So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep; and also because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire,
Counsel against him: the ego's alliance with itself, fear conspiring to silence the voice of love
Christian Psychology lens · Mark 3:6
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life.
Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he didn’t answer him that day.
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When love appears and asks nothing but a change of mind, the ego feels its whole foundation threatened, for it lives by the belief that safety comes from control and separation. So it does the strange thing fear always does: it joins with its own former enemies against the presence that would set it free. Rivals become allies the instant that presence appears, because to the ego a mind at peace is more dangerous than any opponent.
The plot to destroy is guilt taking aim outward, mistaking the offer of release for an attack. What the mind wants gone is not a man but the reminder that it need not be afraid.
Dhikr: Remembrance Dhikr is repeating God's words until they stay with you. Something heard once sits in the mind for a day and then slips out. Words carried for months start arriving on their own, while you wash dishes or when bad news comes, already yours before you go looking for them.
Dhawq: Tasting Dhawq is knowing something because you have tasted it yourself. A person can carry teaching the way they carry a recipe, able to recite every step, never having eaten the meal. Teaching lived with shows up in how someone acts when tired or hurt, and that is the difference between storing words and having them.
Ṣuḥba: Companionship Ṣuḥba is keeping company with people walking the same road. On their own, a person's blind spots stay blind, and one good week feels like the whole picture. Sitting with others who want the same thing, someone picks up patience and steadiness by watching, long before anyone puts them into words.
Religion is sincere counsel: honest words meant for the other person's good A saying of the Prophet places the whole of faith in sincere counsel. Most people keep quiet to protect the peace, or speak up to win, and both leave the other person where they were. Counsel offered for someone's good comes out quietly, usually in private, and the person hearing it can feel the difference.
Samāʿ: Listening to song Samāʿ is listening to sung words with the heart turned toward God. Plain talk reaches a person's thinking, and song reaches further, which is why a truth set to music can loosen something an argument never touched. Al-Ghazali held that singing puts nothing new in a person, but stirs up whatever is already sitting in the heart.
Ḥuḍūr al-qalb: Presence of the heart Ḥuḍūr al-qalb means the heart being present in what the mouth is doing. Anyone who has sung familiar words knows how the voice keeps going while the mind wanders off to the afternoon's errands. Al-Ghazali counted those absent stretches as empty, and the heart comes back the moment a person catches the meaning of the line they are singing.
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