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Select a Month October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 November 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016

October 2021

October 25, 2021

Entering the Garden

On a Friday afternoon in mid-June, I found myself at the Sankt-Jakobi Friedhof, a cemetery...

August 2021

August 30, 2021

Freedom from Food: The Gifts of a Three-Month Fast

Daliah Merzaban describes the taste of Love concealed beneath pangs of hunger “Keep your body...

January 2021

January 04, 2021

Listening to the Reed

It would be impossible to separate my heart’s awakening with my Sufi master Rumi from...

May 2020

May 05, 2020

Prayers Are Answered in the Still of the Night

A week and a half before Ramadan, I was awake in the early hours of...

February 2020

February 10, 2020

Whirling through life: Reflections of a female whirling dervish

Whirling is a seven-centuries old form of full-body worship emblematic of the Mevlevi tradition of...

January 2020

January 28, 2020

“God appears in the one in whom poverty is complete.”

Memories of Murshid Suleyman Dede: My first encounter with a Sufi Murshid forever changed my...

January 07, 2020

Considering Time: New Year Reflections

The movement into a new year naturally makes us reflect on the passage of time....

December 2019

December 23, 2019

A Very Muslim Christmas

This year I finally bought a Christmas jumper. I don’t know why it took me...

December 12, 2019

My Mother’s Humanness and Divine Love

A man came to the Prophet Muhammad (PUH) and asked him who was the person...

November 2019

November 24, 2019

Befriending our donkey and our Jesus

On a recent trip to Berlin, I visited the Bode Museum with a friend. We...

October 2019

October 09, 2019

Being in Love Together

I recently attended a retreat where a fellow seeker described the sweetness of the companionship...

September 2019

September 27, 2019

Prophet Muhammad and the Man Who Ate Too Much

Early in my time on the Sufi path, I went to visit some friends I...

September 15, 2019

Meeting Silence: Sitting with Presence

I find myself drawn to places of silence. I attend my local Quaker meeting when...

June 2019

June 15, 2019

Following Unexpressed Pain Into the Arms of Mercy

More than previous Ramadans, this year the holy month felt like a journey with my...

June 02, 2019

The expectancy of listening

Be patient and persistent in fasting: be always expecting the Food of God. For God,...

January 2019

January 05, 2019

“Hello Silence, My Old Friend”

Sitting in a Quaker meeting recently, it occurred to me that if Muhammad (peace be...

December 2018

December 28, 2018

Shams and the Breaking Heart

Lately I’ve been haunted by some lines from a poem called “The Testing-Tree”: In a...

December 04, 2018

Endeavor to Make God Your Companion in Every State

A transcribed sohbet of Shaikh Kabir, from the forthcoming book The Living Tradition, Discourses on...

November 2018

November 16, 2018

The Meaning of Awe: An Agoraphobic’s Journey into Nature

Once upon a time, I was terrified of views – distant hills, valleys, woodlands seen...

November 06, 2018

Sufi Healing and Embracing Pain

Through the tears welling up in my eyes, I looked down at the opening and...

October 2018

October 23, 2018

Guide Us on the Straight Path

Back when I was a punk rock teenager, I learned there was a way to...

October 12, 2018

Islam: Containing Beauty and Joy

I have often wondered why the Beautiful and the Joyful do not usually appear in...

September 2018

September 26, 2018

Muhammad’s Intimacy with His Rabb

In a previous article we mentioned how the Prophet (PUH) had a deep capacity...

September 05, 2018

Struggling with Service

The porter runs to the heavy load and takes it from others, knowing burdens are...

August 2018

August 12, 2018

Countering Islamic Extremism With Radical Love: Book Review

While reading Omid Safi’s new book, Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition, I...

August 03, 2018

The Strangeness of Sufism

Islam began as something strange, and so it will become again one day, and blessed...

July 2018

July 22, 2018

Soul-Birds of Solomon

I was walking along the river when I spotted a crow on the railing. Cautiously,...

July 16, 2018

When Prophets Come Alive

I recently accompanied my murshid on a spiritual retreat in Turkey, along with a group...

July 02, 2018

Rumi and the Vision of the Qur’an

In our tradition, it is sometimes said, “Although Mevlana is not a prophet, he does...

June 2018

June 18, 2018

Truth Is From Your Lord

“O My God, show us Truth as truth and bless us with following it and...