...there are self help gurus... celebrity gurus... oshos and sadhgurus... and then there are those who move in Quiet... who Work without ego... who are not looking for the selfie... whose self esteem isn't based on other other people looking at them and singing their praises and looking to them for guidance... True Guidance comes only from the One... and all of us have access to this...

...if you are looking for guidance in jay z or tony robins... in rihanna or ellen... you are bound to hate yourself... to feel your soul and spirit strangled... why?... you are looking for an island to reflect upong and they are are the mass that has formed out of our plastic debris in the ocean... then who?... who can/do you follow?...

...ask yourself about the celebrities you follow... who do they worship follow?... if what you find is that they worship material.. that they are driven by fame and others knowing and worshipping them then rethink this person...reevaluate... 

...if on the other hand this person seeks no name no fame... is humble... is in a state of Surrender to the One... is one who shares... is sharing... and Guides from this Divine inspiration... whether it be through writings... illustrations/paintings... yoga... music... then follow that person... this is an arif-Ullah... one-who-Knows... 

...the Guidance is before you... use it... it is in the skies and trees and land... it is in how you put this combinaiton in your body... it is how you as an elemental being engage with the elements... it is you Connecting with You through what is before us... 

...hence the rituals of islam... hence the fie times of day of bowing this monkey mind ego... hence the hadith and the hidden practices - "walk through life like a traveler with your grave besides you"... hence the keeping your tongue wet with ALLAH... hence the poetic Guidance of rumi - embrace the wound... walk into the eye of the storm not to get off on yourself but because it will lead to the lesson - the Gift that lays before you...

...what is the wound for you...?... for me the wounds are being accepted... seeking acceptance... of watching my folks aging... of lack of stability... of wanting community... of being without wife and kids... of being without tribe... of feeling like i can't and in turn not doing in my ancient medicine... of staying behind the wall in complacency...

...what do you with the wound once you've laid it out... make the opposite of these wounds your goals... i.e. if i am seekign tribe because i feel alienaed and isolate by the babylon world... one thing i could do in my feeling alone-ness is hold space for meaningful community... using the reosurces i have - pedagogy ancient medicine - to hold cohort courses that support others n Connecting with the Divine Law while building community with one another... 

...how practically can this happen?.. what is some action if you took would get you one step Closer to this?... to set aside un-interrupted time to work on something that could be share with others - a video... a medicine... a writing... a holding a moment for community interaction/worship... an offering based on your talents pairing with the needs of others... with the needs of the wound... i.e. use this scent to Connect deeper with trees... use this one to Connect to family members... this one to Connect with a challenging friend...  find a few things each day that you could Work on towards this end... inshALLAH... ALLAH Knows best...