The Mysterion: Rumi and the Secret of Becoming Fully Human

This false, counterfeit self has little constancy because it is more of an effect than a cause, more of a reaction to circumstances and conditions than an agent with independent will and being.

Having described the interrelationship of ego, soul, and Spirit,

We have to ask ourselves honestly whether some of our activities might be a defense against becoming empty and opening ourselves to the transformative action of God.

When our sense of self is confined to the prison of the ego’s habits and patterns, that self is, to a great extent, perpetuating its own misery. Rumi described egoism as “an inch-deep river in which we drown.”

To acquire this kind of being is to become illuminated, to be connected to a greater Intelligence that will guide us step by step on the way. The developed soul, instead of living in fear and uncertainty, becomes more and more able to trust the unfolding of life.

Faithlessness is to get caught in trying to satisfy all the ego’s contradictory desires. Faithlessness is to take life as an end in itself and to forget that there is a greater reality behind the circumstances and immediate satisfactions of life. It is the tendency of the lower self to make life, and even the spiritual path, into an arena for its o

Political propaganda is easier to discard than the lies we tell ourselves. We must confront all sorts of personal defenses and illusions: our vanity, judgments, self-importance, and fears.

Assuming responsibility for ourselves will begin with wresting attention from trivialities and distractions, and reconnecting it with the soul.

The seeker has come to see how much they have been perpetuating the state of sleep, and out of this realization comes a sincere wish to be more sensitive, more awake.