1. Cherish our relationship with the Divine. Gratitude, humility, contrition, patience, hope, trust, intention, and love arise when we remember the true nature of the Divine. All of these qualities contribute to polishing the mirror of the heart. The polished heart is the instrument of spiritual perception.
2. Begin now with what is right in front of us, opening our eyes to what is. How often do we really see? How have our habits of seeing blinded us?
3. Be aware of the state of the heart. Is the heart troubled or at peace? Every day we make choices. But what is the basis of our choice? Do we make choices informed by an open heart?
4. Be alert to signs. Do we see and listen? Spiritual perception is to be empty enough to receive the guidance of the moment. Avoid overthinking it. Simply be awake to the guidance of the moment.
5. See others as souls. Respect and be sensitive to the relationships we have. The ‘hardened heart’ sees others as ‘things.’ The awakened heart sees the animate nature of everything. When we can see the soulfulness of other human beings, we are more sensitive and that may be subtly communicated to them.
6. See more and more with the glance of the Divine. This is called in the Sufi tradition a ‘clear glance,’ a clean, purified, serene look. These words describe the murshid’s glance at the seeker and how the seeker should look at everything and everyone with an eye that knows unity. The seeker should not look at anything with a darkened glance or see things in a negative light as ‘bad’ or ‘worthless’; they should see everything as appropriate according to its receptivity (mazhar) and aptitude (insti’dad). In this way, the seeker (salik) will continually be in the presence of God – contemplating the manifestations of God – and the eventual result will be the realization of unity (wahdet).
7. Resolve to bring our actions into accord with our spiritual perception. When we act on what we know, we are given more knowledge. Virtue is choosing with self-less wisdom. Egoism chooses out of fear with self-interest in mind. Allow our spiritual perception to inform our conscious intentions.
