I'm studying a Sufi mystic's writings from the 1920's, and it is as wise as the Bible. There are real parallels between Christianity and Sufism, at least as taught by Inayat Khan, the latter referring to Christ quite a bit, and has interpreted from what I have seen, the first real teaching of what the kingdom of heaven is (which is always in conjunction with the cherry-on-top: being given what we ask for).
The promise regards finding peace and liberation - something that every one of us strives for, but we do so wrongly. Well, we find peace when we have freed ourselves from what we "think" we should be doing, and instead occupy ourselves with what pleases us - and this is not to say we do so irresponsibly, but rather the opposite - we do so with discipline. True peace is granted to us when we engage in our true talents and interests (which, incidentally, can also be found in Christ's Parable of the Talents).
I would like to extrapolate how to walk on the path to peace. When we go off-track from our purpose, we feel sad and lonely, but how can we know what our purpose really is, especially when so many of us are undisciplined? Meditation can help us see two things: 1) When did I get disorientated, and 2) What do I NOT want to do. This one is in my opinion the acid test. The problem is getting to a point of honesty where our actions are no longer fuelled by what pride wants. Aspiration for prestige is a sickness that must be starved, we cannot eat our cake, and have it too.
What are we drawn to? What are we naturally good at? Do our talents set us apart from others? These are important questions to ask in meditation. Once we put our resources into nurturing our talents, we will know satisfaction; we will find that we are receiving what we ask for and we find what we really want - freedom from the bondage of body and mind. We want to be limitless, which the soul is because the soul is where God resides. When connected to our soul and not what other people think of us (or what we think of others), we are truly free.
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