Each dhikr is like a brick, the mortar is salawat
If God is One, humanity must be One; one message, many messengers
Poetry often used to express beauty; Rumi, Attar, Ansari, Iraqi took the message and made poetry
Rumi made it universal, Khrisnamurti made Hindu universal
Cultivate fard (obligatory, pillars of worship)
Al 'awaid: breaking bad habits
Nawafil: extra extra practices, Dhikr and meditation
What is all this for? open nafs surgery
Establishment of basic practices the first step; without community the way may get bogged down
See the top of the mountain, a glimpse, gives himmah, energy and enthusiasm, to take the long way around (Dante)
Tamhid (preparation, how do I begin?); Tajrid (stripping of nafs; loosen attachment); Tawhid (unity); Tamhid muraqabah
"Oh you who have left your own self and have never found the Beloved, do not despair, for Love is with you in every breath."
Hush der dam, attention to breath; get past nafs al amarrah (reactive nafs) if you breath and know you're breathing (if you stop being aware of breathing, know the nafs has taken over)
Raqib: the nafs that watches all the other nafs
Dhikr: develop strength, a muscle; consciousness, witnessing, not falling for the narrative other nafs have used
Muhasabi: take acount of every word, thought, and deed; zikr with every breath
Every evening before sleep take account of yourself, Istaghferullah for things done wrong or without mindfulness;
Alhamdulillah for things done with remembrance, breath
(Jesuits write up things they are greateful for at night)
Subhanallah for fears
Make a plan for the next day in detail; insha'llah; say dhikrs for the next day
Jami: "if love manifests itself within you, it has its origins in Divine Beauty; you are nothing but a mirror in which Beauty is reflected"
Ibn al Arabi: "with what eye do I see my Beloved? with His eye, not with mine, for none sees Him except Himself"