In Sufi psychology, they refer to humanity as having three parts:
- physical being
- spiritual heart
- transcendent godlike soul
The dervish dancing was a way of exhausting the body to open awareness of the heart, because only by the devotions of the heart can there be knowledge of the soul.
It is believed that people are one of these three psychologies. The physical person is called the tyrant, and the heart based person is called the moderate, and the soul based person is an ecstatic. The goal of Sufism is forgetfulness or annihilation of the individual will, so that all acts of the Sufi will be Gods acts. All insights of the Sufi will be Gods insights.
The path of the Sufi is seen in one of two ways. Either as the signs leading you to the signification, or by the significator revealing the signs. Neither school believes that one way is superior to the other, but the actual logic of it is to a degree questioned.
What is the significator? God. Allah would be their word. God having no other singular name.
Why is the logic questioned? It goes back to the Sufi psychology, and their metaphysical views. In one, the unity is literally one of being. If the unity of being is accepted, then the signs readily speak of God, because they are Gods presence. Therefore you can go from the signs to a closer identification with God. In the other, the unity is one of witness or consciousness. An attraction to God as represented by Islam is seen as valid, and by a love of the way you can come to see the signs of the doctrines truth.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~