The Second Valley:
We start the workshop by getting strength from the Almighty God
Hi friends, I am Hossein, the master of the ceremony… please keep silent for 14 seconds and resort to God as our refuge in order to free ourselves from our strongest enemy, which is our own ignorance. (14 seconds of silence)
Hi friends, I am Hossein, a traveler. During the previous workshop, I taught the First Valley, and today I am going to teach the Second Valley. We may not talk about the Third Valley next week, and I may take a break for a week or two, or I may begin teaching the Third Valley again. The First Valley I talked about in general was almost the same as the last version of the First Valley which I previously talked about specifically. The contents had changed a little; only some words had changed. In the Second Valley, there are more changes. Some contents have been completely removed, and it has become general and not specialized because we believe that these valleys are useful for all individuals (not just for addicts). As Attar, a Persian poet, has “Seven Valleys of Love” or “Seven Valleys” in our culture, or the great Jami, who introduced “Eight Gardens”, and Narcotics Anonymous has “12 steps”, we have 14 valleys which can generally be applied for everyone. I teach them so that everyone can use them.
The Second Valley reads: no creature comes into existence without a purpose, and none of us are insignificant, even if we think of ourselves as that.
In the First Valley, we proposed contemplation, which is the first and crucial step for an individual to achieve peace and tranquility and to perform his/her duties very well. What was the First valley about? It emphasized that one should contemplate taking any action. Even if they want to backbite, they should think to do it or not. Last night I heard by accident that a master was saying: “it is mentioned in the holy Quran that backbiting is so disgusting as eating one’s brother’s dead flesh.” Do you like to eat your brother’s dead flesh?” Backbiting is so disgusting that it's compared to eating your own brother's dead flesh. Therefore, be careful about whatever you do and always pay attention to both your actions and words. It is said that a person showed a woman and said to the prophet Muhammad. He urged him to repent and told him: "Why did you say she is short? How come you did that? Why did you backbite her?"
According to the worldview of Congress 60, we must try to see the positive aspects of people and their positive traits. According to Nizami Ganjavi's book, Christ was walking with a group of people when he came across the body of a dog that stank. While everyone else commented on how bad the dog smelled and how filthy he was, Christ complimented the dog on his white teeth and said that it was beautiful. So don't immediately look at negative aspects of people don’t say they are short, fat, thin, so-and-so. These are the most important lessons that we need to learn. They were related to contemplation.
Then this valley states that we think of many things. Sometimes we think that we are useless, or not worthy, what are we worth, we came here without any purpose, and we are absolutely useless. The second Valley reads: “No creature comes into existence without a purpose.” It reads “no creature”; not just humans are mentioned, none of the creatures came into existence by accident and without any purpose. Then it reads none of us are insignificant. For instance, it's a metaphor to state that a car is worthless since it's not worth even $10. But ten dollars are still worth ten dollars. But some people say that they are absolutely useless and insignificant. Even if we believe that we are useless, we are still worthwhile.
We are happy that we are continuing our battle. The battle in this valley means the battle of knowledge, the battle of information, here the battle is the battle of love, the battle of the pen, the battle of thoughts and thinking…. . It is not a battle to use arms with which we fight. So it is a soft war.
Then it states: We are happy that we are continuing our battle to achieve a good result, and our internal world transforms into a developed city where all beings move towards the supreme power. It says that we are happy that we started this battle by contemplation. Everyone faces some difficulties, someone may be ill, someone may be overweight, someone may be depressed, someone’s love may have failed, someone may want to be accepted into university, or such problems that can be solved properly. We have talked about the world inside us many times. The inside world, our thoughts within the world should change into a prosperous city and a balanced person to proceed toward more forces.
“We had lost our direction for reasons that we might not be aware of.” What does it mean? This means that some things which are not important and are worthless have become valuable to us, which is wrong. For example, we say that we have such and such things, which I don’t intend to name but they have been worthy for us; or some anti-values have become values for us and vice versa. For example, I might get upset about why I am not a thief. "Look at that person, how smart he is, how much bribe he takes," So to me stealing, taking bribes, and veering off the right path are values. Or we might think that we who don't steal are clumsy and worthless. Therefore, we had lost our direction which means that we could not contemplate very well.
In order to find our true selves, there is no need to find a way or anything else. We, humans, have lost ourselves, and the only thing that we cannot perceive is ourselves. We have a very important path ahead of us to find ourselves, we must think and try to implement it. What shall we do to find our true selves? We have to contemplate and put our effort into it, and that will be enough to find ourselves, we are all lost. In continuation, our efforts lead to a point where nothing can weaken our abilities. This means that a wide range of our abilities, thoughts, and strengths may now be weakened by minor incidents. For instance, you are studying and someone tells you: “What are you studying for?” “What is the benefit of studying?” “it is not helpful to study.” Immediately, your will to study weakens, and you cannot study anymore. For instance, imagine a woman who tells her friend how she cheated on her husband and made him put all his properties in her name. this is a misfortune, misery, and stupidity to have such thinking. The problem is that when she describes her behavior toward her husband to someone, she immediately upsets the person's mood and undermines her beliefs. In fact, she weakens that person’s ability and upsets her. However, as long as we contemplate and try hard in our lives, our abilities will not be affected or weakened by others.
If little things are told to us, we will become offended. For instance, we will become offended if someone tells us why we have become old, why our face has become so pale, or why our shoes are this color. We are offended by every little criticism. This can occasionally result in arguments and confrontations in society. While You are driving, someone curses you, you stop in the middle of the street which makes you angry and both of you get into a heated dispute that causes traffic and other problems. You cannot stay clear of such arguments and your whole abilities, capacities and thoughts would be affected and destroyed due to an unimportant thing. However, nothing can put you in a bad state if your thoughts changed and you can ignore such unimportant matters. People who have reached an appropriate level of contemplation can accept right criticism from others, and if it is false, they respond with a smile. They do not care about being criticized, and they will not become offended. I mean their abilities will not weaken.
We have to collect lights that shine from each point. We have to reach to a point that wherever we saw a gleam of light, we should keep going forwards. Light is a symbol of humanity, progress, and goodness. It stands for everything good. Whenever we see a sparkle of light, we have to keep moving toward it, which means that wherever there is a positive sign, we have to do our best to make the most of it. Because we would be able to find the great brightness due to moving toward a sparkle of light. From the sparkles we can reach to the great brightness. Each spark originates from a source of light, and if we catch that spark, we can reach the source. The Supreme Power is clearly visible in all of its indications. It is crystal clear and it can be tracked in God’s indications including His creations, His book and Himself that none of us are worthless even if we think of ourselves as that. God’s indications are provided on His divine books and it does not matter it is mentioned in which divine book or religion; all signs are given in all of them.
All themes are inside and outside of us just like volcanoes, peaceful and silent. It says all themes are inside and outside of us. This section needs a little more explanation because there are more than ten possible interpretations of this sentence. It does not have a single meaning and interpretation. The first one is that we believe that the inner world and outer world are two different worlds. According to the book “Khorasani Formalities”, which you may have studied, it is said: “I am simultaneously inside and outside of you, within you and out of you, your beginning and your end.” It is said: "I am your outward appearance and your inner essence" (visible and invisible attributes), and then it is mentioned that all of these indications belong to God. We are not only a body, we have the self (ego), we have a second body and other things which we call self or so called spirit.
Body is not the only thing that we have; we also have the self (ego); either we have a second body and other invisible attributes including the self, and the spirit. Is the spirit within or outside of us?
At the same time, it exists both inside and outside of us. Additionally, it is neither inside nor outside of us. Why do we say it this way? Because the material is different. Other structures of human beings are not made of material. If I put this pen here, it occupies a space and I cannot put another thing in that space. I can say, for instance, that the ink is within the pen or that the paper is outside the pen. However, when it comes to metaphysics, it is not the same because they have different frequencies. Let me put it this way: There are thousands of frequencies in this area where we are right now, including radio and television frequencies. If you put a TV in this area, you can easily access to every TV channel. There are thousands of radio noises in this space; can you pinpoint their location? Are they outdoors or inside this building? Due to their different structures, we can say that they are inside and outside of the building simultaneously. Therefore, all the issues exist either in the structure of our physic or our self. They may be in our second body or other bodies or structures. Another interpretation is that whatever exists in the world is both inside and outside us.
Everything in our conscious mind already exists within us, so we can think about or visualize it, just as everything in our subconscious mind already exists in our archive. This definition fits them better. Moreover, we can say that the world inside us is like high volcanoes.
Human forces, all the issues inside and outside us, everything in both our conscious and subconscious mind and in our archive are all dormant and calm. Do you know what will happen if we give them the power to move? It can make a change and it can turn everything upside down. It can change individuals’ states into new ones. One of my friends, Dr. Haj Rasouli, told me a story about a Tour de France cyclist (an important bicycle race in the world with more than one million dollar awards) who had to drop out of the race due to testicular cancer. He was hospitalized.
He receives chemotherapy after having one of his testicles removed. His therapy causes the hair on his head and face to fall out. Then they gave him sedative tablets, which made him delirious and drove him insane. He ultimately made the decision to leave the hospital, stopped receiving therapy, and returned to his regular life. “I don't want to stay here, and if I'm going to die, I want to die like a man”, he replied. “I want to keep riding my bike till I die”, he replied. Therefore, he gave up the chemotherapy and all of his medications, returned to cycling, and became the world champion six years in a row. This is a real story. He could win the championship six times in a row and this year he told that he is 43 years old and he tends to get retired because such intense competitions need a lot of energy. At the age of 43, he said: “it is enough, and I wish to resign to allow other contenders to win the race.”
Do you understand what would happen if our innate powers were stimulated? Especially if they are in the righteous direction and values. You will completely freak out and be shocked if you find out that you have a tumor in your head, breast, foot, back, or cancer. So what? What is wrong with you? Due to such thinking, you will kill yourself before cancer does. You are dead at the moment. Well, we are all born and will die at some point. Let's keep our heads high as long as we are alive. It is OK if we die. A lot of people die, don’t they? Every day, a wide variety of people pass away. We all pass away at some point; someone is born, and someone dies. Someone dies of cancer, someone in a car accident, and someone dies by drug overdose. Therefore, it is better to be brave if we are about to die. So we can see that when it comes to bravery and courage, all calculations would be different. Yes, it is true indeed, all calculations would be different with courage especially if they are in the righteous direction.
You know well that images are being produced, but they are far from realization, yet they are spring-like seas. We hope that you always choose the best. This part talks about images that are being produced. Let me put it this way: Images can depict the scene of your death, where you imagine that your disease has progressed, you have lost weight, and you are going to die in the hospital. You always live with this image. On the contrary, you can imagine yourself swimming, laughing, or climbing a mountain. As a result, these images can have a profound effect on our minds. What types of images do we choose? You know that images are being produced, but they are far from realization (which can be positive or negative), yet they are spring-like seas. They can make us optimists and consequently we quit being pessimists. If we have contemplated enough in the first valley, it might have become clear that we have lost many things in life, or are losing them at the moment, and they might be material or spiritual. Perhaps we are familiar with these terms: enmity, humiliation, envy, fear, illness, divorce, separation, psychosomatic diseases, irresponsibility, selfishness, loneliness, divorce, and so on.
However, it doesn’t make any difference whether we are educated or not, whether we are rich or poor, young or old, man or woman. These problems have come up for us in the past.
Then it reads: What matters most, is that due to a wrong attitude or being on the wrong path we have created problems around us. And another key point is that wrong thinking can definitely harm our bodies and emerge as a variety of psychiatric or physiological illnesses. So, it is stated that we have created problems due to going down the wrong path and wrong thinking. The main point is that wrongful contemplation can affect the body and cause a variety of psychiatric or physiological illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and so on. So, pay attention to this point.
An important point is that wrong thinking and moving toward anti-values can definitely harm our bodies and emerge as a variety of psychiatric or physiological illnesses which are called psychosomatic diseases in medical science. Psychosomatic disease is a psychological and psychiatric disorder that can harm our body and it can stimulate tumors and cancers. We need to know that a large number of people are suffering from different diseases nowadays, and you may find fewer people who are not sick. Because of those problems and illnesses maybe some of us think that life is over for us and there are no more hope and nothing matters anymore. Well, after such incidences in our life we may think that we are nothing and we are useless. Due to some hardships in your life or some physiological or psychiatric illnesses, you may think that your life is over and that life does not matter anymore.
You may think that everything is over or that life does not matter because of some problems, including an illness or breaking up with your partner like that ant who said, "Wow, the world was flooded," when water entered its burrow. You may think that you are pointless and worthless and your birth is useless and such views, but at first, these are justifications.
The important thing is that whoever is desperate acts in this way and tends to make excuses to sink more into darkness. In the past, some verses were written by such desperate people on the walls of prisons saying: when I was a baby pigeon, my mother died, I was fed by cow's milk, unfortunately, its calf died, I was taken to the school of love, the teacher came and taught me the lesson of sadness. This is all the justification. However, at the first stage, it is a justification for us to sink in despair and darkness.
But these are excuses for us to sink further into darkness and despair and a sign of losing confidence and surrendering to annihilation and our lack of effort for liberation and health but if we look at the entire universe, we realize that nothing in this creation is without a purpose.
We may claim that some creatures are useless. Look at scavengers, how ugly they are, their meat is not edible at all. Anyone who sees them does not like their appearance and says that they are ugly, but are they really useless? Without these scavengers, the bacteria from animal carcasses will spread and lead to the establishment of numerous diseases that will kill both humans and animals. Even a fly has advantages for us and none of the creatures are pointless. Consider a worm, which makes holes in the soil of agricultural land to allow oxygen to seep in and strengthen the soil. But if we look at the entire universe, we realize that nothing in this creation is without a purpose, even if we think that something is useless, it is a false perception, and we haven’t been able to understand the philosophy of its creation.
For example, if you look deeply at a worm, you realize the importance of its creation, and yet we are human and we are far more and greater than a worm! I already narrated this story for you that Prophet Moses was going to the Tour mountain to pray. Then he noticed a worm that was squirming in the mud, which made him wonder what was the reason behind the creation of this worm. When he went to God, God said: You have a question, tell me what was going on your mind! He replied: Nothing, I don't have any questions. Then he continued: Oh, I'm sorry, I have a question. Why did you create this worm in these muds?
God responded: "This was exactly what the worm asked about before you ask me this question." This story is intended to convey the vital lesson that the creation of a worm is just as significant as the creation of a prophet, and by contrasting the two, it tends to emphasize how valuable each creature is. Therefore, it is not true to think that everything is worthless and pointless. If I were to thoroughly investigate each of you sitting in this hall, I would discover an ocean or a galaxy of thoughts and matters within you. Do not consider people to be useless, ugly, or anything else; we are all humans and far worthier than worms.
When the human being came into existence, the supreme power guided him to a crossroads: one is the path to darkness, and the other is the way towards the light (glory). In this section, it is stated that the supreme power guided the human being to a crossroads, and he could choose between going toward the darkness or the light. Then it reads: "Generally, human beings experience darkness and vices in order to realize virtues." We don't grasp love unless we understand lovelessness.
The pain of separation multiplies the ecstasy of reunion. If you have not experienced separation, you will not be able to appreciate the true taste of reunion. When you experience starvation, you will understand the value of satiety.
Generally, human beings experience darkness and vices in order to realize virtues. However, if the man goes into the darkness, he has to pass through difficult tests in order to be ready or to realize the light. But when he goes into the darkness, it is not so simple to get out of it, he has to pass through very difficult tests. And if he could pass through those hardships, then he will be released and skillful. He will evolve into a teacher, coach, master, and someone who is completely at peace and is not messed up.
This is very important that in this universe we are not alone and without support, and a great and amazing force, which is called the supreme power or God, exists. This force can help and supports us.
This part states that we are not alone and without support in this universe. We have an owner, a support, and we are not left. "We are not alone and without support, and a great and amazing force which is called the supreme power or God, exists. "This force can help and support us, but becoming eligible for its support has a specified procedure." However, if you want this force to work in your favor and support you, it has a mechanism and is not arbitrary. This force can help and support us, but becoming eligible for its support has a specified procedure, and the initial condition of this very procedure is to avoid vices and to walk the righteous path. The initial condition is to avoid vices and to walk the righteous path. These anti-values include lying, backbiting, spying on others, slandering others, and ill willing to others. If you follow anti-values, you will get far away from that force and support, but if you follow values, you will find it. We need to appreciate these contents.
Imam Ali remarked: “I am the servant of one who teaches me a word. He was a great man. “If someone teaches me a word, I am his servant”, he said. Sometimes we do not know the real value of such things and our response to someone who has dedicated a lot of time and energy to us is to ignore all his efforts and wish him the worst when he speaks against our will. These are anti-values. This is why we cannot obtain supreme power’s support. So, the first prerequisite to draw this force’s attention is to walk the righteous path. No matter what your religion or belief is, this force is entirely visible to me, and I have totally touched it, just like touching this piece of paper.
“Another crucial point is that some people might say that they don’t believe in a superior force that’s not a problem and we can choose what to believe.” Each individual is free to have his/her own opinion and belief and there is no problem with that. We can choose what to believe, but we should think that we don’t even know a tiny cell in our body and its full essence, function, etc. Individuals who refuse to accept anything and resist accepting everything that goes against their beliefs should be aware that we humans are completely ignorant of even the structure of a single cell in one billion cells of our body and their essence. We have no control and supervision over our body’s function. We simply breathe without any knowledge or control, and if we tried to control our breathing on our own, we would die 100 times a day from the possibility of forgetting to breathe and not being able to take in oxygen.
My friend William White had a kidney problem, he underwent surgery a few days ago; he received radiation treatment; and he is now healthy, thanks to God. He wrote me a letter and said to me: “I just realized how enjoyable and beneficial simple urination is and what a great blessing it is, and what an adorable blessing it is. If an individual is unable to do this properly, he will realize what a troublesome situation he is in and needs to put in a urinary catheter and such treatments. Performing these trivial and normal activities, which we do not value at all, is not ours and is not under our control and supervision. How can somebody who doesn’t even know what they have in their pockets know what there is in the universe?
They claim that they have come to the issues from a scientific point of view; which science? It will be of no use. In fact, you can't even see many things with your eyes, you can only see red to violet, you can't see infrared, and you can't even see ultraviolet. We have no control and supervision over our body’s function. People can say, "I do not know," but the problem is that they say, "I do not accept."
“For instance; what happens if a tiny jamming occurs to a blood vessel in the direction of the heart or brain?!” What size do you imagine a heart vessel is? Is it as big as a pipe? A two-inch pipe, a one-inch pipe, or a pen tube? It is only one or two millimeters thick and is as thick as a hair. You will die if any vessel becomes blocked and fails to function properly. Moreover, you will become paralyzed or half of your body will stop working if the brain’s vessels do not function properly.
For instance; what happens if a tiny jamming occurs to a blood vessel in the direction of the heart or brain?! So before we choose to say that we don’t believe it is better to contemplate and respect the philosophy of our and others’ existence. We must know that we didn’t come into existence randomly or without purpose. The philosophy of our creation and existence is so great and continual that we haven’t realized a tiny portion of it. The philosophy of our creation and existence is so great and continual that we haven’t realized a tiny portion of it.
We must be hopeful that "Lost Joseph will return to Canaan, do not grieve." Also, we must be hopeful that the end of a dark night is dawn. Now, in order to be like a worthy ruler who rules over his kingdom (body), we must start making progress in three aspects: our body, psyche, and worldview step by step and slowly. We must consider that “No creature comes into existence without a purpose; none of us are insignificant, even if we think of ourselves as that.”
This was the second valley that I rewrote to be used by the public. Thanks for listening to me.
Translated by: Traveler Ehsan Abolhasani
Revised by: Companion Marjan