In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin provides an overview of the Foundational Pillars course and talks about fundamental elements and practices to enter the world of the dervish and Sufi tradition.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces the first principle of Sufism that he calls Single Player Mode. This principle helps us change the way of looking at our lives and allows us to take responsibility for our actions and reactions to life situations and people around us. This principle will develop an ability to skillfully respond to every life situation and drop the habit of unconscious reactions.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces a self-observation practice to integrate the Single Player Mode principle into daily life and develop a skillful attitude to the practice.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin talks about the second principle of Sufism – gratitude, and acceptance. This principle helps us to further build our ability to take responsibility for our actions and reactions to life situations, improving the experience of day-to-day activities.
Shaykh Burhanuddin talks about the practical aspects of employing the principle of acceptance and deep dives into practical ways of expanding its application in different areas of our lives. He talks about the importance of getting stabilized before further spiritual exploration and how the practice of acceptance helps with that.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin talks about the practical aspects of gratefulness and introduces a simple daily practice for gratitude called Smile at the Heart, which can be done in any place and any time.
In this lesson, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces the practice of Hudur, which means awareness and presence. He elaborates on the importance of developing more powerful awareness and attention in daily life to step out of the conceptual mind and imagination, to live in the present moment, and to enhance our perception of life. He talks about common challenges and issues we create when we live in our imagination. Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces techniques of the Sufi tradition to enhance our awareness and attention.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces the first exercise from the series of Hudur practices: body scanning. He conducts a guided meditation session and provides instructions for the body scanning exercise, which will help us to develop an awareness of our body and train attention by directing and sustaining it on an object for an extended period. We can use these instructions to train our attention on our own.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin talks about the traditional dervish practice of right-left awareness to develop presence and moment-to-moment awareness during daily life activities.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces a simple breathing exercise that will serve as a foundation to start the series of breathing practices common in the Sufi tradition.
In this section, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces another Sufi principle called True Knowledge. Shaykh Burhanuddin provides instructions on how to practice the truth within ourselves and explains that True Knowledge comes from a personal experience and not from information consumption, as it is often assumed to be the case.
In this lesson, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces the meditation practice of Morning Dhikr with detailed instructions. Morning Dhikr serves as a starting point on our way to connect with the Higher Self and Consciousness as they are viewed in Sufi tradition. He also covers the view of Consciousness in the Sufi tradition and the importance of consistent daily practice to remember that Consciousness.
In this lesson, Shaykh Burhanuddin introduces a meditation practice that leverages visualization and breathing as a foundation to develop focused attention on the elements of our personal practice and lives we want to develop. As Shaykh Burhanuddin explains, through this practice we come to the source within us, impacting our outer and inner situations. He conducts a guided meditation session and provides instructions to practice on our own.
