Love denied is love unearned, and when we are denied the companionship of loved ones something within us may die as well. This must be addressed lest we succumb to the existential dread the reality of death attaches to our awareness, and adheres within our consciousness. Love is the spiritual nourishment that sustains our being, and to gain access to the source of love, the infinite consciousness that is within us all, is the true function of our religious and spiritual traditions. The only purpose of all our spiritual practices is to reunite us with the one being, the one and only consciousness, from which we have never truly been apart. What we should really be seeing when we look at the face in the mirror, if we had reached the enlightened state of being, would be nothing other and nothing less than the face of the divine, the face of God.
About the Author: Louis Rogers was the host and producer of the television interview series Turning Inward, and the founding publisher and executive editor of Inner Paths Magazine, both in New York. He was also the founding publisher and executive editor of Pir Publications and Sufi Review located in Westport, Connecticut and New York City. Professor Rogers began his career as an instructor at Hunter College in New York, then turned his attention towards publishing spiritual teachings. He has written numerous books, articles, editorials, book and magazine introductions and prefaces. His short story, The Zhikr of the Heart, first appeared in the London-based magazine, Sufi Journal. In 2001, he returned to university teaching as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Languages, Literature and Media Studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and Stamford Connecticut, and later as an Affiliate Professor at Fairfield University, also in Fairfield, Connecticut. His previous books include: Ladder to the Sky, an adventure novel set against a modern and mythological background of Taoist energy teachings and legends. Coming Alive: Accessing the Healing Energies of the Universe. Mirror of the Unseen: The Complete Discourses of Jalal al-Din Rumi. The Fire of Love: The Love Story of Layla and Majnun. Call and Response: The Wisdom of Rumi. The Age of Spirit, Tales of Immortality, What Do You Expect God To Be?, Where Do We Go From Here?, Bridging The Gap, Who Do You Think You Are?, Kissing The Spider?, and most recently, That Which You Wish To Be and What Next May Come. The Face In The Mirror is his sixteenth book.