Three Forms of Knowledge
June 25th, 2010 | Blog, Quotes, dervish, Doctor Maximus, Ibn El-Arabi, knowledge, Sheikh El-Akbar, sufi, truth
I would like to offer you all this to ponder upon in apology for my long absence…
Ibn El-Arabi of Spain instructed his followers in this most ancient dictum:
There are three forms of knowledge. The first is intellectual knowledge, which is in fact only information and the collection of facts, and the use of these to arrive at further intellectual concepts. This is intellectualism.
Second comes the knowledge of states, which includes both emotional feeling and strange states of being in which man thinks that he has perceived something supreme but cannot avail himself of it. This is emotionalism.
Third comes real knowledge, which is called Knowledge of Reality. In this form, man can perceive what is right, what is true, beyond the boundaries of thought and sense. Scholastics and scientists concentrate upon the first form of knowledge. Emotionalists and experimentalists use the second form. Others use the two combined, or either one alternately.
But the people who attain to truth are those who know how to connect themselves with the reality which lies beyond both these forms of knowledge. These are the real Sufis, the Dervishes who have Attained.
Where do you fit? =)
And here is another favorite from Ibn El-Arabi:
TRUTH
She has confused all the learned of Islam,
Everyone who has studied the Psalms,
Every Jewish Rabbi,
Every Christian priest.
I would like some help for a friend of mine. Her husband has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetis. His diet is now very bland and I was wondering with the help of the correct use of spices and herbs if we could make this a bit more exciting. Love your site some very interesting receipes and articles.
This is an interesting question! I am not the expert in type 2 diabetes but I will give you my perspective:
A lot of people if they are used to a bland diet have a hard time adding in more spices and herbs! So I guess it would probably be good to start with just a few and see how you go from there. A really good one to start with for diabetes is fenugreek which can be used in various foods. I like to add it to my carrot soup (oh I just realized I haven’t posted that recipe so I will do that too). You can also make it into a tea with milk, like they do in Egypt. It has a maple-syrup flavor so it works quite well with various meats, especially chicken, seafood or pork. It also is great in vegetables, like an eggplant curry. Another spice that goes well with fenugreek and is good in general is turmeric.
There is a lot of alternative information available about good diets for diabetes–an important aspect to look into is the types of fats your friend is eating. It is important to get enough of the right kind of fat to help with balancing the sugar imbalances. For example coconut oil is quite good. It is also best to avoid using refined vegetable oils like canola, soy or corn. For more information about using traditional and saturated fats this article will get you started as well as includes some links to more resources. I personally think that the GAPS or SCD diet that I am now on is very good as well, and that is a good diet to look into for this condition as well– it is a lot of work to maintain, but worth it health-wise.
One thing I will say about trying to get someone to change their diet is that it is important for them to understand why they need to change their habits or it is very hard for them to maintain it! So it might be good to point them to the information so that they can get excited about doing the research for themselves as it will give a deeper understanding and help them make the commitment to change for themselves.
I hope this helps a little!