In that abyss I saw how love held bound
Into one volume all the leaves whose flight
Is scattered through the universe around.
- Dante (1)
THE SONG OF THE HEART OF THE WORLD
“I am He whom I love, He whom I love is me” is stamped within the heart of the lover. This oneness of love that is awakened within us activates the currents of love that gradually dissolve us, until we come to know the reality of oneness in both the inner and outer world. Mystics learn to live His oneness, first as a secret within the heart, and then as a knowledge that infuses itself through our whole being. The oneness within the heart awakens us to the oneness throughout all of life, and reveals how
we remain unique within this oneness. In the words of Ibn ‘Arabî:
When the mystery—of realizing that the mystic is one with the Divine—is revealed to you, you will understand that you are no other than God and that you have continued and will continue... without when and without times. Then you will see all your actions to be His actions and all your attributes to be His attributes and your essence to be His essence, though you do not thereby become He or He you, in either the greatest or the least degree. “Everything is perishing save His Face,” that is, there is nothing except His Face, “then, whithersoever you turn, there is the Face of God.”(2)
His love continually reminds us of His oneness, and it helps us to live it. The practice of the mystic is to stay in remembrance, to stay attuned to the energy of love that gives us the knowledge of the ways of oneness. Humanity needs to know how oneness works in the world, how His love reveals His Face and how in this revelation we can come to know our true nature.
But how can this knowledge be given to humanity when humanity has forgotten Him, when the gates of remembrance appear to be closed? How can we become attuned to oneness if we do not have any awareness of His presence? For the mystic, knowledge is infused into the heart, which is the organ of higher consciousness. Can this be given to the whole of humanity? Can the heart of the world be awakened to the higher knowledge of oneness?
What is happening within the world is an act of grace, as He reveals Himself to Himself in a new way. The knowledge that is needed to help in this time of transition is being given, but we have to be receptive to it—to know that it is here. This requires us to take a step away from our insular attitudes and become attuned, not just to our own heart, but also the heart of the world. Something is awakening within the heart of the world that needs our attention.
The heart of the world is beginning to sing the song of divine remembrance, but no one is listening; no one is attentive. We have even forgotten that the world has a heart. Medieval texts image man as a microcosm of the world, but we dismissed this symbolic relationship, just as we rejected the older vision of the earth as a living being. As the world stopped being a sacred or symbolic reality and became just matter governed by the laws of physics, so the heart, or “soul of the world” (anima mundi), was discarded as a myth.
But now the heart of the world is beginning to sing. No one even knows that the heart of the world can sing. It has been so long, so many ages have passed, since this last happened. It is not in the annals of our recorded history. But if it goes unnoticed a moment of great opportunity will have passed, and in the depths of humanity, in the soul of the world, there will remain a deep sadness of regret.
Only if we step aside from our own pursuits, material or spiritual, can we hear the heart of the world. If we are busy with our own worldly success or spiritual redemption we will be too self-absorbed to notice. But if enough people hear the heart of the world awakening, hear the song of joy and love that is waiting to be sung, then we will all be able to participate in this happening. In the heart of the world is the knowledge of the world’s own healing and transformation. In the heart of the world are the love and power that are needed for this work. And we contain the heart of the world within our own hearts. This is one of mankind’s secrets, hidden from us until now.
“Man is My secret and I am his secret.” We are made in the image of God and are also the microcosm of His creation. Our own heart is directly linked to the heart of the world, just as it is directly linked to His unknowable essence.(3) We contain the secrets of the universe within our own heart. At different times, in different eras, we are given access to different secrets, different ways of knowing and different qualities of knowledge. This is the way “evolution” functions.
The heart of the world needs to know that we have heard it, that we are attentive to its awakening. Then it will tell us what we need to know. This knowing is being given directly to the hearts and minds of those who are listening, who are attentive. It is given to each of us according to our own nature and the work that we need to do. It is totally individual, because this is the way oneness works in the world.
The knowledge that is being given also contains the energy needed to do this work. The power and love that are present within the heart of the world can awaken us to the feeling of joy that our life is lacking, and the freedom that belongs to this joy. Those who know how divine love works will recognize this energy, because they have experienced it in their own life. They know the simplicity of what is given, and how this love returns us to our own essential nature.
The love and knowledge in the heart of the world cannot be traded. If we try to use it for personal ends it will become distorted and lose its magic. There will be no joy. But if we live it for His sake, then it will grow and flourish and reveal its real potential. Then, in the first time for many generations, we will come to know why we are here. Our personal and collective destiny will come into harmony, and the song in our own heart and the song of the heart of the world will resonate together. For some people this is already happening, and it is like the sun breaking through after a long winter, like the colors of spring flowers showing themselves through the grayness of our polluted world.
AN ORGANIC WEB OF ENERGY
We can access the heart of the world through our own heart, and in particular through the dynamic presence of a spiritual group. At different times the energy structure of the world is accessed in different ways. For many ages sacred buildings with their geometric designs enabled the higher inner energy of the planet to be used for the benefit of the people. In the present time the most powerful vehicles of transformation are spiritual groups, which are being given direct access to high levels of energy.
Spiritual groups are forming and being placed all across the planet where the energy of transformation is needed. They are creating an organic web, a membrane of light and love, that will soon be activated globally. Until now many groups have not been aware that they are a part of this dynamic organism, but have been working individually according to their own spiritual traditions. But as the energy begins to flow throughout this web, each group will come alive in a new way, responding to the need of the time.
This web of light and love will be the container for the energy of the new age, an energy of love and oneness, and it will be formed within the hearts of those who are attuned to this work. The heart is a very powerful center of spiritual consciousness, as expressed in the hadith, “Heaven and earth contain Me not, but the heart of My devoted servant contains Me.” The heart of an awakened human being contains the divine consciousness of the soul, our conscious connection to the divine oneness. This organic web of love and devotion is gradually forming. Small parts of it are already being activated, being brought together on the inner planes where the connections are being made. When the energy begins to flow between these groups, a dynamic shift will take place. The analogy to the Internet through which information flows through certain “hubs” is not coincidental. The energy structure of the planet is being set up similarly on different levels. This has to do with the optimum way energy can flow in the next age. This organic structure is composed of individual groups that function totally independently, just as individual personal computers in a network function independently. This structure of linked groups will be able to work with the energy of the new age, an energy that gives each individual the potential to live her unique nature. Once the energy flowing through this organic web reaches a certain point, then the organic structure wakes up and functions as a dynamic living entity. This is when the possibilities of the new age will become a living reality. This is when the higher consciousness of the planet will become activated. This has not yet happened. Certain “tests” are taking place to see how the structure could work. Different groups, different spiritual traditions, are coming together first on the inner planes and then outwardly, to see the effects and the reactions to this dynamic. An organic web of interrelated entities will challenge the present hierarchical power structures. But because the web has no “central core” to attack, hierarchical power structures will not know how to respond.(4)
An organic structure is more fluid and dynamic than any hierarchical organization. And there comes a moment when the energy flow around the web responds of its own accord to the need of the moment. The energy then just flows in a different way, making new connections as required so that it can get to where it is needed. And the individuals who are part of this structure respond in synchronism, as happens in any living organism. This is an optimum system for bringing energy, knowledge, or physical resources to where they are needed. It utilizes human beings’ capacity to work together as part of a unified field of consciousness, without imposing any structure or conditions. This is part of the potential of the consciousness of oneness that is being given to humanity, that is being awakened within the heart of the world.
A NEW SPECTRUM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
The potency, power, and transformational potential of the energy that is being awakened will depend upon how we live it. If we use it for our own personal benefit, it will fracture, causing chaos. If we use it for the purpose of the whole, it will flourish and flow more freely. This energy is directly attuned to our own conscious participation, which makes it more dynamic and also more dangerous. It requires a greater degree of responsibility than we have been accustomed to. It also has the potential to awaken spiritual centers within human beings, some of which have never before been activated. This awakening can happen both within the collective body of humanity and within individuals.
The activation of spiritual centers gives us access to a different spectrum of consciousness. For example, there is a spectrum of consciousness in which the possibilities for the future are visible. The future is not defined. Rather, it is a fluid, organic pattern that can evolve in different ways. The ancient Chinese text, I Ching, or Book of Changes, written according to the principles of this spectrum of consciousness, describes how the attitude of the individual and the events that occur work together. The hexagrams of the I Ching describe life’s flow of energy in poetic images. If one has access to this spectrum of consciousness, one can creatively work with the energy of life as it determines the future, rather than always responding to events that have already happened. Once an event has already happened on the physical plane, the energy of life has crystallized into a form, and it is much more difficult to influence or resolve. When we interact with events after they have crystallized, we become involved in patterns of action and reaction, or “conflict resolution.” Working with the energy flow of life rather than with events that have already taken place will allow us to have a more dynamic and creative relationship with life. We will be able to see where energy patterns could form into dangerous bottlenecks, where too much energy is concentrated at a particular point. With this knowledge we can take precautions to stop a catastrophe, or even divert a flow of energy before trouble starts.
There is also the potential to work with the possibilities inherent in a situation before it comes into form so that it can realize its greatest benefit, its most creative outcome. Working with the energy patterns of life and the spectrum of consciousness that sees how they can affect the future gives humanity the potential to live in a very different way. These energy patterns will also reveal how interdependent we are, how much our attitudes and actions affect each other. It will help us to dissolve our insular approach and to work together.
THE LINK OF LOVE
The heart of the world is waiting for human beings to access its wisdom and love, waiting for us to participate in this opening. Because the energy of transformation has not yet reached the physical plane, there is nothing to “do” in outer terms; rather this participation is an attitude of receptivity, of awareness, of attention. Participating in this way, we become attuned to a connection that is being made within the consciousness of the heart. Through this link of love that connects us to the heart of the world, we will have access to the knowledge and energy that are being given. This connection will be clearer, stronger, more accessible, depending upon our nature. Some will only sense its presence through the veil of their desires and conditioning, while others have been waiting the whole of their lives for this connection and feel the joy that it brings. But we each have our part to play in the unfolding of love.
Walking through the shadowlands of our culture, we see the debris of consumerism, whether material, mental, or spiritual. Our hearts have always cried for the truth of something other, of a way of being that is not bound by the gravitational pull of the ego. We have sensed what has been waiting for us for so long. And yet when the moment arrives we can hardly believe it. Those who have followed their own individual dreams know the reality of inner transformation. They have touched, however briefly, the infinite dimension of their own self. And yet we have been conditioned to believe that is only a solitary venture, accessible to the few. Why should we limit the grace of God and the possibilities for humanity?
Mystics, lovers, spiritual wayfarers are those who follow the signs in the unseen world, who walk a path that others say is just a dream. But we know the reality of this dream, and have given our life to follow it. We know that real changes happen first inwardly before they manifest in outer life. And we know that we have to free ourself from any pattern of thinking, from any imposed attitude, in order to embrace the vaster truth of our real nature. There are no road maps because the road has not yet been made. There is no certainty because nothing has come into the world of forms. Nothing is defined; it is only hinted at. And as in all times of transition, a sacrifice is necessary. We have to sacrifice our concern with our own progress, with our own inner journey. If we look too closely towards ourself, we will not see what is happening. We will remain isolated and unable to participate.
Those who are crazy enough to be mystics long to put aside any cloak of self-interest, to embark on a mad venture, guided only by their dreams and the stars. The heart of the world is calling to us and we are here to respond to the call of the heart. We are in tune with the currents of love that flow into the world. And more important, we are here for His sake. We belong to His oneness and not to ourselves. If our heart is called, we follow, drawn by the thread of His love for us, which is the thread of love that runs through humanity, the primal truth of “He loves them and they love Him.”
If He needs us to put aside the focus on our own journey, we will gladly respond. If this means to sacrifice our longing for the beyond so that we can be here more fully, engage more completely, we will sacrifice even our aspiration for Him, our desire to dissolve completely in love. We are His servants, and the only desire of the servant is to serve his master.
If we lose everything in this adventure, what does it matter? What do we care for ourself? We know that we are a part of our Beloved, just a piece of dust in His garden. Again and again we give ourself to Him. Lifetime after lifetime we long to serve Him. Once again it is time to put aside the burdens of ourself and step into this fire of service, this joy of sacrifice. We have to sacrifice our suffering and our spirituality; even our aspiration needs to be placed on the altar of the heart. If we are to awaken the joy of His presence, everything has to go. And many of us have for years been bored with ourselves, even with our spiritual progress. We have sensed that there is something else we are here to do. If we are crazy enough to sacrifice everything, then we will have direct access to the energy of love that is being given to awaken the world to unity. Our heart will be directly aligned to the heart of the world and the energy that is being given. Everything we need is present, but as always what stands in our way is our own self. The ecstatic mystic Bâyezîd Bistâmî, who was immersed in unity, expressed this primal truth:
I saw my Lord in my dreams and I asked, “How am I to find You?” He replied, “Leave yourself and come!”
The sacrifice of our own self is repeated lifetime after lifetime. In each time He requires of us a new sacrifice, a new way to show our devotion. There were times when we had to sacrifice our attachment to the physical world, take up the staff of the ascetic; or our attachment to learning, when, like Rûmî, we met our Shams, and our books burned as we drowned in love. We have to prove our devotion again and again, sacrificing that which seems most precious. Only then does He take us into the inner mysteries of love where we are branded into service. This time we have to sacrifice our own attachment to spiritual life, to anything that separates us from the whole. We have to give up the fruits of our aspiration and the spiritual conditioning we have acquired. We have to leave the space of spiritual protection and accept our responsibility to the whole, because we know in our heart that there is nothing other than He.
© 2002 The Golden Sufi Center
FOOTNOTES
Chapter 4: The Heart of the World
1. The Divine Comedy, trans. Dorothy L. Sayers, Paradiso, Canto XXXIII, ll. 85–87.
2. Quoted by Bhatnagar, Dimensions of Classical Sufi Thought, p. 92.
3. The alchemists understood the connection between the anima mundi and the innermost secret of man. The source of the wisdom and knowledge of the all-pervading essence of the anima mundi was “the inner-most and most secret numinosum of man” (see C.G. Jung, Collected Works, vol. 14, para. 372).
4. This is already being played out on the Internet, with the P2P (peer to peer) programming movement started by Napster, challenging any idea of central control.
