TOWARD THE ONE, THE PERFECTION OF LOVE, HARMONY AND BEAUTY, THE ONLY BEING, UNITED WITH ALL THE ILLUMINATED SOULS, WHO FORM THE EMBODIMENT OF THE MASTER, THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE |
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ISSUE 21~ JUNE 2023
School of Living Wisdom, a letter from Pir Shabda Kahn
Old Video Footage of Joe Miller, by Ali Charles
Celebrating Joe Miller, a short video by Anahata Iradah
Treasurer's Report with Pie Charts, by Waduda Welsh
Camps, Pilgrimage, Connections, and more
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Dearest Ruhaniat Family,
Greetings of the Heart!
One of my first initiatives when I was appointed Pir was to create a new post in our lineage, Director of the Esoteric School, and request that Murshid Wali Ali Meyer serve in that post. For 21 years he served with great skillfulness and depth and we are so grateful for his devotion, deep attunement, brilliance, and inspired guidance. Ya Hayyoo Ya Qayoom.
Two years ago I began to confer with our wisdom elders about the future of our esoteric school. The fruit of those meetings resulted in the formation of a council of senior teachers, instead of a single director, charged with envisioning the next iteration of our esoteric school. We are now calling our esoteric school, the School of Living Wisdom which is guided by the Living Wisdom Council.
The mission of the Living Wisdom Council is to support the awakening of mureeds as well as to support those who are guiding mureeds. Together with the Murshids’ Circle and all the teachers, guides, and mureeds in the Ruhaniat, we aspire to protect, support, and transmit the living baraka of our lineage. Collectively, we share a deep commitment to see our lineage teachings flourish in a manner that meets the need of our time and the call of the future.
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The School of Living Wisdom continues to be inspired and informed by our root teachers Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel Lewis. It also embraces Murshid Wali Ali’s many teaching contributions, and the work of our other lineage teachers.
We look forward to a positive future of growing together Toward the One.
With love and blessings,
Shabda
Pir Shabda Kahn
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Remembering Joe and Guin Miller |
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Joe and Guin Miller photo by Allaudin Mathieu |
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Our team of dedicated volunteers working on the Murshid Wali Ali Archive have been discovering many treasures! Recently Ali Charles came across some old video filmed by Emilio Trampuz. For our joy and blessing, Ali curated two selections from these tapes that feature Joe Miller, who along with his wife Guin, are among our beloved Godparents of the Ruhaniat.
There is a short video of Joe recounting the story of meeting a burglar in his apartment. Murshid Wali Ali often referred to this story as an example of Joe acting from the heart so as to defuse a situation. The second video is a talk that Joe gave at a Bay Area Camp-out in 1987.
Many thanks to Emilio, Ali, and to the Murshid Wali Ali Archive team. If you wish to share any recordings, videos, emails or physical letters from Murshid Wali Ali that you feel are especially insightful, powerful, or meaningful, please contact Zardusht Van Wert.
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One More Joe Gem
Anahata Iradah created a short video in 2010 called Celebrating Joe Miller which depicts the charismatic and magnetic presence of Joe, who was a great friend of Murshid Samuel Lewis. Before Murshid SAM passed away he asked Joe to take care of his "kids". He did a remarkable job of guiding many of Murshid SAM's students until he himself passed away in 1993.
You can watch treasured footage of Joe saying some of his famous sayings such as, "It can't be taught, it has to be caught ...!". Many thanks to Anahata for this beautiful film. Love and gratitude to Joe and Guin who continue to inspire us through the ages.
Highly recommended book on Joe Miller:
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But just be who and what you really are, in depth. Not what someone else tells you to be, or what you think you should be. Be. When you first wake up in the morning, who are you then? When you say ‘I,’ you put your hand to your heart, don’t you? Well, that’s headquarters, not in your head. Your head is just an outpost. You’ve got to get out of your cotton-picking mind! Go deeper. -- Joe Miller
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Milarepa (1052-1135), 19th century painting depicting scenes from his life,
possibly a copy of an original painting from Palpung Monastery in Kham, Tibet.
A representative of the Situ style, it exemplifies the types of paintings
commissioned by Situ Panchen and his circle.
Pir Shabda recounts how Murshid SAM would quip that he was
an incarnation of Marpa and that Joe Miller as an incarnation of Milarepa.
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Treasurer's Report with Pie Charts
by Waduda Welsh
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Dear Family,
The Ruhaniat is a nonprofit church organization, receiving and donating funds in service of our mission. We receive funding through monthly and annual gifts, General Donations, and offer tax benefit letters to USA residents. Our donations from individuals decreased about $40k in 2022 as compared with 2020 or 2021. Additionally, 2022 was the last year of a twelve-year $25,000 administrative grant. Still, we are so grateful to all our donors and funders. We recognize the various ways the world is changing and are working to Stay Awake; bringing our service into alignment with the times. Continue reading...
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Donate to Sufi Ruhaniat International |
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Your donations help us to answer the continuing call of our mission. We are grateful to our donors, volunteers, teachers, the Murshids' Circle and the Board of Trustees, who help us in our work and service. Thank You!
Legacy Giving
The Ruhaniat is a container for a living transmission that is anchored in the lineage practices and teachings that have been handed down to us through centuries. Please support the future of our organization by including Sufi Ruhaniat International in your will or trust. Help us pass on a thriving and vital organization.
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Connections
major camps, recordings and online communities
~ click the calendar link for more listings ~
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Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gatherings
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Content Submissions
Send us poetry, art, videos, essays, interviews, musings, suggestions, feedback, and support. Include your name, city and country. Your submission implies permission to use now or in the future. We reserve the right to edit content. We may not use all the content that we receive.
Hu.
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