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 29 ~MARCH 2025
A Message from Pir Shabda Kahn
Received at the Maqbara, Wali Ali Meyer
Personal Exploration of the Sufi Invocation, Amira Sara Pelfrey
Cherags' Unfoldment, by ZubinNur Westrik
Plus, Connections, Calendar, Social Media
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Paradiso Canto 22, drawing by Allesandro Vellutello
Dante and Beatrice reach the Sphere of Saturn, the Seventh Heaven.
Dante designs the heaven of Saturn to focus on great saints and founders of religious orders.
| | A Message from Pir Shabda Kahn | |
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Dearest Family,
I know many of us recognize and feel the pain of the upside down-crazy environment of the world today. Like some of you, I feel insulated from being directly affected by all the insanity, though I know many in our own communities are very directly affected.
While we find our voice and appropriate response to the immediate crisis, I find great solace in knowing that our lineage purpose of manifesting Loving kindness and Compassion in all directions to all beings and to manifest Awakening has been going on for thousands of years and with our help and commitment will continue. As my Tibetan Buddhist teacher said to me once, “Don't worry, you can’t kill the Dharma!”
As we continue to share the Dharma, let us listen to whatever way the Universe is guiding us to help support the ship of humanity and our planet, and not lose sight of the present dangers.
Much Love,
Pir Shabda
| | | | Pir Shabda and Sheikha Munira Reed with group in Tunisia, Feb 2025 | |
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Pir Moineddin Jablonski
Watch the video of his 24th Urs Celebration on Feb 27th
with Pir Shabda, Pirani Tamam, Fatima Lassar, Saul Barodofsky,
Ananda Cronin, Mariam Baker, Muiz Brinkerhoff, Leilah Be,
Vakil Forest Shomer, Jelaluddin Sturm, Baraka von Kügelgen
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Received at the Maqbara
by Murshid Wali Ali Meyer
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About this paper from Pir Shabda:
Thanks to the diligent work of Zardusht van Wert to preserve Murshid Wali Ali’s archive, this paper was found in his office at the Mentorgarten.
Received at the Maqbara, 1982 is written in the voice of Murshid Sam in poetry and in prose. It harkens to the dedicated life and work manifested through Murshid Sam and is a wonderful example of what a deeply attuned disciple can receive.
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Draw close to me beloved ones,
The Song of the Universe flows thru
the empty reed
And the heart of the self-surrendered one
Sings sweet and clear the ineffable
Mysteries of the Holy of Holies.
This symphony is unending but
Unheard
To this music every atom of creation
Dances
Unconscious in the bliss of the One
Called by a Thousand Names
But unmarked by human discourse.
Enter with me the Kingdom of the Cipher
Pass with me thru the eye of the needle
Disappear with me into that nameless void
And discover with me the Light therein
The love that knows no limit
The Secret of God and man
Traced in the immortal silence.
continue reading
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A Personal Exploration of the Sufi Invocation
by Amira Sara Pelfrey
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I feel incredibly fortunate to have my heart nurtured by my teacher, Murshida Khadija Goforth, in a way that opened the door for me to have spiritual practice as a fundamental pillar of my outer work in my community. From the get-go, she always encouraged me to see that my daily life was, in effect, my ministry and a continued movement toward the one. As my life unfolded and I realized that my place in my culture put me in deep places of systemic vulnerability and, at the same time, allowed me to benefit, I needed a prayer to help center that dichotomy.
Toward the One is a prayer I remember saying at a dance circle in the early 1980s, one of the first real memories of my life, at the Garden of Noor in Spokane, Washington. It became a prayer that has anchored in my heart and continues to unfold as I unfold. This particular version was born during the time of the pivotal Indigenous uprising at the Standing Rock Reservation ... continue reading
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Cherags' Unfoldment
September 2025 - April 2027
Online Course with Sheikha ZubinNur Westrik
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Ya Hayyoo Beloved of the One Heart,
Blessings of Love, Light, Peace and Courage.
Are you feeling called to strengthen your Light and to find ways to share your Light in your community, work, wherever you are? Do you feel called to share ritual both in community and personal rituals to support people as they move through the changes and seasons of Life.
What is a Cherag? A Cherag in the lineage of Hazrat Inayat Khan is a Light Bearer, a part of me when reading or saying that always asks “Aren’t we all called to do that?” and my answer is unequivocally “Yes!” and this path is a deepening of this commitment, and a readiness to serve as a Sufi minister, to hold rituals and services and to, as much as possible, hold the space for others (when we are invited) in their times of need.
It involves holding an open heart toward all the different traditions and religions, whilst not considering one better than the other and having the understanding that the message of The Divine has manifested in different ways and forms in different parts of the world to meet the needs of the time there. We will look, practice and read deeply in the various Wisdom Ways of the world to (Insh’Allah) feel the Divine Truth and Compassion that is at the root of all the distinctions and differences... continue reading
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ZubinNur Westrik is an artist, writer, musician, Ruhaniat Sheikha,
Siraj (senior minister), leader of the Dances of Universal Peace, and
a DHO conductor offering regular healing circles. She lives in The Netherlands.
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The Forty Two Monks of India
Sheikha Mudita Sabato writes from Rishikesh, India:
Yesterday while hiking up further into the Himalayan mountains to an ashram, I ran across this photo in the ashram of the “Forty Two Monks (Guru’s) of India.” May this photo bless you all! I am sure many of you have studied some of their teachings. The photo reminded me of the rendition of our Ruhaniat Family Lineage photo of all our Great Teachers. We are so blessed. Alhamdulillah!
Toward the One…United with All!
With love,
Mudita
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Al-Fattah means both to begin and to open.
Through it you begin to open your heart to the
infinite possibilities of the divine presence.
With al-Fattah, the opening is continuous.
It is an enlightenment that keeps happening.
Al-Fattah brings great power to clear the way
of obstacles and open the path of your life for success.
It is the One who opens the heart to love and ecstasy.
Al-Fattah means to open something with something else,
a key.
It is the key to opening the heart to Allah,
the key to finding the God within.
Excerpt from Physicians of the Heart
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Connections
major camps, recordings and online communities
~ click the calendar link for more listings ~
Calendar of Events
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Jamiat Aam - Europe
Near Lauterbach, Thuringia, Germany, April 1-6
Ozark Spring Sufi Camp
Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri, May 22-27
Inland Northwest Sufi Camp
Camp Lutherhaven near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, May 23-26
Virginia Spring Retreat
Camp Holiday Trails, Charlottesville, Virginia, May 29 - June 1
Jamiat Aam - USA
Murshid Sam's Dargah
Lama Foundation, New Mexico, June 25-29
DHO Gathering
Alton Collins Retreat Center, near Portland, Oregon, July 13-28
Mendocino Sufi Camp
Mendocino, California, July 20-27
Northwest Sufi Camp
Camp Cedar Ridge, Vernonia, Oregon, August 3-8
Southwest Sufi Community
Autumn Equinox Retreat
near Silver City, New Mexico, September 16-25
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