Vauxhall Tea Party

Phase 3 · Weeks 9–11

Cleaning the heart

A mirror has no light of its own. Kept clean, it can hold the sun.

The mirror

State of lightDust clears and the mirror brightens

The heart at the centre of the figure is a mirror. A mirror is valued for what it shows and not for itself, and dust is enough to stop it showing anything. These weeks are about the dust and about clearing it.

  1. 09Shaped by Our SurroundingsThe Flashes · The Second Flash · The Seventeenth FlashSins and doubts are inner wounds, and what we surround ourselves with keeps touching the heart; wipe it often, and choose what it faces.Open the week
  2. 10Prayer as Washing the HeartThe Words · The Twenty-First Word, First Station · The Ninth WordThe five daily prayers (namaz) wash the heart five times a day and feed it like bread, water and air, and each prayer time marks a turning point in the day, the year and a life.Open the week
  3. 11Daily Cleaning, and SincerityThe Flashes · The Twenty-First Flash, On SincerityA heart in a busy city needs a small daily routine of cleaning, and sincerity (ihlas) decides whether it works. Do it for God alone, not for the room. It is the greatest strength a person or a group can have.Open the week