We must shape our own future, and we can do that by understanding our past and living fully in the present. The now moment, the only time and place we can take a hand in time towards fulfilling our destiny. Understanding ourselves is more than simply a matter of unearthing past achievements of archeological significance, or achieving significant gains in our economic, religious, social, psychological or political status. All these are important indexes of our civilized achievements and cultural attainments, but they are all simply on the human level, and the discourse is limited. The human stage is only one level of our eternal existence. Most of us focus our attention almost completely on the physical, the human stage of our development. But we are far more than that, and we should make the effort to find that out for ourselves. This is what spiritual traditions prepare us to achieve. And if we have not thought about it before, time now to change our thinking. If we need a hand in time, as some of us do, we can take the friendly hand that a spiritual tradition holds out and learn the truth of our existence.
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, What Next May Come, The Face In The Mirror and Rebel in the Mind. A Hand In Time is his eighteenth book.