Writings

Path of the Friend

Writings related to ‘Sufi’

The Simple Fact of Being Aware Right Now

June 3rd, 2008

The Simple Fact of Being Aware Right Now by Elias Amidon There is no goal other than the realization of natural freedom, effortless, faultless, and without defects, the unique fact of awareness, self-radiant and free from discursiveness. – Longchenpa Imagine the sky on a clear spring morning—utterly transparent, empty, and vividly fresh. It is alive, […]

Following Beauty

April 3rd, 2008

Following Beauty by Elias Amidon Sufis speak of a gentle way of continual blessing available to us—a way of beauty. Following the way of beauty does not require adherence to a special belief or dogma; it is a path that simply reveals itself through our direct, intimate experience. The Greek philosopher Plotinus described it as […]

The Open Path

October 3rd, 2007

The Open Path by Elias Amidon What is Openness? One of the most joyful moments in the life of the spiritual seeker is when we recognize that the long sought-for goal is already here. We are the pure Presence the sages and poets speak about. Not our personality, but the heart of our own natural […]

The Art of Awakening

January 3rd, 2007

The Art of Awakening by Elias Amidon Looking for it, the vision cannot be seen: cease your search. It cannot be discovered through meditation, so abandon your trance states and mental images. It cannot be accomplished by anything you do, so give up the attempt to treat the world as magical illusion. It cannot be […]

With Hafez in the Islamic Republic of Iran

November 17th, 2005

IRAN In the desert city of Yazd, central Iran, I start asking around to meet a Sufi. Having asked this kind of question before in a number of Muslim countries, I know it doesn’t always work as I hope, so I add, “A wise Sufi who knows and loves Hafez, if there is someone like […]

Home Sweet Home: Notes on Pilgrimage

May 3rd, 2003

Home Sweet Home: Notes on Pilgrimage . I always thought I would be the kind of person who would plant an apple tree at the birth of my firstborn, and that I would tend it patiently through the passing of the years and age with its aging, my wrinkles imitating the folds and scars of […]

Integrating Spiritual LIfe and Social Action

January 3rd, 2002

Integrating Spiritual Life and Social Action . The Heart’s Deepest Desire Nothing is more important in integrating spirit and action than coming into alignment with one’s life purpose. How do we do this? Where do we look in ourselves? The Sufis locate the root of life’s intentionality not in the mind, not in ideas we […]