July 2021 Message

Dearest Family,

Greetings of the Heart from California!

Having experienced and attended the Mendocino Sufi Camp 46 years in a row, I am aware that this week marks the second year we are skipping that rhythm, which has always felt nearly as consistent from year to year as sunrise every day!

I know it is the same all over the world, so many rhythms upset, that it behooves us to emphasize our attention to making a habit of a rhythmic breath. This lineage root practice not only brings stability but also Limitless Freedom!

As a world, I can feel us taking several steps forward, one step back, forward and back, in the unfolding of the pandemic, our unfolding into a more public life, in our consideration of sustainability for our planet and with our human relations. It is my sincere hope that all the difficult events, especially the dramatic weather patterns unfolding throughout the world, will wake humanity and our governments up to the fact that we need to ACT NOW to begin to turn around global warming, pollution and all the other vectors needed for a healthy planet.

Naturally, each one of us should ask ourselves how can we be participants in the change.

I am considering restarting our regular local San Rafael ZIKR CIRCLE on September 30, October 21, November 18, and December 16!

With all the information on the new Covid variants, I see no other way than to request anyone who attends be vaccinated. As much as I support personal choice, I feel the need to consider the safety of everyone while we hold hands and sing together.

Our birding adventures are continuing to be remarkable. As we entered a small forest glen, a female Coopers Hawk greeted us and showed us her fledglings and nest. When we first met them they hadn’t flown. But in the week that followed they began to fly for us. Earlier, the same was true for local Osprey and Peregrine Falcons. Now the fledgling Osprey are learning to fish for themselves!

Much love,

Shabda

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Wazifa Practice

Recite 101x

YA MU'IZZ YA MUDHILL

24. Ya Mu'izz (yaa mu-‘IZZ)

Al-Mu'izz is the one who gives the gift of self-esteem. It brings true dignity. Al-Mu'izz has the same root as al-'Aziz , the strength that flows from a knowledge of essential worth or inner value. Its root means “sweetness,” as well as “special” and “rare,” like an eagle among birds. Al-Mu'izz is the one who can take us to the state of al-'Aziz. Repetition of Ya Mu'izz is an antidote for attachment to reputation and a remedy for the habit of self-aggrandizement. We recommend that it be paired with its opposite

Name, al-Mudhill .

In reciting Ya Mu'izz, Ya Mudhill, you are invoking the one who is both the ultimate cause of your being honored and of your being brought to shame. The Names balance each other. There is an inner dynamic. When you truly reach a depth of anguish of the soul, then the truth that your soul is created in the divine image is of necessity remembered and honored, and the quality of al-Mu'izz naturally arises.

25. Ya Mudhill (yaa mu-DHILL)

Al-Mudhill is the one who leads you to the domain where you see yourself as the lowest of the low. This domain is where the original disconnected and isolated ego identity has been constructed. Al-Mudhill’s root means to seek or yearn for the object of a long-cherished wish. This divine quality empowers you to face your lower self, to bow low before God and to engage the lowest regions of the self. Until you reach this place, you cannot begin to dissolve the false self.

Al-Mudhill brings us, willingly or not, to our knees with our heads on the ground. For someone who is stuck in a place of shame, humiliation, or shadow, this sacred Name can actually be a powerful antidote. However, we recommend that it should rarely be recited alone.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Mu'izz ~ Ya Mudhill

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Text and Commentary to Study

This next month we continue reading:

Commentary on

Cosmic Language of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan,

by Murshid Samuel Lewis

He considered this one of his best works.

Read Chapters 10 - 12 , pages 85 - 112.

Click to download

Commentary on Cosmic Language

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