What characterizes a good person? How can a person become good? Most religions attempt to provide answers to these complex questions. And significant parts of the theology of world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam focus on a pure heart as the definition of goodness in a person. The Quran states that only a pure heart will matter on the Day of Judgment.

Within Islam, Sufism is the branch of philosophy that touches on the deepest inner aspects of a person – related to the heart in a metaphysical sense, spirituality and the mind. Christian asceticism and Jewish Kabbalah have numerous parallels to Sufism. The spiritual disciplines of the monotheistic religions, with the purity of the heart as the ultimate goal, have in reality a universal appeal and are not limited to religious people.

In our part of the world, characterized by unlimited consumption and sometimes cynical ethics of duty, all religious people should make the rich, spiritual disciplines of their religions available to others.

In basic Sufi literature, it is stated that in order to achieve a pure heart and a healthy mind, the gateways to the heart must be controlled. The gateways receive stimuli from the outside world, which in turn affect our subconscious, mind, and ultimately actions. The gateways include our senses. What we choose to look at, for example, affects our attitudes, as the advertising industry knows very well.

The recognition of the power of visual stimuli has not least created age limits on violent films. In the same way, hearing is a door to our inner self – what we listen to in music or the thoughts of family and friends communicated through words has an effect on us – good or bad.

Our own language, the tongue, is also considered in Sufism as a channel to the heart. The Sufis believe that if the tongue is used to slander or lie, the entire heart or mind will gradually be damaged by it. Another central gateway to the heart is sexuality. In the Sufi tradition, both the absence and uncontrolled outflow of this will result in a sick heart.

Essential to understanding Sufism’s theory of gateways to the heart is the human tendency to become accustomed to or addicted to given actions. This is precisely why we have phenomena such as sex, sugar and gambling addiction, in addition to drug addiction.

Modern neurobiological research has shown that the brain’s reward system is crucial to understanding most forms of addiction. Different experiences can create a “liking” in this system, which is followed by “wanting” – an intensified urge to repeat the experience. Even if one manages to get rid of the addiction, the human memory will generate a strong motivation, “craving”, to repeat the experience.

A former alcoholic who sees others drinking at a party will recognize this. His sense of smell and eyes become gateways to his inner consciousness, his metaphysical heart, and start a flood of reactions.

Many of us seek balance in life, and world religions have launched practical tools for this – even for the non-religious.