Shaykh Ibrahim's Podcast
137 episodes - English - Latest episode: 24 days ago -These podcasts are a spiritual seeker's digest seen from a Sufi perspective. Please support us with a donation at www.ansarisufiorder.orgThe message is free, it costs to get it to you.
I am open to good questions. Please send your Sufi question to: [email protected]. Also, please let me know what you think about this series. If you have specific interest in a subject, please let me know.
Thank you!
shaykh ibrahim ansari
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Episodes
Propulsion on the Spiritual Path
May 09, 2020 04:00 - 11 minutes - 8.22 MBSend us a Text Message. Propulsion on the Spiritual Path Ibrahim Ansari Sometimes certain realizations or experiences propel us towards a spiritual path: You realize you know nothing, What you do know is so infinitesimal it will take just a minute to list them, you have no power - everything comes from somewhere else. And when you do try to do something… Your personal will gets in the way,\ You understand that this place is a school. You’ve learned a lot, now it is time to articulate t...
Humans and Paradox
May 02, 2020 02:00 - 9 minutes - 6.42 MBSend us a Text Message. What is a Human Being? Ibrahim Ansari In Sufism we give the title Human Being to someone who is developing compassion, intelligence, patience and surrender.The seven maqams or Stages of Understanding map well the transitions a person makes to achieve a connection with their heart. The strata of comprehension cannot be accessed by the brain alone. Much of the knowledge must happen within the heart. The heart is where paradoxes are resolved. The Human Being is a mat...
Getting Through Depression
April 13, 2020 03:00 - 5 minutes - 4.02 MBSend us a Text Message. Getting Through Depression I used to get severely depressed - mostly from artistic rejection, lack of money, illogical goals and various naiveté for most of my life. The energy trying to suck me down became more and more visceral, even visual. The closest image I can compare it to is a whirlpool of dark gravity pulling me down. It would start at my feet, move up to my ankles, and eventually I was wrested down and spat out into the hellish world of disconnectedness a...
al Jabbar
April 12, 2020 05:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Recorded live at the Merrylands Centre 16 September, 2011. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you for choosing our...
Time of Isolation
April 10, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutes - 4.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Salaam Aleikum, Bismillah Rahman nirRahim, Weclome to another Sufi podcast. My name is ibrahim and my post is that of Shaykh, or spiritual guide. This is being recorded during the Time of Isolation: Allah’s Stop, Look and Listen signpost. For many of us, this is a difficult time. It seems like things have gone haywire, off the rails. But from the Divine’s point of view: What a brilliant way to stop pollution, climate catastrophe and runaway greed. And this is not ...
The Speed of Love
April 01, 2020 22:00 - 6 minutes - 4.42 MBSend us a Text Message. The sacred act of Being Present is achieved by complete surrender to This Moment. As soon as you imagine you ‘want’ something you have disengaged from the presence of the Divine. When you think of ‘I’ or ‘me’ you cast a shadow against the Light. Blessings are pouring down from Allah. Why put up the umbrella of ‘me’? Why get in the way of these blessings? I like Sufism because it has worked out over millenias the most appropriate tools that we need to become Human ...
al Bari + Observation
January 18, 2020 06:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBSend us a Text Message. We talk about the events of last week and then focus in on al Bari - the Shaper. One important idea behind Sufism is learning to apply spiritual teachings to one's life in a practical and pragmatic way. Sometimes the discussion leads in unexpected avenues as we wrestle with language, culture and understanding. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help suppo...
Sufis discuss the Kabbalah
January 15, 2020 08:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBSend us a Text Message. I recommend having the Sephiroth and the 99 Names of Allah available while you listen. There is a lot of Sufi vocabulary used, so a glossary would be helpful as well. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but ...
as Sami - The One Who Hears
January 14, 2020 06:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBSend us a Text Message. A spiritual discussion (sohbet) about one of Allah's Names: as Sami - the One Who Listens. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to y...
Honor, Trust
December 30, 2019 05:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Sohbet (spiritual discussion) on the concept of Sufi Chivalry: Honor, Trust. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank yo...
Sohbet: al Fattah - The Opener
December 28, 2019 08:00 - 37 minutes - 25.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Group discussion (Sohbet) about the sacred Name: al Fattah- The Opener. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you for...
Ya Jabbar Sohbet
December 17, 2019 03:00 - 30 minutes - 20.6 MBSend us a Text Message. A Sohbet is a discussion about the teachings of Sufism. In this case, we are looking at one of Allah's sacred Names; Al Jabbar. Recorded September 16, 2011. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs e...
Stress
November 26, 2019 02:00 - 8 minutes - 5.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Stress Just half a million years ago we were discovering fire. Another serveral hundred thousand years after that we figured out how to grow crops and raise livestock. We adapted. And then came war after war and the technology to support it. With it came medicine to heal the war wounds. Then Bang! Money! Taxes! And then Bang! Electricity! Bang! Radio! TV! Telephone! Computers! A.I.! Smart phones! We are not adapting well to these intrusions. We forget where we...
The Trouble with Religion (part 3)
June 14, 2019 04:00 - 6 minutes - 4.32 MBSend us a Text Message. The Trouble with Religion: Part 3 Someone asked me about the hijab. I started to research its source, and I found once again that men were making the decision for women about what to wear and how to act. They go on for pages reciting verses and Hadith, not quite understanding or including a woman’s point of view. The term hijab is not in the Quran. Now I am not a Quranic scholar, nor an Imam nor in a position of authority to tell other people what to do. One of my j...
Goals
May 21, 2019 05:00 - 5 minutes - 3.89 MBSend us a Text Message. Instruction for Sufis Q: How can I be sure that I am aligned with Allah’s will if He gives me what I want even though it might not be what He ultimately intends for me? How do I know that my goals match Allah’s plan for me? A: First, there are a lot of ‘Is’ and ‘me’s’ in that question, which might give us a hint at what the answer could shape up to be. The place to focus on is Trust and Truth. We are rarely given the ability to see all the pieces of our life-puzzle...
Focus
May 21, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutes - 5.02 MBSend us a Text Message. Q: How can I keep the focus on Allah and look past all manifestations to have a more direct and pure relationship with him? A: . As usual, there are usually several answers at different levels to this kind of question. First is understanding the manifestations. Learning and applying Allah’s Names helps us to get a handle on seeing Him in action. There are several practical ways to practice this: One: Pick one of Allah’s Names in the morning and observe your in...
Connection
April 19, 2019 10:00 - 6 minutes - 4.7 MBSend us a Text Message. Being connected to people, purpose, heart provides us mental and physical health. Without proper connection we lose our hold on life and meaning. When we don't feel connected to life, that is, to other people, and a purpose. we become alienated. Alienation produces stress, anxiety, frustration, and depression. Just 50 years ago we lived in communities, villages, neighbourhoods and we looked each other in the eyes, we talked to each other, we knew each other. These da...
The Trouble with Religion (part 2)
April 06, 2019 13:00 - 10 minutes - 6.97 MBSend us a Text Message. The Trouble with Religion (part 2) Ibrahim ansariBismillah rRahman nir Rahim The story of this world has often seen religion employed as a weapon. Much of the history of civilization exploited religion as an engine for barreling forward. The driver is usually the clerics, royalty, military or warlords. Religion became a tool for advancing those with power to gain more power. For example, looking back towards ancient Egypt the clerics, with their knowledge of read...
The Trouble with Religion (part 1)
April 04, 2019 13:00 - 11 minutes - 7.7 MBSend us a Text Message. The Trouble with Religion Ibrahim ansari These are strange times for those of us who are drawn to the spiritual element. Probably somewhere along the line we tasted the divine; and since that moment its splendor and radiance always outshines all the other distractions. We decided to do everything in our power for just another sip. That is when we discover that things get complicated when people get involved. Power- whether it is knowledge, money, fame or positio...
Jinn
December 02, 2018 01:00 - 6 minutes - 4.57 MBSend us a Text Message. Imagine a dimension that has a higher vibrational rate than ours. In this dimension are worlds and people who have families and communities and nations, just like us. There are religions, good people, bad people, and different cultures. Everything is faster than the Earth dimension, and, to the people of the faster dimension, earth time seems slow and static. Now for some in the faster dimension, it’s a big adventure to take one of the earth life forms, as an animal ...
Magic, Islam & Sufism
December 02, 2018 01:00 - 10 minutes - 6.95 MBSend us a Text Message. My students of Sufism have asked me how to deal with magic, black magic and possession by Jinn. I will answer these questions according to what I know. I understand magic – both white, black, and any color – to be a focusing of the human will, coupled with intention. By the use of ritual and props, the mind can be focused to such an intensity as to manifest a shift or change in the elements of nature. The mind is an extremely powerful tool when focused, but not ...
Conditioning
November 29, 2018 01:00 - 7 minutes - 5.48 MBSend us a Text Message. Bismillah rRahman nirRahim, Conditioning One piece of the puzzle on the path of Sufism is learning how to separate yourself from your conditioning. In other words, what is the authentic, real you, as opposed to your culture, the ideas your family embedded in you, the biases you learned from your schools, friends, and relationships? There is you, and then there is all the other stuff. Where do your opinions come from? What are your values and are they real or just ...
Surrender Part 2
November 24, 2018 02:00 - 9 minutes - 6.63 MBSend us a Text Message. How do we know Allah’s will? By being quiet and listening. Learn to look for and see Allah’s answers. When a possible message or answer is perceived or received, we then need to ascertain that it is true and correct. We look for confirmation within and without. If the message comes from within, as in a dream, we look for outer confirmation from a friend, colleague or book. If it comes from a friend, or book, then we wait for confirmation from within as a dream, or h...
Surrender Part 1
November 24, 2018 02:00 - 10 minutes - 7.29 MBSend us a Text Message. Surrender by Ibrahim In sufism, surrender is the prime force that accelerates spiritual growth. Without true and complete surrender, the next phase of learning cannot take place. The teachings of not just sufism but also Zen, Tibetan Buddhism and other true paths are to help prepare the murid (student) to let go of their attachments to the things of this world. Surrender is often misinterpreted to mean giving up responsibility for one’s actions. “My teacher made me...
Music and Sufism
November 20, 2018 10:00 - 9 minutes - 6.53 MBSend us a Text Message. Parallels of Music and Sufism Sometimes to get a better understanding of what one thing is, it helps to go at it through a parallel medium. In this case, what I am going to say about music, I have found to be a direct correlation with Sufism. The one thing that every musician always needs to do is practice. Without practice, there is no growth or ability to play the instrument. Muscles weaken without practice, as well as pattern recognition, sight-reading, listenin...
Getting Closer to the Divine
November 20, 2018 08:00 - 10 minutes - 7.34 MBSend us a Text Message. What brings us closer to God? And: Why do we sometimes feel so distant from God? Imagine in the core of your self lies a bright light. This is the Life-light (fitrah), the light you were before your heart began to beat. That true essence of self; a drop of God’s mercy in a potential state. Then that spark is injected in the world to be realized- absorbing experiences, trying to find its way through truth and falsehood; happiness and despair; loss and gain; success ...
Feeling stuck?
November 20, 2018 03:00 - 6 minutes - 4.45 MBSend us a Text Message. Feeling Stuck? By shaykh ibrahim Ansari It’s only natural to feel stuck at certain times in our life. Why? Well, if you’re like me, we like to keep learning and growing. To keep growing means to enter unknown areas, and learn about them, and map and explore them. Most people fear the unknown. But artists and sufis enjoy the frisson of fear, the thrill of coming across an unexplored realm within. The other part of growing means to let go of the old ideas and...
Expansion and Contraction
November 20, 2018 02:00 - 6 minutes - 4.77 MBSend us a Text Message. Expansion/Contraction Shaykh Ibrahim On this sufi path, there are times of expansion and contraction. Expansion is when, for example, you feel Allah’s blessings, an opening of awareness, your heart warming and growing. You may understand concepts more clearly, or realize the unity of Allah. Contraction is feeling separation, fear, unworthiness, inability to cope, and a desire to run away from problems. Contraction and expansion are connected. They are as br...
Listening to God
November 19, 2018 04:00 - 7 minutes - 4.88 MBSend us a Text Message. Listening to The Divine I bet you think only crazy people hear God’s voice. Maybe it is the other way around: only crazy people do not hear the voice of the divine (Allah). Let’s take another angle and look at this question differently. When did you stop listening to Allah? All Creation intersects Allah. Everything is related- whether you look at it atomically, molecularly, the Big Bang or as God’s creation, everything is connected at the source. When did you h...
The Shaykh: Part 2
November 16, 2018 11:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Why a Shaykh? By Ibrahim Ansari The shaykh is your soul’s gardener. S/he takes you from where you are right now, and uses your inner materials as fertilizer to grow your heart. Parts of you (the garden) need weeding; some need hoeing, planting, and landscaping. The shaykh represents your highest potential. By learning to trust in the shaykh as a guide, you begin the process of unifying yourself. On a personal basis, the shaykh goes within you, sees the distinction ...
Why Nafs?
November 15, 2018 23:00 - 9 minutes - 6.48 MBSend us a Text Message. In Sufism, fighting the Nafs (the ego-matrix) is the primary battle. The Tariqa and the Shaykh work to support, advise and focus the student (murid) in the sacred struggle. It is important to know why there are nafs and how to manage them appropriately. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, ...
The Shaykh: Part 1
November 15, 2018 11:00 - 6 minutes - 4.64 MBSend us a Text Message. After you are initiated into a Sufi order, your job is to learn how to best fight your nafs. It is important to understand that the Shaykh's job is to help you do that. Sometimes people get confused about the Shaykh and his/her job. This is to remind you of your job as well as what is expected of the Shaykh/a. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help suppo...
Mysticism and Sufism
November 15, 2018 07:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBSend us a Text Message. What is Mysticism and what is Sufism? Are they related? Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you for choosing our po...
What is Sufism
November 15, 2018 01:00 - 7 minutes - 5.07 MBSend us a Text Message. A brief overlook of a spiritual path. Sufism - has it always been around? Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you f...
Traveling the Spiritual Path
November 11, 2018 06:00 - 8 minutes - 6.11 MBSend us a Text Message. What is a Spiritual Path? How do you know if its the right one? How can you tell if it is working properly? Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware...
The Spiritual Seeker's Rights
November 05, 2018 13:00 - 10 minutes - 6.95 MBSend us a Text Message. Spiritual abuse tends to prompt us to throw everything out that connects with spirituality or religion. The seeker has rights. To avoid future abuse and to recognize the signs we talk about what those rights are. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing servic...
The Spiritual Seeker
November 03, 2018 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Primer on starting to seek spiritual understanding. A helpful guide for those who want to enter into a deeper knowledge and want to learn how to listen to their heart. Some practical advice on what to look for and what to avoid. Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners, We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and...