A Moment of Connection
A Video Message from Kabir
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On the Urs of Suleyman Dede, January 19th
An Interview from 1976!
Dede: Everyone should know that this is not my doing, or Reshad's doing, or anybody else's doing. It's God's doing. I always wanted to come to the United States and to travel, but there was no way to be able to afford it. But I wised this so strongly - God willed that this should happen. I am very happy to have come here and met everybody, but it is not my doing, or your doing, or anybody else's doing ... it is God's doing.
Read more
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Being a Person of Paradise (pdf),
Reflections on the Teachings of Shams of Tabriz
Camille Helminski, presented at the Conference:
Shams of Tabriz: Enlightened by the Sun.
MP3 Recording
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Time as Spiritual Practice
Kabir Helminski, Eid 2009
Most people these days, it seems, are running from time, or battling with time. Yet, it is possible to reconcile the self with time by opening the way to timelessness within time. While the practice of salaat (ritual prayer) has coordinates in time (in relation to sunrise, noon, sunset, etc.), the actual practice is the stopping of time and full attention on Being. During salaat or zhikr we enter into a timeless state of presence where we experience a “time” free from the pressures of time.
Time as it is experienced these days, especially under the domination of clock time, Gregorian calendar time, is mechanical, quantitative, and artificial. Our spiritual time, which is governed by the cycles of the moon, and the proportions of the solar day is an altogether different kind of time. Then, within those proportions and rhythms are the moments when the portals to timelessness are marked and we enter the presence of the Divine.
In such a time, the presence of the breath becomes very real. We live our lives in breaths not in minutes or seconds. (I shaped him and breathed My spirit into him. 38:72). Awareness of our breathing brings us into a different, more organic quality of time—a human, rather than a mechanical time. Our spiritual practice takes place in this quality of time.
Time Profane and Sacred
Profane time is the state of feeling as if we have no time. Profane time is the time governed by fragmented attention and colored by the negative emotions of haste and anxiety.
Sacred time is a state of presence that brings with it the possibility of undistracted attention, direct relationship, patience, and openness. We can learn to enter that state of timelessness at will. Perhaps the first step is slowing down and consciously entering the present moment. The next step is more subtle—it is experiencing and living the moment with awareness of the loving, nurturing, guiding presence of the Divine.
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First Baraka Institute Retreat
With Sufi scholar, James Winston Morris, Turkish spiritual teacher, Cemalnur Sargut; interfaith minister and Shaikh, Jamal Rahman; artist and transformer, Rouzbeh Bahramali; energy healer, Amean Hameed, as well as our own, Camille & Kabir.
The Threshold Society was a co-sponsor of "Finding Our Balance, Deepening Remembrance, Seeking Truth" a retreat in Orange County, CA. (10/30-11/1) that attracted an international audience. The purpose of Baraka is to create a welcoming environment in which sincere minds and hearts might experience a taste of spiritual transformation.
Listen to a talk by Cemalnur.
For general information see: Barakainstitute.org
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500 Most influential Muslims in the World
FYI, Several close friends of Threshold Society have been included in this recently published document by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in association with Georgetown U. Download the 3.8 meg pdf.
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Aminah McNulty in Medina
Aminah's Umrah
This is Aminah waiting in the lobby in Medina, Saudi Arabia, before traveling with Threshod friends to Mecca. More usually Aminah would be seen in jeans and uncovered head as a senior at the San Francisco Waldorf School.It was a delight to have her with us. Read her account beow:
Being in the Haram that first night, with half a million other pilgrims was the most transformative experience of my life. I could feel myself opening up to truths I had not considered before, such as understanding the existence of God, the power of ritual and the holiness of prayer. Up until then, it had always been just a ritual to pray as a family or with the community. Being at the Kaba however, in the presence of something so real, gave meaning to the prayers that I recite. (Read whole article)
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Shabda Kahn (Ruhaniyyat), Shaikh Kabir, Ahamed Muhaiyadeen (Anti-nuclear activist),
Abdul Hayy Moore (poet)
1000 Shaikhs and Scholars Gather Near Marrakech to Initiate International Cooperation
Shaikh Kabir was invited to the Sidi Shikir Gathering of Tassawwuf Affiliates, sponsored by the King of Morroco, to promote a recognition of the benefits that Sufism brings to humanity. One of the essential points is that Sufism brings peace and spiritual development, and that Sufi tariqas should not be employed to serve political purposes, but should be left to do what they do best: to serve the hearts and souls of those who have a yearning to know Truth, and to increase their love of God and serve the real needs of human beings. Another issue that was addressed is developin a Tarqiah code of ethics, which would include not making false claims and not sowing division within the brotehrhood of humanty.
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WISE Conference in Kuala Lumpur
Includes 200 women leaders from 40 countries.
Shaikha Camille presented the opening prayer and led a workshop on Spiritual Leadership with Shaikha Aisha Rafea. One of the purposes of this event is to begin a "Jihad against violence" and initiate a women's Shura Council to rectify centuries of male precedence in the field of Islamic Law. WISE stands for "Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality."
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Ruby ~ On The Way of Love
Songs Inspired by Rumi
(see: worldofruby.com for more details)
Photo: Feyyaz Yalcin
Ruby will be performing at the Parliament of World Religions, Saturday, December 5th, 9:30-11 AM. Kabir and Camille will not be appearing with them, because they will be in Turkey.
A new, first CD release of contemporary songs inspired by Rumi. Kabir's collaboration with internationally known musicans/singers, Erika Luckett and Lisa Ferraro, began in early 2008 and led to recording sessions in California, Pittsburg, and Istanbul.
Listen to: "Little by Little"
Or something more traditionally mystical:
"Listen, O Drop"
To order: http://www.worldofruby.com/store
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Circling
Kabir, Mecca, March 2009
Circling the holy cube that has drawn us,
we walk on without destination,
with no statement greater than I am here,
My God, I am here for You alone.
We have come with so many like ourselves
united in what we adore,
shuffling onward, hands held high nearing
the station of Abraham, leaning Godward.
This is pure geometry, and symbol--
Neither idol nor altar, the center that holds,
its majestic black cloth imprinted with
no god but God and Muhammad is . . .
This testament of faith is musical
notation and visual remembrance.
guiding the murmuring, chanting, call and response,
the litanies of this delicate throng.
Day and night a silent invitation
calls to us to step out with our bare feet
onto the marble pathway beneath the sky--
to accept ourselves as this vortex and flow.
Camille at the Kaaba
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Dervishhood & Adab,
Transcript of a recent conversation
With Khadim Chishti, Kabir, & Friends
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Framework for Service
Within the Threshold Society we have been working with the “Bashi” system of service. “Bashi” means “head” or “chief.” There is a “Chai Bashi” in charge of tea; a “Meydan Bashi” in charge of the sacred meeting space, etc. This work cultivates beauty of character and deepens our capacity for service. It is an essential aspect of a mature dervish. With this in mind we have created a framework where those participating in this work have a structure toreflect upon their service. (Read more)
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Gathering The Spiritual Voices of America
November, 2008, Shaikh Kabir Helminski
Also read this column by Sister Joan Chittester,
describing the Zikr led by us at the Aspen Institute.
http://ncrcafe.org/node/2302
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Rumi & Hard Times, September, 2008
The Wednesday night before (9/24/2008), in the midst of the current financial crisis, we were gathered to read Mevlana's Mathnawi, III, 1721. . . It's interesting how Mevlana addresses worldly concerns from the perspective of the deepest spiritual understanding.
Hold to the Rope of God, June, 2008
If you feel as if you are living through uncertain, disturbing, hopeful, chaotic times, you're not alone.
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July eNewsletter, 2008
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Journey to the Heart of the World
We visit the Kogis/Arhuacos of the Colombian Sierra
1.5 meg PDF
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Practical Aspects of Dervishhood
Mahmoud Mostafa
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Khutbah on Love
Mahmoud Mostafa
