Transcript for Sufi Conference 2008,

I would like to begin by welcoming you all

and I thought I should begin this gathering with explaining a little bit about the beginning of these gatherings and

and kind of include you in that

purpose and really why we are here in that moment in time

it began about 9 yrs ago in Sufibrook in New york

in a meeting between somebody in our group and Andrew Harvey who had a suggestion that there should be a Sufi conference

and he said in fact there should be one on the East coast,one on the West and one in the middle

and when I heard this I think I went restless about the idea and then I was told I should not only participate but I should host it

and so we started here on the west coast

and we wanted to come here in Solimar but Sufism was a little bit suspect at the time and we didn't get any response from the people here

they just wouldn't answer their telephone, we couldn't get through to anybody. So, as Sufis we are trained

to look at the signs, so I said to the person who was helping me arrange it, to Barbara,

i said, look, there is this tradition

that really belongs to the land here

that belongs to the spiritual dimension of the land,

that you have to go somewhere and you have to sit on the land until you are invited

because that really belongs to the native american tradition of the place, of the land, I said

if we are really going to have a spiritual gathering

we have to be welcome by the spirits of the place

So, she came down here and she actually sat on the place for 3 days

and then after 3 days, somebody approached her

and the person who approach her happened to work here and also be a native american

and really, out of that meeting, welcomed her.

and that enabled this particular gathering to take place not just

in the outer world, not just in the visible world, but also

in the unseen world, in the world of spirits, because in this country

the world of spirits is still held

in the land by the native american tradition

and so it was deeply important that we were welcomed

and so over the years these gatherings have continued, some on

the east coast some on the west coast

and Pia has been very kind to participate and other presenters

that you shall hear this week-end

and this is in a way a accumulation of these 8 years

it is as if..... something

that has been given can be receive. In a way it is

a moment in time. As Sufis, we are trained to learn to

be very attentive to the moment

and to catch the moment

and so this is the share of a moment,

it is in a way an 8 yrs moment because it has been present for 8 yrs ever since Barbara came and sit on the land here and maybe before

that meeting in Sufibrooks. And it has to do with different threads of sufi coming together, about

honoring the oneness that is the foundation of sufism

the oneness of being, the oneness of life, the oneness that

is within the heart.

and in order to capture that moment

we are actually filming that gathering, that is the purpose of filming

it, is to capture that moment

that also can be shared with people who weren't able to come

so you will see many of these events are being filmed for that purpose so this Sufi moment, which is

really what it is ; this coming together, this sharing, this being present

in this circle of sufis is held, both in our hearts

and through this filming to make it available to people who weren't able to come and I just described this evening

: I just will give an introduction for a while and then Pia Zia is going to give use

some sufi meditation

together with some flute playing which is very very dear to the heart and then

we will have a short playing of the Nayi flute and then into 20 mns of

of silence

to bring this evening to a close and this gathering to an opening.

and I was saying, for me the nayi has always been infinitely precious

because it has this call

that for me is the essence

of the sufi path, in fact

my favorite definition of sufism is

, as many of you know, sufism at the beginning is heartache only later it became

something to talk about.

and the Nayi for me capture this heartache, this incredible longing

of the soul, that is really the only road back to god

it is love in its purest

simplest essence

that stamp in the heart that really makes us a sufi. If you have that stamp of longing

then you are a sufi. and, as many of you know in fact

the Rumi' achmaoui begins with the cry of

the reed flute listen to the reed how it tells the tale

complaining of separations

saying, every since I was parted from the reed bed,

my lament has caused man and woman to moan

it is only to a bosom torn by severance

that I can enfold the pain caused by love desire.

everyone who is left far from his source

wishes back the time when he was united with it.

so that is the imprint

within the heart, it is also the cry

of the reed flute.

this longing, this desire to go home, this simple home sickness

of the soul, and it is something

so simple, it is something so primary : we are separated from god

separated from his or her beloved, because for us, the whole business is a love affair

heartache, your heart cries to god

for some reason, you do not understand, you do not ever know

why ? why somebody stamped your heart?

with that most ancient, most primal of imprints

that cry of the soul

and in that cry of the soul, in that imprint, there is the whole journey

, the whole mystery of both separation

and also union.

because you wouln't long for oneness with god unless you knew oneness with god

you cannot long for something if you do not know it.

so it is this most basic human quality

we're separate from god. the lover is separate from

is beloved, and also

within our heart, we know the secret

of un ion.

and this is very very precious

because we live in a world that is fractured, fragmented beyond

our imaginings.

we live in a world that is tethering on the edge

of falling apart.

as in the poem of Yates "the center cannot

hold"

and we know the secret of both separation and union

and we come together

in remembrance of it

the purpose of these gatherings is just to

be together for his sake

for the sake of our beloved

and celebrating that oneness that belongs to god

the oneness of being

the oneness in which everything is included. and we know it in our hearts.

mostly for the mystic it is a very solitary journey

and, because it is the inner journey

from the alone to the alone

and there is also something very precious in

coming together to share that journey

for a moment in time

in being together with fellow wayfarers on the path

rumi says somewhere "be with those who mix with god

as honey blends with mild

with those who says anything that comes and goes

that raises and sets

is not what I love.

so we are together in that mystery of love, which is also a mystery of oneness.

we re just together. In sufism, there is a simple secret

in just being together for his sake

just being present for his sake, and knowing that we are one

there is a lovely story of Shamsi tabriz

in which someone became a plaintiff in a case

and they wanted witnessess

and so the person took 10 sufis

to the courtroom for witnessess

and the judge said "i want another witness"

and the man said "you honor

you call into court 2 witnesses ! I have brought 10 !

why do you want another witness ? I have brought 10

and he said " this 10 are 1 witness

if you bring a 100000 sufis, they'll all be one

we are one, that is what we live

that is in our heart, in our breath, in our knowing

in our sharing in our being together.

it;s something very simple but the world has forgotten it

the world things we are separate

the world is obsessed by me, mine

as opposed to somebody else

and we know a different truth and we live a different truth

and we make a simple statement by coming

here together

to honor that oneness

there is only one part, one love affair

one cry of the heart

one lover and one beloved. Yes, there is

this mirage of everything fragmentes

into a thousand, into a million, into a billion

that is just a mirage because we know

otherwise

but when you go in the heart there is only one

there is only you and your beloved

and when you sit together in a circle of friends, there is

only one

there is still only one lover and one beloved

there is one. that is one of the great great mystery of creation

you could call it unity or multiplicity.

it does not matter what you call it because we live it

we are the witnessess

one witness, a hundred witness, it is one witness

because we are sufis

and what I find so precious and what I have experienced myself

in a way

it is, I hadn't experienced before

I need gatherings to see these different threads of love

these different ancient sufi paths

which have different qualities, different textures

there is music, there is silence, there is dance

there is dreams

and they all weave the same thread of love

they all weave that same thread of love and we are that thread of love

being woven into the world,, being woven into creation

I met my teacher when I was 19

and I just sat at her feet for many many years

and I knew nothing

of other paths

until I came to america and then not much of other sufis paths until these gathering

and I saw there are all one

it is the same cry, the same heart

yes, some people need to dance

some people need to sit in silence

it doesn't matter

the beloved expresses himself in so many ways

it is said there are as many paths to god as there are human beings

as many as the breath as the children of men

and we honor that

we know it is all one

nobody's path is better nobody's path is nearer

because they are just aspects of love

they are just ways the beloved is called

back to godf

in different path of love

and this is the time coming together to share

those. to say yes we are one

i do my practice but i also honor your practice

it is in a way the real adab of the sufi

that deep recognition of that mystery of creation

which is present in our hearts

i think it is a very precious

contribution one can make in a world

that is fragmented, in a world that is tearing itself apart

both in the inner world and in the outer world

to say : there is another aspect to life

there is another way to be

and to share it. Not to have just as an inner idea,

you see, most of us, as mystics

it happens innerwordly

those are experiences that take us deeper and deeper within ourselves

through the veils, back to the source

but from time to time, there is a need

to express it outwardly

to bring it from the inner to the outer, to see that reflection

in the outer world/ And that is what

i'd like you, if possible, to share

in these next few days

,to be present, to taste

these different fragrances of love

:you cant taste a fragrance, that's terrible,

to smell these different fragrances of love

to taste this different swetnessess

and to be present within it

and to be together with friends you know and with friends you don't know

and to eat together, and to laugh together and to walk on the seashore together

it is a sufi way

we don't take it too seriously because

it is a love affair

and like my teacher said you have to hold love with light hands

and sufis like being together

from time to time we like to be together and to share this oneness

"companions are attentive to meeting with each others

friendship is their profession

all are servants of each other and all are teachers of each other

all are disciples of each other because

they are in essence one"

i repeat that, it is so profound

it is about a real sufi gathering

'companions are attentive to meeting with each other

friendship is their profession

all are servants of each other

and all are teachers of each other

all are disciples of each other because

they are in essence one.

when companionship appears

it brings stability

even when it is disturbed

in all conditions it is to be chosen

it is the trace of God for it is the representative

of God to his creation

If there was no companionship, one would not be at rest in the flow

of fate and destiny

and would not be literate and learn in the assemblies

of intimacy

they are the people of god's house

among whom there is no stranger

They are the people of god's house, amongst whom there is no stranger

because we are people of the heart

. There was a time in the middle-east when

you could travel the land by going from sufi group to sufi group

to Hanuka to hanuka, where you'd be

welcome because you were a dervish

you didn't have to belong to anything

you were a wandering love of god, you were taken in

it's the true meaning of hospitality

because your soul was made welcome

and that is something very precious

. It isn't so anymore here

in this part of the world

but maybe, we can share it

just to be together

just to honor that intimacy of the heart,

that companionship that is the real companionship

why ? because it is the reflextion on the companionship of the soul with god

that is the real addab

that is the real respect

we are with each other as we would be with god

it is a deep knowing in the heart

we are together for his sake

it is a simple saying

infinitely profound

we are together for his sake

and, we all live such busy lives

and the demand of this culture, this world today

grips us in every way it can

much more than we know sometimes

we don't even know what are our thoughts

or if they are somebody elses' thoughts

, like the other evening, because i was watching

a presidential debate on television, i had a dream about healthcare

we are so easily swallowed up

by the collective thought forms and particularly

in this time of anxiety, of nobody knowing what is exactly going to happen

and yet, as sufis, we

honor something deeper

we know that we never know what is going to happen

we know that disaster is always around the corner and we welcome it

and there a smile somewhere

there is a smile because

we belong to our beloved, we don't belong

be in this world as if you were a traveler, a passerby

because this is not home

we belong in a different way

and again, I would like you, in these few days, to share that belonging

like you pick up these threads of love

of the different gatherings

there are, the different meetings

of the dance of the music, of the silence

, and you sense, underneath it all, there

is a deeper mystery that belongs to the soul,

that belongs to your soul and also the soul of all humanity

because we don't do this for ourselves

. There is that lovely definition of a sufi

: as a brotherhood of migrants

who keep watch on the world and for the world.

For some strange reasons, we are

drawn into this circle of love; not for ourselves

, so as much as we are making our journey,

we are also making the world's journey

we carry that secret for humanity which is why

the sufis have been known as the people of the secret

it's part of the mystery of life

ibn el arabi says '

how can i know you

when you are the inwardly hidden who is not known

. How can i not know you

when you are the outwardly manifest

making yourself known to us in everything

How can i not realize your unity

when union is the very secret of servanthood

." He is hidden within our own hearts,

unknowable, always, and for ever

No one knows god but god

And yet, in everything, in each other, in the flowers, in the cup, in the trees,

in the sea, he reveals himself

, one of the great secrets of creation

our beloved speaks to us around in everything,

nothing is hidden,

everything, everything is revealed, if we know how to look,

if we know how to love,

and in this, there is oneness

and we are part of it all,

nothing is separate, nobody is alone,

that is just an illusion, we are part of it,

we are part of this extraordinary oneness

, that is part of the secret of creation

Mostly, we live it in a world that has forgotten it

,we live in a culture of forgetfulness,

haunted by demons,

but maybe, just for a few days,

we can be present in a world of

remembrance, in which the remembrance in each of us talks

to the remembrance in our soul

We can be present in a space

of remembrance, not of forgetfulness

, we can glimpse what really is,

we can see the love within our own hearts

and the love within each other

, we can return to that simple core of being

that is oneness, that is love.

Don't try to think to much this week-end

Attar when he says ;when love comes, reason disappears'

reason cannot live with the folly or love"

Don't try to make sense of it : you won't

. I didn't know that a meeting in sufibooks

, 9 years ago,

would be here,

Just be present

with each other, with your heart, with the beloved

and love? something to touch you

, this is the real mystery that happens when sufis come together

normally, it is just sufis coming together in their own group, in their own terikas, doing their own practice

and many of you have done that for many years and this is the most precious gathering, I think, one can have

and here we are just embracing a wider horizon

of bringing together different terikas

,different ways of being with god, and saying

it is all one

So I just want you to share in that for a few days

and to be present with him we love, with him to whom we belong,

I just want to remind you, after Pia Zia is finished with meditation

we will have some Nai music that will then take us into 20mns or so of silence within the heart

there is very little to be said after what has just been said

nothing really mains to be said

but we can take the central truth

that flown forward just now

through the inspiration or our host cheick , Llewellyn,

who has, over the years, so kindly hosted all of us

for these very unique occasions,

these gatherings,

in kindred spirits.

we can take in

these essential truths

in the mode of

what is called by the sufis

brakaba, and that is

a word that may be translated

as ;contemplation'

perhaps more precisely, the word

suggests 'keeping watch

, watchfulness"

, and one of the very early practitioners

of this art, and it is an art,

was a great being

a great sufi, named chimbly

who was absolutely enamourate of god

constantly living in the vividness

the urgency of his yearning for god

and his unfolding discovery of the divine

presence. There was times when he was committed to an asylum

because he was so sane that his sanity

seemed to everyone else, insane.

, and he practiced the art of moracaba

contemplation, keeping watch

, and some people, his friends, asked him

'where did you learn that unusual technique that you have?

?', and he answered

'i learned it from a cat

i learned it by watching a cat sittin

in front of a mouse hole

" and he said " i observed

that every single hair

on the body of the cat was

absolutely still

" and he said " and we consider ourselves a superior species

and I realized i could never claim that

superiority if i could not do, at least, what this cat has done.

: sit in absolute stillness, in silence, serenely watching his object

". And for chimbly, the object of his contemplation was,

not a mouse,

but it was the One being, it was reality itself

Now, it has come down to us that we may apply

this technique of stillness, of awareness of the breath

of interior illumination

to the deep study of the Ayat

of the signs of God

revealed in prophetic verses

and so this prophetic verses have been passed down

as a series of contemplation over the generations from heart to heart

as an exercise into deep awareness, exercise of

god, yes

but something still more significant than

that awareness

in additiion

and that is the awareness

of god's awareness

of us.

that is the real moracaba

not contemplating god

but living in the awareness of god's awareness of us

through the breath, through presence

through deepening

our realization of the meaning

of the divinely revealed words that have reached us.

and so in these moments

, i will recite a series of these ayat,

signs of god's presence here

and now, on the horizons and in ourselves

and we will hear the words

and the words will continue to echo

within on each breath

so that after you have heard the words,

the words continue to sound as

you draw in a breath

you breath in the words and the message

, the revelation of god's presence

and as you exhale you are conscious of

the presence, the attunement

, the vibration, quality of being

that flows from that remembrance.

Inhaling again, the words and the message come

, exhaling : expansion of the state of the awareness that is kindled

in the words

We are rediscovering, illuminating, revealing

the one relationship

that is the essential relationship

, the essential relationship that is

enacted in all of our encounters

, in all of the circumstances

of our life. Here in our

moracaba, we are going

back to the essential

confrontation with

the one who meets us in every

moment, weather we are conscious or not conscious

of that meeting.