Real Beauty is not skin deep

By Lt Col R K langar

Beauty is true sense which attracts and appeals does not lie that much at the body or surface level of a human being. Real and lasting beauty is inside a person at a deeper level who possesses human, moral and spiritual values and exhibits these values in his conduct and behavior. A person may have a good physical look but may not be that beautiful from inside as compared to his or her outer appearance. Conversely a person may not impress you at first sight but turns out to be beautiful within when you interact with him. Real personality of a person is his character which is the sum total of inner virtues of the person which give him inner strength and originality. Of the two beauties inner and outer, real beauty is the inner beauty which is based on the virtues and values a person exhibits. (more…)

Completing Evolution

Interactions Between Student, Teacher & Path

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

Introduction

In order to affect a great work, there must be the combining of factors or a confluence of essences. For the spiritual traveler to reach completion, and assume an active role in their own higher destiny and the higher destiny of the universe, this process involves an interaction between student, teacher and Path.

This confluence is fundamental to the journey and is held together by the grace of the Path.  In order for the spiritual traveler to complete their own great work, identified below are some of the key concepts that require understanding and coming together.  (more…)

Contradictory statements give deeper understanding

By Lt Col R K Langar

Sometimes apparent contradictory statements give deeper knowledge and understanding. Looks like a paradox but it is absolutely true. Again there is a tendency to express certain things about life in a negative way where as these could also be easily expressed in a positive manner. We shall study the above two aspects with examples.

Contradictory statements

“ Meet some one as if you are meeting him for the first time” is one statement . Another statement which is quite opposite to it  says “ meet some one as if you have known him for ages.” These two statements look opposite to each other but see how these give deep understanding about our conduct. (more…)

A Better World

by Dr Stewart Bitkoff

People wonder how to create a better world?
In theory, it’s fairly simple, but O so difficult to accomplish.
In each moment, try to rise higher.
In every situation, out of love,
Do your best to create the highest possible outcome.
The highest possible outcome:
Is that which helps others, self,
And the emerging higher destiny of the Universe.

And if you make a ‘mistake,’ try again.
Unintentionally, if you hurt another:  ask for their forgiveness.
And if you don’t know
What the highest possible outcome might be?
Ask for guidance from the Unseen Forces;
Then take a chance- doing the best that you can.
Then leave the outcome up to the Universe.

In some respect, you are but a player in a Game.
A very serious, joyous and multi-leveled Game:
Yet filled with endless opportunity,
Watered by Grace,
And where all ‘mistakes’ are absolved through Love.

-SB

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Searching For Truth

by Dr Stewart Bitkoff

Once there was a man who traveled the highway in search of Truth. He stopped at every town and inquired. Sometimes the answers he received appeared to be useful and at other times, they did not. Always the advice he received was targeted at his worldly life: get a job, marry and have children. Or don’t work, live in a monastery and become a recluse.

Somehow these pieces of advice did not satisfy him so he kept searching. One day as luck would have it, he encountered a wise man who said, “The answer lies within.” So for many years, this traveler with the help of the wise one examined the inner world and came to see these experiences as part of the answer he was searching for. (more…)

Conscious Peace

From the Book RADICAL PEACE: People Refusing War By William T. Hathaway

I was sitting in full lotus, body wrapped in a blanket, mind rapt in deep stillness, breathing lightly, wisps of air curling into the infinite space behind my closed eyes. My mantra had gone beyond sound to become a pulse of light in an emptiness that contained everything.

An electric shock flashed down my spine and through my body. My head snapped back, limbs jerked, a cry burst from my throat. Every muscle in my body contracted ― neck rigid, jaws clenched, forehead tight. Bolts of pain shot through me in all directions, then drew together in my chest. Heart attack! I thought. I managed to lie down, then noticed I wasn't breathing ― maybe I was already dead. I groaned and gulped a huge breath, which stirred a whirl of thoughts and images.

Vietnam again: Rotor wind from a hovering helicopter flails the water of a rice paddy while farmers run frantically for cover. Points of fire spark out from a bamboo grove to become dopplered whines past my ears. A plane dives on the grove to release a bomb which tumbles end over end and bursts into an orange globe of napalm. A man in my arms shakes in spasms as his chest gushes blood. (more…)

Beyond The River's Gate

New book by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

The Ancient Teaching is that the many religions are One and that humanity is one family. We have all come from the same Source, and must one day return Home. That is the cosmic journey and, here in the earth phase, there are many opportunities to go, do and create. Yet we will have missed the point of our stay, unless we come to this inner, spiritual understanding of Oneness and use this knowledge in our daily life.

The heart of this book is the point at which traditional religious teaching merges with this ancient, inner spiritual message. In today’s world, travelers often get caught-up in the smaller stream, forgetting they must travel the river to its Source; past the river’s mouth, the Ocean is waiting.

May your journey through these pages be filled with Light.

Available from Amazon and other leading bookstores

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Sufi Mysticism & World Sickness

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

Q: While on the Sufi mystical path, what exactly is it you learn?  How is this learning different than other learning?

From the mystical perspective, the physical world or world of forms is supported by the world of spirit. The physical world is an extension of this unseen, spiritual world and the physical exists so humanity can fulfill their individual higher destiny.  Each traveler enters the world of physical forms for many reasons. Yet each reason is connected to the higher destiny, and the traveler ‘fumbles around in the dark’ unless he or she learns to connect with the Higher Reality.  The ladder which has been extended is religious teaching and spiritual learning.  The mystical path and spiritual learning is the inner heart of religious teaching. On an inner, spiritual level, all the great religions are one. (more…)

Questions & Answers

Why did you come into this world?
Why do you have to leave?
How are the hours between to be spent?

Are these questions
And their answers not related?

Do the work of the next realm
In this one,
And you will have no need
Of questions or their answers.

-SB

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Register for my upcoming retreat weekend atop Bangor Mountain, in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Kirkridge Retreat Center on Sufism & Enlightenment, May 30- June I, 2014. For information scroll down to program listing: http://kirkridge.org/programs/upcoming-programs/. Then click on Detailed Information for full program highlights.

Read my new book: Beyond The River’s Gate. Book is availabe on Amazon.com in paperback, Kindle format or local bookstore.

To Order Your Copy Visit Amazon: http://bit.ly/bitkoffriver

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Super Highway to God / Light

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff 

Each traveler must find their own wisdom, and will never be totally satisfied with the formulations of another. While a traveler can benefit greatly from a wise man / woman, ultimately each traveler must make their own way.

What a wise man / woman does is offer training, and is an exemplar, on how to unlock inner capacity to know. That is why there are so many books offering personal visions of wisdom; many travelers have found their own inner capacity and wish to share it. Yet what works for one will not work for another; hence the growing realization that self-help books usually fall short.

Ultimately, it is the grace of a Path and the traveler’s own inner capacity that leads the traveler Home. Waiting inside each is the Super Highway to God / Light; and precious are those who help a traveler unlock their own inner wisdom.

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Register for my upcoming retreat weekend atop Bangor Mountain, in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Kirkridge Retreat Center on Sufism & Enlightenment, May 30- June I, 2014. For information scroll down to program listing: http://kirkridge.org/programs/upcoming-programs/. Then click on Detailed Information for full program highlights.

Read my new book: Beyond The River’s Gate. Book is availabe on Amazon.com in paperback, Kindle format or local bookstore.

To Order Your Copy Visit Amazon: http://bit.ly/bitkoffriver

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