Being Fully Present

Our Grandshaykh was saying that if you like to take benefit from listening or attending a meeting, you must be present in body and heart. But so many people are just like empty jars, sitting. Divine Knowledges pour out when the heart is present. It means when listening with the ears of your heart it gives you Divine Powers. Our Grandshaykh said that if one person in a meeting is scratching his head, the one speaking must come down seven degrees. He may lose that Divine outpouring. But some people are speaking with each other, some watching the door to see who is coming and going, some looking at the clock, and the power is going down. Grandshaykh was always annoyed about this. If you are giving care, my heart is in his hands, and he is in relationship with the Prophet, and the Prophet is in the Divine Presence.

Our Grandshaykh told of two mureeds in his homeland. One was in seclusion for spiritual practice. The second came one day by order of their shaykh to take the brother for a walk outside of the village. They were going on the road in conversation about important spiritual instructions when they reached to the fields of the one in seclusion. As they approached, his eyes wandered to those fields. The other said: “Oh my brother, turn back to your seclusion, you are leaving pearls and turning to fields.>”

Our attention span is very short, Psychologists say, first fifteen minutes, keen attention, afterwards decreasing. Our Grandshaykh says, not to make any meeting more thar three hours, even though people may be strong and interested. As much as you can make it shorter, more benefit comes, especially in our time.