The human and divine aspects of our being meet at a point of singularity. From this singularity emerges a new order of life, molecules, elements, and awakened qualities. We tend to think of the form and the formless, the conditioned and the unconditioned, the manifest aspect of God and that which is always beyond manifestation. Until the meeting takes place between the human and divine aspects of being at a point of singularity, there is latent a teeming potential of new forms of birth and life of the One being.

We can experience this singularity with ourself in relation to the divine dimension of our being. We can also have this experience on every level of existence. For example, the angelic aspect of our being can have an experience of singularity with all of the aspects of the divine being which are transcendent to the angelic sphere. We can also experience singularity with another being or even with a plant or animal. As everything is interpenetrated with everything else, we find that point of interconnection with, e.g., another person. Our relationship with the other person, the "currency" of our connection with that person serves as the means of experiencing the point of singularity. The currency may be love with one person, compassion with another, beauty with a flower, power with an animal, etc. Through the experience of singularity, a new dispensation occurs, which we could think of as the awakened aspect of the divine quality which has served as our means of relationship with the other. Just as a photon releases light when an electron is excited to a higher oribital and then releases its energy, consider a divine quality being "excited to a higher level" through the experience of the singularity, and then a new dimension of that quality becomes accessible.

Ayat is thought of as the signs of God in manifestation, a reminder of the higher aspect underlying manifestation. Ayat may also be thought of as a reminder of our capacity to experience a meeting in a point of singularity with anything (and everything) in which we experience our relationship with the divine being.

Practices which may be helpful in moving towards an experience of singularity include the following:

Experience your in breath as the outbreath of the divine aspect of your being and your outbreath as the inhalation of the divine aspect of your being. Experience the zikr while saying the words simultaneously from the human and divine vantage points, as if both dimensions of your being are calling to each other in order to meet in the point of singularity when then head goes down on "ille". When the head comes up on "llah", experience this as the new life that emerges out of the point of singularity. Experience this new life awakening all levels of your being to what emerges from the points of singularity of each level with all that is transcendent to that level. "Hu" then is experienced as the teeming presence of new possibilities for divine self-organization, just as the evolution of DNA enables new forms of life to emerge. Through the realizations which emerge from the experience of singularity, we can experience ourselves as composers of meaningfulness in all of the realms of existence. Dhul jelal val ikram as representing the highest aspect of God in form can be thought of evolving to enable new potentialities of the divine being, as new dispensations occur out of points of singularity.

I have previously described a practice to link up the human and divine parts of our being in a point of singularity, from which emerges a new life. I have also described this process as freeing the potential qualities of divine light to manifest into new realms of existence, by the meeting of the human and divine aspects of being. Carrying this idea further, one could consider aking any of the divine qualities (such as beauty, wisdom, compassion, truth, etc.) and using a quality as the bridge or "currency" of connection between the human and divine aspects of being. What then emerges from this point of meeting is a new aspect of that divine quality expressed in new realms of being. One could say that the potential, latent aspects of that particular divine quality have been freed by the creative point of meeting between the human and divine vantage point.

In the metaphor of the universe being like a hologram, with each being containing within him/herself the total information of the hologram, the old model would state that by awakening, we become conscious of the total potentiality of the divine being. In a new way of viewing this metaphor, when we discover how to come to the point of meeting between the human and divine aspects of our being, then the new life (or new aspects of the divine qualities as described above) changes the totality of the hologram. The divine being thus evolves through our awakening, and everything is changed by the realizations of each person. By this process, the divine being is freed from a previously constricted level of functioning, and both the human and divine aspects of our being evolve. Perhaps, instead of thinking of the heavens being reflected on earth, so the earth may turn into heaven, we might consider a process of "heavening", inwhich both heaven and earth are changed by the relationship with each other via the catalyst of awakening.

In quantum physics, there is a finite probability that energy will manifest from a vacuum. At times, the virtual particles that emerge from the vacuum return to the vacuum, but some of these particles continue to exist as actual particles. Perhaps a similar principle is in effect for the unmanifest aspect of the divine. At times, emanations may take place from the unmanifest, and these emanations eventually may reach into actualization in the physical plane. Ibn Arabi's description of the hidden treasure desiring to be known may be a poetic way of describing an inherent self-revealing principle in the divine being. It is now well known that there is a self-organizing principle that underlies both living and non-living systems. There seems to be a relationship between this self-organizing principle and the self-revealing principle of the divine being. On the level of an individual soul, as the soul evolves towards greater capacities of self-organization and awakening, then at the same time, the divine being is enabled to have a greater scope of self-revelation.

Using Pir-o-Murshid's metaphor of each soul being like a ray emanating from a divine central sun, each ray or soul may be thought of as originating by means of the self-revealing principle. As the soul self-organizes, the degree of self-revelation of the divine increases. Through this process which initially seems to involve distancing, separation, and an experience of duality, by means of the return journey of the soul, the self-revealing principle is fulfilled.

I have been working with some variations on the zikr incorporating these ideas. In my previous paper which, I raised the question of what leads to further unfoldment and evolution after a state of unity has been reached. The divine self-revealing principle seems to be a possible answer to this question. The zikr is begun in a state of experiencing the divine unity, with no distinction between the human and divine parts of one's being and no sense of the divine presence being something separate. As the head goes down on ille, the sense is that of the divine self-revealing principle resulting in one's soul emanating from the divine central sun. As the head comes up on llah, the sense is that through the capacities enabled by the emanation of one's soul, the divine counterpart of one's being is created (Ibn Arabi's notion of one's personal lord). I next work with Hu as a fikr-a-sirr, as the relationship between the human and divine parts of oneself deepen, and the potentialities for further self-organization and self-revelation increase. The zikr described in the previous paper and this zikr can also be combined as a sequence as follows:

1) As the head goes down on ille, the human and divine parts of one's being meet in a point of singularity.

2) As the head goes up on llah, the new life emerges from this point of meeting.

3) After taking time to experience the attunement of step #2, the head goes down on ille, experiencing the self-revealing principle emerging from the condition of unity in the form of one's soul, with one's soul having been endowed with the capacity for self-organization.

4) As the head goes up on llah, one's personal lord has been created, so that a new relationship can take place between the human and divine parts of one's self, beyond what was possible in the previous forms of one's human and divine aspects, before step #1 above.

5) Hu is done as a fikr-a-sirr.

Perhaps the divine counterpart of fana and baqa from the human vantage point is the new creation of one's personal lord in step #4 above. As one's human part evolves to higher and higher degrees of self-organization, one's personal lord experiences a similar evolution of degrees of self-revelation.

In yoga, a metaphor is used of two birds on a tree - one experiencing everything in life and the other witnessing all that occurs without being affected. Perhaps a way to describe Sufism is that the witness gets involved in the process of life.

Murshid describes human beings as being like a line which is finite on one end and infinite on the other. Ibn Arabi describes the human and divine aspects of one's being as one's self and one's personal lord. It is in the relationship between these two aspects of oneself that unfoldment of both the human and divine aspects of one's being occurs. The way or state of meeting of these two aspects might be described as an interface. The interface may be a point of singularity in which temporarily there is no distinction between the two parts, or a "broader" interface may occur in which characteristics of each part are preserved, and a dynamic interaction occurs, which I have previously described as "communicating light".

The sattipatanas may be reformulated with this understanding as follows: This is not my body. This is God's vehicle for interfacing the nonmanifest and manifest aspects of the divine in life, by the human meeting the divine. This is not my mind. This is the unfolding realization of the divine thinking, as what is gleaned from human experience encounters the divine viewpoint so that a new type of thinking emerges for both the human and the divine.

This is not my heart. This is the place of birth of new emotions, as human and divine emotions meet, as the emotions of life encounter the emotions of the higher realms.

This is not my personality. This is the formation of new fruits on the tree of life, as the worldly part of my tree of life is cross pollinated by the eternal part of my tree of life.

This is not my consciousness. This is a new type of consciousness emerging from a condition of bi-unity.

In the metaphor of the two birds, the bird that had been the witness establishes a dynamic relationship with the other bird, and new experiences become available to both birds as they fly together.

The patches on the dervish's robe are maps of roads to other beings seen and unseen. Do you smell the perfumes of rare flowers? See the reflections of lights from unseen stars?

Feel the weaves, the outward signs of patterns of celestial looms?

Hear the music conducted by each breath, each thought, each sigh, each step?

Turn within, whirl without. Descend through veils,emanate through gift wrappings for jewels just born.

Epiphany is the seed. Resurrection is the fruit.

Become the tree of life which bends low, feeding the desires of souls, serving as the backbone of the One to dance through emerging realms of glory.