CONTENTS

The Religion of Love
Introduction by Syed Hamraz Ahsan ... ix

1. The Masters of Love

Stepping Onto the Path with Heart ...1

Seekers After Happiness, 4

Rumi: The Flowering Soul, 8

The Lover's Wheel: Medicine Teachings, 11

Merging Forms: A Sufi Medicine Wheel, 16

The Map of the Journey, 18

How the Stream Crossed the Desert, 22

Taking the First Step, 28

2. The Birth of the Lover

Why Our Souls Fear Love and Love Fear ... 29

The Journey of the Soul, 30

Where Did I Come From? 33

Myth-conceptions, 34

Meetings with God, 35

Facing Our Fears of Love, 38

Where All Fears Begin, 40

Forms of Fear, 42

The Growth of Fear, 43

The Mood of the World, 44

These Fatal Wounds, 46

Explorations, 50

How Etsaa Became the Sun, 55

3. Seeking the Beloved

Where True Power Can Be Found ...57

Powerful Myths, 58

The Illusion of Power, 59

Grabbing Power from Others and Losing It for Ourselves:

Family Scripts and Dramas, 62

The Shocking Conclusion, 63

Meditations on Not-Being, 65

When We Are Not Selfless, 75

Loving the Tyrant, 77

Explorations, 81

The Priest Who Knew Too Little, 84

4. Life Games and Their Players

Finding a Pathway to Love ...85

The Games of Life, 87

In the West of the Wheel, 94

Knowing How to Know Truth, 95

The God in the Hat, 96

All That We Know, 98

Explorations, 100

5. Staying Awake on the Path

Avoiding That "Is It All Worth It?" Feeling ...105

But If Not Love, Then What? 107

The Value in Suffering, 109

Scars, 112

The Compassionate Soul, 113

The Beauty of Death, 115

Living with Patience and Good Intentions, 117

Nothing Matters, 118

Explorations, 119

6. The Medicine Wheel of Relationships

Balancing Ourselves & Finding Our Way to the Center ... 127

Balancing the Four Bodies, 128

Harmonizing the Physical Self (The East), 134

Harmonizing the Emotional Self (The South), 136

Harmonizing the Mental Self (The West), 137

Harmonizing the Spiritual Self (The North), 140

Enhancing Mystical Powers (The Center), 141

Explorations, 143

7. Completing the Circle

What Our Relationships Teach Us ... 147

Self-Knowledge: Shrinker of Journeys, 149

The Map of Loving Relationships, 150

The Soul of Souls, 156

Explorations, 157

The Beetle and the Broomstick, 160

8. Strive to Be a Lover

Throw Away the Books & Start a Revolution! ...161

The Wise King, 163

References and Further Notes, 167

Index of Terms, 181

Index of People and Traditions (by first name), 189

Acknowledgments & Thanks, 193