About this episode
Kabir Helminski is a Shaikh in the lineage of Rumi, and co-director of The Threshold Society. His translations of Rumi and books on spirituality, Living Presence and The Knowing Heart, have been published in at least eight languages. In 2009 and subsequent years Kabir was named as one of the "500 Most Influential Muslims in the World" by the Royal Strategic Studies Center (Jordan). He has toured North America as Shaikh with the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey bringing Sufi culture to more than 100,000 people. His latest book is Holistic Islam: Sufism, Transformation, and the Needs of Our Time. Other books: Love's Ripening: Rumi on the Heart's Journey The Rumi Daybook: 365 Poems and Teachings from the Beloved Sufi Master Discussion of this interview in the Batgap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview. Interview recorded November 28, 2017. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:11 - Inspiration and Exploration in the 60s 00:10:06 - Working with Contemplative Teachers 00:15:31 - Sufism and Islam: Distinguishing Between the Two 00:20:47 - Sufism and its Practices 00:25:49 - The Prophet Muhammad's Revelation and the Quranic Language 00:31:26 - Sufism and the Value of a Teacher 00:36:17 - Embodiment of Non-Dual Reality 00:41:05 - The Growing Awareness of Embodied Enlightenment 00:44:32 - The Knowing Heart and Spiritual Development 00:48:16 - Transformation through Love and Acceptance 00:51:50 - The Healing Power of Whirling 00:55:46 - The Whirling Dervishes: A Profound Spiritual Practice 00:59:24 - The Power of Spiritual Energies 01:03:03 - The Whirling Ceremony and the Revelation in the Sufi Tradition 01:06:58 - Self-awareness and servanthood 01:14:09 - The Stupidity of Spending a Year Doing Worthless Things 01:17:34 - Finding Mercy in Pain and Suffering 01:25:17 - The Assimilation of Deeper Reality 01:29:03 - The Essential Self and the Personality Self 01:33:01 - Plugging into the Divine Energy 01:36:21 - The Qualitative Development of the Human Being 01:39:50 - The Beauty of the Ritual 01:43:02 - Disorganizing Higher Energies 01:46:39 - The Beauty of Islam's Rejection of Idols 01:50:14 - The Love and Strictness of a Parent 01:53:37 - The Presence Within Us 01:57:16 - The Nearness to God 02:00:19 - Concluding Remarks and Farewell