FacebookRssXYouTubeInstagramEmail

Yearly Archives: 2010

The Living Tradition of the Mevlevi Path

It has been a privilege and an honor to be associated with this Mevlevi tradition. It has shaped our thoughts, values, perceptions, and prayers. We draw upon the inspiration of Hazrati Mevlana and we are also grateful for the centuries of wisdom and beauty that true Mevlevis have left as a legacy. We have been following the Mevlevi Path since we took hand with Suleyman Dede in 1980 and he gave us permission to teach and lead zhikrs. In 1990 the honorable Celaletttin Celebi gave us permission to wear the Mevlevi Destar and specifically to “teach the mystic path of the Mevlevis.” Our journey on this path continued with the kind support of the noble and generous Celebi family, and along the way was strengthened by many friendships with beautiful Mevlevis, including the faithful and humble Sefik Can Efendi.

Read More

Personal Reflections from Turkey

Konya! Mevlana! Ashk! For the past thirty years or more a current has run through my life, our lives, sometimes as a subtle guidance, sometimes as a sense of meaningful coherence, and sometimes as an upwelling force that makes the eyes glisten, if not overflow with tears.

Read More

Moving into Spaciousness

A way of looking at spirituality and the nafs is to imagine you were locked in a room with someone who never stops talking. This person is you, or rather your nafs. Its chatter is based on fear or desire. We need to find a way out of this room, to enter the rest of the mansion and beyond.

There is a whole state of being that is not tied to this talking. The work of spiritual transformation begins by developing the ability to leave the room, to ‘move into spaciousness’, outside of our self-concepts and expectations, and listen to a different music, the silence in which words arise, in which the meanings of Revelation can be heard, and in which we experience a relationship with the Divine.

Destiny loves effort; if we are destined for something the effort will be there.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Read More

Balance in Doing, Being, & Loving

A podcast exploring among other things the necessity of balance between doing, being and loving on the path. Doing - human expression as a physical manifestation of the heart. Being - Inner life resulting in sustained and deepened presence, the bedrock of all. Love - the quality that polishes the heart that it might guide the soul in it's Doing. Also included are some wonderful words from Shams-i-Tabriz and some recently translated quatrains from Kabir.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Read More

The Path of Awakening

The invitation came suddenly and with not much time to make plans. A meeting with about 25 spiritual leaders—sufis, yogis, and Buddhists—in the tradition-laden city of Kyoto. Our venue was within the precincts of a traditional temple complex, with views of classic Japanese gardens and ponds, rooms of tatami mats and doorways one has to bow to pass through. Our hosts were from the Shinyo-en sect of Buddhism, a branch of the esoteric, Vajrayana Shingon sect which has a lot in common with Sufism.

Read More
Go to Top