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 | | |
|
|
ISSUE 22 ~ OCTOBER 2023
Opening Words, by Jilani Prescott
Practices for Peace in Middle East, by Murad Finkelstein
Sammy Award 2023, honoring Barakat Bryan
Sunrise in the West, and other book releases
Building the Dargah of Murshid SAM, new video
Murshid Wali Ali's Burial Site, Southwest Sufi Community
| |
|
Shalom, Shalama, Salaam.
My heart is bleeding, as I'm sure yours is too, for all the suffering, trauma and hurt that is unfolding in Israel and Gaza right now. At times like this our helplessness can feel unbearable.
I invite you to remember that we are not helpless, in fact - our prayers for peace and our remembrance of those who are caught up in the conflict are peace in action.
The Dances of Universal Peace are a matchless tool for soothing our own hearts, and at the same time for connecting us with the communities at the heart of this struggle, through the sacred phrases and chants for peace that we have learned from them. In a time when these traumatised communities are struggling so painfully with the violence of polarisation, we can hold for them the remembrance of our shared humanity, our shared history, our shared brotherhood and sisterhood, our unity. Holding them in love, we can search our own hearts for the broken and traumatised places within us. Peace lies in the healing of human hearts everywhere.
- Jilani Prescott, Ruhaniat Sufi Guide and Facilitator for the Board of Trustees
| |
Toward the One, Bismillah, In Unison
composed by Maestro Allaudin Mathieu
performed by the New Sufi Choir (2010)
Listen to this exquisite track from the New Sufi Choir album, In the Music of Your Name (released in 2010 and currently unavailable). This is a medley of three compositions written by Allaudin William Mathieu: Toward the One, Bismillah, and In Unison.
Peace Concentration:
The final section in this piece, In Unison, is set to the words of the prayerful concentration: In unison with the will of God, we will to have peace. The Ruhaniat sangha has long held the practice of reciting this phrase 11 times daily at 12 noon. We can keep this prayer in constant motion, ever circling around our globe.
| |
Two Practices for Peace in the Middle East
by Sheikh Murad Finkelstein
Here are two practices for peace and healing in the Middle East that came through in a recent healing class. It feels important to share them with all of you.
Watch Video
| |
|
Irfan
We begin with Irfan, writing the name of God on the Middle East. Many of us feel we can’t do much to help. This gives the doing over to God.
Irfan is a practice of writing "Allah" in the ethers on things, people and situations. We use it for situations of crisis or tragedy that we seem to have no control over. Writing Irfan gives the responsibility to God who can take care of it better than we can.
The "Allah" calligraphy we use comes via Wali Ali Meyer who received it from a Palestinian Muslim neighborhood grocer and through Hakim Saul-uddin.
| |
|
Becoming Peace and Sending Peace
We start with a complete grounding - connecting to the earth and our vitality center and solar plexus to allow us to have the grounding and strength to help manifest.
Sending Peace: Since one cannot send peace if one is not peace, we then let go of everything within us that is not peaceful down into the Earth to be composted.
We then charge our hearts with Ya Salaam and send it to the Middle East.
Love and Healing,
Murad
Dervish Healing Order (DHO)
| |
Celebrating the 2023 Sammy Award Recipient
Khalifa Barakat Bryan
| |
|
The Sammy Award is presented each year to a person who has given extraordinary and long-standing service to the Ruhaniat community.
During the Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gathering on October 28th, Pir Shabda Kahn honored Barakat as the 2023 recipient of the award.
About Barakat
Sammy Award Past Recipients
We thank Barakat for her decades of loving service to the Ruhaniat organization, to her local community, and to our worldwide sangha; to Murshid Wali Ali Meyer and to Pir Shabda Kahn; and for all the unseen ways that she serves our community.
Ya Fattah! Ya Shakur!
| |
Sunrise in the West
The Life of American Mystic Samuel L. Lewis
by Murshid Wali Ali Meyer
| |
|
We are thrilled to announce the release of a special hardcover edition of this long-awaited book on the life and teachings of Murshid SAM.
We extend our deepest gratitude to Murshid Wali Ali, who passed before the book was finished, to his research crew, and to Barakat Bryan, Halim Dunsky, Hassan Herz, Jelaluddin Sturm, and Tawwaba Bloch, who worked so very hard to bring this book to fruition, especially in the past few years.
Order here
We are offering this special edition at a premium price of $101 + $15 shipping (USA shipping only) to help cover the many costs incurred to write the book. Thank you for your support!
Reviews of this book:
With a profound inner life, Samuel Lewis became known as both Sufi and Zen master. He also came to embody the deep teachings of living Hindu saints, the Kabbalah and the Christian mysteries. His horticultural endeavors and engagement in political and social causes throughout the world earned him international respect, and his spiritual realization generated a devoted following of spiritual seekers that is flourishing today.
- Pir Shabda Kahn
A comprehensive testament to a pioneer of the 20th Century spirituality, universal in its scope, a treasury of lore where the reader will find many spiritual gems. Samuel Lewis synthesized in his own being the essence of the traditions he had first-hand experience of: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufism, especially in the lineage of Hazrat Inayat Khan. His legacy lives on in all he set in motion.
- Kabir Helminski, Co-Director of the The Threshold Society (Sufism.org), translator of Rumi, author of The Knowing Heart and The Mysticism
It is a blessing to have this comprehensive biography of the Sufi master, modern mystic and beloved teacher Samuel Lewis. Murshid Sam's life invites us to join in the dance of mystics and sages.
- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
| |
|
Listen to On That Day performed by Abraham Sussman and friends.
Inspired by the Hadith: On that Day, the Sun Shall Rise in the West
| | |
|
Across the Difficult
with Rabia of Basra and Others
by Pirani Tamam Kahn
Tamam's poetry carries bright exuberance, as well as empathy and sorrow. Her work is inspired by the mystical Middle East, and her time in Morocco and Syria. The poems are anchored with her research on women from early Islam to today. Anecdotes from history are mixed with today's unchosen difficulties. The reader is introduced to the remarkable Rabia of Basra, eighth-century leader on the path of Unity of Being. What would it be like to meet with her today?
Order here
| |
|
To Be There
Something like one hundred thousand beads
rumble down stone steps. A red and gold
racket. Muhammad kneels there,
continues praying.
Tipped from a carton, juice seeps on the floor,
flows to the cushion, all cold, slick and sticky.
Buddha sits there, aware and present,
uninterrupted.
Cellphones and murderous, frightening news,
losses and leaf blowers keep me distracted
until I meet myself - shining
right through the difficult.
poem by Tamam from the book
| |
|
Listen to a short talk from Tamam about her new book, Across the Difficult.
Recorded at Pir Shabda's Zikr Circle in Marin County, California in August.
| | |
|
Sun Bow Trading Company
Outfitting Caravans from Downtown Charlottesville, 1978-2018
by Saul Barodofsky
A 40-year documentary history of the ground breaking textile art gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. The author, one of the founders and owner of Sun Bow Trading, share his travel journals along the Silk Road, museum and gallery exhibitions, gossip and lore, and over 350 photographs and illustrations.
Order here
| |
|
The Story of Murshid Sam's Dargah
with Khalif Malik Lee Braun and Pir Shabda Kahn
| |
|
Beloved Family,
The creation of Murshid Sam's Dargah at Lama Foundation in New Mexico, began in 2007 and a decade later, in 2017, the project was dedicated.
Khalif Malik Lee Braun, Project Manager extraordinaire, and I made a video detailing every step of its creation and construction, as a way to share the process with posterity.
Thanks to Rahima Jennifer Teall for helping us with editing and preparing the video for viewing. Enjoy!
Watch Video
Much Love,
Pir Shabda Kahn
| |
|
Murshid Wali Ali's Burial Site
at Southwest Sufi Community
| |
|
Beautiful work has been done on the burial site for Murshid Wali Ali Meyer at the Southwest Sufi Community. Many thanks to Matin Mize, Amos, and all who have given their love and labor to this project. Matin reports that it is still a work in progress.
If you would like to donate in support of this work, please contact the Southwest Sufi Community.
Ya Hayoo, Ya Qayyum!
| |
Donate to Sufi Ruhaniat International | |
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.
| |
|
Connections
major camps, recordings and online communities
~ click the calendar link for more listings ~
Calendar of Events
| | |
|
Ruhaniat Family Zoom Gatherings
| |
|
Content Submissions
ruhnews@ruhaniat.org
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.
| | | | |
