The Peace That Allows Us to Simply Be
The hearts of many are weighed down with unease and agitation these days. A global pandemic, natural disasters, the inhumanity of armed conflicts, the soul-killing rhetoric of divisive politics, the toxic legacy of racism. How do we find a quiet clearing in the woods in the midst of all this?
In this course, we will explore the bridge to that eternally still and peaceful place: The black latifa. It’s not just the absence of fear, self-doubt, animosity, turmoil, and the cacophony of our human existence. It is a living presence of silence that is the birthright of our spiritual nature.
Among all the latifa, this one seems most relevant—and critical—for our turbulent era. Even in less charged times, our daily experience is often pervaded by earthly emotional reactivity, a mental preoccupation with “doing” things to attain a sense of value or give our life meaning, and obsessive thinking and worrying. In this state, it’s hard for us to feel a sense of peace and stillness.
Yet there is no magic carpet that will transport us to this state of peace and stillness. It is not merely about meditating or transcending. The only way to arrive at that clearing in the forest is to work with our experience, to see what structures, positions, and fears we cling to that feed our inner chatter.
As the insubstantiality of them reveals itself, we can settle into that peace, stillness, and silence. This quality is, in fact, what helps us to quiet the agitation and sit in our truth, unaffected by the day-to-day tensions of life.
In this teaching we will look at:
- The blocks we have to settling down and settling in
- Who it is, actually, that feels agitated and unable to land
- What early experiences keep us from trusting that the universe has our back, so that we don’t need to “do” anything except find our truth
- How we can perceive the actual substance and presence of peace
- How we can learn to live from that peace in a more consistent and sustainable way
In preparation for the teachings, please enjoy this introduction from our presenting teacher Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas).