Sufism: an Inquiry - Vol18.2

Vol.18N.2 an inquiry

Honesty The Language of Spirituality Practice

If you ask me, what do I recommend?

The best is to leave everything

and just follow the one.

- Hafiz

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Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

Steve Uzzell photography

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The world's longest running journal on Sufism 30 years of service toward cultivating peace and understanding in the world Since its founding in 1983, the International Association of Sufism has been proud to be a home for Sufis, spiritual seekers, and people of all kinds devoted to uplifting the quality of humanity around the globe. Over the last three decades, the IAS has been blessed with phenomenal growth and has worked hard to be a leader in a wide range of areas. Among the longest running of its traditions of service is our journal, Sufism, An Inquiry, which we first published in 1987. Since that time, Sufism, An Inquiry has been a living reflection of the dynamic energy and growing global community of Sufis and searchers who are deeply engaged in the work of the IAS. Over 60 volumes, the pages of Sufism, An Inquiry have championed women’s rights and the work of the Sufi Women Organization; published scientific inquiries ranging from the physiology of heart math to the latest findings of astronomers; shared new translations of classic works of Sufi literature previously unavailable in English; offered works by leading psychologists on human development and the spiritual path, reported on human rights and other diplomatic movements ranging from the work of the United Nations to interfaith organizations such as the United Religions Initiative; explored the cultural gifts of world religions diversely embodied around the planet; and provided insight into a wide variety of effective practices for spiritual development. As a whole, the tradition at Sufism, An Inquiry of featuring the work of great teachers, scholars and scientists from a wide variety of global perspectives, historical contexts and fields of specialization runs deep and strong throughout our journal’s history and shall continue to grow far into the future.

Since the time the IAS first began publishing Sufism, An Inquiry, the world has also gone through an amazing transformation full of new opportunities and new challenges. One notable dimension in which the world has changed completely is the world of media under the influence of the internet and high technology. Just as the IAS has been at the forefront of leadership efforts for peace, human rights and equality, religious freedom and international cooperation, critical to meeting the opportunities and challenges of our changing world, today the IAS is proud to announce that it is relaunching Sufism, An Inquiry in a new online, digital format that will make it more dynamic and more accessible than ever to a worldwide population. We look forward to developing video content, mp3 audio files, social interactivity, links to websites with related content, and a beautiful full-color layout. At the same time, we plan to offer the journal, not just online, but in print, in downloadable pdf format, and in other formats readable on e-readers.

To all our readers who have added so much to our community over these many years, we wish to extend our great appreciation for making us part of your life and we extend to you and to all our enthusiastic invitation to journey with us into this new and exciting period of growth for our journal.

We hope you will enjoy this, our inaugural issue in our new online, digital format! Let us know what you think in an email to: sufismjournal@gmail.com.

Peace to you and yours,

Sufism, An Inquiry Editorial Staff, The International Association of Sufism Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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Publisher: International Association of Sufism a nonprofit corporation.

Editor-in-Chief: Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D. Executive Editor: Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Journal Board: Matthew Davis, Ph.D., Munir Hedges, Elizabeth Miller, Ph.D., Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D., Hamed Ross, Taher Roybal.

Photography:

Susan W. Lambert

www.SusanWLambert.com

Steve Uzzell

www.SteveUzzell.com

Inside Cover Photo: Steve Uzzell

The various articles in SUFISM: an inquiry represent the individual views of their authors.

SUFISM: an inquiry does not imply any gender bias by the use of feminine or masculine terms, nouns and/or pronouns.

SUFISM: an inquiry is a quarterly journal (ISSN: 0898-3380) published by the International Association of Sufism.

Address all correspondence regarding editorials and advertising to: SUFISM, P.O. Box 2382, San Rafael, California 94912 Phone: (415) 472-6959 email ias@ias.org All material Copyright Š 2017 by International Association of Sufism.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication (including art) may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

The publication is published by the International Association of Sufism, a California nonprofit corporation.

The publication of any article, essay, story, or other material herein constitutes neither an endorsement of, agreement with, or validation of the contents of the author’s views expressed therein.

Although the Publisher has made all reasonable efforts in its editing of such material to verify its accuracy, the Publisher takes no responsibility for any innacurate or tortious statement by the author set forth therein.

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editors’ desk

09. A Letter from the Desk of the Editor

Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.

13. Principles of Sufism:Destiny & Human Being

Nahid Angha, Ph.D.

15. Essential Practices: Sidg Nahid Angha, Ph.D.

17. Selected Teachings: Perception & Freedom Hazrat Moulana Shah Maghsoud

history, inquiry & science 23. Reading the Holy Books

Matthew Davis, Ph.D.

35. Adab: The Wisdom to Be Matthew Davis, Ph.D.

41. Practice: 40 Days

Victor Sinow

77. 99 Most Beautiful Names: Al

Akhir Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D.

reports

43. Sufi Women: Women’s Leadership

honoring Lucia Martel-Dow

51. Annual Inspiration Dinner

honoring Donna Garske

53. Calligraphy & Humanity 10-Day Workshop

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healing and the world 31. Attachment & the Root of Security

Jamal Granick, Ph.D.

45. Women’s Wisdom in Action

Service Appreciation Grant: 2018 Honorees

64. UN Report

poetry

21. In these days and times...

Hafiz

63. A Poem for Sonia.

David Katz, M.D.

sufi biography

59. In Memoriam

Shahid Athar, M.D.

61. In Memoriam

Sonia Gilbert

65. In Memoriam

Arthur Buehler

69. Annual Community Award

honoring Leili First, Ph.D.

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Letter from the Editor

Birth of Man within the World of Eternity Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.

Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.,

the Editor in Chief of the journal, is the CoDirector of the International Association of Sufism. He is an acclaimed Sufi Master with students around the world, an international lecturer and the author of numerous books including An Introduction to Religion.

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The revelation of the prophet Moses, peace be upon creation of time and space. This nothingness included him, set forth in the Torah describes the experience of a Moses himself since he passed through all the states and human being on his inward journey of self-knowledge, stations of purification necessary to achieve f’ana, which a journey into awareness of one’s unity with the whole means annihilation. The witness of this nothingness was of being, and a journey of return from eternity to eterthus one with the nothingness. In Sufism, we refer to this nity, from the beginning with no beginning to the end as the state of F’aqr or poverty. It is a saying of the Prophwith no end. The first chapters of the Book of Genesis et Mohammad, peace be upon him, that “Poverty is my record this journey, which is the journey of the creation honor.” In Buddhism, this state of poverty is known as anof the physical world but also the journey of a human nihilation or Nirvana, the station of absolute freedom. In being. Moses thus bears direct personal witness: “In fact, the darkness of this nothingness is the most extreme the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. form of light. It is known as dark light and is the richest The earth was without form and void, and darkness was color, comprised of all the other colors combined. The upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was story of Genesis thus teaches us not only that creation moving over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let began in nothingness, but that our own beings began there be light’; and there was light.” with creation in nothingness too, and that our own beIn these opening lines of the Torah, there are many ings have the ability to return to that state of nothingness words that are easy to take for granted, but that ought where we can receive the self-knowledge of the reality of to receive our careful attention. For example, where it our unity with all existence. is written that “the earth was without form and void,” It is only within the womb of this nothingness, that birth the Torah is explaining that every being in the physical or spiritual rebirth can occur. The manifestation of creworld is a manifestation of a fundamental, eternal reation that occurred when God said, “Let there be light,” is ality, which exists as an idea, known as Tajalli. It is the breakknowledge or wisdom that ing of light upon creation like a is abstract and pure energy. sunrise, illuminating the entire “Creation: motion from the This abstract essence and eneternity. In this daybreak, every motion within the motion.” ergy characterize and belong sparkle, every photon is the first to existence in the first day of seed, the first point of daybreak, creation and may be thought each flowing forward on the riv- Moulana Shah Maghsoud of as the root of being. When er of time and space like a chaff the Torah states that “darkfloating on the running water ness was upon the face of the of a river that passes through deep,” that darkness signifies what is hidden, what is many lands. The chaff travels with the river but is never not visible. The deep signifies the existence of a root, displaced from the specific water molecule that was its which by nature extends through the depths below the point of introduction in relation to the rest of the flow. In surface in a realm where it cannot be seen. The face of the same way a human being may travel to every corner a thing is its visible surface. This surface is like an icon of the globe and still she cannot possibly be displaced that is invisibly linked to many files that are wrapped from her very own being. And the question here is: What in the unseen layers of its being. The screen of nature is the address of our being? Although we cannot be sepaenables the icon of each being to show a face or surface rated from our being, do we know the reality of who we that is visible to our senses. Thus, in these first few lines are? Have we witnessed our unity with existence within of revelation, the deep signifies the infinite immensity the womb of nothingness? Have we found the sparkle of of what Islam refers to as fitre, the universal, abstract, light that was our point of origin into the river of physical spiritual foundation or background of all existence: uniexistence? ty. By contrast, the face signifies the projection of that The river we contemplate here arises from the eternal limitless abstract into a finite form that renders it visible Wave out of that womb of nothingness. All the visible and possible to experience in the physical world. When manifestations of this wave across creation are governed the Torah says the earth was without form and void, it by the changing state of the environment and influence describes the abstract root of the physical world before of energy and gravity, but what remains unchangeable is it has been projected into a finite and visible icon or what we are calling the seed of our potentiality, that point form of being. of introduction, when God said, “Be!” The stages of stone, We thus learn from this opening that, in the beginplant, animal and human being are each based upon a ning, there was a nothingness before there was light motion that reflects a different potentiality now traveling and before the light expanded through the days of in that river. Matter is the final station along that river and

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is a reflection of energy that has slowed and dropped down in its level gradually until it reaches an ultimate place of limitation.

The flow of this river from the nothingness of fitre to the physical existence we know on Earth is described in Genesis as the days of creation. The first day, the day of unity, hidden in abstract fitre, ends with the creation of light and the separation of light and dark. In this way duality is created, as is multiplicity through the creation of matter out of light that has stepped down in its wavelength little by little during the extension of light through time and space. In the second day, the preparations required for the introduction of life into matter are completed. In the third day, the natural law ordaining the developmental potentiality of each life according to its kind is then introduced into matter at the vegetable stage of living organisms. In the fourth day, the development and manifestation of potentialities is made possible through the carefully calculated guidance offered through the process of reflection from the source back through the stations and stages of being. In the fifth and sixth days, the more complex

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development and manifestation of potentialities of animal life are achieved, culminating in the creation of a living vessel, the human being, capable of reflecting the unity of the whole of creation, of God. The seventh day is the day of perfection, when the human being actually reflects the unity of God. The human being’s ability to reflect the image of God’s unity in his or her own being rests in his or her ability to collect all his or her energy within the heart and make the return journey, as Moses did, back through the days of his or her own creation. Thus, the seventh day, the day of perfection, is actually the completion of a circle for it is the day when the human being returns to the first day, the day of unity, to nothingness, to poverty. When all aspects of one’s being are annihilated into the realm of fitre or nothingness, then Allah, that is, God moves in with the light and breath of life, illuminating the heart of the human being in eternal unity with God. This final state in the fulfillment of the potentiality of the human being should be permanent, Bagha. Unless one is a Prophet of God like Moses, this can only be achieved with the guid-

ance of a teacher who has completed this journey for him or herself and who already reflects the light of God born again within his or her own heart after achieving f’aqr. There are teachers who have achieved this light through the guidance of their teachers who in turn achieved this light through the guidance of their teachers, and so on, all the way back to the Prophets.

When we consider the immensity of the journey these Prophets made under the direct guidance, not of a human teacher, but of God directly, we begin to realize the value of their accomplishment and to revere it more ardently.

The days of creation recited in Genesis are not a fable, but are instead the traces of the direct witnessing of a reality spanning to the eternity both before and after the fourteen billion years of physical existence of the universe and existing to be witnessed right now, today, in any moment. They are the discovery of an inward scientist illuminating the laws of existence governing the potentiality of the human being to experience unlimited knowledge and oneness with God. Our society lacks an understanding of the full scope

of this accomplishment and thus lacks reverence for what should be regarded as truly Holy in a way that today seems inconceivable.

The word for God in Hebrew is ‘Elohim, which signifies the first manifestation of the Creator, the Almighty.

This signification comes not from the meaning of ‘Elohim, but from its pronunciation or expression, which is a reflection of the melody of the breath of the Creator.

This breath of the Creator’s first manifestation is the spirit of God “moving over the face of the waters” as it expresses the command, “Let there be light.” Water is the source of life. Science has not yet discovered this, but it soon will. Moses, however, made this discovery more than three thousand years ago. Thus, one of the things we learn from Moses’s discovery is that the word for God is the sound of God bringing forth life through creation from the womb of fitre. This first breath and light of being are eternal. We have the capacity to hear that first melody and to see that first light just as did Moses. We only need a guide and a quest strong and pure enough to drive us to the ultimate poverty of nothingness.

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Destiny & Human Being Nahid Angha, Ph.D.

The pursuit of happiness and peace is a universal quest. We have been seeking “happiness” throughout our history; we analyze and describe what constitutes happiness and peace through philosophy, science, psychology and religion.

Motivational talks have mesmerized us; self-healing practices have opened doors of possibilities; and soul-searching reflections have helped us to overcome what is undesirable.

Yet, in the world governed by technology, where “feeling better” is sought in consumption of more goods and richness, and defined in the language of material possession, somehow we are not happier, more at peace, or less lonely than past generations. Technology has helped us connect to the world, and advancements in science and medicine have given us unprecedented possibilities; yet, such globalization, somehow, has not offered us leisure time, or hope for the health and survival of our communities, our cultures, our traditions and our planet.

The face of technology is becoming more familiar than recognizing the face of our human neighbor. Somehow, the great gift of the universe within is overshadowed by the world of material accumulation; somehow the fortune of discovering the richness of being was sacrificed at the footsteps of globalization, eliminating the individual self, individual values, and hope for humanity. And through all these conditions, the puzzle of what road leads to the station of happi-

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ness has remained unanswered.

Each era has its own attributes and characteristics, its own possibilities and potentialities, and in this new era of possibilities, we find ourselves at the crossroad of decision making, anew. Our intellectual understanding of the material world is advancing rapidly, and the voice of the heart’s longing is softening. Technology has opened the door of global promise, yet, at the same time, managed to undermine the importance of the individual self, human uniqueness and individuation. This technology has succeeded in overlooking the value of human heart, compassion, dignity, and honoring life, both in human and in nature.

It is of great value to remind ourselves that the spiritual traditions of the world have not yet lost hope in human beings, and they remind us, again and again, of the importance of understanding and honoring the universe within the human heart. This universe opens the door of understanding, free from the dimensions of time or place, gender or race, cultures or traditions, and all that is fleeting in human life. Self-awareness becomes an invaluable vehicle, leading not only toward global peace but also toward human happiness. Real happiness finds its root in knowledge, awareness, stability, compassion, virtue, ethics, morality, confidence, and, above all, valuing human life more than valuing the consumption or accumulation of material goods.

Principles of Sufim

Transformation has to begin from one’s self – it is not only the globe that decides the destination and fate of human kind; it is also the individual who has the ability to decide the destiny of the globe. It is at this point of understanding that we may need to remind ourselves of the importance of individual, and not overlook the individual’s potentiality for leading toward the survival of humankind as well as the planet.

It is important for us to remember that for the individual to lead towards global or individual peace and happiness, the individual has to find peace and happiness within his or her own being first. And, so the journey towards self-awareness becomes an essential embarking point in human life, a journey that begins from limitation and steps towards liberation. The journey of self-awareness will require individual and global responsibility, perhaps a good starting point towards peace and happiness. The foundation of such awareness and knowledge is human-self.

It is such awareness that promises freedom, and liberates us from the unknown dictates of technology and unpredictable destiny of globalization.

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Essential Practices Along the Spiritual Path

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Sidg Sidg signifies truthfulness and honesty, but the concept of sidg embodies a much more complex conception than just the ordinary idea of an honest man as opposed to a liar.

More deeply, an honest person is one whose actions and promises agree with his inner intentions and thoughts, so that he is as he presents himself to be. Truthfulness is thus a foundation for actions and behavior. Moral intentions are perfected into action through and by such a basis and foundation.

Honesty in every day life consists in the agreement between intention and behavior, easing individual life and contributing to social well-being and thus to the advancement of human civilization. To the extent that honesty is practiced by all, people face far fewer difficulties and everyone’s rights are understood and respected. In the case of the individual, instead of spending time and effort to make lies appear as truths, and so adding to the suspiciousness of everyone, his time can be better used more wisely. In a hypothetical society where all transactions are based on honesty all would be worthy of respect and trust. A dishonest person who misrepresents his intentions cannot be worthy of trust, and such an individual’s life becomes permeated by an atmosphere of dishonesty, so that all of his actions, even those which are wellintentioned, will lead not to the straight path and the direct understanding of reality, but rather into the morass of destruction. The rules of harmony and cooperation do not permit the dishonest to progress along the path of spirituality, however hard they may strive.

by Nahid Angha, Ph.D. from: Principles of Sufism 53-56

Truthfulness

The honest person is one who possesses both outwardly apparent and inwardly sanctified sincerity and truthfulness. His honesty does not consist in merely telling the truth, but in the inner character that makes the telling of truth possible. A person with a fundamentally unclean character, even if he attempts to be honest, cannot truly ever be so, since truthfulness is remained closed to such an individual…

The signs of truthfulness are seen when one keeps one’s intentions, deeds, thoughts, and actions all in agreement with each other.

Rectitude, which is the light of the heart, will flow from the heart into speech and the saying of truth will manifest the intentions of the heart…

The seekers and the believers of reality live honestly in their hearts. Their ears are tuned to the sublime magnetic waves of the eternal existence of Being; their lives are lived in harmony with the rules of the existence. They see, hear, and witness reality as it really is, the reality that must always be hidden from the hearts of the ignorant. Thus, the honest heart lives according to the unchangeable rules of the existence, the rules of eternity, of infinity, of Being. Those who are slaves of their own passions and desires cannot live in their hearts, and the hearts of the aware are illuminated by the light of the infinite rules that spring from the Divine.

The saved are not misled by the deceit of the nafs, or changeable and transient nature, nor are they misled into listening to any voice that is not of the eternal Being. Only those who can listen to the truth can understand and so enjoy truth.

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Selected Teachings

The life giving song of the Eternal Composer rejoices my heart every new day, my ear confident in its fine echoes. And even now I delight to hear His melodies. The steps of my delight are determined by His wisdom and repeat themselves by His will.

You, the protector of the trusting, the scattered flocks of my senses and intellect were under Your protection from the very time they were entrusted to the field of natural and physical life. I have witnessed the many times that you guarded them against the wolf of the carnal soul, and did not abandon them in the darkness of night. Now, as the energies of my youth lose their strength and my time runs short, and the footsteps of old age make their marks upon my face and body, do not leave me to myself!

I sowed the pure seeds of honesty and love in the field of my heart and soul from the very beginning, as You so willed, and now that the sun of my autumn days reaches to set behind the western horizon, help me to a good harvest in the house of Your acceptance.

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Selected Teachings

Translated by Dr. Nahid Angha A Meditation: Payam-e-del. IAS Publciations, San Rafael, 1991

Hazrat Moulana Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha

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New Courses Coming Spring 2019

Through the Holy Qur’an, Bible & Sayings

Over three Sundays 3/17, 3/31 & 4/14 Understanding the Qur’an 1:00 - 2:00 pm Understanding the Bible 2:15 - 3:15 pm Words of Wisdom 3:30 - 4:30 pm These classes provide reflections on holy books by a wise Sufi Master. They will provide a valuable resource for people of all religious and spiritual traditions who are seeking to deepen and enrich their own understanding and spiritual practice. $60 for any one of the three-week series; $175 for all three series Reserve a space, send a check made out to IAS to the address below or call (415) 382-7834 fmi: www.IAS.org

Institute for Sufi Studies 14 Commercial Blvd. #101, Novato

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BEYO N

S ON TI

D

NT IDE IFICA

The Roots of Healing

the INTERPLAY of PSYCHOLOGY & SPIRITUALITY International Association of Sufism In cooperation with Community Healing Centers, Sufism and Psychology Forum Present Laurence Heller, Ph.D., Beyond Identifications and The Roots of Healing workshop with: Jamal Granick, Ph.D., Arife Hammerle, Ph.D., and Amineh Pryor, Ph.D. St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley CA 94705 Saturday, July 27th, 2019, 9:30am – 5pm Early registration $150 until July 20th, $165 after. Online registration ends July 25th 6 CEUs for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs** In the morning presentation, Beyond Identifications, Dr. Laurence Heller, internationally published author, will present the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) as a spiritually and somatically based psychotherapy. He suggests that, “Psychology without access to the overarching spiritual underpinnings of existence is limited, symptom oriented and ultimately less effective.”

In the afternoon presentation, The Roots of Healing, psychotherapists and spiritual practitioners who are senior members of the International Association of Sufism (IAS), Community Healing Centers (CHC), and the Sufism and Psychology Forum (SPF) will offer workshops grounded in deep psychospiritual practice to access presence grounded in being, innate internal balance, and heart-based resilience.

For more information about CEUs go to the Community Healing Centers website at https://www.communityhealingcenters.org/workshops.

CHC is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, to sponsor continuing education for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs and LEPs, Provider number: 90789. Community Healing Centers maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. Continuing Education grievances and request for refunds, disability accommodations, copies of CEU certificates or other records should be directed to Dr. Ellen Hammerle at (415) 499-1115. For our policies pertaining to these matters, please go to the https://www.communityhealingcenters.org/policies-page.

International Association of Sufism Community Healing Centers Sufism & Psychology Forum

IAS.org

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Rhythms of the Heart: Hafiz

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Khvaja Shamsuddin Muhammad Hafiz 14th century Persian Poet

In these days and times, a truthful friend is like pure wine, and The heart of a love poem, hard to find.

Be cautious, for life’s path is narrow,

Now take a cup of Wine, for life is beyond comparing.

I tire of words stripped of deeds;

The vice of the learned who do nothing.

To the eyes of wisdom this path of distractions

The world and its destiny, ever changing, remain not long.

Caress the hair of the Beloved, do not recite the old story

Translations by Dr. Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Ecstasy:; The World of Sufi Poetry and Prayer. San Rafael, CA: International Association of Sufism Publications, 1998.

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Reflections

Reading the Holy Books Matthew Davis, Ph.D.

We know from the study of linguistics that language never accurately conveys the reality of experience. Linguists distinguish that there is a distance between a signifier (word) and that which is signified (reality). They also then acknowledge that there is an even greater gap between a word and reality that is introduced by the role of each person (interpretant) who, in the process of listening, inevitably translates, contextualizes and interprets the words, thereby producing a mental construct that is much different than what was originally perceived.

For instance, if one person mentions how they passed by a tree, the specific details and experience of the tree is lost and compressed into a vague word, “tree”. And the person who is listening to the story will imagine some faint idea of a tree that by no means matches the shape, size, tone, etc. of the tree first being mentioned. The gulf and differences can become quite comical.

So, when we share with a friend that the “ocean was beautiful and blue today,” or, “the birds sang and danced through the trees,” what does the lis-

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tening friend actually experience? Is it a mirror to what we witnessed, or is it hazy, generalized and distorted to match the friend’s body of past experience and current mood – and how closely are they even listening? How often have we heard someone reply to something beautiful that we have experienced with either disinterest or even a surprising disdain?

As a child, I often liked to imagine what it was like to describe the nature and experience of a mountain to someone who had only ever lived on the gentle rolling plains, and vice versa. Certain extrapolative details may be offered to provide some sense, but, in fact, there are no words that can fully describe the combined scientific history and lived feeling that one can witness while actually standing on the peak of a mountain. People do often say, “It’s indescribable.” I also still experience the other side as well, where a friend may be communicating something to me, but I grasp at phantasms to mentally illustrate what I imagine they might be describing, while knowing full well that I do not see it as it was.

While video and photographic images now make distant geographies more readily available for seeing, explorers of antiquity travelled to distant civilizations and returned with descriptions that stretched and played with the imaginations of those who had not seen beyond the borders of their immediate homelands. Those imaginations, recorded in drawings and journals, now appear like caricatures of reality, and illustrate the distance between words and the world. Even with the technology today, documentary films and war reporting still struggle to fully show an audience how to understand the worldly experience of people living in war zones, deep poverty and remote ecosystems. These films can provide us with some ideas, and maybe some feelings about these distant life experiences, but it would be quite ignorant to claim to know and understand the reality at which these films try to point. Even when there is only a few miles between one racially and economically defined community and another, they might as well be from different historical epochs – such is the distance of understanding.

Ultimately, one must make the trip to become a witness for oneself, if one wishes to see and know. In the case of the mountain, the journey from the flatlands toward becoming a witness is measured in miles. The depth of knowledge can also be measured in years of study. For instance, a mountaineer may take a long time to wrap her understanding to the reality of a mountain – and the more she journeys, the more knowledgeable of the mountain she becomes of its shapes, seasons, sounds, and silences. Similarly, it takes much more than a cursory drive through a neighboring community to even begin to sense the reality of how others live.

The Inner Reality How much more so must the distance between words and reality be with the case of the spiritual world, where the journey is a journey with no distance (or time) at all. Even the senses that we have developed for the external world, are not the ones that we must use to travel within. In fact, the senses of the external pull us into the external world,

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and work against our ability to see and hear within.

Many people approach the study of religion and the Holy Books through the words on pages, and the words from people telling stories from behind pulpits. Have any of these people journeyed through the mountains of spirituality (really), or have they all just read translations and listened to other people’s words and developed imaginative landscapes within the emotional field of their minds? If we (or they) think we can understand because it is written in a book, and that with a good vocabulary we can capture nuance and meaning, then we give too 25

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much credit to our mind. And if we think our emotions can give us knowledge about the reality, we must admit how easy it is to become lost and confused by our biochemistry.

Dr. Kianfar has talked about the seal and confirmation of the Holy Books – that the language isn’t of terms, but knowledge of vibration through direct witnessing. One can only begin to read when one has already become a witness to reality, so that the language of the spiritual land makes sense. Otherwise there is no way to understand the words of a Prophet or teacher, the words of those who have

been somewhere about which you have no direct experience. Revelation is the opening of the inner eyes and ears to another dimensionality of being, and out from which the physical body grows to touch and experience the external world.

Revelation is hearing inwardly when the mind, imagination and feelings of the body have found silence. By this seeing and hearing the spiritual world can alight, and the words of the Holy Books can then be understood and known as revelation and direct experience.

The question of course, though, is how may one

find their way to this hidden world when there are no recognizable landmarks to ensure the journey is moving in the right direction and not being derailed by the confluence of imagination and biochemical feelings? In the Sufi tradition, the answer is clear. It is impossible to travel into the depths of this untouched world without a guide. That guide is a teacher, and not a teacher by name, but only by the proof of their own journey to the mountain.

This teacher knows the signs of traveling and what is meant in the language from the Books that describe the hidden dimensions of being.

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IAS PUBLICATIONS

Sufi Wisdom: The Collected Words of Sufi Master Nahid Angha Compiled by Arife Ellen Hammerle, Ph.D. Second Printing

Stations of the Sufi Path: The One Hundred Fields (Sad Maydan) of Abdullah Ansari of Herat

by Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Archetype Publishing

Caravan: Biographies from the Sufism Symposia 1994-2014 Introduction by Nahid Angha, Ph.D.

Illumination of the Names: Meditation by Sufi Masters on the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God Introduction from the Teachings of Sufi Master Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar Compiled by Glenn Pascall

Seasons of the Soul: The Spoken Wisdom of Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar Compiled by Glenn Pascall & Saana Joy Carey, Ph.D.

Inspirations on The Holy Qur’an

Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar, students of Moulana Shah Maghsoud, 20th Century Persian Sufi Master, are Sufi scholars and masters, with many publications. They cofounded the International Association of Sufism in 1983, to introduce and provide practical applications of Sufism, the mysticism of Islam, and open a line of communication amongst Sufi masters and scholars from around the world.

To bring the wisdom of Islam to the general public, Dr. Kianfar offered exegesis on Qur’anic text through a series of classes entitled: Love and Wisdom through the Qur’an and Hadiths. His teachings and the students’ reflections are compiled in this book: Inspirations on the Holy Qur’an. Dr. Kianfar emphasized the importance of studying this text as a manual for humanity and as a reflection for a reader on his/her divine essence and of spiritual development. He emphasizes that the key to understanding the Qur’an is in how profoundly and reflectively one studies the teachings provided in the Book: the teachings that become a trusted guide for the practitioner who moves towards the stations of selfunderstanding and spiritual awakening.

International Association of Sufism IAS. PO Box 2382, San Rafael, California 94912, USA

ISBN: 0-918437-20-4

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Inspirations on The Holy Qur’an

Inspirations on The Holy Qur’an Introduction by Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar

Introduction by Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar

A Collection of Essays by Sherri Brown • Sarah Hastings Mullin • Munir Hedges Katherine Preston • Amelia Amineh Pryor Bryan Rich • Hamed Blake Ross

Institute for Sufi Studies Classes

Sufi Gatherings, Uwaiysi School Bi-monthly

Novato, CA

S M W H S

MEDITATION GROUPS

READING AND STUDY GROUPS

Sufi Meditation & The Journey Reading Group Every other Sunday, 10:00 – 11:30 am 14 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101, Novato, CA Call in advance: Dr. Arife Hammerle, (415) 389-6448

Amir al-Momenin Imam Ali (a.s.)

First Sundays monthly, 1:00 – 2:30 pm Novato, CA Contact Sheikh Salman Baruti

40 Days: Alchemy of Tranquility Every other Sunday evening San Mateo, CA Contact Katherine Preston Meditation for Mothers Second Mondays monthly, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm 14 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101, Novato, CA Pre-reg. required. Contact Dr. Amineh Pryor, (415) 4382-7834 Alchemy of Heart Sufi Meditation Program Last Mondays monthly, 4:30 – 5:30 pm 616 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941 Call in advance: Dr. Arife Hammerle, (415) 389-6448 Sacred Meditation Circle for Women in Santa Rosa First Wednesdays monthly, 11:00 am Santa Rosa, CA Contact Halima Haymaker, (707) 953-2013

Stations of the Sufi Path Third Wednesdays monthly, 7:00 – 8:00 pm San Francisco location, CA. Contact Dr. Amineh Pryor, (415) 4382-7834 Illumination of the Names Monthly on Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Novato, CA Contact Dr. Leili First

Heart-based Meditation Thursday evenings, 7:00 – 8:00 pm San Francisco, CA Contact Dr. Amineh Pryor, (415) 4382-7834 Sufi New Student Gathering Every other Saturday & by Appointment 14 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101, Novato, CA Contact Safa Ali Newman, (415) 499-1115

Seasons of Transformation One Saturday a month 14 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101, Novato, CA Contact Saleh Arthur Scott, (510) 318-0688 Adab: Conduct and the Expanse of Human Life One Saturday a month 14 Commercial Blvd. Suite 101, Novato, CA Contact Matthew Davis, (415) 496-5544

Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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IAS PUBLICATIONS

Human Self Volume 1: Body

by Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, et.al.

Human Self VOLUME I : BODY Shah Nazar Ali Kianfar

with Mary Toth Granick, M.Ed., MS Arife Ellen Hammerle, Ph.D. Amineh Amelia Pryor, Ph.D. Katherine Preston, MA

series

Reflections

by Arife Ellen Hammerle, Ph.D.

New Release

The Book of Self

by Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D.

THE

LIGHT of the

HEART

The Light of the Heart: An Introduction to the Principles and Practics of Sufism As taught by Sufi Masters Nahid Angha, Ph.D. and Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.

by Halima Joann Haymaker

HALIMA JOANN HAYMAKER

Sufism: Self, Path and Guide

by Amineh Amelia Pryor, Ph.D.

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&

Attachment

the Root of Security

Psychology suggests that the foundation of security is an internal state that does not depend on changing conditions. Contemporary theory looks to the security of earliest relationship, particularly with the primary caregiver, as the basis of this capacity for “self-regulation,” which is understood as the capacity to manage one’s emotions and behavior even when under duress in adverse circumstances. The assumption is that depending on the quality of the caregiver-infant bond, the internalized memory of this becomes a template for future relationships and shapes one’s self-image and expectations of others and the world. Based on the research of the 20th Century psychologist John Bowlby (1988), Attachment Theory asserts that optimal bonding provides a “secure base” for healthy human development. Hence, from this perspective, the word “attachment” has acquired a positive valence representing the potential for positive, life-affirming, supportive relationships.

From the perspective of many spiritual traditions, the word “attachment” is often used to indicate that which binds us to an illusory world that distracts us from knowing reality and our true identity. It is dangerous to compare terms from different disciplines without fully investigating their situated contexts, however the apparent discrepancy in the meanings to the two uses of this term “attachment” may represent something more significant that a simple semantic difference. There may be something to be gained from looking beyond the term itself and explore more deeply the embedded assumptions each context carries.

When psychology suggests that we internalize our early relationships, it means that we represent them within our memories. Long before we develop the cognitive capacity to create a narrative representation of our lives, we are laying down impressions as images, body sensations, emotional states, patterns of movement, and anticipated responses from our environment on deep, pre-verbal level that we carry forward with us through life, largely out of awareness. According to attachment theory, this collection of impressions, taken

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together, constitutes a person’s core sense of self. As development proceeds, and the capacity for cognitive symbolization is acquired, this felt sense is the foundation for the accumulated experiences, beliefs, and stories that form what is taken to be one’s identity. In this way, internalization becomes identification.

We hold on to our identifications as the supportive structures that enable us to effectively move through the world. In fact, we are attached to these images and the belief that they represent who we are. While this is not only helpful, but perhaps necessary, for functioning in a world of objects and others, it may be unnecessarily limiting. Our identifications depend on our memories, which are, by definition conditioned (Granick, 2018). That which is conditioned is conditional, hence inherently insecure.

At the retreat, another source of identity, which is beyond our conditioned experience, was offered. According to the teachings of Sufi Master Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar, we can operate from one of two “magnetic” centers, the mind or the heart. The mind, along with the nervous system, engages with the world through the senses. All of the experience that we derive from this way comprises our mental life, which includes both our “narrative” – the story we... (continued on next page)

by Jamal Granick, Ph.D. References Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base. New York: Basic Books Granick, J. (2018). Unconditioned Memory [to be published on SPF website]

Healing Practice

Community Healing Centers is a nonprofit counseling organization, serving our communities since 1997. Through our counseling services, trainings, and workshops we build understanding, increase insight, stabilize emotions, change dysfunctional habits and patterns, and increase creativity and productivity by restoring balance to the whole person.

CHC integrative psychotherapy, with its foundation in Sufi psychology, helps clients understand the rule of unity which shows that there is no separation between emotions, physiology, and spiritual experience and that each being is part of the greater unity with access to unchanging wisdom. Licensed psychotherapists, with many years of clinical experience and spiritual practice in the ancient wisdom of Sufism, help bridge spiritual teachings with the contemporary language and practice of psychology. They present this wisdom in a way that is accessible and very practical. This group of therapists and researchers is offering Sufi Psychotherapy to open a door for human beings to find the jewel of humanity within the heart.

CHC offers trainings and workshops at a broad range of agencies and organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, has established a training program for interns, and serves hundreds of clients. Our staff provide clinical consultation, facilitate groups, publish articles and books, offer a monthly on-line newsletter, and are available to speak on panels and give presentations.

CHC is a Continuing Education provider for therapists. Our clinical team and community affiliates offer psychological and spiritually informed services to adults, adolescents, couples, and families in our seven main and satellite locations from Novato to Palo Alto. www.communityhealingcenters.org

(415) 499-1115

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construct from the acquired images retained in memory – and our emotions. To the extent that we are attached to our acquired identities, we are in reaction to the perceived outer world, including our relationships with others. In this reactive condition, we are at the effect of our emotional responses, leaving us unstable, unchangeable, and insecure.

The heart, which in Sufism is understood as much greater than only a physical organ or a figurative “seat of emotion,” is inherently connected with the source of our being which is unified with the source of existence itself.

As Dr. Kianfar described it, rather than being at the effect of emotion, this center is “in motion,” harmoniously engaged with the movement of the universe itself. This connection between the heart and the Unity of being is innate, but requires of us that we make an internal shift

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in order to access it. When we make this shift then mind becomes the servant of heart and our relationships are not dependent on conditions.

When we hold onto our attachments, we remain in the realm of mind, attached to our acquired identities and living on the surface reality, distracted from the enormity and magnificence of Being. Relationships that are based on attachment, from this perspective, are transactions base on fulfilling emotional needs. When we shift to the heart, we have the potential to know our true identity. Dr. Kianfar suggests that when two people are centered in the heart there is the possibility of real communication, rather than emotional transaction based on attachment. This is the true definition of friendship.

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International Association of Sufism presents

Songs of the Soul Sacred Music PRE-REGISTRATION (by April 15) $25; at the door $35

www.ias.org Register online: www.ias.org/festival byVolmail: payable to IAS and mail to: 35 Register Sufism: An Inquiry XVIII, No.check 2

2019 Annual Inspiration Dinner honoring

f ism f Su

Inte

rn

Honorary Committee: Jonathan Granoff, Chair US Congressman Jared Huffman Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold Tenshin Reb Anderson Dominican Sisters of San Rafael Mark Fishkin The Rev. Canon Charles Gibbs s A s al ociatio Nafisa Haji, Ed.D. ta ion Denise Lucy, Ph.D. Paul Paz y Mino Robert L. Reynolds The Rev. Carol Saysette Rita Semel Bahman Shirazi, Ph.D. Jack Shoemaker Atossa Soltani Laura Stivers, Ph.D. Mary Kay Sweeney, Ph.D. Craig Watson

no

Annual

Rabbi Michael Lerner

Dinner

This Humanitarian Award has been presented to individuals whose life and work embody the highest values of humanity and offer a model of engaged creativity and outstanding contributions to our community and our culture. IAS is proud to acknowledge their service to our communities.

Rabbi Michael Lerner is an American political activist and author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Our Country Back from the Religious Right. He is Rabbi of the Bay Area congregation Beyt Tikkun in Berkeley and editor of Tikkun magazine, a progressive bimonthly Jewish and interfaith critique of politics, culture, and society.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Embassy Suites

IAS.org

Suites, 101 McInnis Pkwy

San Rafael, CA Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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Adab

According to Dr. Kianfar, in the beginning, it is by discipline that it becomes possible to upgrade oneself. That is to say that every cell must come under the control of spirituality, and be constantly attuned. Then people (each person) will more fully enjoy the experience of being, when in the stability of this control.

Along the way, what we each will discover by and under the condition of right practice is Adab. To quote, “Adab means the wisdom to be something.”

Throughout the centuries, only a few Sufis have written about Adab – and always in a form of “do this, do this, and do that…” Adab means regulation and also conduct; and it is right to begin with discipline; but we must have understanding, understanding that when adab becomes one’s quality (one’s condition), only the pure remains. All falseness falls away – all falseness of ideas and all falseness in the way we present (and presence) ourselves. Stage by stage, one must move inside removing all those layers until arriving into the center of meaning.

Dr. Kianfar has presented the metaphor of riding a horse, where a horse is the nafs. To begin one’s journey, one must learn the techniques to ride a horse by bridle, bit, stirrup… cognizing the manners for control and direction. Eventually, though, one’s proficiency and understanding transcends the technique and then there is no longer a horse. The Self becomes as the rider only. This is learning to control every cell of our bodies, so that eventually one travels even in abstraction, as is described and told about the masters.

the Wisdom to Be Matthew Davis, Ph.D. In our common forms, the senses are open to society. They are very unstable and also very uncomfortable. They are like hitches, knotting us down from our freedom and pulling us to and fro (and creating many ways of behaving that people assume to be good conduct by the fluctuating standards of the always changing society).

But stability and balance never comes by the hitch of the outer senses (or by the tether of the mind, which is the catalog of so many images, histories and ideas associated to the senses). In one moment a word will make you happy and in the next a word will make you sad – this wobbling instability creates a weakness in our spirit. Instead, we must return, as with water to the root, moving closer and closer, stage-by-stage into the center of meaning.

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Reflection: 40 Days Practice

Practice From Friday evening, February 1st, 2019 until Sunday afternoon, February 3rd, 2019, Shah Nazar Dr. Ali Kianfar and Dr. Nahid Angha graciously shared their teachings, wisdom, and energy with the broader community during the 40 Days Alchemy of Tranquility retreat. Additionally, students (40 Days Team) of Dr. Kianfar and Dr. Angha shared valuable lessons and led workshops through the lens of Sufi psychology. The focus of this year’s retreat, while but a single word, contains within it inspiring wisdom as well as an opportunity unlike any that I have ever received. That word is practice.

By Victor Sinow

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11th Annual 40 Days Alchemy of Tranquility Retreat

Every day, indeed every moment of our physical lives, we as humans practice to reach our goals.

Anything we set our minds to accomplish requires continuous, disciplined action in order to achieve.

However, this concept of practice is incomplete. As said by Dr. Kianfar, “If we don’t understand the true meaning of practice, we miss the opportunity to truly be alive.” Life itself, as revealed by the wisdom of our teachers, is the eternal and undiminished practice of the universe. The force of life, an energy that is neither created nor destroyed by the passage of time, is in constant motion, flowing graciously from one temporary vessel to another. Through these vessels, the universe itself practices life.

In this brief moment in the totality of eternity, the universal practice has given birth to humanity.

As humans, we have been given the unfathomable opportunity to carry a tendril of life energy, of divine breath, in each of us.

We are like rays from the sun, radiating from the divine crucible, connected to one another and to eternity as projections of the source of life – an energy that exists, permuting itself, through all time.

As noted by Salim Machete, a Sufi student and presenter at the retreat, we do not live life, but rather, life lives and breathes through us. Thus, we are manifestations of practice.

Sadly, most of us spend our lives without any understanding of the profound beauty of our existence, nor our connection to the Divine. Indeed, there is widespread ignorance regarding our most sacred and beautiful gift – the ability to journey inwards, and experience unity with the divine light, the energy of life manifest in our being. Understanding of our possession of this gift, as shared with us

by Dr. Kianfar and Dr. Angha, is but the first step of the journey. To use this understanding and seize the opportunity to gain true knowledge of the divine presence in our hearts, we need wisdom - wisdom to keep us focused, wisdom to keep us disciplined, and wisdom to keep us walking the path of practice every day of our lives. It is only by calling on and expanding our wisdom of right action that we can hope to move from awareness of our gift, to actualization of experience, where experience is ultimately annihilation of the sensory perception of self and unity with the Divine.

Let us not forget however, that we cannot walk the path of practice alone. As taught by Dr. Kianfar and Dr. Angha, the teacher must be at the center of all practice. Their energy must guide and inform our own, and their prescriptions must be followed with intention and determination. As beautifully articulated by Dr. Kianfar, “the teacher breathes through you and remains in your heart. If your connection to the teacher goes beyond the realm of the physical, you will both continue into eternity.” With the guidance and love of a true teacher, may we all gain the wisdom to convince ourselves that practice is essential to expressing the divine spark and witnessing the truth of la ilaha illa’llah.

Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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A very unique opportunity Space is limited

On Practice Annual Retreat Jan31-Feb2, 2020 www.IAS.org 41

Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

“The instruction was truly transformative and answered lifelong questions” - Retreat Participant

The Alchemy of Tranquility Santa Sabina Center

“I will definitely be in a more centered, stable, empathic place (mentally, emotionally, physically) so I can be of more use to my clients.”

- Retreat Participant

This weekend retreat will explore the higher reaches of human development through the lens of spirituality. Drawing on the Sufi tradition, the concept of Unity refers to the absolute essence of Being, the ultimate Reality, of which all manifestation is an expression including our own Self. The teachings and practices this weekend will provide participants with an opportunity to experience knowledge of this Unity within their own being. The retreat will include spoken presentations, experiential exercises, and dialogue, as well as music and movement practices. This retreat is for those interested in exploring their own potential transformation. It will also be of value to therapists who would like to increase their capacity to bring presence to their work.

Facilitator Bios and Program details @

www.IAS.org/programs/fortydays His Holiness, Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, PhD, a world-renowned Sufi Master and teacher of spiritual practice for over forty years developed the 40 Days Program, and continues to guide its public offering. Dr. Kianfar provides spiritual wisdom and deep knowledge of the psychology of the human being in ways that provide participants with the opportunity to gain full awareness of themselves, and to learn to act in ways that reduce conflict and foster love and wisdom. It is the first time that this highly spiritual practice of purification has been combined with psychological training.

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A journey of spiritual awakening awaits in Charles P. Gibbs’s insightful new collection of poems, Light Reading.

Always on a pilgrimage of remembrance, even during the brief time in which he tried to run away from his own understanding of God, Gibbs has learned to embrace and thrive in his spiritual understanding. Whether you are a seasoned pilgrim, have just set off on a spiritual journey of your own, or merely possess a vague feeling that something significant is missing in your life, Light Reading will support and challenge you on your own sojourn into the heart.

Charles P. Gibbs is an internationally respected spiritual leader, interfaith activist, speaker, and writer who has committed his life to serving the world through interreligious and intercultural engagement. An Episcopal priest, he served for seventeen years as the founding executive director of the United Religions Initiative, a global network of people from diverse religious and spiritual traditions united in service to the Earth community. He recently became senior partner and poet-in-residence for Catalyst for Peace.

A prolific writer, Gibbs’s published works include coauthoring Birth of a Global Community; contributing a chapter to Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding; “Opening the Dream: Beyond the Limits of Otherness,” an essay publishd in Deepening the American Dream. Charles cherishes and is inspired by his family. He is blessed with dear friends and colleagues of diverse faiths from around the world.

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San Francisco s Mill Valley sNovato

Community Healing Centers

Healing

Psychotheraphy & Counseling 40 Days: Alchemy of Tranquility Program Total Focus Stress Management Workshops Therapy Groups Increase awareness Facilitate pyschological growth Promote balance in all stages of life www.communityhealingcenters.org

(415) 499-1115

rocky valley AIKIDO DOJO We are a traditional Japanese martial arts school. We have a comprehensive approach to teaching open handed, sword and staff techniques. We practice to develop balance, strength, flexibility and power by unifying our body and mind. We explore the way of reconciling conflict by encouraging balance and harmony. This is why Aikido is often called ‘The Art of Peace’.

Instructor: Jalal Brian Heery, PhD Fifth Degree Black Belt 190 S. Whisman Rd. Bldg. B Mountain View, CA 94041 www.rvdojo.org rvdojo1@gmail.com

Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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Sufi Women

Women’s Leadership with Lucia Martel-Dow

by Nancy Roybal Under the auspices of Dr. Nahid Angha, the Sufi Women Organization (SWO), a humanitarian, non-political organization, held its semi-annual speakers’ luncheon and presentation program, Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action, hosting community leaders, activists, or humanitarians who have provided exemplary services.

On September 29, 2018, SWO honored Lucia Martel-Dow, Director of Immigration Legal, Social and Behavioral Health Services at Canal Alliance in San Rafael, California. SWO supported Lucia’s outstanding work in fighting for immigration rights.

Sharing the story of her life and progression into her current work, Lucia spoke about her journey as an immigrant from Venezuela, where she grew up championing for human rights causes. She told those in attendance that as a child she was always raising issues around justice and equality, and was inspired by her parents who cared about these issues.

Lucia attended law school in Venezuela and started her career working in the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She later moved to Spain, where she worked on human rights and immigration policy issues for the nonprofit Ibero-American General Secretariat.

Since immigrating to the United States years ago, Lucia has settled in San Rafael with her husband and daughter. She now oversees the immigration legal, social & behavioral services at Canal Alliance. In her current profession, she is passionate about immigration rights, helping families to attain legal status, protecting people from deportation, and educating the surrounding community about the rights of immigrants.

Lucia told the audience that in May of 2018, while reading an angry letter from someone attacking her work with immigrants in Marin County, she got a call from Assembly Member Marc Levine’s office telling her she’d been named North Bay’s Woman of the Year. According to Lucia, this meant so much to her because it not only recognized the work she does but also recognizes the community she helps and the departments she oversees.

SWO is appreciative of Lucia and all who attended the Sufi Women Organization Luncheon and presentation.

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Lucia Martel-Dow

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2018 Honorees

Service Appreciation Grant

women action

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Sufi Women

The Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action program established in 1999 by Dr. Nahid Angha, offers an Annual Service Appreciation Grant. This grant is designed to honor and support the work of a woman or a women-led organization in rural neighborhoods.

This Grant Honors those who have shown excellence in the following areas: * Significantly improving the quality of life of women through social programs: health care, employment, and conflict resolution * Advocating to reduce poverty among women * Improving gender equality in public and/or private life * Promoting women’s and girls’ right to access education Nominations for candidates for the grant will be solicited and invited solely by the Women in Action program. All candidates must be nominated by a colleague(s) or by an individual(s) who has come to understand the work of the woman or women-led organization.

Nominations are open and accepted from March 1st to March 31st each year. Winners will be announced in September of that year. A panel of volunteers review nominations. The awardees receive $500-$1,000 from the program as a grant.

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2018 Honorees

Ruth Natyanya, Kenya

Peace Path Development Initiative is a grassroots-based initiative, operating at the village level, that began as a series of activities and led to the mobilization of 40 women from 2 villages in Kenya, to undertake economic activities.

The objectives are to strengthen the role of rural women in peace-building processes and community development through networking and collaboration; and to promote the dignity of women and girls through sustainable economic empowerment activities. These objectives have made the females less vulnerable to male manipulation because poverty in the households has been linked to wide-spread women and gender based violence.

The Grant was used to help women from two villages to do farming. The group intended to plant groundnuts but ended up planting beans and maize because of weather changes. They bought 34 bags of 90kg each out of the two acres that they ploughed. This harvest was above average and a miracle considering our soil fertility. We are so excited.

The women hope to sell the maize in April hoping that prices will be high by then. The women are very excited and eagerly waiting for another round of farming.

Jane Keji Alex, South Sudan

Jane’s passion and strong work ethic moved her to the social work space where she serves rural communities to uplift the women who have been affected by the protracted war in South Sudan. She helps women through adult education, enrolls girls to join schools that have relatively lower school fees costs and that provide vocational training for girls that had gone through trauma and other war effects of rape. Jane founded Wipe My Tears Foundation (WTF) together with a diverse group of other rural women from different ethnicities and religions. These are women who have hope in change and have experienced different hard situations during and after the war.

The Grant helped Jane to fulfill her dramas of giving mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training to those vulnerable women, and girls who are fighting with their emotional stress without any techniques of building emotional resilience.

Despite of deep rooted negative cultural believes against women and girls, she had been holding monthly review meetings with the group as a way to get their feedback of any success stories, challenges and ways to further support. There are positive changes from the beneficiaries during these few months because they were able to shared their experience and testimonies on how the training impact knowledge on them. Such as management of trauma/ stress and control their emotional anger when faced with a difficult situation.

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Solange Aquino, Portugal Born in Brazil Solange immigrated to and has lived in Portugal since 1990. She has degrees in Science and Psychology, and has been a Technical Director of Casa Seis for 18 years. She has worked for a project to fight against poverty for a population, mostly of African origin. She has worked with young girls, creating the “Youth on the Move” group, which developed volunteer activities within the community, encouraging activities with children, and organized a group of volunteers who cared for small children while the mothers attended literacy classes, developing school support and leisure activities for children and young people at times opposed to school.

The Grant has helped Solange to work with a group of women (mostly from Africa) who are living in Europe, want to keep in their children educated about their culture, language, music. Solange has used the grant to create a “Sewing Workshop” helping women to make clothing and accessories with African materials for themselves and children. To respond to a desire to see in their children symbols of their culture and, on the other hand, give them entrepreneurial skills. The Grant also developed to develop Mothers without Borders project in Cape Verde for immigrant women, mostly from poor families, who maintain a link with their homeland. The objectives of this project is to focus on parenting and positive relationships within the family. The two projects feed each other.

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Dima Samman, Jerusalem

Dima Samman is a Palestinian-Jerusalemite novelist and human rights activist.

Dima was born and raised in occupied Jerusalem. Dima is currently the Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Education. She believes that through education women can change their lives, and young men must be educated in order to be there to change society toward the better. Dima has inspired many to express their problems, their challenges and feelings through writing.

Fatima Sheriff Alhassan, Nigeria Fatima promotes and advocates for women and children’s education particularly in social interaction, and challenges domestic violence/maltreatment and matrimonial conflict. She has played a vital role in mobilizing community to learn about and promote good nutrition, hygiene, and awareness on sexual abuse.

The Grant was used and helped to develop educational programs for both men and women about the harms of domestic violence and how to prevent such maltreatment; it also created programs to raise awareness about good nutrition, hygiene, and sexual abuse.

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2018 Honorees

Ataf Awad, Galile Ataf Awad has helped to establish the Dabbouriya Village Forum of Women committee among 15 women within a wider community of 62 active members. These women collaborate to serve as capacitor developers for other women in this small community to work on issues of social justice and equality in order to promote the status of women and realize their social, economic and political identity through educational and social activities.

The Grant has helped Ataf to take training sessions to help women in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, who are facing difficult conditions given the Israeli military occupation and its impact on impoverishing their community. Trainings and workshops included stress release exercises, skills building strategies, including remaining compassionate when humiliation, for example, remains a way the border agencies are trained to treat Palestinians crossing check points; sharing wisdom to empower women.

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Annual Dinner

The 2018 International Association of Sufism (IAS) Annual Inspiration Dinner honored Donna Garske, the Executive Director of the Center for Domestic Peace in San Rafael, California, formerly Marin Abused Women’s Services (MAWS). The dinner was held on Friday, November 2, at Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael with many prominent religious, political, educational and social service leaders attending.

Dr. Ali Kianfar, Co-director of IAS, gave the opening remarks, welcoming the many, diverse guests. IAS Co-director, Dr. Nahid Angha, presented Donna with the Humanitarian Award in recognition of her seventeen years of service to preventing abuse to women in Marin County, her national and international leadership and her inspiration to the local and global communities.

Dr. LeeAnn Bartolini, Professor of Psychology at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, was the Mistress of Ceremonies.

Speakers included: Allison Garske Smith, Donna’s niece and goddaughter; Janet Carter, former Vice President of Futures without Violence; and Kate Kain, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Domestic Peace. The speakers each described Donna’s extraordinary vision and commitment to ending violence against women, her hard work, enthusiasm and humor.

Donna developed one of the first transitional housing programs for battered women and their children, earning her an award from the American Planning Association, as well as an internationally replicated re-education program for battering men. She has advocated for both state and federal laws for the prevention of violence against women. Under her leadership, MAWS received the National Marshall Award for excellence in violence prevention, the Celebrating Solutions Award from the Mary Bryon’s Foundation, and she was inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.

IAS’s Inspirational Dinner celebration began in 2000 and has continued to the present time. The honorees for these celebrations have included: theologians and writers, Houston Smith, Matthew Fox, Brian Swimme and The Reverend Canon Charles Gibbs; leaders in the arts and media including Peter Coyote, Cheryl Jennings, Nafisa Haji and the journal Sufism: An Inquiry; educator Dr. Harlan Stelmach; and community service providers Mary Kay Sweeney and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, as well as the IAS 25thanniversary. The Humanitarian Award has been presented to individuals whose life and work embody the highest values of humanity and offer a model of engaged creativity and outstanding contributions to our community and our culture. IAS is proud to acknowledge their service to humanity.

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2018 Annual Inspiration Dinner honoring Donna Garske Executive Director, Center for Domestic Peace

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DHAKA, Feb 2, 2019 (BSS) – Liberation War affairs minister Mozammel Haque today called for a vigorous campaign to shape young minds with cultural values and spirituality to develop the posterity with humane qualities as he joined a 10th National calligraphy exhibition and workshop here.

“Cultural and spiritual values can develop them with integrity and higher humane qualities,” he told the workshop’s concluding session in memory of leading spiritual figure of contemporary period Syed Moinuddin Ahmed Al Hasani Maizbhandari coinciding with his 82nd birth anniversary.

Haque urged all to extend their hands to develop the sense of ethics and culture among the youths saying the government alone could do little to spearhead the campaign.

Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Akhtaruzzaman opened the 10-day workshop at the Sufia Kamal Auditorium of National Museum while it was chaired by incumbent leader of Maizbhandar spiritual hub Syed Saifuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari.Chinese calligraphy expert Mohammad haji Nuruddin was present at the workshop.

Noted artists Murtaza Bashir, Dr Abdus Sattar, Sabihul Alam, Saiful Islam, Arifur Rahman and Ferdows Ara Begum were given a reception for their contribution to fields of fine arts at the function.

Religious affairs secretary Mohammad Anisur Rahman, professor emeritus of philosophy department of Dhaka University Dr Aminul Islam and farsi department professor Dr KM Saiful Islam Khan, and Chinese philosopher Fatima Nuruddin joined the function. Exhibition inaugurated by Syed Mehboob e Mainuddin from January 25th to February 5, 2019.

Chairman of the Syed Mainuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari Calligraphy Foundation Syed Saifuddin said Syed Moinuddin had a great aesthetic mind that made him a great admirer of creative and cultural activities as part of spiritual mission.

“We are trying to carry ahead his mission . . . this calligraphic workshop and exhibition is part of our efforts towards that end,” he said.

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Calligraphy & Humanity

Report: Calligraphy

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Save the date

Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action SWO Luncheon Presentation

Saturday, September 14, 2019 @ 11:30-2:00

The Club @ McInnis Park, San Rafael SWO will be honoring the work of

Janet King, MSW

Program Manager of Policy and Advocacy at the Native American Health Center in the Bay Area

A long- time advocate of mental health transformation, Janet is a founding member of Racial Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition of California, and been vocal at many Mental Health Services Act Community Forums to explain why the current mental health system leaves many cultural groups unserved, underserved or inappropriately served. She is on the 8-member team of the Native American Strategic Planning Workgroup that conducted research with Native American Communities in California to determine Native mental health needs and the solutions to meeting those needs as part of the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP).

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www.IAS.org

2017 Campaign in Support of SB1221 Expanded Learning Enhances Student Success California Department of Education Initiative

Take Action and help VFJ reduce the “nutrition gap” in the Greater Bay Area!

Millions of children in California qualify for a reduced price lunch or a free lunch meal, however about 4 of 5 children are missing out on meals. Voices for Justice will be donating collectionsreceivedtoalocalschoolthatprovidesservicestolowincomecommunities.Help VoicesforJusticetokeepchildrenlearningandgrowingbysupportingmealprograms.Voices for Justice (VFJ) is a department of the International Association of Sufism, a non-profit, United Nations, NGO-DPI. Donate your contribution of $50; $100; $250; $500; any amount $ to IAS: Voices for Justice: Checks payable to “Voices for Justice” or pay via Credit Card - Number:_______________________________ Expiration date:__________________ Your name:________________________________________________________________________________ Your address:______________________________________________________________________________ Phone number:_______________________________ Email:_________________________________________ Mail to: IAS/Voices for Justice: 14 Commercial Blvd., Ste. 101, Novato, California, 94949, USA International Association of Sufism is a non profit 501 c, and your contribution is tax deductible to the extend permitted by law.

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Susan W. Lambert photography

Love’s ocean has no shore to swim for, The only relief is to give up your life.

The moment of love’s rapture

is the moment of joy.

- Hafiz Sufism: An Inquiry Vol XVIII, No. 2

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Sufi Biographies

Remembering Dr. Shahid Athar

by Ayesha Athar

Dr. Shahid Athar was born in 1945 in Patna, India to Sharif-un-Nisa and Syed Muhammad Asghar.

Ever thirsty for knowledge, he studied at Patna University and earned his medical degree from Dow Medical College at the University of Karachi. He then came to the United States to complete his medical residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and afterwards moved to Indianapolis to complete his fellowship in endocrinology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Dr. Athar was an endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital Indianapolis for over forty years and also would serve as a Clinical Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. During that time, he and his wife, Shaista Nasreen Athar, raised four children: Sabuhi, Masood, Ahmed, and Ayesha. Dr. Athar became involved with numerous organizations, including the Interfaith Alliance of Indiana (of which he was co-founder and past president), the Islamic Society of Greater Indianapolis, the Islamic Medical Association of North America (of which he was a past

president and the chair of the medical ethics committee), the International Association of Sufism, and the Protection of Consciousness Project.

His accolades include the St. Vincent’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Teaching Award (2001 and 2007), Gov. Otis Bowen Award (2002), American College of Physicians Laureate Award (2007), Distinguished Physician Award at St. Vincent’s Hospital (2008), Dr. Ahmed El-Kadi Award (2011), Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed Excellence in Interfaith Award (2014), Golden Hoosier Award (2015), and the Interfaith Ambassador of the Year Award (2017). The mayor of Carmel, Indiana proclaimed November 19, 2017 as Dr. Shahid Athar Day in honor of Dr. Athar’s lifelong service to the community in medicine and interfaith relations.

On August 4, 2018, he returned to his Beloved, the Most Sacred, Whence he came and for Whom he longed. He is survived by his wife and children and eleven beloved grandchildren: Irum, Rahma, Haatim, Taha, Yusuf, Iman, Mutasim, Imran, Ibrahim, Ali, and Zaid.

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Sufi Biographies

Remembering

Sonia Gilbert from Ahamed Muhaiyaddeen (Jonathan Granoff )

Our dear friend, sister, mother, example of virtue and wisdom, Sonia Gilbert, died on August, 24, 2018, at the age of 89. Her heart remained forever young from start to finish. She loved the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and the International Association of Sufism.

In her journey from opera singer, mother of five, President of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, model student of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, and friend and helper to many lives, mine included, she sought out, realized and lived the highest virtues. Her journey took her around the world to Sri Lanka, Mecca, Jerusalem and deep into the inner heart.

She discovered the treasure within the inner heart where the resonance of God’s love sustains all life and opens the doorway to the infinite source of all life. Discovering this mystery requires making the journey from love of the temporal self to awakening to selfless love and, most importantly, consciously and with courage, living it.

That selfless love is an emanation from the Source of all and everything and is the power that creates, sustains and absorbs all lives. When a person discovers this secret of the heart, they live a life rich with service, prayer, learning, sharing, caring, and joy. Sonia Gilbert did that.

Here are her words from her exceptionally inspiring essay, “The Divine Vibration in the Breath – A Song of Life”, in the book The Revelation of the Breath, edited by Sharon Mijares: If ever there was a sacred thing it is this planet earth.

Cast out into the heavenly sphere, it contains all the riches of the Universe. It breathes! It makes music! And there is even harmony. When you get to know how the harmony works, you will understand why it is ideal for human beings. To be in harmony we need to agree to the key and the pitch of our universe. (continued on following page.)

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Poetry

a poem for Sonia

by David N. Katz

Light of My Eyes, he calls you, in the early morning.

You come with your heart, heart yearning, for the Truth within truth and the Love within love.

Before the teacher comes, the student wanders with a map that had no names or key.

She knows only that there was, somewhere, a key pointing north, a compass to guide, and a home to find.

Having drunk the wine of His Love, she reaches her hand into her own heart and finds the compass, the key, and the teacher there.

Understanding this, she becomes a gem, a heavenly star, now self-understood, a light of the Eye.

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(continued from previous page.)

In an orchestra no one ever argues with the oboist or concertmaster when he draws his bow across the string to produce an A440 pitch. (Pitch is the sound determined by the number of vibrations and oscillations a note creates while it is sounding. ‘Concert pitch’ is the directing note sounded so all the instruments will match each other in sound and pitch during a performance.) When the conductor picks up the baton or holds his hands high, all the players are at attention. They all know which is to be the opening music and which instruments will be playing. Other melodies may join, and though their notes are different, they must all agree with each other harmonically.

We, as harmonious human beings, are striving to find a way to combine our efforts for the good of all. The more we feel the subtle Resonance of God the stronger we can vibrate because the sound is in the true key.

If there is any specific duty that Sufis have in today’s world it is to become the tuning forks for humanity – combining the resonance of two prongs, wisdom and love. We cannot do this by just listening. We must be moved and move in the beauty of the “note.” Some call it the zat, the essence. Some say it cannot be said. Sonia lived the note and I am certain she has one message for us now: “Please open your heart, find the inner secret of God’s love and live it.”

Sonia, we will always love you.

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Sufi Biographies

Remembering Arthur Buehler early years of the Annual Sufism Symposium. Since that first contact, he frequently attended the Symposium, sharing his wisdom and connecting with Sufis from all over the world, creating friendships “flowering in the garden” of his heart. His presentations were always well-attended and greatly appreciated as he brought his own special light to the gatherings.

A peaceful soul, Dr. Buehler appreciated his life and those he met along his journey. He was especially grateful for his wife Josemi, the woman for whom his soul had long yearned. “Adventure and learning have their place but without love there is no fragrance of the One.” Dr. Buehler was “... a scholar of the highest order whose passion for truth and the pursuit of virtue guided his journeys within and around the world.

God will surely be welcoming him with the gifts of bliss, peace, and infinite love. We however will miss him and pray in gratitude for having journeyed with him,” wrote Ahamed Muhaiyaddeen (Jonathan Granoff ) He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all whose lives he touched.

in memoriam

Arthur F. Buehler, Ph.D., a loyal friend to many of us led a life of self-discovery, searching for knowledge, and service to humanity. He passed away at 3 A.M. on Monday April 1, 2019, in Tuscon, Arizona.

His quest led him on travels all over the world for much of his life, sharing his vibrant energy and love, engaging with an astounding variety of people, and experiencing transformations within himself.

Many of his travels were guided by aspirations from his early life, staying long enough to accomplish his goals. As he learned, “without a meaningful reason to be in a place, it is better to stay at home.”

In his life journey, Dr. Buehler was open to learn from the opportunities that presented themselves to him, understanding that “The only way to discern the truth was through personal experience.”

He hiked, climbed and skied. He studied chemical engineering, physics, chemistry, psychology, and organizational behavior. He taught high school and became a college professor. He asked questions and he listened.

He became proficient in many languages and learned the ways of the people, especially Sufis, during his travels. His quest brought him in contact with Dr. Nahid Angha and Dr. Ali Kianfar during the Quotations are from Dr. Buehler’s autobiography published in the Caravan: Biographies from Sufism Symposia, 1994-2014, California: International Association of Sufism Publications, 2015.

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The essence of the human being, regardless of gender or color, time or place, has been regarded as reverent, dignified, and respectful by teachers of humanity. Such magnificence is the gift of Being to humankind, the art of recognizing such magnificence is learned. The foundation of civilization is based on teachings and learning, and the first teacher of any human being, male or female, from any social position or illumination, is a mother. To direct the civilization to a favorable station, one has to rely on the power of a mother, providing that she knows the value of her position. A mother, in fact, is the teacher of all. Underestimating such power and strength, overlooking such magnificence is most unfortunate.

- Dr. Nahid Angha, founder

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Leili First 2018 Recipient of the Annual Community Award Leili First, Ph. D. is a student of Uwaiysi Sufism under the guidance of Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar, and a long-time member of the International Association of Sufism and Sufi Women Organization. According to Dr. First, “Following the Sufi path to wisdom and becoming a member of IAS have changed the way I know myself and the way I see the world and my place in it. Giving primacy to my quest for knowledge of who I am allows the wisdom of the universe to unfold with me, providing new perspective.”

According to Dr. First, along the path of Sufism, she has also “discovered gratitude. I have become a generous and compassionate daughter and friend.” As she continues her pursuit of knowledge, she also is learning “to appreciate beauty, music, movement, and other creative aspects within me,” and she reflects, “I know the changes within myself have effected positive changes in those around me.” She has been inspired by the “examples of wisdom, love and dedication in action” set by her teachers, and through their example and direction, has come to “understand the need and gift of service” and a life lived in humility and harmony.

Dr. First has given lectures on Sufism and Women in Islam at colleges and universities, presented at the Annual Sufism Symposium and Parliament of the World’s Religions, and taken part in numerous programs and project through IAS promoting human dignity and justice. She says through Sufi practice, and her participation in the efforts of IAS, she has “learned that a human being is inherently valuable, and that I improve my own sense of selfvalue by increasing my self-knowledge.” Committed to the value of learning and education even from a very young age, Dr. First also holds a Ph.D. in Transformative Studies. Her doctoral research focused on Creativity in Theoretical Physics, and she is currently exploring the intersection of scientific and spiritual understanding of the universe.

Details adapted from Caravan, 177-179.

Under the guidance of Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar, the International Association of Sufism offers its appreciation to members of the community who have shown exceptional dedication to the mission of IAS through its Community Award. The recipients of this honor continue to demonstrate a spirit of generosity, kindness and dedication.

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Annual Community Award

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United Nations: Recent News

DPIsNGO

Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organizations

The International Association of Sufism is a non-profit organization, and a DPI/NGO associated with the United Nations. As an active human rights advocate, IAS disseminates information focused on Human Rights, Social Justice, Education, Women’s Rights offered and organized by the United Nations. For the most up to date information visit: http://ias.org/service/unitednations/

Commission on the Status of Women

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“By the sky and the night visitant...

By the star of piercing brightness.

There is no soul but has a protectant over it.”

The Holy Qur’an Surah Al-Tariq

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99 Names

Al-Akhir the Last

The endless end, the Divine has and will exist for eternity.

All is comprised of the Divine and will end by the Divine.

It is the ultimate outcome

and is all that remains

while all else eventually passes.

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I See You as Two Allah does not lay a responsibility on anyone beyond your capacity. 2:286 You promised nothing more than what I can handle.

This verse there before me, and will be after.

Everything that comes is you, for me.

If not what I cannot handlethat must include myself.

So here, again, the pair.

The star and its shine.

The mother and her son.

The cells and planets gliding around a shared center.

As you destroy me, you are there, my healer.

I cannot find the point between the two without finding myself.

As I scream, I am the hearer, the one who tires and the one who moves on.

Caged and angry the bars openwith the same hand that enclosed me.

What is left? My ugliness against what has always been my friend. The pair, here, again.

Dissolve me, destroy me, Bring me to before the divide.

Nothing more than what I can handle.

prepared from the teachings of Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.

by Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D. Illumination of the Names: Meditation by Sufi Masters on the NinetyNine Beautiful Names of God. Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar. 2011: International Association of Sufism Publications.

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