this form of healing on the healing list.

This is because of our respect for the beliefs and wishes of others. It is an important point. When a person is not open to the idea of spiritual healing or is even against it, the effect could be disturbing both for the patient and the spiritual healing circle. If the leader or members wish to help such persons in need, they can better do so through prayer, or through visiting them and establishing sympathy which is also healing. Some people may be open to spiritual healing, but not want others to know about it, or have a need for privacy. In that case also we should respect their feelings and not put the person’s name on the list.

Another very important aspect is that a patient must be open to spiritual healing to receive the blessings of the spiritual healing ceremony. Our Murshid, Hazrat Inayat Khan explains,

What should be the attitude of the patient? He must have a living faith, he must do his part in the work. We read of Jesus Christ that in one place even he could do no mighty works because of the unbelief of the people, and again in another place people came to him with all manner of diseases and he healed them all. The patient must believe in the power of God to heal and he must have confidence and trust in his healer. God holds His blessings out to us, but we must take them from His hands. If we refuse to co-operate in the work of healing, we cannot receive the blessing; if we set up obstacles, we can obstruct even the river of life itself.

So the patient must have confidence and trust in the healer; he must open himself to receive the healing currents for the conveyance of which the healer is only the channel, for life and health are the gifts of God Himself.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 8-Health and the Order of Body and Mind, Ch.23-Spiritual Healing

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Harmonizing with God

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 20:08:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Let us reflect today on the third prayer in the Spiritual Healing ceremony.

Oh Thou, who art all-powerful and all-pervading, the light of all souls, the life of all beings, the healer of all hearts, forgive us our shortcomings, and we pray, free us from all pain and suffering. Make us worthy to be Thy instruments, so that in turn we may free others from pain and suffering, and that we may reflect upon all of humanity Thy light, Thy life, Thy joy and Thy peace.

Reflection

Read or say this prayer several times out loud, slowly. Focus on how we address God as all-powerful and all-pervading, the light of all souls, the life of all beings, the healer of all hearts. Take a moment to notice what you experience when you attune to and acknowledge God in this way.

Now read or say the prayer again and focus this time on our aspiration to reflect upon all of humanity Thy light, Thy life, Thy joy and Thy peace. Take a moment to notice what you experience as you attune to reflecting the light, life, joy and peace of the all-powerful and all-pervading.

Then, read Murshid’s teachings below about harmonizing with God and the secret of healing.

The innermost being of man is the real being of God… All meditation and contemplation are taught with this purpose: to harmonize one’s innermost being with God so that He is seeing, hearing, thinking through us, and our being is a ray of His light.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. IX, The Unity of Religious Ideals, Part 1, Unity and Uniformity

The secret of healing is to rise by the power of belief above the limitations of this world of variety, that one may touch by the power of intelligence the oneness of the whole Being. It is there that one becomes charged with the almighty power, and it is by the power of that attainment that one is able to help oneself and others in their pain and suffering. Verily, spirit has all the power there is.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. IV, Healing and the Mind World, Part 1, Health, 8. Spirit Power

What light do these teachings throw on the third prayer and on what we aspire to do in our Spiritual Healing work?

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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The Cure and Confidentiality

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 20:29:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Let us reflect on why, in spiritual healing circles, we strive to focus on health and wellness, and on why we strive to keep confidential the names and symptoms of those in need of healing.

Murshid, Hazrat Inayat Khan explains below the reason for focusing our minds on what we desire in healing, and how this rule relates to life generally.

If the healer should happen to hold the picture of a wound, he would help the wound to continue instead of being healed; and so if he thought of pain it might perhaps be continued more intensely by the help of his thought. It is the cure that he should hold in mind. It is the desired thing that he must think about, not the condition. In all aspects of life this rule must be remembered; that even in trouble one must not think of the trouble and in illness one must forget about illness. Man often continues life's miseries by giving thought to them. The healer must from beginning to end hold the thought of cure and of nothing else.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. IV, Healing and the Mind World, 3. The Development of Healing Power

In relation to keeping the names of persons on the healing list and information we have about their symptoms confidential, Hazrat Inayat Khan tells us:One must consider that everything that is entrusted to one by any person in life is one’s trust, and one must know that to prove true to the confidence of any person in the world is one’s sacred obligation.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. III, Art of Personality, Part 3, I. Character Building

Reflection

A person putting forward their own name or that of another for the healing list may, of course, talk to the spiritual healing leader about the illness or symptoms if they wish to. How then can we both extend genuine sympathy to a person who is suffering and hold only the cure in mind?

How, as spiritual healing circles and individuals, can we best keep the confidences entrusted to us? What points in each of Murshid’s teachings above suggest the importance of doing this?

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Thy Mercy and Compassion

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 17:02:00 +0000

Dear friends,

One aspect of the God-ideal that we strive to develop in the healing work is that of the beloved God, merciful and compassionate.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. IX, Unity of Religious Ideals, Part II

In the first Spiritual Healing ceremony prayer we attune to Thou … whose nature is mercy and compassion, and in the two final prayers we ask, out of Thy [God’s] mercy and compassion, for others to be healed.

Murshid Inayat explains that God has many names: the Great, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Sovereign, but he is always called Merciful and Compassionate.

He also tells us, "I have seen in my life that it is not difficult to have occult or psychic powers; to be virtuous, to keep our life pure, is not very difficult. To be merciful, to be compassionate, is difficult: it is difficult to be human."

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. VIII, Sufi Teachings, The Privilege of Being Human

And, in the Vadan (Alankaras), Murshid includes the short prayer, "Send on humanity, Lord, the shower of Thy mercy and compassion."

Reflection

Set aside some time to attune to the beloved God, merciful and compassionate.

Allow yourself to feel or imagine that Murshid’s prayer is being answered and you are being showered - washed, filled, surrounded, enveloped - with great mercy, compassion, tenderness and kindness.

Extend the shower of God’s mercy and compassion to others, near and far.

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Breath

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sat, 06 May 2017 17:19:00 +0000

Dear friends,

As we know, the basic principle of spiritual healing is that the soul being the divine Breath purifies, revivifies and heals the instruments of body and mind through which it functions.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. 1, Whence and Whither, p.171

This letter draws our attention to the breath - the very life in beings and crucial for our health, spiritual development and capacity for spiritual healing work. Although we have daily breathing practices still it is very helpful, from time to time, to refresh our attention to the breath.

Murshid tells us, “regular and rhythmic breathing gives health to body and mind both” and “breath is a key to concentration.” * He explains how, “the Sufi lays his beloved ideal in the swing of the breath. I remember my Murshid’s saying that every breath which is inhaled with the consciousness of the Divine Beloved is the only gain, and every breath inhaled without this consciousness is the only loss there is.” *

Reflection

Let us start by being curious about our breath. Notice the depth, volume, outreach and rhythm of our breath. Do we “breathe fully, in other words freely and deeply?” *

Then, let us try throughout the day to “be conscious of every breath.” * Notice when you have forgotten and gently bring your consciousness back to each breath. To help us remember, we can recall how some Sufis in the East take turns to remind themselves and the whole group by calling aloud, “‘Hosh bar dam’ meaning ‘Keep conscious of the breath.’” *

* Hazrat Inayat Khan, Volume 13, Gathas, Breath

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Thy Instrument

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 16:53:00 +0000

Dear friends,

This month we look at being and becoming God’s instruments for healing. In an address on Spiritual Healing (Volume 8, Chapter 23), Murshid reminds us:

God alone is the healer; those who minister will only truly heal when they keep this truth always before them, for it is not the solid wood that makes the flute, it is the empty reed. The healer is only the instrument which God Himself is using and, in so far as he can put aside his own lower personality and dedicate and consecrate his life to the great service, will he be successful in the work he has undertaken. …we grow into the likeness of that which we habitually contemplate. Therefore constant and habitual contemplation of the perfect ideal, dwelling in thought upon the attributes of divine beauty, keeping the heart tuned to the note of love and harmony, and making this the practice of daily life, the mind still and calm, the heart pure and open so that it can reflect the perfect Will – this should be the aim of life of the one who aspires to serve humanity as a spiritual healer.

Reflection

In the second prayer of the Spiritual Healing ceremony, we pray to be of service “as instruments of Thy divine love and light”.

And in the third prayer we not only appeal to God to “Make us worthy to be Thy instruments”, but also say the reason we want this – “so that in turn we may free others from pain and suffering, and that we may reflect upon all of humanity Thy light, Thy life, Thy joy and Thy peace”.

Take a moment to reflect on Murshid’s teaching and on these words in the prayers. Notice any thoughts and feelings that arise in relation to being God’s instrument. Consider whether there is anything that might help you to become a better instrument of God? Is there anything you may need to let go of?

With Loving Greetings,
Shakti and Shamsher

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Giving in Service

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 20:12:00 +0000

Dear friends,

This month we reflect again on the prayer: O Thou, who art the light of our souls, the inspirer of our minds and the creator of our bodies, we humbly pray to be of service to Thee and to all of humanity as instruments of Thy divine love and light.

Reflection

Focus on the phrase: we humbly pray to be of service to Thee and to all of humanity. Then consider Murshid’s teachings below on prayer and service.

"[One] aspect of prayer is laying our shortcomings before the unlimited perfection of the divine Being, and asking His forgiveness. This makes man conscious of his smallness, of his limitation, and therefore makes him humble before his God."

Vol. IX, The Unity of Religious Ideals, p. 34

"The Sufi Message … teaches service and usefulness, which alone can make life in the world fruitful and in which lies the satisfaction of every soul."

Religious Gatheka 1

"We must give our services and our time to the deserving and undeserving alike, and we must be thankful to God that He has enabled us to give. … Let us give service … but … do not let us expect to receive anything."

Vol. VI, The Alchemy of Happiness, pp. 88-89

"When you do not worry about others, or judge them, you can meditate, think, be silent, and at the same time be serviceable to the world."

Vol. XII, The Vision of God and Man, p.92

"Man can never make the soul dance, but he can make himself a fit instrument for the expression of his soul. … The question is, in what way can he so fit himself? By talking about it, by discussing and arguing it will not come, but by self-realization, by making ourselves the examples of what should be, by giving love, taking love, and showing in our action gentleness, consideration and the desire for service for the sake of God in whom we can all unite beyond the narrow barriers of race and creed."

Vol. XIV, The Smiling Forehead, Part 1, pp. 129-130

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Consciousness

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 21:58:00 +0000

Dear friends,

As we know, the second prayer in the Spiritual Healing ceremony is: O Thou, who art the light of our souls, the inspirer of our minds and the creator of our bodies, we humbly pray to be of service to Thee and to all of humanity as instruments of Thy divine love and light.

Reflection

Read or say this prayer several times out loud, slowly. As you do so, focus particularly on how we address God in a very intimate way as “the light of our souls, the inspirer of our minds and the creator of our bodies.” Take a moment to notice what you experience when you attune to and acknowledge God in this way.

Then read and reflect on Murshid’s teaching on Consciousness (Vol. 8, Sufi Teachings, Part 3), in which he explains that:

"… the universal consciousness sees through the eyes of every being on earth. It is looking at one and at the same time through the eyes of all the millions of beings upon the earth. … It is not that God looks down from a distance and sees all the creatures on earth; he sees through the very eyes of the beings themselves. One might ask if God is not limited by this, made helpless and dependent; but if it seems so to us, it is because we have reduced God to a part of His being. We take a part and call it ours, our self, while in reality it is all God, the one Being. A Hindustani poet has said,

‘What shall I call my self?
Whatever I see it is all Thou;
body, mind and soul, all are Thou.
Thou art, I am not.’

What light does this teaching throw on addressing God as “the light of our souls, the inspirer of our minds and the creator of our bodies”? How does this help to prepare us for our Spiritual Healing work?

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

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Harmony

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 01:36:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Let us focus again on the healing prayer: “O Thou, who art all peace, and whose nature is mercy and compassion, send Thy love and Thy peace on the whole of humanity and we pray, unite us all in Thy perfect harmony. Amen."
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Reflections

What are we are asking for, or aspiring to, when we pray: “unite us all in Thy perfect harmony”? Why do we pray for this?

Harmony

In the passages below, Hazrat Inayat Khan offers us some clues for reflection on why we come together in the Spiritual Healing service, as well as some insights about the perfect divine infinite harmony in which we pray to be united.

“Spiritual healing … can be performed by a single being as well as by a group of people. In this case the heart of the healer can send forth its feeling and vibrations, and in accordance with their intensity the subject is healed. In absent spiritual healing the desire spreads forth its rays and reaches the patient wherever he may be … The concentration of several people united together works still more wonderfully.”
Vol. IV, Healing and the Mind World, Part 1, Health

“Man is drawn in two opposite directions by the power of harmony: towards the Infinite and towards manifestation. He is less conscious of the former than of the latter, and by facing towards one direction he loses sight of the other. The Infinite, being the essential spirit of all, finally attracts all to itself. The Sufi gives the greatest importance to harmony with the Infinite which he realises by resignation to the will of God, the Beloved.”
Vol. II, The Mysticism of Sound, Part 1, Harmony

“The innermost being of man is the real being of God; man is always linked with God. If he could only realise it, it is by finding harmony in his own soul that he finds communion with God. All meditation and contemplation are taught with this purpose: to harmonise one’s innermost being with God, so that He is seeing, hearing, thinking through us, and our being is a ray of His light.”
Vol. IX, The Unity of Religious Ideals, Part 1, Unity and Uniformity

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

Peace

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 14:32:00 +0000

Dear friends,

Today we would like to invite you to reflect on the first prayer in the Healing Ceremony by considering peace.

“O Thou, who art all peace, and whose nature is mercy and compassion, send Thy love and Thy peace on the whole of humanity and we pray, unite us all in Thy perfect harmony. Amen." Hazrat Inayat Khan

Peace

This beautiful reading from Murshid addresses peace in the context of healing: "The meditative process is the treatment for all illnesses. The reason is that the manifested life comes from the unmanifested. The unmanifested life is void of all activity and is full of repose; it is peace itself. Therefore the Name of God has been known by the ancients as Salam, which means peace. No remedy, therefore, is greater than peace. Medicines can help, but up to a certain limit. For instance, medicine can help the body, but not the mind; the psychological treatment may help the mind, but not the soul. All these things such as medicine and psychological treatment come from outside, and the patient is dependent upon them, but in the meditative process the patient creates his remedy from himself." SanGatha 1, Tassawuf

Reflections

Read or recite the first prayer several times slowly as you attune to and reflect on how you understand peace and God as all-peace.

Contemplate: What does the term peace and this part of the first prayer mean for me in relation to God’s healing power and to my inner work?

With Loving Greetings from Shakti and Shamsher

Sympathy

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 22:44:00 +0000

Dear friends,

"That person is living whose heart is living, and that heart is living which has wakened to sympathy." Sufi Message Volume 13

A living heart is responsive to all aspects of life, it is reacting, it feels the vibrations of colors, it is touched by music and all things of beauty. Man in his innermost being is seeking for happiness, for beauty, for harmony. By not responding to the beauty and harmony before him, he wastes his life, which is an opportunity for him to experience and to enjoy. The only way of wakening to the life within, which is most beautiful, is first to respond to the beauty outside. If we ignore all this then why have we come and what have we accomplished here on earth?

But if we want the light colors and not the dark colors, we experience only the surface of life. When we accept both the light and the dark colors, we will experience the depth of life. The living heart feels the pain and suffering of other living beings and will try to help all other creatures in need. That is what we hope to do in our spiritual healing circles and of course not only during the ceremony, but every moment of our lives we are able to do so.

But we are not doing anything, we are only instruments. We open ourselves to the Divine Healer and pray to be of service to God and to all of humanity as instruments of the divine Love and Light. The words of Hazrat Inayat Khan on this subject are offered in the text below from the Gathas: Metaphysics 3.2.

Sympathy

“Sympathy is an awakening of the love element which comes on seeing another in the same situation in which one has been at some time in one’s life. A person who has never experienced pain cannot sympathize with those suffering pain. In the same way a person sympathizes with someone whose honor or reputation has been harmed. The one who has no honor or reputation himself would not mind for he does not know what it is and what it is to lose it. A rich person who has lost his money may be laughed at by someone who has never had it. He can sympathize with him who has wealth and lost it. Very often the young imagine they love their mother and think they sympathize with their parents, but they cannot come to the full realization of their love until they reach that situation. Very often people think it cruel and unkind of their friends when they do not receive sympathy from them, but they do not know that to have sympathy does not mean having a warm heart only, but it means having that experience which reminds them of it, making them sympathetic. Sympathy is something more than love and affection, for it is the knowledge of a certain suffering which moves the living heart to sympathy.

That person is living whose heart is living, and that heart is living which has wakened to sympathy. The heart void of sympathy is worse than a rock, for the rock is useful, but the heart void of sympathy produces antipathy. Man is most active physically and mentally, and when his heart is not tuned to sympathy his mental and physical activity takes quite a contrary direction, which leads to inharmony and destruction. No doubt love, affection, or sympathy without wisdom may seem profitless, as for instance, if a person was crying with pain and his sympathetic friend, on hearing his cry, began to weep with him, doubling his pain. Sympathy can only be useful when man does not make the condition of the person with whom he sympathizes worse, but makes things better. The feeling of sympathy must be within, it need not manifest purely as sympathy but as an action to better the condition of the one with whom one has sympathy. There are many attributes found in the human heart which are called divine, but among them there is no greater and better attribute than sympathy, by which man shows in human form God manifested."

Loving greetings from Sattva and Shamsher

The Rhythm of Breath

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 19:28:00 +0000

Dear friends,

“Disorder of the tone and irregularity in the rhythm are the principal causes of every illness”. Sufi Message Volume 4

Our lives are very dynamic in these days and there are many challenges. We surely are able to bear these challenges if we focus ourselves on the regularity of the rhythm in our daily lives and of our breath. This subject is further explained in the text below from the Gatha’s: Breath 1.6.

The Rhythm of Breath

“Rhythm is the principal thing to be considered in breath, as it is on the rhythm of the breath that the working of the whole mechanism depends, and the chief reason of irregularity of the beats of the heart or head is lack of rhythm in the breath. As man generally neglects to think of his breath he overlooks the fact that his health entirely depends on rhythmic breath.

Rhythm is the central theme of the whole creation. Therefore the infant moves his hands and legs by turns, forming a rhythm. This shows that nobody teaches anyone rhythm, it is natural to all beings. It is the rhythmic movement, which enables the fish to swim, and the serpent to climb trees. If rhythm were not an instinct the animal would never have known how to walk or the bird how to fly. The life of man is so pulled from all sides, so divided, that he often forgets things that are most essential to his life, which the lower creatures seem to keep more correctly in their lives. Neatness in man’s work and balance in man’s actions show rhythm in him. When man shows lack of balance in his life and when his life is disturbed and all things seem to go wrong, it is most often that the rhythm of his breath has become wrong. Irregularity of activity and repose in the habits of life causes disorder of rhythm in the breath.

Very often the eastern mystical exercises are wrongly understood by many. When a teacher gives a breathing exercise to his pupil often he does not mean the breathing itself but rhythm. Thought given to the breath becomes a weight upon it and naturally holds it longer in its movement, altering it from what it would otherwise naturally be. It is the following of the rhythm of breath, and the keeping of the rhythm regular, which brings about the best results”.

Loving greetings from Shamsher and Sattva

Breath – Life!

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Tue, 03 May 2016 13:51:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

“Breath does not only nourish the physical body but it gives subsistence to all planes of man’s existence” do we read in the Gathas. Therefore, we do give so much attention to the breath. It is the most important thing in life.

Breath

“Breath penetrates, breath permeates, breath strikes, breath absorbs, breath invigorates, and breath heals. It is therefore that souls with great powers make their thought and feeling penetrate into the mind and the hearts of others. As breath creates an atmosphere with its particular magnetism.

The hearts of men are likened to gongs in the temple. Every spoken word strikes them, but by the power of breath one strikes them without a word. It is by the breath that one contracts illnesses, but also one absorbs defects and the depression of others, as well as joy and happiness. The breath of personalities healthy in mind and body is vitalizing. The breath of the spiritual beings, whose love and sympathy goes out to others, is naturally healing.

It is no exaggeration that the whole phenomenon of life has breath as its mystery, and once the knowledge of breath is attained and breath is mastered by practice, one beholds a most wonderful phenomenon within and without. There are many who remain skeptical till they have fathomed the mystery of breath. Once they know it, they call it, as Hindus have called it for ages,
Breath-Life.” Sufi Message Volume 13, Gathas ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

With Heartiest Greetings from Sattva and Shamsher.
Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity: Sattva van Dorssen
Assistant of the Secretary: Shamsher van Hees

Spirit - Pull Oneself Together!

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 15:31:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

We are living in a difficult and challenging time. Words of our master standing below, might provide us a more powerful attitude in everyday life, which could help us particularly in our work in the Spiritual Healing activity.

Spirit

“There is a part of one's life, which can only be called life. There is no other name appropriate for it, and the English phrase, 'to pull oneself together', means to set that part of life to work. It might be called spirit, as this part in itself is both intelligence and power. It is intelligence because any part of the body and mind or every part of both in which it dwells, it makes sensitive; and it is powerful because whatever part of the body and mind it touches, it strengthens that part.

In games and sports, when people jump down from a great height, what is it that protects them from hurt? It is this spirit, and they have made it their habit to call this spirit to their aid. When people throw balls to each other, and even in boxing, the receiver of the blow awakens this spirit in that part on which he receives the blow. The sportsman does not know what this spirit is, though he takes refuge in it. The mystic understands it by his meditation, also by research into metaphysics. When a person awakes from a deep sleep, the first thing that rises through his mind to his body, when the tendency of stretching and contracting comes and of twisting and turning, and of gradually opening the eyes, is this spirit; it rises, so to speak, and spreads.

By the mastery of this spirit diseases are cured, age is mastered, even death is conquered. With this spirit is lacking, energy is lacking, intelligence, joy, and rest are lacking, and when there is this spirit there is hope, there is joy, there is rest; because the nature of this spirit is to hold intact the body of atoms and vibrations. Comfort lies in its being held, discomfort when that spirit is not sufficient to hold the body intact. Thus it is the lack of this spirit that is the cause of a great many diseases. By the development of this spirit in himself the healer can give a part of his spirit to another, and that becomes the best source of healing”. (Sufi Message Volume 4 by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

May your spirit become stronger.

Loving greetings from Shamsher and Sattva

The Soul Is Divine Breath

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 19:36:00 +0000

I come from a perfect source and I am bound for a perfect goal.

The light of the perfect Being is kindled in my soul.

I live, move, and have my being in God and nothing in the world,

of the past or present, has power to touch me if I rise above all.

Prayer by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Dear Friends,

In the following words Hazrat Inayat Khan has emphasized that it is important not to pay too much attention to illness. Of course this doesn’t mean that we don’t go to a physician or that we don’t use medicines, but that we don’t think all the time of the illness. Let us have confidence and trust that we’ll be healthy again. Let us try to think in a positive way and to feel ourselves as a healthy happy person. And let us always remember the basic principle of spiritual healing: “The soul being the divine breath, purifies, revivifies and heals our bodies and our minds!” Let us become more and more conscious of this inspiring principle and be in contact with our souls.

“The mystics have always known and practised in a most perfect way the idea which is generally talked about in its most elementary form – the idea that by repeating to oneself ‘I am well, I am better, I am better’, one becomes better. There are many who do not see any reason in it, but you will see that in time the most materialistic people will come to realize the truth that it is the attitude of mind, the willingness to be cured, the desire to get above one’s illness, the inclination to fight against disorder, which help one to health.

There is a difference between belief and thought. One might say, “I am thinking every day I shall get well, but that does not come to pass”. Yes, thought is one thing, belief is another. When you compare thought with belief, one is automatic, the other is more living. And when a person says: “I am thinking, or, I am practising this every day, but I don’t get any benefit”, it only means that he is practising one thing and believing another.

He is practising ‘I shall be well’, and he is believing ‘I am ill’. It may be his unconscious belief, but there is a belief ‘this will not cure me, I shall continue to be ill; and though he may be repeating a thousand times a day ‘I shall be well, I shall be well’, yet he does not believe it.” Sufi Message Volume IV ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

Let us try to practise these words.

With heartiest greetings from Sattva and Shamsher.

Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity: Sattva van Dorssen
Assistant of the secretary: Shamsher van Hees

The Light Within

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 17:33:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

These days when we will be preparing the Christmas celebration, we ask your attention for words of Murshid about the Light in ourselves which needs fuel:

“Man is likened to the Light”

“The purpose of the life of an individual is to perfect the light in him, which is his very being. Whatever may be the qualification of a person, whatever be his resources, position and rank, if the light within him is not brilliant, he cannot fulfill the purpose of his life.

In the Bible, in the allegory of the ten wise and foolish virgins, the same idea is explained. The foolish ones did not keep oil in their lamps, the wise virgins kept it. The wise ones, therefore, answered the purpose on the day, which was promised and the foolish ones repented. Ten means one, zero meaning nothing: a wise soul and a foolish soul. The wise soul collected all material in order to make his light more brilliant for that day which was the day of the promise. The foolish soul wasted it, and found it absent at the time it was needed.

When we think of our life in the world, in our material strife, in our spiritual struggle – what do we need? We need that light, the spark of which is within us, which is our being. Every time when we are without it, when we lack it, it causes us all failure and distress in life, since our health, our balance and the clearness of our vision, all depend upon the light that is within.

As every light needs fuel, so the light, which is ours, which is ourself, needs fuel also. The fuel for the physical part of our life is what we call food, but for the life of the mind intellectual sustenance is necessary. If the body is fed and the mind is not, then naturally that light becomes less. The sustenance of the soul is the divine ideal, which is both love and light. If the soul does not receive that nourishment which is necessary for it, then the soul is starved. The body may be nourished, but it is not sufficient.

That is why we see before our physical eyes many famine-stricken souls, but if we saw with the spiritual eyes we would see still more famine in humanity. What do we learn in Sufism? We learn in Sufism that mysticism which teaches us how to collect the fuel which is necessary not only for the body, but for our mind and soul. By concentration, by meditation, by all other ways of contemplative practices, the purpose accomplished by the Sufi is that purpose which is the longing of every soul”.

The Sufi Message, Volume VII, The Privilege of Being Human, Part 6

We wish you all happy Christmas days and may the new year for you and your beloved ones be full of light, love, harmony, beauty and good health.

Moreover may these words give us a better understanding of the world around us.

Loving greetings,

Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity

The Importance of Breath

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 22:12:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

In the following words from The Gathas Hazrat Inayat Khan has emphasized again the importance of our breath. Our breath is the most important thing in life:

“Why is breath called Prana by the Hindus? It is because it brings on the surface the essence from within. It is a current which is running from the outer spheres to the inner spirit. What it brings from the outer spheres to the inner spirit is not nearly so great as that which it brings from the inner spheres of life.

This being the condition, breath is vitalizing. Naturally, therefore, the breath of a man in sound health must give health to another in his presence; the breath of a master mind must vitalize the thought of another; and the breath of a spiritual person must illuminate those in his presence. By breath a spiritually-developed person can impart his physical energy, his thought-power and his spiritual influence to the others with whom he may come in contact. It is natural, no doubt, that if the one who wishes to impart has not sufficient power to impart he becomes broken if there is a greater demand on his power and if there is little left with him. Sufis, therefore, consider breathing connected with meditation much more important than anything else in the world: their food, sleep, or comfort”. (Sufi Message Volume XIII, The Gathas)

Let us always be aware our breath being a constant connection with the Only Being!

With heartiest greetings from Shamsher and me, Sattva

Breath is Life

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:28:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

This time we would like to ask your attention for the breath again, who clearly stands central in Sufism. Breath is life, is life itself. Being aware of the breath stimulates a good health.

“There are germs and impurities, but there are also elements to purify them. Those five elements, earth, water, fire, air, and either, as spoken of by the mystics, do not only compose germs, but can also destroy them, if one only knew how one could make use of those five elements to purify one's body with them and also one's mind. As there is need of sun and water for plants to grow, so there is need of the five elements for a person to keep in perfect health.

These five elements he breathes according to his capacity of breath. But by breath every person does not attract the same properties; for everyone attracts from the breath elements according to his particular constitution. One attracts more fire element in his breath, another more water element, and a third attracts more earth element. Sometimes one receives an element, which one does not require. Besides, the sun currents have a greater healing power than anything else.

A person who knows how to breathe perfectly, who is attracting sun currents into his body, can keep the body free from every kind of impurity. No microbes of destruction can exist if the sun currents can touch every part of the body, which is within, and that is done by the breath”.

The Sufi Message, Volume IV, Healing and the Mind World, Part 1-Health

We wish you all a very healthy life.

With our Heartiest Greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity

Purification of the Mind

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 16:47:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

“The principal thing to attain happiness, is to purify one’s mind from all things that disturb it and create inharmony. There are not only bad impressions which disturb the tranquility of mind, but there are many feelings of resentment and resistance against things which do not agree with one’s own idea which disturb one’s mind. The person who has some business to carry out, some profession to attend to, requires a tranquil mind, but especially the one who journeys on the spiritual path needs tranquility of mind most. Prayers, concentrations, meditations make no effect when the mind is not purified from all disturbances. Therefore, for an adept, no cost and no sacrifice is great enough to keep harmony within himself. A sufi tries to keep harmony in his surroundings, the harmony which demands many sacrifices. It makes one endure what one is not willing to endure, it makes one overlook what one is not inclined to overlook, it makes one tolerate what one is not accustomed to tolerate, and it makes one forgive and forget what one would never have forgotten if it were not for the sake of harmony. But at whatever cost harmony is attained it is a good bargain. For harmony is the secret of happiness, and in absence of this a person living in palaces and rolling in gold can be most unhappy.

Harmony is brought about by attuning oneself to all beings, to all things, to all conditions, to all situations. And he who cannot tune himself tries to tune others, and while trying to tune others he breaks the string. It is like a person who has a violin in his hands wishing to tune the cello. If he wishes to be in tune with the cellist, he must tune his violin to the cellist’s pitch. Every soul, as its nature, seeks constantly for harmony, but rarely there is to be found a soul who really knows how to create it. If one says: “This noise which goes on always next to my ears makes me mad”, he cannot stop the noise. He must know how to close himself from that noise; if he cannot, to accustom himself to that noise so as to be able to bear it and eventually to rise above it, that it may no more create inharmony. Very often, at the sight of inharmony, one tries to escape it. But inharmony has such a wonderful magic that if one avoids it in the East one meets it in the West. It never leaves a person; whom it loves it follows. And the best way to meet with inharmony is to try and harmonize with it. Knowing that the source and goal of all things is the perfection of harmony, and bearing that idea in mind, if one met with inharmony, which has no existence in reality, which is like a shadow, it must certainly disappear as the shadow disappears at the sight of the sun.

It is very difficult to evolve oneself and at the same time to keep in tune with the unevolved ones through life. It is like being drawn from above and at the same time being pulled from below. And if there is anything that can save man from being torn to pieces in life, there is only one way, and that is to resound, to respond to all that is asked of man. It is this principle which is taught by Christ in the sermon on the mount. The sermon on the mount may seem to teach a willing surrender to all, but that is not the way to look at it. The real lesson that one can learn from it is to harmonize oneself with all notes instead of with one note. Every note is fixed in its place, so is every man fixed in his ideas and ways. But the one who treads the spiritual path, he is all notes and he is no note in particular. Therefore he may rightfully be called the key note, the note which makes a consonant chord with every note that is played with it. There is no beauty where there is no harmony; harmony is the fruit of love. Therefore by attaining harmony in life one reaches the perfection of all three: love, harmony and beauty."

The Sufi Message, Volume XIII, Gatha, Everyday Life

With loving greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity

Spirit is Intelligence

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 22:59:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

These days we see many ill people around us. Let us realize ourselves that our spirit and our thought and feeling are very powerful instruments to help us to become cured. Let us share this knowledge with others.

“One often wonders to what extent the spirit has power over matter; and the answer is that, as matter is the outcome of spirit, spirit has all power over matter. One becomes pessimistic after having tried the power of thought to cure oneself or to cure others, and failed; and then one begins to think that it is not the spirit that can help, it is something outside. It is not meant for one moment that the things outside have no effect, but that the spirit has all power to cure a person of every malady. No doubt in order to cure every malady the spirit must reach a state so high that it is able to do so perfectly…

And spirit is intelligent; it is intelligence itself, besides being powerful and free from death and decay. It is capable of giving its life even to the dense substance which has been made out of itself, and which is matter. Therefore it is beyond words to tell to what an extent the thought, the feeling,and the attitude help one to become cured”.

The Sufi Message, Volume IV, Healing and the Mind World, Part 1, Health

With loving greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity

Temple of God

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Sun, 03 May 2015 16:01:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

With the following words our Master emphasizes again the importance that we are conscious of the fact that our body and our mind are the instruments through which we experience life on earth and that our body is the temple of God!

“The vehicles that the spirit uses in order to experience life must help the spirit to become natural. These vehicles are the mind and the body. However great the musician, if the instrument is out of tune he can do nothing with it. To say that only the spirit matters and the body does not count is not right. Therefore it is necessary that first both mind and body be fit vehicles for the spirit to use.

The difference between a pious person and a spiritual person is this, that the pious person makes his mind and body ready for his own spirit to use, and the spiritual person, after making them ready, gives them to God. Piety is the first step and spirituality the next. There is no exaggeration in the saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. The body must be considered as the temple of God, and this sacred house of God must be made pure in every way; then the light of God is reflected in it.

One’s body is of all things in the world the closest to oneself, and its influence has a great effect, and an immediate effect upon one’s mind and soul. A great many illnesses are caused by the lack of consideration of the necessary cleanliness of the body, which is a science and an art in itself. On the soul and mind one’s own body makes the first impression, all other things come afterwards. Yes, there are souls who have arrived at such a plane of spirituality that the condition of the body does not matter to them. But they are not to be followed as examples. It is the normal path which is safe and is for all. The question, “Would this not give one too much the thought of self?” may be answered thus: the thought of oneself exists when the light of God is absent; in the presence of every beautiful thing man forgets himself”.

The Sufi Message, Volume XIII revised: Gatha 1, Everday Life

With our heartiest greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity

The Essence of Health

noreply@blogger.com ( Stephanie Nuria Sabato) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 15:46:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

Health seems to become more and more important in our lives these days. Many people are or become ill and use medicines. Our modern food does contain also less valuable nutrition and more chemicals. Murshid points out what the essence of health is and that we are able to contribute to this in a positive way very much.

“When we consider that the human body is an instrument that God created for His own experience, then what a mistake it must be to allow this body, through drugs and medicines, to become unfit for the use of the divine Spirit. It is not meant by this that medicine is never necessary. Medicine has its place; even drugs, when there is that necessity. But when a drug is used for little things that can be cured by some other means, in the end the health gets out of hand and even drugs cannot give the person rest. The best medicine is a pure diet, nourishing food, fresh air, regularity in action and repose, clearness of thought, pureness of feeling, and confidence in the perfect Being, with whom we are linked and whose expression we are. That is the essence of health. The more we realize this, the more secure will be our health”.

The Sufi Message, Volume IV: Healing and the Mind World, Part 1: “Health”

We wish you all a very healthy life.

With our heartiest greetings,
Sattva van Dorssen, Secretary of the Spiritual Healing Activity
Shamsher van Hees, Assistant Secretary, Spiritual Healing Activity