The Mirror of Hidden Attachments

Favoritism is rarely conscious; it hides beneath justifications and rationalizations. Rabia's contemplative tradition invites us to become mirrors to ourselves, observing where we naturally gravitate toward certain people and away from others. This practice illuminates the attachments driving our choices: Do we favor those who validate us? Those who remind us of loved ones? Those who represent our idealized self? By naming these attachments without judgment, we gain freedom from them. The cost of ignoring this mirror is perpetual unconscious repetition—we hurt others and ourselves through patterns we cannot see. Rabia taught that love begins with radical self-awareness, understanding our own fragmentation so we can move toward wholeness. This mirrors practice transforms favoritism from an invisible force into a visible teacher, showing us exactly where our hearts still need healing and expansion.