by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

Awakening is the perfect companion and introduction to the way of the dervishes--as well as a doorway to the direct experience of the Divine. Pir Vilayat takes us step by step toward a new form of consciousness, integrating both age-old and more recent Sufi meditations and wisdom into our contemporary technological and physical understanding of the world. He explores the Sufi idea of "awakening"--the ability to view the world from an increasingly broad perspective so as to move beyond the routine concerns of our day-to-day lives.

As the vision of Earth glimpsed from outer space has altered humankind's view of the planet, so this cosmic vision has the power to help us overcome the limited perceptions that prevent us from living out our full potential--awakening within us a more evolved intelligence to meet life's challenges.

Pir Vilayat not only guides readers in specific practices and meditations--involving the breath, light, and the Divine qualities--but shows how they can seek out their own individual teacher from the pages of the world's great religious and ethical teachings. In addition, he explores how we can make our home, workplace, and other daily settings into a "temple for the Divine Presence."

Pir Vilayat shows readers how to use the passion of the dervishes and the modern-day pursuit of knowledge to create the awakened life. Like a spiritual alchemist, he combines the perfume of ancient Sufi mysticism with the consciousness-expanding theories of quantum science and the imperative of social conscious, thereby creating a contemplative practice uniquely relevant to today's seeker.

Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, (19 June 1916 - 17 June 2004) was the eldest son of Sufi Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, head of the Sufi Order International. Pir Vilayat’s mother, Ora Ray Baker, was a cousin of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement.

Born in London, England, Pir Vilayat was a teacher of meditation and of the traditions of the East Indian Chishti Order of sufism. His teaching derived from the mystical tradition of the East brought to the West by his father combined with his knowledge of the esoteric heritage and scholarship of western culture.

Vilayat Inayat Khan was educated at the Sorbonne, Oxford, and L'Ecole Normal de Musique de Paris. During World War II he served in the British Royal Navy and was assigned the duties of mine sweeping during the invasion at Normandy. His sister, Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan served in the French Resistance as a radio operator.

After the war, Pir Vilayat pursued his spiritual training by studying with masters of many different religious traditions throughout India and the Middle East. While honoring the initiatic tradition of his predecessors, Pir Vilayat continually adapted traditional Eastern spiritual practices in keeping with the evolution of Western consciousness.

Pir Vilayat initiated and participated in many international and interfaith conferences promoting understanding and world peace