08-Apr-2005
NATURAL ECSTASY
This Week's Newsletter: Melodious Desire
MY FRIEND SAMIRA IZADI grew up in Iran with a Sufi father and a Shiite mom. After marrying a Sunni Muslim, and coming under a great deal of persecution, Samira and her husband, Hassan, had to escape late one night with their two young children, leaving all their belongings and family behind. Many years later, after finally immigrating to America, Samira and Hassan converted to Christianity. With the passionate heart of a mystic, Samira wrote this poem:
Someone calls me to pray at dawn.
His voice flows into the simple breath of daybreak.
One thousand words on my lips,
My heart filled with longing,
I lean my head on the shoulders of morning.
At dawn, at the time of prayer,
I am pregnant with thoughts
As the cloud is with raindrops.
I am as light as the wind.
I speak with Him
Whose waves of light fill my moments.
He who is the holder of the universe,
Whose presence is magnificent,
I know He hears my voice!
I know He sees my tears!
He takes me to the sanctuary of faith,
Beyond the fog of religions.
He who is the comfort of soul,
Who is the secret of existence,
Takes me to the glory of majestic moments.
Almighty, Sovereign God
Brings the instinct of worship to my heart.
I will bow to him till I die.
To see him, my wondering soul is a melodious desire.
To go to him, my tender body is a love song.
- Samira Izadi
ALL SUBSCRIBERS to my newsletter will receive a 10%
discount on either of my books at any event, excluding
bookstore signings. Other discounts - for recommended
CDs, conferences, classes and events - will also
regularly be offered. To receive a discount on any
offer in this newsletter, simply print the newsletter,
showing your email address and the offer(s), and bring
it to the event or send it in with your order.
THIS WEEK'S featured website is http://springhillmedia.com/layer_Pages/SpecialsRG.html. Spring Hill Media Group is offering a whopping 20% off of four of Robert Gass' Cds, as well as his book, "Chanting", an offer available only to subscribers of this newsletter. Robert Gass, EdD, is a composer and recording artist with more than 20 CDs to his credit, including the best-selling Om Namaha Shivaya. He's also the author of Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound.
Deepak Chopra writes this about Gass' work: "The word 'enchantment' suggests becoming one with God through chanting. Robert Gass' superb music and chanting achieves this goal."
HOWE'S HAPPENINGS:
(See my website - www.maryblyehowe.com - for more information about the following events. Click on ‘events').
Sunday, April 10: Reading and signing at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Park at 1pm.
Tuesday, April 12: Guest lecturer for two religion classes at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
SPECIAL EVENT!! Tuesday, August 16 - Saturday, August 20 - WRITER'S RETREAT in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. This is an event you WON'T want to miss! (Click on ‘classes' on my website for details.)
GET REAL
In my new book, Sitting With Sufis (Paraclete Press, 2005), I write about one of the many afternoons in which I walk through the Cedar Ridge Nature Reserve near my home.
One particular day, just before my walk, I had been meditating on one of Rumi's seven spiritual mandates. (Rumi is Sufism's most famous poet). The one that had been humming in the back of my mind was this: "In anger and fury, be like dead."
Here's the story from my book:
"One morning, I drove, as I do most days, to a gorgeous and serene nature center near my home to take a walk. About two minutes into the walk, though, I stubbed my toe on a rock and swore in anger at the rock.
"A few minutes earlier, when I first had driven into the parking lot, I had been mildly annoyed at all the cars parked there. That meant I probably wouldn't have "my" trail to myself, as I often do. Then, as I walked, I could hear people talking loudly and I felt another mild flare-up. Do these people not know that this place of great natural beauty demands quiet and reflection, I wondered in irritation.
"On and on it went. I got tired and felt annoyed that I'd chosen a trail too long for my energy level this particular day. And I got mad at the trail for this. I inwardly complained about it being 75 degrees on the last day of December. I live in such a stupid, hot, and ugly state, I fumed. I was now mad at Texas. My legs and feet began to hurt and I bitched to myself about growing older; I'd probably have to take some ibuprofen after this walk, which ticked me off at the aging process.
"And all of this in the space of a single hour in a place where I typically find my greatest tranquility and least amount of stress!"
For those of us who meditate daily and have powerful mystical or spiritual experiences, these moments are frustrating. It's not that we think meditation and increased spiritual maturity are going to make us perfect. But we DO secretly harbor the egotistical notions that we at least aren't going to be overwhelmed by petty irritations.
In my own life, the answer has been to try and look at the "big" picture. If I judge myself by my slip-ups and failures, I feel as if I'm making no progress. In reality, I need to simply remember where I was twenty years ago, ten years ago, or even six months ago. My husband, Mike, often jokes that he'll never need a new wife because he has one every few years - me. My hopes and goals center around making that change positive.
As exhilarating as my mystical and spiritual experiences are, they mean absolutely nothing if they don't make me more loving, compassionate, kind, gentle and involved with people who are needy and hurting, both physically and emotionally.
Some day I hope to simply stop "kicking the cat" (in my case, the nature center), but until then, I'll be grateful for the special teachers who have increasingly led me to higher places of spirituality in the overall scope of my life.
Blessings,
Mary
THIS NEWSLETTER is sent every other Friday around noon, allowing you the leisure of the weekend to look it over. Please remember: readers of this newsletter consist of Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sufis, Buddhists, and others, and I'll try to represent the
mystical/spiritual aspects of all of these.
IF THIS NEWSLETTER uplifted your heart and drew you
closer to the Divine, please forward it to others who
might enjoy it. Thank you!
