Contents Message from the National Representative
3
Editorial
4
Do Not Hide Your Light by Nuria
5
Universal Worship readings & homily by Zubin
7
Shine Your Light (Ballad of the Last Winter Retreat) by Azim
15
The Sun and the Moon
16
Poem by Rabindranath Tagore
17
Excerpts from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan
18
Walking the Labyrinth
19
Janus, Timelines, Songlines, and other Dreamings by Karim
20
Review by Carole Voss of The Witch as Teacher in Fairy Tales
22
Contacts
23
Photo credits: Royalty-free photos from www.pixabay.com. Thanks to pixabay users: Myriams-Fotos (cover image) _Alicja_(candle-3056195_640.jpg) Pezibear (person-1171956_1920) Ipicgr (wallpaper-1492818_1920) Jplenio (nature-3294681_1920) Other images: Hannah Baek Wha (pages 6 & 22) Reza Abedini (page 4) http://www.vangeva.com/
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Beloved Sisters and Brothers Spring 2018 I really cannot believe that we are almost in Spring. It still feels very wintery here in Melbourne. I must admit that the last few months have been strange and a great learning for me. You all probably know that I have finally had to have spinal surgery, which ended up being quite severe. This was no surprise to me. What is a surprise is how slow everything is getting back to some semblance of normality. It may be months before my nerve heals and settles. As I have not been able to sit for 6 weeks, I have really not been out of the house much since our winter retreat. The winter retreat was very special, amazing and profound. It was our last winter retreat, as Pir Nawab will now be coming to Australia every year to lead our retreats. This made our winter retreat even more special. As luck would have it, my surgeon was to finish performing major surgery by end of June and so I was to be his last patient. I felt this as a great privilege, as he is a renowned surgeon in his field. But this meant that I would have to leave the winter retreat at lunch time on the last day, to be admitted into hospital. It was an emotional retreat for me – every day, I found myself weeping over something beautiful. This is not like me at all. Everyone at the retreat worked as one! It was beautiful to behold. I could not do anything physically, but everything was done to perfection. We had lots of interaction and small groups where the topic of Do Not Hide Your Light was discussed and understood. Our light shone brightly! On the Saturday afternoon Rev. Helen Summers gave us such an interesting and special insight into the sacred geometry of the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral. She showed us a video which was made by Dr Keith Critchlow quite some time ago. Dr Critchlow has written extensively on sacred geometry, including a book on Chartres Cathedral and of Islamic art. The video was both fascinating and moving and I now have the greatest desire to go there and experience it for myself. One of the scenes in this video was from a helicopter looking down on the roof of the cathedral – the roof was a huge green cross which appeared to be held up by many, many hands. I was moved to tears yet again. As the day was cold and wet we could not walk the labyrinth at Amberley, But Helen had brought a large canvas replica of the labyrinth and so we were able to experience it in our own way, indoors in comfort. On the last day of the retreat, we decided to have the Candle of Wish just before lunch, so that I could be part of it before leaving for hospital. We sang the beautiful song Ya Nabi Salaam Alaika, most passionately, with tears in our eyes and then farewelled one another in true Sufi fashion. What moved me specially was that I found myself in the centre of a circle of all the participants as they sang the Irish Blessing for me. Just the memory of this still brings tears to my eyes. So I was transported to hospital on angel’s wings and did not come down from this ‘high’ till I left a week later. Love harmony and beauty, are what Sufism is about, but as Murshid has said, Sufism does not mean goodness, kindness or piety: Sufism means Wisdom. This concept is something to work with. And the last thing that I have discovered is that the ego wants so much to be liked/loved, but to give up this longing is so freeing. So sending you all much, much love, Nuria National Representative Sufi Movement in Australia Page 3 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Editorial The theme for this issue of Spirit Matters is Do Not Hide Your Light, which was the focus of our winter retreat in Melbourne. I feel that it is important to spread light and love in the world, and to try to counteract all the negativity that exists, to be loving and to nurture the light that exists in all of us. I believe that our spiritual growth can be a gift of great beauty to one another, and through transmission can help the whole of humanity. The light that we give to one another can be transformative, purifying and strengthening. Nuria’s inspiring article on the subject, and Zubin’s equally uplifting homily from the universal worship at our winter retreat are on pages 5 & 7, and Azim and Zora’s wonderful contributions follow, along with some photos from the retreat. Karim has also very kindly contributed another thoughtful and insightful essay on page 20. We were very lucky to have the Reverend Helen Summers join us at the retreat, and we were all very inspired by her talk about labyrinths and sacred geometry and by the video that she shared with us: Chartres Cathedral - A Sacred Geometry. It was such an interesting documentary and I would very much like to make it available to everyone in the world but unfortunately copyright laws prohibit such an impulse! It can, however, be rented online: https://vimeo.com Search for Chartres Cathedral - A Sacred Geometry. May the light inspire you! Yaqin
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Do Not Hide Your Light! By Nuria Knowledge is the light of life. It is the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it. The true light has always been in the world and it illuminates every person born into the world. It was in the world and the world is living only because it had that light of knowledge within itself, but the world did not hold on to it. It revealed itself to its own, but its own did not keep it. Only the ones who understood the knowledge, they alone were given the opportunity to become like it, by virtue of their belief in its essence. Those who believed in the fact that life is based in knowledge did not become the sons of t he flesh, but became sons of knowledge. So wrote Tolstoy in his truly insightful book on the gospel. Jesus said: You are the light for the world, so do not hide your light, but show it to people. After all, having l it a light, no one puts it under a bench, they put it on the table so that it shines for everyone in the room. Likewise, you must not hide your light, but you must show it in your actions, so that people can see that you know the truth. And, seeing your good works, they will come to understand your heavenly father. In the fairy tales we have been delving into, the Feminine is constrained into hiding her light. She is ‘enchanted’ into wearing a frog-skin, or she is hidden in the depths of the ocean (of the unconscious). The hero’s quest is to find her, but the Feminine herself has her own quest to make her light shine forth. She must ‘get rid’ of her frog skin, and gain the ‘knowledge’ (enlightenment) to become the Queen she really is. In a recent discussion on ‘From Lucifer to Satan’, at the Melbourne Jung Society, Lucifer as the Angel of Light, holds our awareness of our beauty, pride and our sense of being special. We have been taught that Lucifer is the fallen angel, but Lucifer is only ‘fallen’ when the ego grabs our concept of beauty and pride within ourselves. The shadow side of Lucifer can be narcissism and inflation – thinking of ourselves as being more important than we are. Lucifer is the light bringer – where the mind splits into opposites, the Light brings together the opposites into unity. Lucifer is in effect, the masculine Venus, or Freya, (Goddesses of Love, Light, and Beauty). It is so easy for the feminine in the patriarchy to hide herself: to wear the frogskin. We can very often see this in the body language. Hunched over, head down, trying to disappear; to not be noticed. Our gaze is directed to the ground, rather than to the heavens. Raise your gaze, so that the world can see your beautiful eyes. Raise your gaze so that you can see the magnificence of the mountain tops. It is as if we have been enchanted, as it says in the frog princess story. The mind reflects the body and the body reflects the mind. Our training and our practice in the spiritual realm allows us to Page 5 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
become aware of our beauty, and to be proud of what we have achieved. As Tolstoy shows us, to show our light in our actions, so that people can see the Truth. The collective shadow is Satan, who stands as an accuser, tempter, and transgressor. Satan deflates our sense of importance and reminds us that we are frail corruptible flesh. It is Satan who prevents us from shining our Light. But he tempts us to move from austere self-sacrifice to the joy of earthly pleasure. He undermines obedience with a call toward self-reliance and a disregard of laws and conventions. In his reflection on the life of Jesus, Tolstoy shows us a Jesus who went beyond the laws and conventions of his time, to teach the fulfilment of the eternal law, of the mystery of the other inner realm. Jesus defines his own spiritual laws most beautifully in the Beatitudes. The shadow of Satan is unrestrained selfishness and power over others. There is a very beautiful quote, by Marianne Williamson, often wrongly attributed to Nelson Mandela: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. It is interesting to note that the fathers of both the Princess Vassilisa (in the Frog Princess) and Princess Zezolla (in Cenerentola) can also represent the patriarchy. It is the patriarchy which is not in relationship with the Divine Feminine, and sees the feminine as a young maiden, or virgin. For the feminine to disengage herself from this misunderstanding, is a momentous task and why it is so remarkable that Princess Zezolla achieves this.
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Universal Worship Readings & Homily Do Not Hide Your Light By Zubin
Bhagavad Gita: Discourse 23 Matter and Spirit 7-17 Constancy in Self -knowledge, perception of the end of the knowledge of truth (the cessation of mortal existence). This is declared to be knowledge and what is;- opposed to it, is ignorance. That which has to be known I shall describe; knowing which, one attains the Immortal. Beginningless is the Supreme Brahman, It is not said to be sat (existent) or asat (non existent). With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes and heads everywhere, with hearing everywhere, That exists enveloping all. Shining by the functions of all senses, yet without senses; Unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities. Without and within (all) beings; the unmoving as also the moving. Because subtle, That is incomprehensible, and near and far away is That, And undivided yet remaining divided as it were in beings, supporter of beings too, is That, the Knowable, devouring yet generating. The Light even of Lights, That is said to be beyond darkness. Knowledge, the Knowable, the Goal of knowledge. It is implanted in the heart of everyone.
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The Dhammapada. Ethics v 10 &14 Those who have meditated well on ethics, wisdom and stability, Reaching the extremely stainless end, have no more pain. With their wisdom they go beyond the demon's land, And shine out radiant like the sun. Holy fragrance is not diffused by wind For the fragrance of the holy spreads everywhere. The sweet fragrance of ethics transcends every kind of incense Spreads from here to heaven. Therefore being cautious achieve immaculate ethics When perfect wisdom sets one free, this is the path to happiness, Engaging in it, meditate and abandon the demon’s bonds. Gospels of Zarathustra: Pt 2. Discourse 55, 3-4. The Sacred Word To those who wisely speak the Truth for me comes the best, that Holy Word of Righteousness which leads to Perfection and Immortality; for this end God's Power comes that Love may increase in him. He who in the beginning thought, and the light was filled with Lights, Himself through wisdom created the Law of Righteousness whereby He might manifest the highest love; O God (my Lord) let it blaze up through Thy Spirit, which is evermore the same! Then O God, shall I in my mind realise Thee as the First and Last, the Father of Love, when with the eye I perceive Thee as true Parent of Righteousness and Lord of all life's deeds. Torah: Genesis 1.3 (KJV) And God said let there be light and there was light. A word from the Holy One goes way beyond speech. It is the effusion and radiance of the cosmos in becoming The light of consciousness was, is and will be Being-now! And the whole realm of existence echoes back, In the instant that it awakens to the potential for consciousness already present in it. The light of consciousness was, is and will be – now! New Testament: Matthew 5:16 KJV Let the light of your being, the consciousness of knowing your real Self, radiate and illuminate the human beings you find before you, as well as the community of voices you find within you. When they see and feel your atmosphere of ripeness, your ability to act at the right time and place, they will be reconnected in praise to the song and harmony of the Parent of All, the nurturing Force that recreates the cosmos each moment, unfolding a universe of sound vibration and light. Page 8 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Quran Sura al Nur Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things. Gayan A tongue of flame rises from every wound of my heart, illuminating my path through life and guiding my way to the goal. Let the sun of Thy divine spirit rise from my heart that morning may break out of the darkness of life. You are my life, it is in you that I live, From you I borrow life and you do I give O my soul and spirit you I adore I live in you so do I live evermore You are in me and in you do I live Still you are my King and my sins you forgive You are the present, the future and past; I lost myself but I have found you at last. Dear friends, The teaching of Christ was that no-one should hide their light under a bushel. One should raise one’s light on high. The principle mission of Sufism is to dig the soil under which the light of the soul has become buried. The Alchemy of Happiness describes three principal intoxications as false ego, obstacles under which our light is buried. the intoxication of one's self, the intoxication of one's occupation, and the intoxication of the senses one feels every moment. As a person advances in meditative life they may arrive at that stage where these three wines on which they may live are all withheld; and yet they still feel alive, more alive than ever. Page 9 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
This conviction of existing through our inner life is the essence of the divine message, and of all religions. One of the hardest obstacles to overcome is to recognize that the nafs represents the most active part of oneself, the one who is proclaiming, doing, saying, thinking, and looking upon life with oneself as a sort of centre. Murshid says: What we call annihilation is nothing but change. Neither substance nor form nor spirit are absolutely destroyed, it is only changed. But we sometimes do not like change. We don’t like it but we cannot live without it. There is not one single moment of our life when there is no change. Whether we accept it or not, the change is there. Destruction or annihilation or death might seem a very different change yet there are a thousand deaths that we die in life. Often our experiences in life are worse than death yet we go through them. At the time they seem unbearable, we think we cannot stand it but yet we live. The question may be asked, who is to do the annihilating? It is the ego itself asking. Any thought of ego in any respect feeds ego. The ego became so that God could experience life severally through the multitude of His beloved ones. When one moves into a larger stream of life, as Buddha taught, there is something vast to be gained which is hard to verbalise. In Buddhism the interpretation of Nirvana is given as annihilation. No one wants to be annihilated ... But it is only a matter of words ... In the Buddhist scriptures we heard: Those who have meditated well on ethics, wisdom and stability, Reaching the extremely stainless end, Have no more pain. With their wisdom they go beyond the demon's land, And shine out radiant like the sun. The Sufis call annihilation fana, but its real meaning is 'going through' or 'passing through.' Passing through what? Passing through the false conception, which is a first necessity, and arriving at the true realization. The finer an ego becomes, the less it jars upon others; Sufism approaches the conviction of the inner life by first annihilating one’s ego in the guide, Fana fi sheik, then in the master, fana fi rassoul, and ultimately in God, fana fi Allah! Lets consider for a minute how the ego develops. One’s observations, and Murshid’s talks on Cosmic Language indicate a child points to their body as what they can see or can imagine of themself. All else that it sees, it sees through its vehicle that is the body and calls it something separate and different. In this way, duality in nature is produced. From this comes 'I' and 'You.' All other things that exist, are considered according to their relation with this body. All other experience that the soul has in the physical world and in the mental spheres become a sort of world around it. This 'I' it has reserved and made captive in one thing, only – the body. 'I' stands as a separate entity, holding, attracting, collecting all that one has and which makes one's own world.
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As one becomes more thoughtful in life, so this conception of 'I' becomes richer in that one sees, 'It is not 'my' body only, but it is also the thought that I think that is 'my' thought; my feelings are also a part of my being. Therefore, I am not only my body, but I am my mind, also.' In this next step that the soul takes on the path of realization, it begins to feel, 'I am not only a physical body, but also a mind.' This realization in its fullness makes one declare, 'I am a spirit,' which means: body, mind and feeling, all together with which I identify myself – it is these that are the ego. When the soul goes farther on the path of knowledge, it begins to find that, 'Yes, there is something that feels the inclination to call itself 'I', but at the same time, all that the soul identifies itself with is not itself. The day when this idea springs up in the heart of man, he has begun his journey on the path of truth. Then analyzing begins, he also begins to see, 'I identify myself with this body, but this is 'my' body, just as I say 'my' table, or 'my' chair. So the being who is saying 'I' in reality is separate. It is something that has taken even this body for its use; this body is only an instrument.' And he thinks, 'If it is not this body which I can call 'I' then what else is there that I can call so? Is it my imagination with which I should identify myself?' So, even thought, imagination or feeling is not the real 'I'. What affirms 'I' remains the same, even after having discovered the false identity. We read in the tenth Sufi thought that perfection is achieved by the annihilation of the false ego. The false ego is what the self has wrongly conceived to be its own being. When that is separated by analyzing life better, then the false ego is annihilated. A person need not die for it. In order to annihilate this body, in order to annihilate the mind, a person has to analyze themselves and see, 'Where does 'I' stand? Does it stand as a remote, exclusive being? If it is a remote and exclusive being, then it must be found out.' The whole spiritual process is to find this out. Once this is realized, then the work of the spiritual path is accomplished. As in order to make the eyes see themselves, one has to make a mirror to see the reflection of these eyes. So, in order to make this real being manifest, this body and mind have been made as a mirror, that in this mirror this real being may see itself and realize itself as being independent. What we have to achieve by the path of initiation, by the way of meditation, by spiritual knowledge, is to realize this by making ourselves a perfect mirror. Through the whole spiritual process, what we learn is to disillusion the false ego. The annihilation of this false ego is its disillusionment. When once it is disillusioned, then the true ego realizes its own merit. It is in this realization that the soul enters the kingdom of God. It is in this realization that the soul is born again, a birth that opens the doors of heaven. In the Jewish scriptures we read:
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And the whole realm of existence echoes back, in the instant that it awakens to the potential for consciousness already present in it” The light of consciousness was, is and will be – now! The second objective of the Sufi path is: To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion, the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with customs or belief. On this, Murshid Hidayat said: When rising above the limitations of the ego, one realizes that one is only the disguise of the all pervading reality, of which one is at the same time the motive, the energy and the fulfillment. The Sufi’s aim in life is not to differ from any religion, nor to abuse any society. Whatever it be, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, or any other religion, whether it be the Theosophical Society, New Thought, or Christian Science, the sufi sees the good in all; or recognises that every being in the world does what is best for them, or attempts to. The Sufi's aim is the aim of the whole world: knowledge; but at the same time the Sufi wants to harmonize and to unite with others, not to seek differences. Thus his aim is to see not duality but unity, and this is in fact the aim of all religions; the only difference being that this aim has been declared either more or less plainly at different stages of the world's evolution. The spiritual pursuit is like shooting an arrow through darkness. As one approaches the goal, light comes. God is the light of the heavens and earth. By this light one has insight into the hidden laws of nature and no further instruction is needed. The Prophet Muhammad prayed Give me Light O God, give me light in my heart and light on my tongue and light in my hearing and light in my seeing and light in my feelings and light in every part of my body and light before me and light behind me. Give me, I beg you, light on my right hand and light on my left hand and light above me and light beneath me. O Lord, make light grow within me and give me light and illuminate me.
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The altar with candles lit for the Universal Worship service.
Azad lighting a candle. Page 13 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Zubin reading from her homily given at the Universal Worship service.
Azim reading from the sacred scriptures.
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Shine Your Light (Ballad of the Last Winter Retreat) by Azim We gathered together at Amberley In an atmosphere of harmony If this was, perhaps, the last retreat Then there was no other place to be One by one, each took their seat Until the circle was complete The altar candle burning bright Nourishing our inner heat We were asked to shine our light Is this just ego in full flight? Exploring our emotional ranges Yet conscience knows, what’s wrong, what’s right
Fear of being judged by strangers Held back by imagined dangers Can we put our instinct to the test The possibilities of changes Our ideal is a noble quest Can imperfect offerings still be blessed? Impulses flowing from the heart To raise your light, just make a start The journey begins when you depart In any accomplishment or feat The universe shall play its part
And so it was, our winter retreat And until, again, once more we meet Let’s all recall that fragrance sweet The fragrance of the last retreat
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The Sun and the Moon It happened one time that Mullah Nasrudin was in a teahouse, surrounded by listeners, as he spoke of the beauty and purpose of nature. An onlooker asked him, “Mullah, What is the most useful, the sun or the moon?” Nasrudin thought for a moment, then said “Why, the moon of course! It shines its light at night when you really need it”. At first this seems like a typical Nasrudin story, when the obvious is turned on its head. Looked at from a mystical viewpoint, a subtle truth appears. As the light of the moon is purely a reflection of the light of the sun, similarly, we ask, in the prayer Salat: “May the star of the Divine Light shining in thy heart be reflected in the hearts of thy devotees” For what purpose is this Divine Light reflected ? For the benefit of those who find themselves in spiritual darkness. This reflected light can take the form or vibration of what another needs to lighten their way; sympathy, patience, encouragement or any of the manifestations of love and light. In consciously reflecting these qualities to another, our hearts are also tuned to them. Azim Smith Page 16 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Light, my light, the world-filling light, the eye-kissing light, heart-sweetening light! Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life; the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love; the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth. The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light. Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light. The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling, and it scatters gems in profusion. Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling, and gladness without measure. The heaven's river has drowned its banks and the flood of joy is abroad. by Rabindranath Tagore, contributed by Zora.
The one who awakens shines with a radiance of spirit. Come out and shine like the moon, but first, quiet yourself. Quiet the mind, tend the heart, and come back to yourself. Let what is beautiful in you have space, to be heard and listened to, and blossom. Attributed to the Buddha in the Dhammapada. (Sourced from Jack Kornfield's podcast, Heart Wisdom, a deep comfort in the midst of these unsettling times.) Page 17 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Excerpts from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan The life one recognizes is only the mortal aspect of life. Very few have ever seen or been conscious of the immortal aspect at all. Once one has realized life, that which one has hitherto called life is found to be only a glimpse or shadow of the real life that is beyond comprehension. To understand it one will have to raise one’s light high from under the cover that is hiding it like a bushel. This cover is man’s mind and body; it is a cover that keeps the light active on the world of things and beings. “Do not keep your light under a bushel” means that we are not to keep the consciousness absorbed in the study of the external world, and in its pleasures and enjoyments. Volume 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden Silent Life
We cover our spirit under our body. We cover our light under a bushel. We never allow the spirit to become conscious of itself. … when the soul is illuminated it will desire to find some other soul illuminated in like manner, and will find great joy and bliss in its society. Such a one will surely find others who are on the verge of illumination. Even a drunkard will find others to drink with. And so it is mystically. A very little light can be turned into a flame, and that flame into a very big flame. Why is it better to become a mystic than to remain a drunkard? As a matter of fact a drunkard will never be satisfied. The mystic will look for what Omar Khayyam calls wine, the wine of the Christ, after drinking which no one will ever thirst. He will always seek the wine whose intoxication never wears off. It is the only wine: the intoxication of the divine love. Volume 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden Spirits and Spiritualism
According to the belief of a Sufi the heart is the shrine of God, and when the doors of the shrine are closed it is just like a light being hidden under a bushel… God is Love. If He is love He does not stay in the heavens. His earthly body is the heart of man. Volume 8, The Privilege of Being Human 7. Truth Page 18 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Walking the Labyrinth (Information kindly provided by the Reverend Helen Summers of the Interfaith Centre of Melbourne)
About labyrinths: The labyrinth is an archetypal form; it is found in almost every culture and country in the world. No-one knows its origin as it dates back to before recorded history. The labyrinth is a metaphor for life. You are on the path exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here you can only go forward, shaping your life story. There is no right or wrong way to walk the labyrinth. People of many faiths and of no faith walk the labyrinth. The design of this labyrinth is based on a famous one placed on the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France in the 1200s.
Reasons for walking the labyrinth: • Clear your thoughts • Help in decision making • Relax • Find meaning • Increase creativity • Mindfulness • Hear your inner wisdom • Be guided to your purpose • Sanctuary, peace • Pray • Celebrate • Let go of anger • Forgiveness of self or other • Let go of the past • Open your heart
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Janus, Timelines, Songlines, and other Dreamings By Karim Parkhurst
Many years ago, sitting on a small hill in Central Australia I watched as a distant dust trail inched its way across the vast red expanse, stretching towards the horizon and low mountain ranges. Perhaps half an hour passed as it gradually became clear that what I was watching was the steady progress of a motor vehicle and then it occurred to me that what I was also watching was someone’s ‘timeline’, etched in the rising cloud of dust, hanging in the still air. Ahead, through the windscreen, their future as yet untravelled; behind, the billowing clouds of dust, their past, still clinging, visible, in the still morning air and where they sat, behind the wheel, their present moment. For a brief time, their lives were exposed, should they care to look in the rear view mirror. I wondered if they looked. My place of viewing a kind of bird’s eye view of someone’s personal history unfurling before me, was a kind of mini-god’s eye view of a life, out there, on the red plains of Central Australia. For a brief time I was Janus, the ancient two faced god of doorways, presiding over past and future; one face turned to the past, one toward the future, with where I sat the present. But who watches over the watcher? Our history, personal and otherwise, tells us something; it contributes not only to our story, but to the life we may live, in the future. It is something, perhaps not everything, but of value none-the-less, and Janus, that two faced god of the Romans reminds us of this fact. But Janus has two faces; one looks backwards, one forward. Did it occur to the Romans that where he sat in relation to these two directions was also important – perhaps the most important feature of all – the present moment? As the deity of doorways, he was also invoked at the beginning of things, so perhaps they did! In Australian Aboriginal culture ‘Songlines’ form the backbone that is invoked during Initiation ceremonies, giving voice to the knowledge of where the participants fit into the tapestry of events as they unfold. I remember once sitting with a group of old men ‘singing’ during an important ceremony, part of the transition of boys into men. I sat in Page 20 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
the dark on the red sand under a carpet of stars, listening as events unfolded around me, meditating. At a certain point my reverie was interrupted by the ceremonial leader of the ‘Business Men’, who whispered to me that I should “sing” too! My presence could not be that of merely an observer! But what was I to sing? I couldn’t sing in their language even if I knew it, which I certainly didn’t, much less could I ‘tell’ any part of their ‘story’ which was unfolding before me. Anyone who has heard traditional voices raised in singing their country would immediately be aware of its hypnotic, rhythmic nature, how much more so in this setting, sitting on the red sand in the warm late night air of the Tanami Desert with a group of men who were reproducing a culture that had existed – for the most part uninterrupted – for tens of thousands of years. What was I to sing? Why – the sounds of the rhythm of their own voices echoing back to them. So I did (however appalling it may have been!). As a ‘Jakamarra’ – a “skin name” I had been given on arrival in the Northern Territory desert country to the West of Alice Springs (Pintupi) – they knew who I was and where I fitted in, only I remained in the dark, so-to -speak! We carry lots of baggage that we are unaware of on our journey through life. Sometimes this baggage serves us, at other times it weighs us down slowing our progress. What to take with us? What to leave behind? It is not every day that we are put on the spot as it were; asked to make such a decision: what to leave, what to keep. According to Hazrat Inayat Khan, the aspirant wishing to step out on the Sufi path needs to be clear on this point. Unfinished business needs to be attended to; ‘debts’ paid; obligations met; supplies for the journey laid-up. Understanding that the ‘Path of Return’ is a long and arduous one and that having to keep starting again, were we to be called back to attend to stuff overlooked, can only make the journey even harder than is necessary, and is an important part of this preparation. We cannot always know our endings from our beginnings. Indeed, we are often lucky if we are blessed to know the first few steps ahead. Inayat Khan’s words are therefore ‘patterns’ not ‘templates’ to be rigidly followed. Few indeed are those who can place their hands over their hearts and claim to have fully complied with his dictum, to be fully free before one starts on this journey. Much of what we need to know, we must discover on the road as we journey on. Somehow we begin to understand – often enough through our own hubris – that someone ‘watches over the watcher’. And then we can learn the lesson of trust, not in ourselves initially, but in those that went before. • Ibn ‘Arabi, during his ascension stopped at the ‘station of Aaron,’ the brother of Moses, and there he found Yahya [John the Baptist], who had already reached this station before him. ‘So I said to [Yahya]: “I didn’t see you on my path: is there some other path there?” And he replied: “Each person has a path, that no one else but he travels.” I said: “then where are they, these [different] paths?” Then he answered: “They come to be through the travelling itself.” (The Meccan Revelations: Ibn al ‘Arabi, Vol 1 Ed Chodkiewicz, M. Trans. Chittick, W.C. & Morris, J.W. Pir Press, New York, 2005, Ibn ‘Arabi’s Spiritual Ascension James W. Morris, p223) Page 21 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Review by Carole Voss of The Witch as Teacher in Fairy Tales www.goodreads.com
This beautiful treasure “The Witch as Teacher in Fairy Tales” by Nuria Daly seems sprung from the heart of wisdom herself. Importantly it is a lovely resource for lovers of Baba Yaga, The Frog Princess and The Fairy of the Dawn! The author explores many hidden mysteries embedded in these stories and others that reach into the language of the region of the heart. It’s a responsible and serious fusion of Ancient folk cultures, Esoteric mysticism, Alchemy, Sufism and Jungian psychology with an endearing and uplifting perspective about the Witch Archetype. Importantly there is a prompt in understanding the subtle differences and yet unique spiritual journey for women. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is on the soul’s journey, story tellers who would like the opportunity to gain greater depth into the stories they may tell and anyone who studies about or feels an intimate connection to the mysterious divine feminine.
Page 22 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018
Page 23 Spirit Matters Volume 22 Issue 3 September 2018