Elf Shafak in Forty Rules of love provides a Multilayer of lessons. Discover new dimensions for love. Below, I summarize my quick answer about lessons from Forty Rules of love;
It teaches the value of empathy, calm, compassion and acceptance. Value Love path, self-transformation, Self-trust and truthfulness in the light of Holy Quran and Sufism. Values self-experience to shape your vision with your best understanding. Empower love over knowledge, hatred and Biases.
Table of Contents
Love is pure and easy:
The author explains that love has no division. Division transforms into more divisions. Love yields balance in life. It brings calm and ends extremism.
Renew yourself Everyday:
The book values the power to renew yourself every moment. Ask yourself questions about the change you want to adopt. The same consistent days without neutrality is a source of pity. Renew or rebirth is valuable action.
Expectation from God represents your personality:
The existence of God is the way we perceive it. It depends on us to shape our views. If you find God in peace, the calm exists inside you. Read Is “Forty rules of love” worth reading?
The inner world connects through the external world:
We run through the external world. The inner world leads us. Elf teaches that the inner world is the way to see the world outside. Your inner light or love is essential to light up your world.
Be truthful with yourself:
Elf Shafak teaches the value of truth for yourself. The path of truth is the path of heart. It’s beyond calculations and limitless.
It identifies our actions to ourselves proper. We can see unwanted Actions origin and cause.
Quranic understanding has 4 Understanding levels:
The 1st understanding level of the Quran is what Normal people read and understand.
The 2nd understanding level of the Quran is understood through intellectuals, religious scholars and Sufi scholars.
The 3rd understanding level of the Quran is what wali Ullah(friend of God) understand.
The 4th understanding level of the Quran is the level of prophets.
Start your journey inward:
Elf Shafak teaches that every external journey has a connection through your internal world-changing. Your depth as you grows should increase.
Soft heart yields Strong Faith:
Soft heart refers to the ability to understand things and be compassionate about them. Stronger faith comes through the soft heart. Various incidence hurts our belief about being soft. But being soft-hearted is worthy to proceed with things in life. Harshness makes things worse to proceed and understand. The compassion welcomes all possible solutions.
Your rules should not trouble others:
Never be afraid to believe in yourself or in your rules. No one can connect yourself with the world except you. Don’t allow anyone to misguide your vision. At the same time, never enforce others to obey your rules.
Emptiness consciousness moves us:
Elf Shfak teaches that live your life as light. She compares humans with pots. The outer decoration, becoming an authority or achieving the desired goal doesn’t move us. The desire of missing boosts us towards action.
Pain yields the creation:
The author gives the example of the Childbirth process. Mother encounter enormous pain to bring out the child in this world. The incoming challenges bring opportunities for change.
It builds up your capacity. It polishes yourself with new thinking ways.
Pain soften the heart. It unlocks chances for a better path.
Allow change:
Elf Shafak explains that allowing change live your life in a better way. It allows opportunity and moves you to the next level.
God has separate standards:
It happens often that others get better than us. A single-action yields a different impact on all. Elf uses the term art piece. It means we’re different in our way. Everyone has a different requirement and is part of the whole universe.
Good and Evil is inside:
The universe is inside us. We see things according to our perspective. People view is inside you. You are responsible for your response associated with others.
Don’t look devil outside. It’s the voice that rises inside you. Encounter that voice with honesty.
Bad experience yields good experience:
We are stuck in the terror of our bad experiences. The bad experience is the result of an upcoming good experience. The best way to change bad experiences is to chase yourself. It allows you to love yourself again.
Be Flow, not it’s part:
The author gives a practical lesson to become Flow. Your initiative to do something is crucial. Once you do the first step, then be natural to follow it. Don’t be hesitate or rush towards achievement. Play your role and let things happen.
Hell and Heaven are now:
We all try to construct hell and heaven after death. It’s useless to worry about it. Your present choices can create both. We start burning hell by envying or fighting with someone. Loving someone is the source of heaven in this world.
Presence is Eternity source:
The past leaves us and the future sparks illusion. Everyone can experience eternally in the present moment. It’s the timelessness sense.
Your teacher is loyal about your weakness:
Your teacher tells you your weakness to you. He explains your true personality to you.
Elf Shafak explains that a real teacher is like a mirror. Your teacher enhances your self-awareness.
Hatred and Biased pollute your soul:
Lessons from Forty Rules of love values spiritual existence. Inner impurity pollutes you more than external. The most impure element of Inner pollution is Hatred and Biases. It stops the way of getting inner purity. The inner purity comes through Love.
God is the source of highest love:
Elif connects the highest love through God. She explains that God exists in the heart of a true lover.
It is associated with our hearts. Love voice coming through everyone heart.
Love has more reach than knowledge:
Elif Shafak explains that knowledge calculates, but Love encounters the situation. Besides, love brings your calculated standards down. You see the status quo and find your treasure.
Silence and Isolation support Love:
People make mistakes to understand things in language. You can’t put things into words when you’re loving. Isolation is staying alone without loneliness. Isolation brings you the person that’s best for you.
Patience is seeing outcome:
Elf Shafak explains that patience doesn’t mean bearing things without reason. It’s about seeing things by seeing the end result. The true lover has endless patience. It is a way to accept adversity for the greater reward.
Love transformative:
You become transformed as a result of love. If no transform happens, it’s not love. Elf relates love with perfume. You give fragrance to others through serving your life.
Judgemental people remain throughout life:
The elf explains that judgemental people are always around you. Those people judge themselves. Eventually, they judge others like you. Your every action can be the target of judgemental people.
Find meaning:
Meaning gives you Important for your life. You highlight the importance of something to value it.