Copyright 2006 by Dr. Mokhtari,  All Rights Reserved

 Birthing Rumis

(Presentation  by Dr. Mokhtari for IONS Conference at Omega Institute September 10-14, 2006)

In listening to the heartfelt desires of individuals, it is clear that many seek to experience a world quite different than what exists today. Many seek a world without wars but with an environmentally conscious humanity. It is a world that none of us have ever experienced before. That is a world that we must create. Yet, to create such a world, our mind alone will be of little value, for all it knows is only the past and what we have experienced - therefore ineffective in leading us into future experiences.   However, creating such a world is possible but there is a need for the awakened critical mass to create a new consciousness and/or to awaken a part of collective consciousness that is currently asleep.

To awaken the collective consciousness to that state of awareness to create a new world, there needs to be another consciousness that I call the "Shams Consciousness.”  This Shams Consciousness needs to be awakened first. Shams, is believed to be the individual responsible for the transformation of “Rumi the cleric” into “Rumi the mystical poet.”  But the Rumi who we know today, could not exist if it was not for his encounter with Shams. There is something Shams did for Rumi. The question is what? [Ask if everyone knows the story of Shams and Rumi.]  I am sure similar encounters have taken place in other cultures as well. But the Rumi experience seems to present one of the most essential characteristics of this consciousness and a proof regarding the creative nature of our human spirit to present an alternative way to live in this world.

 Sham consciousness is the awareness of the oneness of Creation and the ability to act on that awareness. It is the ability to create the space for the creative spirit within another to freely unfold true to itself. It is to know to and to go within and act using the connection of oneness – asking our intuitive guidance what we must become to create the space for the other's creative spirit to become free. It is to be willing to experience our death in some way to shift our shape to become what the other needs us to become for their creative spirit to become free. What most fail to see is Rumi became exceptionally creative as a result of his encounter with Shams. They focus on the creation, the poetry, rather than the transformation into the creator. Rumi became a creator of exquisite poetry of the heart that we still read today. Creativity is the language of consciousness and in his creativity; Rumi experienced the Creator and the Source of Creation. What Shams knew was the doorway to the Source of Creation is our own creativity. When we live true to who and what we are free of enculturation we become the creator. The issue in not to read Rumi, but to become Rumi, the creator.

The awareness to find an alternative way was contained in Shams who was willing to give his life to be able to share it with another being. The question is, "What exactly did Shams know that sharing it with Rumi caused a transformation?" I, of course, was not there to know exactly what the two shared. But, I have a pretty good idea of what it was, for I have the fortune of experiencing such encounter in my path of longing for a source outside of myself.

I eventually realized that we are the source and we create our own experiences. But, in the process, I learned creation is not done alone. A fundamental principle in the creative process is that there needs to be another person or persons to give us the experience we have. There needed to be another to create the space for Rumi to experience his true self as Rumi the mystical poet rather than his programmed and educated self as a cleric. I know this, because that was the essential lesson I had to experience and found to be true in my own life and in the lives of many others with whom I have worked.

In any mystical, spiritual, religious or scientific traditions and/or understanding, I do not find the understanding of exactly how we need another person to create and hold the space for us to express the truth of our being and how to become a conscious creator.  I found this reality in a simple understanding given to me by an individual who was willing to hold me accountable and to live and express my truth and not to be bound to the truth of my programming and enculturation. In essence, I found the truth within my own heart and my creative spirit symbolized in the heart. I just needed another person who was aware to hold me accountable, and give me the space to express the truth regardless of the consequences.  I needed someone with a perspective similar to that of the Shams.

In understanding the Shams Consciousness, it needs to be understood that mind only knows the past and what it has experienced. To create something not seen and/or not previously experienced, the mind has no way of knowing how to proceed. To create it, we must be willing to enter the unknown.  Entering the unknown starts with going beyond the limits and barriers of our mind. We must go beyond what we think and believe about our selves, our world and the creation as a whole. This starts with perceiving reality in a new way.

The new perspective starts with realizing that energy and consciousness are one and the same. Energy is the capacity to do work and/or create an effect. When we are conscious we have the ability to produce and effect. In particular, we can choose to step out of the existing cause and effect chain to become the cause. We can choose to become the creator of the new and not previously experienced. When one looks from within, he or she can see and experience the creator (consciousness with an identity). When one looks from without, one would see and experience the creation (energy in form). Conscious awareness of the flow, awareness of the heart, and what we feel is what brings the inner (creator) and the outer (creation) together – the experience of oneness.

To become a conscious creator and access the depth and breadth of my creative power, I had to accept and explore the following three principles:

·   We are infinite creative beings who knowingly or unknowingly have created only what we are experiencing based on what we have come to think and believe.

·   As a creator there is a reason for us being here. Only through feeling of the fullness of being and what excites us in life will we know why we are here and what we are here to do. The only obstacle between what we desire and allowing it to be created is what we think and believe and our emotional ties/attachments to what currently exists.

·   Our creative energy goes where we focus our attention and awareness. This energy will flow to create an experience on whatever we focus.

For some, these principles are too much to believe, but nevertheless true. Of course, you may want to experience them yourself to know that they are true.

The most important things I learned were that I had to act on this understanding and make it real in my life. These principles could not be a mental knowledge but rather a true experience. I had to choose to create and become a conscious creator. I, as we all do, needed a partner to create the space to make these concepts real in my life and allow myself to express my truth as I live truthful to it.

In experiencing these truths within the space created for me by another person, I came to understand something of profound importance. Namely, I came to understand the existence of a nurturing feminine creative energy. Something I did not previously knew existed or ever came across.

As a female, I have nurtured and birthed a physical offspring. I, as all mothers, allowed my mind and my body to bring a child into this world. I have been in what we call "Love." I have experienced the desire and longing for both the beloved and the Beloved. I have experienced the freedom in both the spiritual and mystical aspects of sexuality and love. And I have experienced their entrapments as I have experienced the freedom and the entrapment of forty years of meditation. But I was unaware that there was a feminine nurturing creative energy that went well beyond any of these including the love of a mother for her child, or that of the lover and the beloved/Beloved. It is an energy that at its essence is what it means to give and nurture unconditionally. It is clear that the desired situation is something very few humans have experienced. For if they did, their equivalent Rumi Consciousness would be awakened, birthed and brought into this world something much like what Shams provided for Rumi the cleric.

This feminine nurturing creative energy is found in both males and females. Actually, it is most often first seen in an individual with a mature inner masculine for they possess the ability to thrust out into the world based on their inner truth.  The mature inner masculine is essential to be able to give its energy to a creation and create the safe and secure space for a new creation to unfold. Females have not routinely accessed this energy because most have not allowed their inner masculine to mature and thrust out into their own truth. Too many have been programmed to give to their offspring, their family and society, but have failed to properly give to themselves. It is what I myself had to learn to do. Most males also never access it for they have never been properly nurtured to mature the inner masculine. Rather our enculturation process is designed to emasculate and castrate the inner masculine of both males and females. In the end, the space is not created for the inner masculine to mature and be able to give that nurturing creative feminine energy.

In accessing and giving this feminine nurturing creative energy, we create a gift of profound proportion. But there is a price to be paid. There will be a sacrifice. There will be two deaths. There is the need to die within ourselves in our unique ways. In this regard, we need to be held accountable to what we need to do until that total death to self is complete. When it comes to our own unique enfoldment, the problem with most spiritual, religious and secular traditions is that the tradition thinks it knows what needs to happen for our unique creative spirit to become fully expressed. But no one other than ourselves knows what needs to be done to die to ourselves for we are that unique. Our path is extremely unique and cannot be directed by others. We can be guided and assisted but not directed by others. We must follow our own internal guidance and beheld accountable to that inner guidance. Otherwise we destroy the whole process. All we need is someone to hold us accountable to that end in every sense.

But what needs to be understood here is that, the one who hold the space, in turn, can expect nothing back. In fact, they must also face a kind of death. A part of their being must literally die to become that feminine nurturing creative energy. In a way analogous to the way a mother gives of her own body to grow the fetus, the one who holds the space must give of their own being. It cost them and there is a price to be paid. This is why Shams had to die to share what he understood. For Shams to give what he knew, he knew his life would be at risk in someway. How big a risk? It all depends on what you desire to create.

As the individual dies to nurture another, the Shams Consciousness awakens and arises to do what needs to be done to create the new life in the other. As the other dies to their old self as the cleric Rumi died, space is created for the true self to unfold. As with Rumi, Rumi the cleric died so Rumi the poet could be birthed, grow and unfold in the world. In reaching maturity Rumi the poet bore fruit, a fruit we still enjoy today.

Maybe this is what each of us needs to face. There is a Rumi equivalent within each of us that can be birthed if we meet our Shams. But there is also a Shams in each of us that can create the space for that Rumi in another. In choosing to awaken the Shams Consciousness, we open the door to transforming humanity and awakening the collective Rumi consciousness - both a consciousness within each individual and the humanity as a whole.

To plant the seed to awaken the Shams Consciousness within yourself, I will invite you to participate in a few exercises. You are free to participate if you wish and allow yourself to take what is offered.  If time does not permit the completion of these exercises, the essence of the exercises I do with you can be found on the web site fifteen.creativeguidelines.ryuc.info under the topic of implementing the first creative tep/guideline. In the future, this talk, the exercises and related information will be found on awakeningshams.ryuc.info

The first thing we need to do is to give ourselves permission to awaken the Shams Consciousness within our being. It is to allow ourselves to see and experience something so profound about Creation such that all we can do is to share what we have found, seen and experienced with another person even if it means some type and/or kind of death amongst us. When we are free enough to be open to such understanding, all of Creation is open to us for all that stands in the way is our own mind and what we think and believe about it.

The second thing is to learn to discern what is true for us. We need to be able to discern our own truth and know what thoughts, words, deeds and memories serve or don’t serve us without the need for any external reference. [Discerning truth exercise]

Third, as we go through life, we are constantly distracted by the mundane of the world. To create what we desire, no matter what it is, we need to develop a single focus point. We can do this by calibrating our internal compass and use the feeling we wish to create to keep us centered and on course. To create the space for another Rumi Consciousness to be birthed, we need to hold focus for as long as it takes. It can be done almost instantaneously or it can take years. Yet, no matter how long it takes, we must maintain that space for as long as it takes. [Calibrating internal compass exercise]

Finally, we must be willing to act as required. Since mind only knows what it has experienced, it will be of limited help to us to create something not previously experienced such as helping to give birth to an unseen unique Rumi Consciousness. Rather, we need to learn to use our intuitive guidance. To help you in this process, I will conduct a short guided meditation to assist you in accessing your intuitive guidance and to know that the first step you will need to take to awaken and birth the Shams Consciousness within you. As a creator, we cannot look to any other being to change or see anyone as stopping us from creating what we desire. Rather, what we need to do is to look within and ask our intuitive guidance: “What should I do or become to experience what I desire?" Then we must honor the intuitive guidance we get. [Do the Awakening Shams Consciousness guided meditation]

Discuss the observations and results and what individuals may need to do to honor what they received.

 Foundation for the Education of the Heart