December 2020 Message

Beloved Family,

Greetings of Love and Blessing, for NOW, Festival of Lights ~ Chanukah, Winter (or Summer) Solstice, Christmas, and the birth of the Messenger!

Naturally, we also send prayers and aspirations for you and your loved ones for good health and protection during the pandemic.

May the New Year further Limitless Freedom for all beings!

January 1- 14, I will be on a solitary retreat and unavailable. If you have time and space to do something similar, I encourage you to do so.

I will spend time with wazifa and Zikr recitation with most of the practice focusing on meditation, entering the natural swing of the breath, making friends with whatever arises without an agenda, and gradually deconstructing the notion of a separate self. The same we do every day of our lives on the Path.

Here are some wise words on an approach from a great Tibetan master, H.H.Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself.

This produces a tremendous energy which is usually locked up in the process of mental evasion and a general running away from life experiences.

Clarity of awareness, may, in its initial stages, be unpleasant or fear-inspiring; if so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it. In this way, the barriers created by one's own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down.

…… Don't mentally split into two when meditating, one part of the mind watching the other like a cat watching a mouse.

The complete text of guidance on meditation is available here.

The day after Christmas, Dec 26 10 AM Pacific Time is our twentieth Ruhaniat Family ZOOM Gathering with the theme THE RHYTHM OF LIFE. Join us!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81390379342?pwd=V0Z4U0FrcTZaK3F3VnlqcE9LTUlyUT09

Much love,
Shabda

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Wazifa Practice

Recite 101x

YA NUR ~ YA MUNAWWIR

93. Ya Nur (yaa NOOR) ~ YA MUNAWWIR (yaa moo-NOW-were)

An-Nur is the essence of light, luminosity itself. A Qur'anic verse says, "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth." An-Nur is the light of every soul and an inherent characteristic in every pore of your body. Munawwir is a form of the same root and means the one who illuminates.

It is interesting that the word for "hell" in Arabic is naar, which has the same root as Nur. What makes it hell is that the burning heat there is lacking in light. That kind of burning heat is our inner condition if we don't embody God's loving mercy and compassion (rahma) and instead become full of rage.

Whatever way we may turn, we see the all-pervading light of An-Nur. Even the darkness shines from within it. All the various forms of wisdom and guidance are expressions of An-Nur. For example, Nur-ul-Haqeeqah is the light of truth and guidance on the path. What continues to live on in God when we die is also a legacy of light.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Nur

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Text and Commentary to Study

This month we continue reading A HYBRID SUFI ORDER AT THE CROSSROADS OF MODERNITY: THE SUFI ORDER AND SUFI MOVEMENT OF PIR-O-MURSHID INAYAT KHAN, by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Reading Part B, chapter 5, pages 193-275

Click to download

Life and Times of Hazrat Inayat Khan Part A

Life and Times of Hazrat Inayat Khan Part B

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PHOTOS

American Bittern