A site to share inspirational poetry, readings, and practices to support our sangha of spiritual seekers on their paths.
From brother Hassan:
October 13th
Monthly Whidbey Zikr Circle
Unity of Whidbey
5671 Crawford Rd, Langley, WA
6:00 p.m. Community Potluck
7:30 p.m. Zikr Allah
(425) 788-1617
Beloveds,
Please join us for our monthly zikr circle and community potluck gathering. We will be accompanied by Khalid Ron Ward on drums and Krishnapriya on keyboards.
Apologies for the late notice. My 95 year old mother died last Sunday and much of this week has been taken up with that.
Much Love,
Hassan
Autumn is a rich time to let go of what no longer serves.
Just watch those leaves!
Why not invite Shiva’s momentum? Shambo Shankara (sing happiness for Shiva’s gifts)
And the omnipresent strength and beneficence of Tara? Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha!
And prepare with DELIGHT in Equanimity and updraft of Peace? Om SHANTI Om. Metta, Karuna, Mudita, UPEKKHA
Zarifah and Hayra will be leading this month, with more drumming and guitar from Murad! ~ ~ < ! > ~ ~
These are simple circle movements to live music, inspired by wisdom traditions from around the globe. Each Dance is taught, no need to bring a partner, no experience necessary. Come as you are or dress elegantly. Comfortable shoes or bare feet recommended.
Shoreline Peace Dance
Friday, October 11, 2019, 7:30-9:30pm. and every 2nd Friday. ~NAMASTE YOGA STUDIO. The Evergreen Building. 18021 15th Ave NE, Suite 101 Shoreline, WA 98155. map- Namaste Yoga Studio. Ample Parking ADA accessible~
Suggested donation $5-15. You are welcome regardless of funds.
Got Questions? …Ginger Hayra, 206 546-6092. Shoreline PeaceDancing.org
Namaste Yoga Studio is a beautiful and inspiring place to meet!
This beautiful set of practices comes from the latest issue of Emergence Magazine ( https://emergencemagazine.org/ )
Inspired from his essay The Voices of Birds and the Language of Belonging, David G. Haskell created this five-part practice for listening to the language of birds. The human capacity to take in sound evolved over thousands of years, in direct relationship to the sensory, living world. Our attentiveness to the voices of other species provided us with vital information. In today’s age of ecological crisis, we again find ourselves in a situation where attentive listening is required for a mutual thriving, even survival. Bird sounds offer an opportunity to reclaim this ancient connection.
Step outside and listen.
Follow the link below to see the practices he offers:
In a practice for one of my Master’s program classes this week, I noticed that I felt a sense of shame at not being adequate to the immense needs of our planet and our children.
I felt a deep sense of desperation that nothing I am doing or will do will ever be enough.
Have any of you ever felt those feelings?
Yesterday, I was blessed to spend time in the forest at Hawthorn Farm, and as I sat with those feelings, I found myself weeping with pain and sadness.
After some time with those deep feelings and their expression in tears, this poem arose:
Weeping in frustration
and sorrow – finally
drained of tears (for now).
I open my eyes and breathe in
the scent of mushrooms exploding
in slow motion out
of the moist earth.
Breezes stirring
in the trees and freeing
the many-colored leaves
to do their final dance
to the welcoming forest floor.
Clouds of so many shapes scuttering
across the deep blue
creating moving fake mountains over
the newly snow-dusted Olympic range.
Out of sorrow, joy.
Out of tears, prayers.
Out of suffering, gladness.
Out of darkness, light.
I hold
sorrow, tears, suffering, darkness
In my left hand.
I hold
joy, prayer, gladness, light
In my right.
Together they make me whole.
Together they fill my soul.
Third Annual
Northwest RUMI FESTIVAL
October 4-6, 2019
Ballard IOOF Hall, 1706 NW Market St, Seattle
24-hour CONTINUOUS TURNING •Open to All
•Friday 7 PM-Saturday 7 PM: Zikrs, Dances, poetry, round-the-clock music and turning, open to all
•Concurrent sohbets & dialogue; teachings & practices; healing ceremony; art & music workshops; & more…
•NW teachers & speakers including Ann Holmes Redding, Imam Jamal Rahman, Khalif Eddie Nasruddin Greenberg, Murshida Khadija Chishti, Raqib Burke, Seemi Ghazi, Khalif Hassan Swanson, Suleyman Scott Hoffman, and Deborah Koff Chapin; Turkish shakykhs Jelaluddin Loras Effendi and Sherif Baba
•Unity Zikr musicians, plus special guests including Jessika Kenney, Rev. Clare Morgan, David McGrath, and Dick Valentine
•Catered Saturday evening feast, 7:30 PM
•Mevlevi Sema, Sunday 3 PM
Your early registration helps us plan for snacks and dinner. Please go to our Brown Paper Tickets page https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4335415 to donate $50 (or more) to help cover the expenses of hosting this event; once again, all proceeds after minimal expenses go to the Ballard Food Bank.. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
To register with a smaller donation, contact Rafi
by email mailto:abdarafiullah@gmail.com , or with a text or call (206) 226-0416
In this posting from Matthew Fox, he speaks to the inspiration Howard Thurman received from the young people attending the March on DC in 1963.
I am often asked and have often wondered myself, what good our protests and marches actually do.
Thurman notices and is inspired by the way these young people in 1963, (and I would suggest those today involved in the Climate Strike, Gun Control, Black Lives Matter, and other causes) demonstrate such courage and have “caught the spiritual overtones” of the activism work they are engaged in.
Matthew Fox asks: Are we becoming “attuned to the spiritual dimensions of what we are about today” in our efforts at rebelling against our and other species extinction? At addressing Climate Change? At realizing that the peril of the planet is also a perspective that allows all generations but also all religions and all nationalities and all peoples and all tribes to work together t combat a common enemy—the death of the planet as we know it?
Check out the full posting here:
A CELEBRATION in PRAISE of the DIVINE BELOVED
An Evening of ZIKR and the DANCES of UNIVERSAL PEACE
with Pir Shabda Kahn, Murshid Wali Ali and Sufi Ruhaniat Int’l Murshids
Saturday, October 26, 2019 • $20 donation
7:30 pm • Ballard IOOF, Seattle
Beloved Friends,
Enroute to their annual retreat, the murshids/ senior teachers of the Sufi Ruhaniat Int’l will spend an evening in Seattle with the local extended Sufi community. This group is responsible for carrying forward the spiritual transmission of Sufi Murshid Samuel Lewis, the first American Sufi Master; many have traveled and represented this lineage for 50 years. More details will follow.
A no-host restaurant dinner for Ruhaniat mureeds and certified DUP leaders will precede the event, first-come, first served. Seats are limited. More details will follow.
ACT GREAT
What is the key
To untie the knot of your mind’s suffering?
What
Is the esoteric secret
To slay the crazed one whom each of us
Did wed
And who can ruin
Our heart’s and eye’s exquisite tender
Landscape?
Hafiz has found
Two emerald words that
Restored
Me
That I now cling to as I would sacred
Tresses of my Beloved’s
Hair:
Act great.
My dear, always act great.
What is the key
To untie the knot of the mind’s suffering?
Benevolent thought, sound
And movement.
~ Hafiz ~
(The Gift – versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
From dear sister Kim:
Dear friends, I am the housing coordinator for Rumi Fest Oct. 4-6, to be held at the Odd Fellows Hall in beautiful, downtown Ballard!
Please email me if you can host people for the event (kimberlee723@gmail.com)
Please send me your phone number, address and the number of people you can accommodate along with any other details I may need to know.
Thank you so much for your hospitality.
May you be blessed 100 fold.
~ Kim Kramer