Resources
Resources and Links
The Ziraat Reader, an anthology compiled by Vakil Forest Shomer, is a spiral-bound, 134-page document filled with valuable articles and photographs. It includes prayers and practices, Ziraat Papers, essays, commentaries and inspirations, written works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, Murshid Samuel Lewis, Murshida Vera Corda, Shamcher Bryn Beorse, Pir Zia Inayat Khan, and many more, with a forward by Pir Shabda Kahn. It is designed with the intention to spread Ziraat among our greater spiritual family.
The Ziraat Reader is available for free download in pdf format in two parts (Part 1 and Part 2).
Ziraat Newsletters
Fall 2021 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Imbolc 2022 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Beltane 2022 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Lammas 2022 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Samhain 2022 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Samhain 2022 - Fana-fi-Gaia (Deutsche Übersetzung)
Imbolc 2023 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Beltane 2023 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Lammas 2023 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Samhain 2023 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Imbolc 2024 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Beltane 2024 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Lammas 2024 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Samhain 2024 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Imbolc 2025 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Beltane 2025 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Lammas 2025 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Samhain 2025 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Imbolc 2026 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Beltane 2026 - Fana-fi-Gaia
Lammas 2026 - Fana-fi-Gaia
If you would like to contact us on the Ziraat Council, write us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We welcome your suggestions, ideas, and feedback.
Other Links
Inside Passage Seeds: http://www.insidepassageseeds.com/
The Ziraat Reader (Part 1 and Part 2)
Sacred Nature Issue of HeartBeat Magazine
Body of Bliss, Body of Blessing by Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz
Nature Meditations of Hazrat Inayat Khan
Earth Sanctuaries by Hakima Betty Lou Chaika
Rewilding the Human Heart: A Journey of Reunion by Sharifa Oppenheimer (Amazon.com link). Purchasing it from bookshop.org helps to support local bookshops.
Sustainability Fix by Darvesha
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Ziraat Council
Pir Shabda Kahn
Shabda Kahn is the Pir of the Sufi Ruhaniat International. He has been a dedicated gardener all his adult life beginning with the examples of his teacher, Murshid Samuel Lewis. In 2018 he helped lead a group of spiritual leaders, educators, and scientists on Pilgrimage to Greenland to bear witness to the devastation of the Polar Ice Cap and bring attention to the responsibilities of human beings to work to mitigate climate change. His feeling is that our bodies are made out of the earth, water, fire and air borrowed from our beloved planet through birth and naturally it is our privilege to take care of our body, the body of Earth, as it provides us life.
Darvesha Victoria MacDonald
When I was studying Buddhism in a monastery in Nepal in my 30’s, I received teachings on interdependence. They came upon me like a thunderbolt. I feel that my whole life pivots on those moments. After that I wanted nothing more than to share my understanding of interconnectivity. Back in the U.S. I began studying with Joanna Macy and John Seed. John said that originally when he wanted guidance he would lie on the earth and cover himself with leaves, feeling that what came to him at that time was guidance from Gaia. But he said that eventually he came to feel that whatever he does is guided by Gaia. Joanna reminds us over and over that when you dedicate yourself to something greater than yourself, that force will then act through you. This resonates for me. I dedicate myself to Gaia and she directs and gives me the energy to act.
Hamid Daniel Kirchhof
My first awakening into remembrance of the unity of life, a genuine, felt sense of the divine alive in all beings, came exploring the fields, waterways and mountains of my youth in Apsaalooke Traditional Territory, popularly known as SW Montana, USA. Hiking, hunting, fishing, gathering, wandering, floating on water, and gardening were my first nature connection practices. Later in my young adulthood I added sitting quietly outside daily, journaling, nature study, farming, wilderness survival skills, and singing. Next came the Dances of Universal Peace and the Sufi Path, the Vision Fast, and a Lakota lineage of teachings. All these inform my current work at Hawthorn Farm (on the nexus of Traditional Snoqualmie, Duwamish and Snohomish Land – popularly known as Woodinville, WA, USA) with my wife Alexia Allen and our “family.” Through nature-connection programs, home-steading classes, and food resilience community building, we are reclaiming suburbia to create a permaculture paradise. We hold a vision of nature-connected food and community within walking distance of everyone on earth. I reckon this is my current understanding of what Ziraat means.
Fariha Fer Silva
I live in Viña del Mar, Chile, and I’m deeply grateful for having been born in this southern territory. I grew up listening to the ocean, the seagulls and having the Andean coastal mountains giving shelter and inspiration. Growing up, I was very shy and preferred to spend a lot of time in the garden, just listening and being there, imagining and participating in those subtle interactions that I felt so strongly alive between the trees, the bushes, the insects and my curious heart. I see myself as a student and practitioner. Since 2017 I’ve dedicated my time to learn about seed saving, soil regeneration, permaculture and traveling to different places to meet projects and people from whom I’ve learned very valuable things, as well as cultivating my own practice and connection with the Dances of Universal Peace. Currently I work as a clinical psychologist and guide group experiences around mindfulness, self-care and the work of the inner garden, in the therapeutic center and community of practice we have here in my city.
Yarrow Nelson
Yarrow Nelson has been a practitioner of Ziraat and a leader of the Dances of Universal Peace since the mid 1980s. His spiritual path is closely tied to his love for Nature, and he has strived to create a life in which he can both enjoy a life close to nature and work to protect Nature from modern human impacts. He got his Ph.D. at Cornell in Environmental Engineering as part of this mission, and he is currently a professor at Cal Poly. Yarrow has done extensive research on cleaning up contaminated groundwater and soil using bioremediation methods with bacteria, plants and fungi. He also pioneered growing algae on wastewater to produce biofuels, and has worked to create biodegradable produce labels. Currently he is experimenting with the use of olivine in marine environments to mitigate climate change. Most of all he enjoys backpacking in the wild and tending to his garden, orchards and horses on the central coast of California.
SPANISH TRANSLATION: Consejo de Ziraat
Pir Shabda Kahn
Shabda Kahn es el Pir de Sufi Ruhaniat Internacional. Ha sido un dedicado jardinero toda su vida adulta, comenzando con el ejemplo de su maestro, Murshid Samuel Lewis. En 2018 ayudó a liderar un grupo de líderes espirituales, educadores y científicos en Peregrinación a Groenlandia para ser testigos de la devastación del Casco Polar y hacer un llamado de atención sobre la responsabilidad de los seres humanos de trabajar para mitigar el cambio climático. Su sentimiento es que nuestros cuerpos están hechos de tierra, agua, fuego y aire, prestados por nuestro amado planeta a través del nacimiento y, naturalmente, es nuestro privilegio cuidar de nuestro cuerpo, el cuerpo de la Tierra, pues nos proporciona la vida.
Darvesha Victoria MacDonald
Cuando estaba estudiando budismo en un monasterio de Nepal, a mis 30 años, recibí enseñanzas sobre la interdependencia. Me llegaron como un rayo. Siento que toda mi vida gira en torno a esos momentos. Después de eso no quería otra cosa que compartir mi comprensión de la interconectividad. De vuelta a Estados Unidos, empecé a estudiar con Joanna Macy y John Seed. John dijo que al comienzo, cuando quería orientación, se acostaba en la tierra y se cubría con hojas, sintiendo que lo que le llegaba en ese momento era la orientación de Gaia. Pero finalmente dijo que llegó a sentir que todo lo que hace es guiado por Gaia. Joanna nos recuerda una y otra vez que cuando te dedicas a algo más grande que tú, esa fuerza actuará a través de ti. Esto resuena para mí. Me dedico a Gaia y ella me dirige y me da la energía para actuar.
Hamid Daniel Kirchhof
Mi primer despertar al reconocimiento de la unidad de la vida, una sensación genuina y sentida de lo divino vivo en todos los seres, se produjo explorando los campos, los cursos de agua y las montañas de mi juventud en el Territorio Tradicional Apsaalooke, conocido popularmente como el suroeste de Montana, Estados Unidos. El senderismo, la caza, la pesca, la recolección, el deambular, el flotar en el agua y la jardinería, fueron mis primeras prácticas de conexión con la naturaleza. Más tarde, en mis inicios de la adultez, añadí la práctica de sentarme en silencio al aire libre todos los días, a escribir un diario, estudiar la naturaleza, cultivar, aprender a sobrevivir en la naturaleza y cantar. Luego vinieron las Danzas de la Paz Universal y el Camino Sufí, el Ayuno de Visión y un linaje de enseñanzas Lakota. Todo esto forma parte de mi trabajo actual en la Granja Hawthorn (en el nexo de la Tierra Tradicional Snoqualmie, Duwamish y Snohomish - popularmente conocida como Woodinville, WA, USA) con mi esposa Alexia Allen y nuestra "familia". A través de programas de conexión con la naturaleza, clases de vida autosuficiente, y la construcción de la comunidad de resiliencia alimentaria, estamos reclamando los suburbios para crear un paraíso de la permacultura. Sostenemos una visión de alimentación y comunidad conectadas con la naturaleza, a la que se puede acceder a pie desde cualquier lugar de la tierra. Creo que esto es lo que actualmente entiendo por Ziraat.
Fariha Fer Silva
Vivo en Viña del Mar, Chile, y estoy profundamente agradecida de haber nacido en este territorio del sur. Crecí escuchando el océano, las gaviotas y con la cordillera de la costa dando refugio e inspiración constante. Cuando pequeña era muy tímida y prefería pasar mucho tiempo en el jardín, solo escuchando y estando allí, imaginando y participando en esas interacciones sutiles que sentía tan vivas, entre los árboles, los arbustos, los insectos y mi corazón que con curiosidad se dejaba guiar.
Me veo a mí misma como una aprendiz y practicante. Desde 2017, he dedicado mi tiempo a aprender sobre la guarda de semillas, la regeneración del suelo, la permacultura y he agradecido la posibilidad de viajar a diferentes lugares para conocer proyectos y personas de las que he aprendido cosas muy valiosas, así como también ha sido un tiempo para cultivar mi propia práctica y conexión con las Danzas de la Paz Universal.
Actualmente también trabajo como psicóloga clínica y guío experiencias grupales integrando mindfulness, autocuidado y el trabajo del jardín interior, en el centro terapéutico y la comunidad de practica que sostenemos aquí en mi ciudad.