Rahima’s Dream

by Lex Hixon Nur al-Jerrahi

One does not have to consult ancient textbooks to discover the perennial teachings of Sufism. This esoteric map of consciousness was transmitted with accuracy and clarity in a spiritual dream granted by Allah through the blessings of Pir Nureddin Jerrahi to a Mexican girl of twelve. . . . In my role as guide, I have listened to thousands of profound dreams during the last eleven years. This one is among the most astonishing. A young girl, with the simple natural imagery appropriate to her own psyche, accurately pictured the most sophisticated esoteric teaching of Islamic mysticism. . . .

Rahima dreamed that she was guided by someone she did not recognize through a large house with seven floors. The ground floor was dirt. There were absolutely no signs of human habitation or refinement. The place was not even kept clean. The second floor was an extremely simple dwelling—bare wooden floor, bed, chair, table. It was kept clean and was attractive in its modest way. The third floor was a very comfortable home, according to modern standards. There were carpets, radio, television, refrigerator, and so forth.

When Rahima was taken to the fourth floor, the fourth level of consciousness, she was amazed to find a brilliant palace—marble floors, high ceilings, large gilded mirrors, beautiful antique furniture, precious ancient vases, and other works of art. At this point in the recounting of the dream, I began to realize that certain mysteries of the spiritual path, which remained vague to me, were about to be displayed in simple, dramatic imagery. All who were present entered into a mild state of ecstasy, a gift of the fourth level. Rahima continued speaking, calmly and confidently, without any self-consciousness.

When the dreamer was guided to the fifth floor, she encountered total darkness, filled with a deep, rumbling music that she, as a twelve-year-old, found rather unsettling. When taken to the sixth floor, she found an empty candlelit space where a circle of dervishes, wearing white and kneeling on sheepskins, were engaged in the ancient ceremony of Divine Remembrance.

Arriving at the seventh floor, Rahima entered a brilliant, sunlit room, illuminated through large skylights and filled with lush green plants. No person was present, nor were there indications of human habitation. The golden light and the dark green of the leaves created a joyful, expansive feeling. Suddenly, one of the plants reached toward her with a long creeper, wrapped around her waist, and gently threw her out an open window. She fell with equal gentleness to the earth below, landing on her feet.

Almost as an afterthought, Rahima mentioned that her guide took her back through the same sevenfold structure several times, so that she was perfectly clear about the various levels. Each time, she was thrown out the window again. I asked her how many times she ascended these floors. She thought carefully for a moment, then replied definitively, "Four times."

The interpretation of this dream can be extensive. I offered a seminar in Mexico City on the seven levels of consciousness, during which I spoke about this dream for several hours.

The first level is the domineering self, basis for the aggressiveness, territoriality, and violent urge for survival that seriously threaten the coherence of our personhood, our society, and our planet. There is nothing intrinsically human here. There is no possibility for hospitality. There is not even the cleanliness that is essential for human dignity. Although most human beings experience disconcerting flashes of this domineering ego, very few persons remain focused on this level. Only war criminals and other enemies of humanity could be said to live primarily on this first level of consciousness. Nevertheless there is nothing intrinsically evil about this first level. It provides a biological ground floor for human reality. Through this consciousness, the lungs breathe and the heart beats.

The second floor in the dream represents the critical or inquiring self. Most of humanity is focused on this level, where basic human refinements are beginning to appear. This dream imagery has nothing to do with social standing or affluence. There are persons living in presidential palaces who are occupying the dirt floor of the first level of consciousness, as well as persons living in thatched huts who are enjoying the glorious palace of the fourth level of consciousness.

The evolutionary efforts carried on by this second level of the self constitute the critique of the domineering ego, the critique of selfish impulses. The search is carried on here for truly human and humane values, for disciplined and fruitful ways of life. There are many dimensions within this second level of consciousness. They are all essentially positive, honorable, and evolutionary, unless they remain dominated by the first level, obviously or subtly.

The third floor of this structure of consciousness is the fulfillment of our humanity. Human potential is here unfolded harmoniously. Perhaps the majority of human beings reach upper regions of the second level, but only excellent persons of good will become established on the third level. Her ethical and religious ideals are in full flower. This level of development, or awakening to our true nature, is the real basis for civilization—religion, education, art, science. Sincere seekers on the second level receive certain glimpses of the third levels, but where one's awareness remains primarily focused is what counts for evolutionary development. In Sufi parlance, the third level is the fulfilled or satisfied self.

One could reasonably inquire, how can there be levels higher than this fulfillment of human aspiration to an excellent, civilized existence? The four higher levels are the fruition of the mystic path of return. They are not, strictly speaking, part of human potential and human effort. They are the manifestation of Divine Reality through our human reality.

One usually must reach the third level of consciousness to receive authentic initiation into a mystic Order, or one may be lifted by Divine Grace, through this initiation, into the fourth level. When one reaches the fourth level, Divine Attributes begin to manifest directly and adorn the human being. This is symbolized in Rahima's dream as rare works of craftsmanship and art. These manifestations are not, however, works of human hands, nor are they brought about by human efforts. The transition to the fourth level usually occurs after physical death in the realm of Paradise consciousness. Only genuine mystics can generate enough spiritual intensity to enter this and higher levels during earthly experience. Once again, we recognize that gifted persons on the third level, or even on the second level, may receive glorious intimations of the fourth level of consciousness, but to be established there is an entirely different order of existence. Not even all the members of a mystical Order become established on the fourth level, which in traditional Sufi parlance is the tranquil self.

The fifth level is that of mystic union, where no finite modes of thought or perception operate, hence the symbol of total darkness. The thunderous music in the dream represents the Divine Resonance, from which universes are taking shape and into which finite existence disappears again. This was the only floor in the dream structure that caused Rahima nervousness and concern, since this radiant blackness is so far from our ordinary level of experience. In Sufi parlance, the fifth level is the peaceful self. . . .

The final two levels of consciousness are an expression of marifa, the astonishing dimension of spiritual manifestation that lies beyond mystical union. On the fifth level, there is only Truth and its resonance. On the sixth level, creation appears once more, not through beautiful Divine Manifestations, as on the fourth level, but as the mystic crown, the sublime human form, symbolized by the circle of dervishes. One surprising piece of good news brought by Rahima's dream is the confirmation that the ancient ceremony of dhikr [Divine Remembrance], traditionally conducted by candlelight, actually affords the blessed dervishes in the circle a glimpse of the sixth level, although most of them may not even have become established on the fourth level. In the sacrament of dhikr, essential Divine Energies descend through the hearts and even through the physical bodies of the dervishes. Divine Reality becomes visible and experienceable as the human reality. In Sufi terminology, the sixth level is the complete self.

The enigmatic seventh level of consciousness is a realm of brightness, clarity, subtle humor. The human form has been transcended, even as a mode of pure Divine Expression. Thus the seventh level resembles the fifth level in its absence of human reference. Yet here the imagery of light and luxurious growth replaces the imagery of mystic darkness. The human person of Rahima was not permitted to remain but was removed instantly in a playful, humorous manner. My Shaikh, Muzaffer Ashqi, used to comment simply, "On the seventh level of consciousness, if you imagine that you exist, it is idolatry." By the dynamic golden greenness of Supreme Reality, all possibility of the idolatrous perception of duality is tossed out the window. . . . Green is also the chosen color of the beloved Messenger of Allah. In Sufi parlance, the seventh level is the pure self.

Rahima was taken through this symbolic dream structure four times, indicating that she, although only twelve years old, was already in communion with the fourth level of consciousness. As she grows older, she will have to practice spiritual discipline and experience intense yearning to become fully established on the fourth level and to progress further. This dream is itself one of those rare works of Divine Art that manifested in the palatial fourth floor of her dream.