Getting Out of the Way

Biography Of Shaykh Ibrahim al Ansari I wanted to know if there was a God. I wanted to know why there is pain and suffering, why people hurt each other, why there are wars and what holds everything together. In a sense I was driven to Sufism. I looked for answers everywhere. I searched Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Hinduism, Kabala, Alchemy, Masons, Rosicruscianism, Judaism, Christianity, Teachings of Don Juan, Magic, and other shops of spirituality. I began a new search - one for a true teacher. It would be 20 years later that I would finally find my Shaykh, Taner Ansari. Through my Shaykh and the teachings of the Qadiri-Rifa’i Tariqa came the answers, slowly, and with a continually deeper understanding. When I was young I asked God many times to teach me how to do His will. I saw an ad in the newspaper about zikrs. Finally my Shaykh came to visit. I could feel a door opening for me. I have been a musician and composer almost my entire life - that’s about 50 years of practicing, performing and recording. Those years taught me much about self-discipline, and without it I would not have understood the way of Sufism or other true paths. It has become clear to me that it is important for us to delineate the difference between true paths and false, and to understand the need for long-term commitment to a true path. As our society tries to adapt to overpopulation and the continued greed of capitalism, the need for an ethical and spiritual reality makes itself not only apparent but also vital to our soul. True paths such as Sufism offer a remedy of mercy and compassion in a heart-starved world.