Eye of the Heart
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| July 2008 |
Hold Fast to the Rope of God If you feel as if you are living through uncertain, disturbing, hopeful, chaotic times, you're not alone. Given the harsh economic demands, the frenzy of everyday life, the delusions of the prevailing culture, keeping our spiritual life alive requires not just intention but a passion for the Truth. It is that passion that will bring the consistent and deep practice, the deep remembrance and trust that will guide us to the Truth. Recently, a national group of activists held a conference here in Santa Cruz on the theme of a “Truth Emergency.” Given the national corporate media, not only is reporting distorted, there is virtually a black- out of the major issues that should concern us. There seems to be a tragic failure of leadership. I usually restrain myself from bringing up contemporary social or political matters, preferring to focus on the uplifting themes for our eternal souls, but I must admit that there are days when I consider whether we should be devoting a majority of our available time to working for social justice and sanity. And yet, to do the outer work without the inner work is to risk straying from our core, our integrity, our deeper alignment. Spiritually speaking we are also in a “Truth emergency.” The fact that Barack Obama has to defend himself against accusations of being a Muslim is quite extraordinary. Imagine having to defend oneself against the charge of being a Jew, a Christian, or a Buddhist. Islam, a faith and way of life that we know to be generous, forgiving, hospitable, altruistic, and compassionate is commonly treated as if it were a force for evil. We live in a world of inverted values, a world in which the Lie seems to prevail. The Gnostics of 2000 years ago thought the world to be held under the power of an evil Demiurge, a false God. Though this is surely not the whole truth, we understand how they could have seen it that way. Humanity in many respects still seems to be in the dark ages. The varieties of human hypocrisy, delusion, and denial are quite impressive. That's why we say la illaha il Allah. Finding the Truth requires work and sacrifice. We join the Prophet Muhammad in his prayer, “O God, help me to see the Truth as the Truth and give me the blessing of following it. Help me to see falsehood as falsehood and give me the blessing of avoiding it.” One bit of good news is that the largest constituency in America and many parts of the world is becoming the group that has been called “cultural creatives.” This group is approximately 35% of the population and values social justice, ecological awareness, and consciousness. This group transcends many former distinctions and numbers more than those in the traditional ranks of evangelicals, secularists, old style leftists and conservatives, etc. But most of the time they think there are few who see the world as they do. Sufis are cultural creatives and we have a great contribution to make. Prophets and revelations speak of salvation and faith; they must offer a message for the majority as well as for the mystics, Alhamdulillah. God's intimate friends, the mystics, when they speak at all, speak of the joy of Intimacy with the Divine. Through all that has happened, especially since 9/11, we continue to be sustained by the Tradition--a way of beauty, community, tenderness, and depth. Having such a “spiritual home” to return to has been one of the greatest joys of our lives. This joyful spiritual home is epitomized in the daily zhikr that we do. [The recommended zhikr format in our paricular community being: The Fatiha, 100 Estaughfrullah, 100 La illaha il Allah, 300 Allah, and 11 Hu.] Zhikr, whether it is done slowly aloud, or quickly, silently with the mind alone, establishes a resonance, a hal (state), that carries through the day and deepens over years. One beautiful ayat in the Qur'an reminds us to “hold fast, all together, to the rope of God, and do not draw apart from one another.” [3:102] Zhikr is such a rope. In addition, if we have learned the ritual prayer (salaah), not a day should pass without it. There is a hadith that says, “The best spiritual practice is that which can be sustained. God does not tire unless you do.” Furthermore, if you have been unable to build a practice of regular worship, you might begin with keeping yourself in a state of ablution. “Ablution is the key to worship.” God is the Most Merciful. These are some practical tips and encouragement that we hope may be useful. Take care of your soul, so that your soul can take care of you. In friendship,
A Spiritual Journey to Turkey. We are planning a trip to Turkey from October 12-22, visiting sacred sites, beloved people, and, of course, Konya. Although the details are not worked out, we will do our best to keep costs modest as in the past, but with the dollar as it is we estimate $2000-$2500. About ten people are already signed up, even before this email announcement. Respond to us at khelminski@aol.com and sarawin8@comcast.net N E W S Dear friends, We try to offer this eNewsletter quarterly; the last one was in March and if you didn't receive it, it might have been diverted by your spam filter. The March newsletter, containing a sermon by Mevlana and some excerpts from Camille's book on Shams can still be accessed. We have been working on a new "online address book" which should help us to update addreses and communicate more efficiently. Remember to inform us (mevlana@cruzio.com) of changes of email or address. During the first week of June my mother, who lives near us in Santa Cruz, experienced a heart attack and stroke. Attending to her needs has taken a lot of our time and heart energy. We've postponed our tripo to Indonesia until August, and my Mom has made a remarkable recovery, Alhamdulillah.
From our kitchen window Recently a series of wildfires in the area have reminded us of the fragility of everything in our daily lives. On Friday, June 20 th , billowing clouds of black smoke and an orange glow could be seen from our kitchen window. Soon thereafter we received a call for a “mandatory evacuation.” Within an hour we (including the Schultzes and the McNultys) had packed paintings, calligraphies, instruments, computers, sazes and bendirs, various Mevlevi items, and a few clothes into cars. Fortunately the winds did not blow in our direction, though 50 horses and 30 homes were lost in this are known as Larkin Valley. At this moment a 1000 fires are burning across California. We send prayers for the waters of mercy and for healing in the many areas of this world where it is needed.
In recent months we made a difficult journey to the mountains of Colombia to meet with the Kogi/Arhuaco “elder brothers and sisters.” That journey, described in the essay “Journey to the Heart of the World,” (1.5 meg pdf) set me back physically for about a month, but left us with memories of a people and a way of life we will cherish. Next, our Spiritual Paths program in Interspiritual Wisdom is set to begin this September. Through the indefatigable work of Ed Bastian and the SPI board, enough prospective students have emerged to make an official September 2008 start date possible. Our dear brother Rami Shapiro described “interspirituality” this way: My experience of God is too big for one religion. My experience of people is too broad for one tribe. I love my roots, but refuse to be a religious bonsai. My love of God and my commitment to godliness fuel a desire to learn from, and work and pray with peoples of different faiths and cultures. Interspirituality is the world music of religion; borrowing, fusing, blending and bouncing rhythms and riffs off one another not to create a homogenized spirituality, but to birth a radical new sound embedded in the ancient and timeless silence. This doesn't impact or deepen my life—it is my life. (Rami Shapiro) Read more on the welcome page of Sufism.org A retreat planned for Java in early July has been delayed until August 8-10, because of my mother's condition. And keep in mind: Our major annual gathering this year, “The Path of Completion,” will be held over Labor Day Weekend (8/29-9/1) at the Garrison Institute, with guest teacher James Winston Morris and others. Finally, we have been working with a team of people to create a new broad-based foundation for the "education of the heart", The Baraka Institute (Barakainstitute.org) . In late May we held a small, private retreat at Casa Paloma for a hand-picked group of leaders, benefactors, and visionaries. Since that time Camille and I have been developing a five-year business plan with Mahmoud Mostafa and Lori Wood to be presented to Baraka's still unofficial “board.” This represents an opportunity to apply the kind of spiritual education that has developed within the Threshold Society on a much wider platform, with significant funding. It is not, however, a replacement or substitute for the initiatic path that our Society and the Mevlevi tradition represent. The first Baraka Institute retreat is scheduled for Easter weekend, April 10-12 at the Asilomar conference center in Pacific Grove, California. On Friday, May 30th, Mahmoud Mostafa delivered this khutbah (sermon) at a Juma prayer at Casa Paloma. It beautifull expresses how the very essence of Islam is love. Love in Islam.
________________________________________ The Path of Completion A Weekend Retreat
As this message reaches you amidst the barrage of information that is contemporary life, we invite you to pause and remember. Let us give thanks for all the beloved teachers, teachings, and the path, itself.
THANK YOU
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