The Mystery of Responsiveness..

Misbelief alone misleads; singlemindedness always leads to the goal.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

He who sincerely seeks his real purpose in life is himself sought by
that purpose. As he concentrates on that search a light begins to
clear his confusion, call it revelation, call it inspiration, call it
what you will. It is mistrust that misleads. Sincerity leads straight
to the goal.

Many are the paths that lead to success. The difficulty lies in
keeping strictly to the chosen path, or in other words in retaining
singleness of mind. There is one means only by which man can attain
to a realization of the religious ideal of the Godhead, and that is
through sincerity and singlemindedness in the conduct of everyday
life.

A person with the tendency to respond will succeed in all walks of
life; a person who is not responsive will become disappointed in all
affairs of life. Responsiveness comes by interest, also by
concentration, also by power of one's mind. ... Responsiveness may be
explained as faith, trust, concentration, singlemindedness, a living
interest, contemplation, and love. To respond means to give full
attention and not divided attention but single attention.
Responsiveness is focusing one's whole being to something of
interest. When a person, even in his interest in worldly affairs, has
so developed his faculty of responsiveness, then it becomes easy for
him to respond to the call of the Spirit.

The mystery of responsiveness is that the responsive one must forget
himself in order to respond; and the same mystery may be called the
path to perfection. A person who is not capable of forgetting
himself, however good, pious, or spiritual, will always prove
imperfect in his life. All misery comes from the consciousness of the
self. The one who does not forget is constantly called by his own
limited life, which enslaves him constantly. The one who forgets
himself receives the call of God