November theme: Awakened Being is attention guided by the Heart in everyday life.

~ Shaikh Kabir

We welcome your reflections on this theme.

Kabir Dede recently received the following message from Faruk Hemdem Çelebi, which we share with our community:

“Due to my current health condition, I wish to express my decision that my son, Mehmet Celâleddin Çelebi, should succeed me as Makam Çelebi and continue to fulfil this spiritual responsibility.”

Faruk Hemdem Çelebi
22nd-Generation Descendant of Hz. Mevlânâ
33rd Makam Çelebi

Photo: Mehmet Celâleddin Çelebi, September 2025.

We hold Faruk Çelebi Efendi in our prayers for healing and well-being, and Mehmet Celâleddin Çelebi Efendi for strength and guidance as he steps into this role. Ameen.

Salaams and greetings of heart dear friends,

We are happy to share with you the announcement that, upon the recommendation of Kabir Dede, dear Mahmoud Mostafa has been bestowed a destar-i-sharif and recognized as a post-nishin (shaikh) of the Mevlevi Order, by the current head of the Order, Faruk Hemden Çelebi Efendi, on Mevlana’s birthday, September 30th in Konya, during the 30th anniversary gathering of the founding of the International Mevlana Foundation (the current guardian foundation of our Order, our sister organization established by the Çelebi family in Turkey in 1996).

We also want to announce that we have now designated four additional khalifas for our Threshold Society/Alif International extended community (formally incorporated in 1988): Matthew Wright, Daniel Dyer, Shazreh Hussain, and Donia Fahim.

Inshallah all of these dear hearts will assist in carrying our community into the future with God’s abundant grace and support. And we recognize that there are others who are growing in knowledge and maturity, and we extend our deepest gratitude to you all for your service on this Way of Love and the generous and gracious ways you all hold each other in Truth. Ya Hazrati Mevlana, Ya Hazrati Shams, Ya Allah Huuuuuuuuu.

With much love to you all,

Kabir and Camille

O you who have attained to faith!
Be continually conscious of Divine Reality,
and be with those who are true to their word.
[Ya ayuha al-lazheena amanu
it-taqul Allaha wa kunu ma‘a as-sadiqeen.] 

[Surah at-Tawbah 9:119]

O humankind!
A teaching has come to you
from your Sustainer,
and a healing for what is in your hearts,
and guidance and Compassionate Grace
for the faithful.
[Ya ayuha an-nas
qad jaa‘atkum maw‘izatun min Rabbikum
wa shifa’ul lima fis-sudur,
wa huda wa Rahmat lil mu’mineen.]
Say: “In the abundance of God
and in His/Her Grace,
in that let them rejoice."

[Surah Yunus 10:57-58]

The example of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him,
shines before us—
he who continually turned to his Sustainer, asking for forgiveness, 
for the limitations of his vision, and who would humbly pray: 
“O God, show us the Truth as the Truth 
and give us the blessing of following it. 
Show us falsehood as falsehood 
and give us the blessing of avoiding it.”
It is up to each of us to practice discernment, to not let ourselves be distracted 
from the Way of Spirit, to listen and act upon the guidance bestowed
from Ultimate Reality, over and over again.
May we pay attention, be watchful, 
take stock of our intentions, our deeds, frequently,
ever watchful for Messages—
received from those who have come with wisdom from the Source of Being, 
and within our own hearts. May we be alert to Truth.

Also available from other bookstores soon.

An interview with Camille Ana

Camille Helminski was the first woman to translate a substantial portion of the Qur’an into English. In the following conversation she talks about her journey, Sufi dervishes, and the way of the heart.

The Shaikh of the Dervishes

“First, nobody can stop time; we must accept that. The universe turns and the days fall, one after the other, and they turn, too. We don’t feel that there is enough time to accomplish all of the things that we want to accomplish, but we must benefit from all the time that we do have and make that time very valuable … enjoy every moment. Make the most of each moment in each day.”

— Suleyman Dede, The Movement Newspaper, May/June 1976

Spiritual conversation (sohbet) with Shaikh Kabir and Camille Helminski on 12/05/10 

~

Note: Kabir Dede shares a beautiful conversation about love and beauty that he had had with his spiritual mentor, which he wrote up and shared with others in this sohbet.

Kabir Dede: “I really want to know what love is—I don’t think I understand it at all.”

Mentor: “Think of love as a resonance, a resonance between the subtle centers (latifas) of your own nervous system and Eternal Spirit (Ruh). You can to some extent awaken it yourself, but the atmosphere and energy of a loving community creates a stronger resonance, and that connection allows more love and beauty to enter into relationships, transforming more and more aspects of ourselves.

It is through this resonance that we will eventually experience moments of ecstatic beauty, as if we are living in the midst of a beautiful love that more and more becomes our natural state and who we are. In that love, the ‘me’ falls away and a ‘we’ remains. This is why Sufis have always organized themselves in this way, and this is why they can achieve so much more than individual practice alone can offer. A current is generated that connects the subtle centers of the heart in communion with the Eternal Creative Spirit, which is the ultimate Beauty. That is why we call it the Beloved and why we are called lovers.

Now you will return, and return again and again, to the work of doing love, to practicing the fruits of love, and to creating beauty. You have more souls to love, and more songs to write.”

~

~ By Shaikh Mahmoud Mostafa

Praise be to Allah. We bear witness that there is only one God who has no partners beside Him, and we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

Praise be to Allah who blessed us with the guidance of His prophets and messengers. Praise be to Allah whose Mercy encompasses everything. Praise be to Allah who knows our needs and answers our calls and brings peace to our hearts.

Praise be to Allah who breathed into us of His Spirit and placed the light of His guidance in our inmost being. Whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whomever Allah misguides, no one can guide. We put our trust in Allah and seek His forgiveness, aid, and support.

A man once came to the Prophet (puh) and asked him about the hereafter. The Prophet asked him, “And what have you prepared for that time?” The man replied, “Nothing, except that I love Allah and I love you.” The Prophet (puh) answered him, “You are with the ones you love.”

By Camille Hamilton Adams Helminski

Words from the East, this first in the series of “Songs of the Soul,” poetic reflections from the pen of Camille Hamilton Adams Helminski, brings us into intimate contact with nature and the Source of Being.

Available in paperback.

November 1st

Join us for a monthly online meditation and sohbet with Shaikh Kabir and special guests from the Threshold community. Held on the 1st Sunday of every month at 12pm Eastern Time (5pm UK).

Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/435138208
Zoom passcode: threshold

Watch last month's meeting below and see all our videos here.

To view in YouTube without interrupting ads, use the Brave browser.

The Threshold Society, rooted within the traditions of Sufism and inspired by the life and work of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi, is a non-profit educational foundation with the purpose of facilitating the experience of Divine Unity, Love, and Truth in the world. Sufism is a living tradition of human transformation through love and higher consciousness. Our fundamental framework is classical Sufism and the Qur’an as it has been understood over the centuries by the great Sufis. The Society is affiliated with the Mevlevi Order, and offers training programs, seminars and retreats around the world.

You can find our core articles here. We encourage our community to read and reread these regularly.

Each month we intend to highlight an article about our lineage and its principles. This month we offer the Suggestions for Practice

Most people who come to Sufism have preconceptions as well as questions about what Sufism is. What does the practice consist of and how will I learn and develop? Is there a detailed curriculum? Or hidden knowledge? What should I expect of my shaikh and what kind of relationship is possible? Some people might imagine that the shaikh has a detailed, objective technical knowledge of various inner states, spiritual energies, planes of reality, spiritual powers, etc. While there is some truth in this, it has been our experience that among the best teachers these subjects are seldom emphasized or talked about directly. An emphasis on secret, privileged knowledge, or encouraging a mystique or building a cult of personality, or intimations of end-time scenarios, have proven time and time again to be counter-indicators of spirituality. In other words, the more such tendencies surround a teaching, the less likely it is that the teaching will be balanced and authentic. If we look to the Qur’an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad, we see a sane and balanced presentation of the Way. Our approach, therefore, places a strong emphasis on developing our capacities for presence, remembrance, service, and humility.

[Read more...]

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