Heart & Wings is published periodically by the Sufi Order International, P.O. Box 480, New Lebanon, NY 12125. Address e-mail inquiries to Wahhab Sheets: wahhab@sufiorder.org, or telephone 518-794-7834 ext.155.

The Leadership Team Letter The SOI/Abode Leadership Team...........................3

The Suluk Academy: Past, Present & Futureby Pir Zia Inayat-Khan..............................................5

Local Centers for Sufi Studies by Wadud Cretella.....................................................9 The 2013 Golden Heart Awards....................................12 Poetry.................................................................................15 Preserving the Words of the Message........................17

Our Centers: Silver City, NMby Katherine Feist...........................................21

Calendar of coming Events....................................23

In This IssueOn the Cover: A view of Jerusalem from the North painted in 1837 by David Roberts. For centuries it was held that Jerusalem was the exact center of the universe, around which the sun, moon, stars and planets revolved in perfect circular order. Today it is still held true that Jerusalem is the holy city of the Abrahamic Faiths, each of which claims strong ties to its history and architecture. For us, it may be a symbol of the congruence of religious ideals, and the possibility of the co-existence of people of all faiths.

Elsewhere in this issue we are offered a glimpse into the future direction of the Sufi Order International and an article by Pir Zia on the history and vision of the Suluk Academy.

Our usual features of poetry and profiles of local centers are aboard, as is an article by Wadud Cretella of Rochester, NY on the possibility of expanding local centers to Centers for Sufi Studies.

Included is a report on the 2013 Golden Heart award, a report on the archiving project, and a reminder about Pir Zia’s latest book.

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The Leadership TeamNirtana DeckroWahhab Sheets

Amina HallNoorunisa Smallen

Nirtana Gloria Deckro

Wahhab Sheets

Amina Hall

Noorunisa Smallen

Dear Friends,

In this issue of Heart and Wings we focus on honoring both our roots and the thrust of our

trajectory into the future. In fact, one of the trademark strengths of our organization is the way it blends deeply authentic traditional teachings and practices with a highly relevant contemporary message. This Fall, as the SOINA Board was examining strategies and planning for the next stage in our organizational development, Pir Zia reiterated the vision he carries for our future. This same vision has been shared many times during the past 10 years. However, in this recounting, we heard a new clarity regarding the continuity from Murshid’s vision through our current efforts. Almost one hundred years ago Murshid spoke of a universal institute with the intent that such a school be developed in his time. Murshid’s vision included not only a hub for profound spiritual teachings and esoteric practice but also emphasized music and theatre arts and was to be born in Suresnes. On many occasions since the Shaker Campus and lands were purchased in 1975 Pir Vilayat spoke of developing an esoteric school at the Abode of the Message. Now almost one hundred years after Murshid’s original inspiration, we stand poised to make his vision a reality by building an expanded Suluk School of Sufi Studies in New Lebanon, New York.

Much has been accomplished in laying the foundation. Most notably, as Pir Zia describes in his article, the development of a strong self-sustaining Suluk Academy now very effectively offering the core teaching of the Hazrati lineage to our initiates. During these past three years we have also been undertaking major projects to prepare a sustainable infrastructure for expansion of the Suluk School. And just this past month, we crossed a threshold in completing the most major Campus renovations ever undertaken during our 38 years at the Abode. It has been a marathon investment of time, energy and money to complete those improvements that will make

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the Campus a sustainable and vibrant conference and retreat center. This work is the culmination of much active planning and receptive listening to that which wishes to be born as a vehicle for the Message in our time.

Deliberations over ten years have included the examination of a variety of options by many people, including consideration of the possibility of shifting our Heart Center and operations to a more urban setting. We have grappled with the challenges and costs of maintaining historic buildings and weighed the benefits of an organic farm with the pitfalls of poor rural internet connectivity. Yet, once the recommitment was made to put down roots on this beautiful land, the progress has been formidable. In just three years we have replaced five roofs on major buildings on the main campus and the mountain, installed a new septic field for the entire main campus, expanded the mountain kitchen to accommodate larger programs and renovated the largest most historic building; the original Shaker Women’s Chair Factory, Fattah, to provide 32 new guest beds. The original Shaker leaking water main and the old fire hydrant have been replaced, fiber-optic connectivity added between buildings and a new state of the art phone system installed. Now we stand poised for the next step; to implement magnetic inspiring programming relevant to the hearts and minds of sincere seekers in the 21st century.

Our future looks bright; in November we repurchased Sherdyl Manzil the oldest house on the Campus. This compact three bedroom home, centrally situated opposite the red barn will next summer be dedicated to teachers in residence. Our volunteer study program is being revamped and a schedule of visiting musicians and artists will become a stable part of our annual calendar. Collaborations are in progress to develop new programming rooted in each of the five activities as well as collaborations with our Hazrati brother and sister organizations and with Seven Pillars House of Wisdom. Pir Zia has articulated that our Heart-quarters will become a prime destination for Sufi studies and Arts. This hub will collaborate with our many Centers nationally and internationally to hold and disseminate both the spirit and substance of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Message. This will be accomplished in a vibrant way that speaks to contemporary society while retaining the pure note of its transmission.

We look forward to working together with all of you whose hearts have been awakened to this path. Ya Fattah, may the message of God spread far and wide shining as a beacon, bringing the radiance of its illumination to these challenging times.

Yours in service,

Nirtana, Wahaah, Amina, Nurunisa

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The Suluk Academy: Past, Present, and Future

Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Hazrat Inayat Khan was raised in the house of his maternal grandfather Maulabakhsh. Maulabakhsh’s achievement was twofold: he mastered two very different traditions of music—the Hindustani

and Karnatak traditions—and he founded a school that made musical instruction more systematic and accessible than ever before. In this way Maulabakhsh harmonized tradition and progress, with very notable results.

In his youth Hazrat Inayat Khan served as a professor at his grandfather’s school (then called the Gayanshala, now the Maharaja Sayajirao University Faculty of Performing Arts). He might have comfortably continued in this role all his life, but destiny urged him onward. He was to build a school of his own: not a school of music, but a school of meditation—a dhyanshala. Though his deep training was in Sufism, like his grandfather Hazrat Inayat Khan studied more than one tradition. And when the time came for him to teach the inner path of Sufism, like his grandfather Hazrat Inayat Khan approached the task in an innovative manner.

The Gayanshala had seven levels of study, with textbooks corresponding to each. The Esoteric School that Hazrat Inayat Khan founded in London had, and still has, twelve levels. Its “textbooks” are the Esoteric Papers organized from Murshid’s discourses by Murshid Sophia Goodenough: the Gathas, Gitas, Sangathas, and Sangitas.

The curriculum of a living school evolves and is refined over time. My father, Pir Vilayat, drew upon the Esoteric Papers and other sources to

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create several courses of study, including one he named “The Curriculum of the Sufi Order.” Despite its name, this latter course was not intended to replace the curriculum contained in the Esoteric Papers, but simply to supplement it.

Toward the end of Pir Vilayat’s life I received his blessing to start a new Sufi school. I gathered many of his leading students, and together we undertook a review of the inner structure of the Esoteric Papers. Out of this exploration and conversation came the model for a four-year course based on Murshid’s core teachings. The intention was to offer both new and seasoned initiates a progressive experience of deepening immersion in Murshid’s path. The intended outcome for the students was, and remains, firstly, the gaining of a close familiarity with the basic teachings and practices of Sufism, and secondly, the direct experience of states of being that illuminate the inner purpose of the student’s life.

And so, in 2003, the Suluk Academy was born. Suluk means travel, but also the wise and courteous manner of the experienced traveler. For four years, a new class of between thirty and forty students—or, as we say in the Academy, saliks and salikas—commenced each year. These classes were named for the rivers of Paradise: Kafur, Kausar, Salsabil, and Tasnim. As with the feathered pilgrims in ‘Attar’s Conference of the Birds, some travelers said their adieu at this or that way-station, but most managed to continue on through the mountains and valleys of Concentration, Contemplation, and Meditation, and reached at last the summit of Realization.

After Tasnim we changed the duration to make the training more accessible to more people; the Core Course is now two years in length (40 days of instruction). The daily format, however, has remained constant. Discourses are given by the Teachers in the morning, followed by Mentor Groups and Pods in the afternoon. This means that there is an arc to the day, a progression, as the sun crosses the sky, from “vertical” meditations to “horizontal” conversations.

Some have wondered about the interpersonal aspect of the course. Don’t the Pods, where saliks and salikas spend time conversing, introduce an element of chaos into the otherwise well-ordered system of study? Yes, they do—but that is exactly their purpose. Spiritual aspirations are only insubstantial dreams until embodied “on the ground,” moment by moment. The community of seekers, one more and more discovers, is an indispensible teacher.

The Suluk Academy began at the Abode of the Message, where the Meditation Hall, Shaker buildings, and surrounding woodlands form a perfect setting for spiritual study. In recent years, however, Suluk has spread to new locations. Two courses have been offered in Europe, and another, which ended this month, took place on the West Coast. It is our hope to offer courses in still more distant lands in the years to come.

At the same time, the Academy has been expanding its offerings. In addition to the Core Course, a series of graduate sessions and retreats is now in progress. These sessions explore in greater detail the teachings and practices of classical Sufism, of Murshid, and of Pir Vilayat. We would like to offer

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a course for non-initiates as well someday soon. We are additionally exploring the possibility of providing trainings in the four Activities: Kinship, Universal Worship, Healing, and Ziraat.

It is evident, however, that even as Suluk continues to spread to new locations and expand its catalogue, many mureeds remain unable to participate for various reasons. To overcome this problem, online offerings are a natural next step. We have already made important progress in this direction by successfully delivering a course on the West Coast made up of a combination of in-person and webcasted sessions. Some of the Nasim class’s resulting insights on effective use of the web can be found at http://breezeoftheheart.net/category/distance-learning/.

This is the past, present and future of the Suluk Academy in a nutshell. I am looking forward to the commencement of the new classes in October (at the Abode) and January (in Suresnes). How much happens in the space of two years! At the graduation of each class, I have the happiness of looking into the eyes of the saliks and salikas, one by one. I see, then, with crystal clarity, why this school matters. Here is a place where light grows.

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Local Sufi Centers as Centers for Sufi Studies

Wadud Henry Cretella MD

It is an exciting time for our Sufi Order. Pir Zia has expressed a vision of the Abode, as the headquarters of the Sufi Order, becoming a Center for Sufi Studies. There, teachers and others from far and wide can gather in a central place to

share the wisdom of our Path and interact with each other and the Pir. At the same time, there is increasing emphasis on the important role of the local centers, where Sufi teachings can be more easily disseminated, thus reducing travel costs, carbon footprints and general expense, and reaching a larger group in a decentralized manner.

For this to happen, the centers need to be vibrant, alive and connected to the central organization from which the vision and many of the teachings derive. These regional centers need also to include teachers who are excited about and skilled in delving into and disseminating Sufi teachings, as well as excited and involved participants who feel and understand the importance of these teachings in their own lives and in the evolution of the Message. Local centers can also support other centers in proximity to them and can, within their capacities, provide forums for more distant Sufi teachers and the Pir to visit and interact. Overall, the system is a combination of a central hub connected to decentralized but very connected satellites - the best of both worlds when working well.

What might it take for the local centers to better step into their role? I’ve wondered more about this given recent discussions on the KIT list, and reflected on my own experiences in our local center and what I have gleaned from visiting other centers both in our region and beyond. Here are some of my perspectives.

• Interconnectedness. The importance of an attitude in the centers that they themselves are indeed Centers for Sufi Studies, connected to and in sync with the national organization but with their own flavor and perfume. To do this requires action as well so that the individuals in the centers feel this connection. The leaders it seems have the primary responsibility in this area. They embody the connection by being connected themselves and making this obvious; e.g. attending the summer camps, staying abreast of the developing curriculums and introducing them into their centers, remaining in communication with their regional representatives both to receive and provide input about interesting areas, relating to nearby centers, being aware of the Pir’s vision and being fully involved in their appropriate capacity. I have found the national and Abode leadership to be available, easy to contact and responsive. All of these connections are felt by the mureeds and have an impact. Mureeds will emulate the center leaders’ attitude and actions.

• Dedication to Spreading the Message. Centers hold a powerful role in the evolution of the Message and are not just containers of passive individual recipients. Individuals hopefully work to their potential, and we each have a different note. Given this, however, the Message needs “10,000 workers” as is often said. To those who are called, there is a contribution to be made to the greater evolution and dissemination of the Message beyond one’s individual work on oneself.

• Development of Each Person’s Potential. Centers can be sites of tremendous

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energy in training others for more levels of responsibility within the guidelines of our Order and in all the Concentrations and in the Dances of Universal Peace. In this way, individuals are less dependent on a more centralized place and person or “on-line” resources only. A major focus can be helping others to recognize their potential and step into their power while respecting and valuing varying spiritual capacities, the lines of transmission and the need for organizational quality control. We are not an Order where “anything goes,” where anyone can pronounce themselves at a certain level without training and approval, or where one gathers students only around themselves. Pir-o-Murshid warned about this. In his day, people wanted to be initiated by him; but he recognized that for the Message to spread, other initiators and Sufi leaders needed to be empowered and respected, including during his lifetime.

• Sense of Cooperativeness and Camaraderie. In centers where there are multiple leaders, or in regions where there are multiple centers within close proximity, a shared leadership model is useful. This models too our national organization. We all respect the Pir and his vision; but the Order is directed by a Board over which the Pir has much influence and vice versa. There is an International Message Council with oversight responsibility for the Order as a whole; there are advisory groups (e.g. Jamiat Khas) to the Pir; mureeds have access to the national leadership through their national and regional representatives, their local center leaders, and directly with some effort and interest. Leaders need not agree all the time; but they can model collegiality. In times of stress, it’s nice to remember that our invocation is “Toward the One…” not “At the One… .” We need not be perfect!

As a center leader and regional representative, I am excited about the increasing role of the centers in our Order. It takes pressure off the national organization and leaders to “do everything,” spreads out the responsibility, empowers others, and promotes a wonderful decentralization in a organized and effective way, as long as the connection with the national leadership remains real and solid. Local and regional availability of the Suluk curriculum, the leaders’ training modules, decentralized Cherag, Healing Conductor, Coordinator, Representative, Retreat Guide training and others are enlivening and empowering. In addition, there are local and traveling teachers pursuing their own initiatives and interests in line with Sufi teachings. As centers step into their power and view themselves more and more as an integral part of the organization, then the Message will more powerfully be represented and spread.

In Rochester we have taken this to heart. We have a new, full time public space. We are: The Sufi Order of Rochester, Center for Sufi Studies.

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Kamila Ann Stannard

Kaye Hakima Vivian

Subhan Inayat Burton

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The Golden Heart Awards 2013

The Golden Heart Awards 2013 ceremony took place at the Abode during this year’s Annual Sufi Order International Retreat and Community Camp. Hosting the ceremony were Kinship Activity

Coordinators Zarifah Kadian and Munawir Mangold. In the words of Munawir, “the experience of seeing the Message coming through each person evokes a combination of feelings- joy, awe, tenderness, pride, beauty, and sacredness. Each one of us is so necessary. Each one of us reveals the Message so uniquely through the story of our lives. Every year it is an honor to present the awards.”

Seven recipients of the Golden Heart Award were honored this year from the East Coast: Kamila Ann Stannard from Vermont; Kaye Hakima Vivian from North Carolina; Subhan Inayat Burton from Georgia; Mahbood Len Seligman from Maryland; Aqil Brown and Qalbi Melissa Tucker from Massachusetts; and Hassan Suhrawardi Gebel from Upstate New York (the Abode). All have been spreading the Message of Love, Harmony and Beauty in many ways and for many years in their communities, quietly serving with dedication and giving hearts.

Subhan, Mahbood, Aqil and Qalbi were able to be present at the ceremony on July 11th to receive a set of beads from Pir Zia as well as an award certificate from the Kinship Council signed by Pir Zia. Regional Representative Rabia Frank from Vermont received the beads and award for Kamila, Zarifah and Munawir for Hakima, and Wahhab Sheets from the Abode for Hassan Suhrawardi.

The Golden Heart Awards began seven years ago as an expression of gratitude for the many selfless workers for the Message in the Sufi Order International of North America, and many mureeds have been honored. We thank the Regional Representatives who assist the Kinship Council in bringing these awards to fruition by highlighting and sharing with all of us the service work of individuals in their region. At present five or six of the seventeen regions participate each year on a rotating basis.

To read about the inspiring contributions of this year’s Golden Heart Awards recipients, please visit the Kinship Activity website: www.kinshipactivity.org. To contact the Kinship Council, please write to: kinship@sufiorder.org.

The Kinship Council

Munawir Mangold, Zarifah Kadian, Sarah Leila Manolson, Karima Gebel

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Mahbood Len Seligman

Aqil Brown

Hassan Suhrawardi Gebel Qalbi Melissa Tucker

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The Boat Master has taken me

The Boat Master has taken meTo His favorite oyster diveOn this deep vast Ocean.He whispers to me softlyAbout a great treasureDeep within these dark depths.I am new and unfamiliarThe fear of those depths take me.Some part of me screams to run.But wait, he has rigged help for me.Lashed to a gold lifeline are barrels and anchor.The line a guide to and from,The anchor stops me from drifting,Both prevent becoming lost.Barrels to pop up in going down,To gasp air and read the messagesLeft there by divers before me.He whispers “Here you will findPlaces and spaces - fantastic imaginationsNo desert dweller will ever see.”“How will I know when I am there?”I ask looking down the vastness.“When you dissolve in the darkness.”“How will I know I have found the Treasure?”I say, testing the water.“When you have become the Ocean,When you breathe this place, Like a great fish,And every word from your lipsHas the sound of My NameWithin it.”

Ron Hakku Rivard

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Two doves flew in

Two doves flew inA window left openTrapped them here.They scurry, frantic,Crashing place to place.I trying to capture them,They flee their destruction.Finally I apprehend one.It calms in its sense of doom.I gently carry it out,And release it into the light.The other poor thingBashes itself to deathUpon its prison walls.

Which dove are you?Do you run from the Hand of God?Attempt to hide from His Mercy?Be compassionate with yourself.You are but and unknowing dove.In deep Compassion,You will allow yourself caught.You will feel God’s gentle touch,And find your Self releasedInto the Light.

Ron Hakku Rivard

Window

This morning you were the dragonflytrapped in your confusionflailing fragile wings against the sunlit glasswhile just a breath or two awaythe door stood openThis evening you were the handsreaching to cup the shimmering one withinthe soft womb of your palmsYou brought it buzzing across the thresholdYou set it freeWe are always drawn to the Lightand yet we need such tenderness to findthe opening

Murad Jody Curley

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Preserving the Words of the Message

Those words which the illuminated souls of all ages have spoken have been preserved by their pupils. In whatever part of the world they were born or lived, what they let fall as words has been gathered up like real pearls, and kept as scriptures

Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol. II

For the spiritual working, it must be remembered by the workers, whatever position they may occupy in the scheme of working, that they are the trustees of the Message, which is to be received, studied, followed, and preserved for the coming generation. And as trustees they are responsible more or less for the Message, which is their most secret and sacred trust.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Additional Papers, 1923

These quotations show the importance Hazrat Inayat Khan himself placed on the careful preservation of our teachings. He once said, “If you will preserve my words as I have spoken, it will be as saving my life,” that one

would not lose the sense of his teaching “which is as essential to the Message as the perfume to the rose” (Complete Works, 1922 1, xiv). He predicted a time when there would be a search for his exact words and charged his pupils, “in whatever position they may occupy in the scheme of working,” with the transcription and stewardship of his words in service to the Message in our times.

It is important to reflect upon these words and to consider our own roles as responsible caretakers of our historic and teaching legacy. We have, in fact, the responsibility of preserving and organizing for use an “embarrassment of riches,” in the abundant teaching materials transmitted to us not only by Hazrat Inayat Khan but also by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

Over the years, the Sufi Order International has accumulated a large and growing archive of materials in diverse formats related to the Inayat Khan family, the history of the Sufi Message in the West, and the Sufi Order itself, as well as its teachers and mureeds. There are many primary documents recording the history of our traditions and shared efforts - our institutional memory. A large collection of materials concerns Pir Vilayat and his extensive travels, the Cosmic Celebration, retreats, conferences, religious congresses, guidance of mureeds, and the many lives he inspired and influenced with his boundless enthusiasm for this work. We need to consider how to safeguard and use this bounty in service of the School for Sufi Studies and to provide source materials for scholarly inquiry, research, and publication.

The many treasures in the Sufi Order archives need dedicated conservation, preservation and organization to be saved for future generations of mureeds as well as researchers and historians; and this work has already begun. Lakshmi Barta-Norton and Yasodhara Lillydahl are both professional librarians experienced in archival organization and preservation techniques. With the invaluable assistance of Nizam Ash and Suria McBride, the printed manuscripts and memorabilia are being sorted and processed. Work has been progressing steadily over the last year, and, some of the newly organized archival materials have already proven useful for Pir Zia’s research and writing.

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With the assistance of the Abode’s Americorps workers, the current archives storage area has been cleaned of surface dirt, vacuumed, and secured with a lock, and non-archival materials have been removed. Archival materials are being relocated to a more secure, climate-controlled space at the Abode that will be the archives’ temporary home until a larger space is found to accommodate the archives, as well as space and equipment for users of the collection. Acid-free archival quality supplies and the first four steel filing cabinets have been purchased through private donations, and the drawers are being filled with archival materials.

Over 600 photographs and slides have been processed, including everything from snapshots to professional studio portraits of Pir Vilayat, Pir Vilayat’s mureed photo albums, and other images of mureeds and Inayat Khan family members. Photographic materials were removed from PVC-laden albums and containers and placed in individual archival quality glassine envelopes, with notations of individual identities when known.

Paper documents and manuscripts were being damaged by rusting staples and paper clips. As materials are processed, these metal fasteners are being removed and replaced by inert plastic clips, and then stored in labeled, archival quality, acid-free folders in the filing cabinets.

A large collection of Sufi Order periodicals have been sorted into sets and filed in order. These sets include copies of The Message, Connections, Heart and Wings, the Mureed’s Newsletter, Keeping in Touch, and other publications, including some from the early years of the Sufi Order in the 1920s. A backup collection of available duplicate materials is being donated to UMass Amherst Special Collections and Archives for off-site preservation and use by scholars and other researchers.

Among the treasures discovered so far are:

• Inayat Khan family materials: An eyewitness account of Noor’s execution at Dachau; Pir Vilayat’s correspondence with family members, including his maternal Bernard family.

• Other Pir Vilayat materials: Biographical materials; honorary citations and certificates; correspondence with mureeds and spiritual leaders; personal items including robes, altar cloths, items from his desk, family pictures; sound and visual recordings, some with paper transcripts; published interviews and articles.

• Historic SOI materials including the early 20th century: Official succession documents for Pir Vilayat and Pir Zia; SOI legal documents and organizational records, including reports and minutes pertaining to the Sufi Order, Abode of the Message, and related organizations (e.g., Zenith Institute, Aegis, Omega Institute, Suluk Academy); publications; documents and tapes from the five Activities of the SOI (Esoteric School, Healing, Universal Worship, Kinship, Ziraat); materials from the Cosmic Celebration; plans and documents related to the design and construction of the Universel in Suresnes; promotional materials for various SOI related events; documents from the reconciliation process leading to the Federation of the Sufi Message.

• Books, publications, and materials from Nargis Dowland, Shamsher Beorse, Fatha Engel, and other senior teachers.

• Mureeds’ anecdotes and memories of Pir Vilayat.

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The baraka embedded in the archives is tangible, and we have all felt its presence as we view and handle objects in the collection - it truly contains many hidden treasure waiting to be known. But we have just seen the proverbial tip of the iceberg in terms of what needs to be done to preserve and organize the archives and make them available for use.

Our vision for the archives includes a larger and more permanent location: a clean, climate-controlled space that is secure, well- lit and staffed; an area for the processing and storage of a wide variety of media and materials; equipment for work with sound and visual recordings; scanners and copiers; tables and chairs for researchers; a display areas for memorabilia; a small library of materials relating to our tradition and reading room.

As Murshid has himself told us, we all have a part to play in this important work.

• Resources, supplies, and equipment will be needed to transform this temporary repository into a functional archives.

• Material donations from the mureed body and others of photos, recordings, transcripts, diaries/journals from retreats and daily life, promotional materials and local center histories are gratefully accepted.

• Oral histories and anecdotal memories of Pir Vilayat are gratefully received before these precious memories are lost to us forever.

• Volunteers will be needed to convert handwritten transcripts to typed word documents.

• Volunteers will also be needed to transcribe and collect appropriate data (e.g., title/date/place of program, topics covered, etc.) on Pir Zia’s and other talks as we go forward.

We have received these teachings as an inestimable gift, but also as a sacred trust. While we have made great strides in our stewardship of Murshid’s words (notably, Sharif Graham’s meticulously researched annotated, and indexed source editions of The Complete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan), we have much retrospective work on Pir Vilayat’s legacy to address and must also preserve emerging teachings as we go forward.

Please consider how you can help in this great service to the Message, making the cherished dream of a comprehensive Sufi Order International archives a reality.

My thoughts I have sown on the soil of your mind; My love has penetrated your heart; My word I have put into your mouth; My light has illuminated your whole being; My work I have given into your hand.

From the Vadan of Hazrat Inayat Khan

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Caravan of Souls; An Introduction to the Sufi Path of Hazrat Inayat Khan

Compiled and edited by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan cloth edition, 253 pages

$25.95Order from Omega Publications: www.omegapub.com

Caravan of Souls offers the concepts, principles and history of the Sufi path brought to the West by Hazrat Inayat Khan. Within these pages the reader will find the spiritual lineage, biographical sketches, prayers, basic meditation

practices, inspired sayings, poetry, musical compositions, and guidance for spiritual living while engaged in daily life. Also included are sections on organization and activities, such as kinship, spiritual healing, and the interfaith Universal Worship service. This is a rich sourcebook for all interested in the life and teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, and in the school of Sufism that he established and which continues today in both the East and the West.

“Hazrat Inayat Khan opened a new chapter in Sufi history when he brought Sufism from India to North America and Europe in the early twentieth century. Founded in London in 1918, Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Sufi Order represents both a faithful continuation of the fourfold lineage he inherited from his predecessors and a visionary renewal of Sufi thought and practice attuned to the needs of today’s world.

Hazrat’s esoteric teachings provide a potent framework for the transformation of human consciousness, while his exoteric teachings trace a glowing template for the spiritual reconstruction of society.In Hazrat Inayat Khan’s lifetime his Order was active in the United States, Europe, and India. It has since spread further afield.

Once contained in a single organization, several groups working along parallel tracks now maintain and transmit its traditions. While these groups vary in their emphasis on the original form of Hazrat’s teaching and practice, their common heritage remains a basis of shared spiritual culture. For all who light their candle from his lamp, Hazrat Inayat Khan is Murshid (the Guide.” - from the Introduction by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

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Our CentersSilver City, NM

Katherine Feist

This summer I was singing the praises of our “blended family” of Sufis and seekers of other spiritual paths when Wahhab Sheets asked if I’d let you all know more about it. I want you to know how this

Ruhaniat community has opened its doors to other Orders creating an open and inclusive, blended community.

Shortly after we moved to Silver City, New Mexico we were asked to help some friends do a blessing on their five-story, multi-room historic building. We had only been here six weeks, but having attended the weekly dhikr when we were visiting, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be difficult to put together a delightfully attuned team of 10 or 12 people to help with this healing process. None of us had tackled such a big “house blessing” before, but as we went floor by floor blessing with light, incense, and water we realized that we should send the blessings out the windows and bless our town as well. After this experience together I felt even more at home and part of this vibrant and enlivened Sufi community.

Dhikr has been a regular event here for many years. There are between 15 – 25 attendees weekly. The dhikr is facilitated by a rotating group of both Ruhaniat and Sufi Order leaders. One of the community members, who has the responsibility of making the calendar for teaching, checks with us once a quarter to see if we are available to lead.

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The center, held by Basira and Shems Nickle, has a lovely dhikr hall which also can accommodate the monthly potluck dinners. Accommodation seems to be the key word here where many disciplines are welcomed. You might have a yoga class, singing kirtan, a dream class or attend the weekly Dervish Healing Order service. We recently had an ordination of a Cheraga. There is also an accommodation for overnight guests. Five or more of us meet in the mornings to sit together. We started with the idea of going through the practices in the Physicians of the Heart. After going through the first 99 days together we have continued to focus on a wazifa by reciting it 99 times and then sitting in silent concentration for 45 minutes. This is followed by some good coffee and conversation. During this morning meditation and in our other classes we offer the effects of this healing energy to our dying friends to anyone who needs healing, or to the beautiful town of Silver City.

We stay connected is through a Yahoo group list serve. This is such a lovely Kinship tool. Not only are there reminders about the on-going classes and special events, but there may be a personal note such as “I am in the hospital for a few more days, will someone stop by my house and bring my robe and slippers to me?” or the latest update on a sick friend’s needs.

Another Sufi community, an hour north of Silver City is the Southwest Sufi Community founded by Pir Moinuddin Jablonski in 1998. It is a retreat center and a rural khanqah.

I asked our friend Bari what it was that makes the Silver City Sufi Circle so special and he said that unlike a melting pot where the components meld together to form a new composite the Silver City Sufi Circle is more of a blend- like fabric or blended textile- where the different fibers retain their singular characteristics during the blending process which make a beautiful fabric.

Which Order we associate with (if any) isn’t really relevant to our work together. It may be relevant to who we are and to our history, but new ground is forged by the new fabric we are creating together.

The vision for the future: flow, inclusiveness, cohesiveness, vibrancy, adaptation and flexibility, joy, service and relevance for the Message in our time and maybe the question “How can we personally contribute to the fabric of our community?”

In loving service,

Katherine Feist & Wahhab Krisch

With the help of many in the Silver City community

Wahhab & Katherine have lived in Silver City for a year now. They thoroughly enjoy it. Katherine is happy to lead retreats at a number

of lovely places. Come on over!

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Calendar of Events

Upcoming Retreats with Aziza Scott

February 14 – 17, Racine, WI, 847-746-7901, kashfinur@aol.com

April 6, Sharon, MA, Khabira and Aqil Brown, Khabira@gardenlight.org

April 12 – 13, Albuquerque, NM, Muqit, Ssachs@iupui.edu

March 1-2, Wholeness-The Purpose of Life: Retreat with Pir Zia

Tucson AZ, 520-465-0210 or tucsonsufi@yahoo.com.

April 11-13, Introduction to Sufism with Pir Zia, Abode of the Message, New Lebanon NY, 518-794-8095, programsoffice@theabode.net

May 2-4, Kinship Activity Training Program with Munawir Mangold and Zarifah Kadian, Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, NY, 518-794-8095, programsoffice@theabode.net

May 16-18, Healing Workshop for Health Practitioners with Devi Tide, Abode of the Message, New Lebanon NY, 518-794-8095, programsoffice@theabode.net

June 22-29, Annual SOI Summer Retreat and Camp,

Consciousness, Conscience, CultureSave the date for the Sufi Order International Summer Gathering in the Pacific Northwest, with a special emphasis on youth, and

our emerging young leaders.

Consciousness: The manner in which we think and feel determines the contours of our experience.

Conscience: In a world in turmoil, conscience mends rifts and opens doors to greater beauty.

Cuture: The shape of the future depends upon our choices today.

Three-day Silent Retreat led by Pir Zia Inayat-KhanMusic, Zikr, Ziraat, Kinship, Healing

Cascadian Center, Mt. Vernon, WA,

contact Fatima Besharat, fay@teambesharat.com

Aug 30-Sep1, Physicians of the Heart, Abode of the Message, New Lebanon NY, 518-794-8095, programsoffice@theabode.net

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