Issue #1 Article#6
Helminski Review by James Clauss
Kabir Edmund Helminski,
Living Presence. A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self (Penguin
Putnam 1992) Pp. xii, 180. $13.95 US ($19.99 CAN) ISBN 0-87477-699-6
Based, as the subtitle states, on a Sufi way of life—Sufism having developed
within "the cultural matrix of Islam" as the author informs us in his
final chapter—Living Presence offers not only an important insight into a
branch of one of the most vital and currently visible religions of world
history, but also another angle from which to view what ARC students,
practitioners, and clients know or hopefully come to know as the true, and in
Helminski's term "essential," self, the one to which we aspire to
return. If you read this book, which I hope you will consider doing, you will
find much that is familiar, and moreover expressed with a loving passion that
is sure to captivate.
The book unfolds gracefully and intelligently. Helminski's unpretentious style
and short chapters (an average of six pages per section) keep the reader from
ever feeling the need to commit to hour-long sessions. Even in the midst of a
busy day, I found myself looking forward to savoring enlightening moments,
fifteen to twenty quality minutes here and there, rather than gearing up for an
extra reading assignment in a schedule that is, like everyone else's,
underappreciated and overwhelming. Helminski's work is remarkable for the
simple way in which he offers profound observations on the human psyche.
The central idea of Living Presence is that our "essential" self is a
reflection of the Creative Spirit or God. Helminski states: "The basic
premise of this book is that the conscious mind is largely identified with the
false self, which is the product of fear and selfishness. We can disidentify
with this self and through presence realize our identity with the essential
Self." (p. 13). As described in other works that deal with spirituality,
those percolated through old or new age modes of thought, the conventional
world we inhabit is conceived of as the product of fragmentation and alienation
from our core self. In much of the book, Helminski shows clearly and
convincingly just how this is the case, starting from the proposition that our
personalities, our superficial identities, are the result of learned behavior
and attitudes that prevent us from knowing our true selves.
Many statements and observations in the book call ARC principles to mind. For
instance, "Observe how much of our attention is absorbed in the struggle
between like and dislike. Attention roams freely and unconsciously until it
strikes on something that either attracts or repulses it; then it is caught.
Presence allows us to notice how and when attention is caught and how to free
it again. As we begin to see what compels our attention and why, we also weaken
the tyranny of the ego and begin to create an impartial observer." (p.
35). Here we find an aspect of "grounding." Or the inability to
separate ourselves from our feelings (e.g., p. 38) comes close to the ARC
notion of "denial." A particularly telling observation on this point:
"As long as human beings are unconscious and dominated by selfish and
illusory desires, there is no god who will force us to change." (p. 122)
Consciousness, according to Helminski, leads to a beneficial condition such
that "(t)he compulsive habits of thought—many of them based on fear,
desire, neediness, and self-centeredness—begin to lose their power. The
identity that was rooted in these compulsions begins to melt and a new quality
of 'I' emerges, one based in simple nonreactive awareness." (p. 45). The
innate status of the self provides another point of contact with ARC: "People
who have had their personal boundaries violated ... will need their
individuality to be healed. Fortunately, the essential Self of a human being
cannot be permanently damaged; as much as it may be caused to shrink back or
hide, it remains essentially unharmed and unspoiled." (p. 49). Moreover,
true self discovery leads to service, one of the stages of initiation that ARC
recognizes. As mentioned above, there will be much that is familiar in this
book, which is appropriate for a philosophy whose source, as Helminski notes
here and there, is rememberance.
I enjoyed reading this book, which allowed me to revisit and reflect on much of
what we have been learning through ARC. My reservations are few and do not
detract from the overall significance of this book. The story of the "City
of Separation" with which the book begins is, I am sorry to say,
uninspiring as it is labored and obvious; it is not indicative of the subtlety
and depth of the rest of the book. The occasional nod to potential Christian
readers is at times almost embarrassing. For instance, in the chapter
"Emancipation from Fear," we are told "Jesus said so many times,
'Fear not'." (p. 120). This phrase is hardly representative of the
Messianic message and comes across, like other references to the NT in the
book, as unnecessarily intrusive. Finally, and perhaps more substantial as a
criticism of the book, Helminski talks about "the Work" that leads to
the freedom from the false ego described so eloquently in the book, but we are
never shown in specific terms the nature of this work. I would be most
interested in knowing what techniques the author persued or would suggest that
we pursue to return to our essential selves.
These criticisms aside, this is a book I would recommend in general and in
particular for those engaged in discovering or reflecting on ARC work, which
focuses not only on the theory of presence, but, more importantly, on the means
necessary for getting there.