April 2023 Message

Beloved Family

With great joy I share the news that Physicians of the Heart has been translated and published in Spanish as Médicos del Corazón and is available on Amazon!

So much gratitude to Sylvia Fiba Muriillo who did the initial translation, to Akbar Matias Man for editing and Jelaluddin Hauke Strum for being our book designer once again! With German and Spanish translations published, next likely is French and then Portugese!

As you can imagine we had a wonderful gathering in the evergreen country of Colombia at nearly 6000 ft, about 3 hours outside of Cali at Ecovillage Atlantida. Bravo to our hosts Arjun Jorge, his mama Ana Maria, his partner Jessie, and one of the managers of Atlantida, Jami, for making it all happen.

The retreat was attended by some 170 people, mostly from South America but also with folks from France and Israel and a few of us from North America. Most everyone was under 45 years old! I felt Murshid Sam beaming with Joy as the dances and sufi practice are spreading far and wide.

Amertat Cohn, a disciple of Murshid Sam’s and the filmmaker who brought us SUNSEED, came down to Atlantida to shoot part of his next film SUNFLOWER - What has unfolded from what was presented in SUNSEED, so there should be a vibrant record of the scenes at camp and the continuity of Murshid Sam’s Legacy!

In the last few years several of the leaders in South America participated in a “God is Breath” wheel, studying the ‘esoteric school’ of the Ruhaniat. Now they have created a revised form in Spanish with some 70 people participating in the first iteration of the Spanish speaking program.

After the camp Arjun was kind enough to take us on a birding adventure where was experienced many more of the incredible birds of Colombia, including Condors!

I returned April 15th to our garden calling out for transitioning from winter to Spring, with much weeding, turning and planting the vegetables beds and general cleanup. Planted 15 tomatoes, chard, kale, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce and spinach. The avocado trees are in full bloom as are many of the other fruit trees. The backyard is filled with birds visiting the flowers, feeders and waterfall element.

I have a busy summer coming up starting with the Sufi Sesshin at Lama, followed by the Mendocino Sufi Camp in July, presenting at the Parliment of World Religions in Chicago in August and the Southwest Sufi Community Sufi Camp joined by Murshid Allaudin Ottinger in September.

The video of Murshid Wali Ali’s Memorial Celebration on May 12th is complete and posted here.

For our next wazifa pair I would like us to invoke strength that aligns us with our Purpose, YA QADIR ~ YA MUQTADIR. The wazifa pair reminds me of what Hazrat Inayat Khan wrote to Rabia Martin on July 5, 1911:

Dear Mother, don’t you have any aim in the life but the self realization and one cannot realize ones self until one gives up all the aims of life and sticks up to the one.

All the praise of your advancement in this line is due to our masters in the chain who are sending the vibrations of their joy, love, and peace. Best wishes.

Yours in Infinite, Inayat Khan

Much love,

Shabda

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Text and Commentary to Study

This month we continue reading Hazrat Inayat Khan's Gatheka on Mental Purification with commentaries by Murshid Samuel Lewis and Murshid Moineddin Jablonski

Read and contemplate Chapter 4, pages 34-50

Click here to download the document

Mental Purification Commentary

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Upcoming Events and Teachings

Lama Sufi Sesshin June 28 - July 2

Mendocino Sufi Camp July 16 - 23

Save the Date

Southwest Sufi Community Sufi Camp September 19 - 24

guided by Pir Shabda and Murshid Allaudin Ottinger

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Recite 101x

YA QADIR ~ YA MUQTADIR

68. Ya Qadir (yaa ḲAA-dir)

Al-Qadir is the expression of all the purpose and all the strength and will in the universe as one power. Nothing is unconnected from this divine power. Through awakening to it, the traveler on the spiritual path realizes that there is a path and a specific destination. Al-Qadir gives a definite meaning and a real purpose to everything in life.

Al-Qadir also means unlimited capacity, and that every person has that capacity. Such a realization gives you a sense of value, power, and spaciousness, as well as a confidence that all things are possible. You are inherently able to receive and contain anything that may come, and to regard it as a divine gift. Al-Qadir expresses omnipotence, power, endurance, and proportionality. It is the power to both manifest and contain manifestation.

Invocation of Ya Qadir is an antidote to feeling worthless and powerless and offers relief to those who believe that they are living wasted lives. We recommend that it be combined with Ya Muqtadir

(69).

69. Ya Muqtadir (yaa muk-TA-dir)

Al-Muqtadir is the one who places you on a particular path to God and enables you to firmly put your feet on that path, and keep going on that path, step by step. It brings the ability to actualize the divine purpose in your life. The power that is guiding you has put you in this very specific situation, here and now. There are no mistakes, and nothing is ever wasted or lost. Each soul is unique, with a unique purpose in life. That is the meaning of al-Muqtadir.

To realize its meaning, each person needs to recognize al-Qadir (68) and lovingly engage his or her will to fulfill it. The lover thus makes use of whatever power the beloved has granted and uses that power in the wise and beautifully proportioned way present in its very nature. To accomplish this, repetition of Ya Qadir, Ya Muqtadir is recommended. One of the root meanings of qadara is beautifully proportioned to get the right fit, as in cutting leather.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Qadir ~ Ya Muqtadir

PHOTOS

Group shot on the last morning!