Beloved Family,

Greetings of the Heart as the days get shorter here in the Northern Hemisphere!

In the next three weeks the experience of the USA and the World will be extraordinarily affected by our Presidential election. It certainly can feel very ominous. Also potentially ominous is the exponential effects of the development of Artificial Intelligence on our everyday lives. Add to that the many brutal wars humans are raging upon other humans!!! And maybe the most crucial is our climate crisis and degradation of our planet and her many species, plant and animal and human, due to unskillful human behavior. 

Quoting Murshid Sam in a letter to his Goddaughter Saadia Khawar-Khan on March 13, 1970, "It is very necessary to promote methods which will end the wholesale slaughter of human beings by other human beings, under the asinine assumption that only by such methods can peace be brought to the world. Ego-reason will promote any cause, and Iblis lurks under the guise of rationalism. I think I have already told you we intend to bring Palestinians, Arabs, and Israelis together in this house upon my return. One believes, honestly and profoundly in the statement of the Messenger of God, that Allah loves His creation more than a mother loves her offspring. For my part, I shall not accept hypocrisy and bigotry from any source. For my part, I shall stand firm for the divine Rahmat and no nonsense. I also feel that as one walks toward Allah He definitely walks toward the person. Actually, not philosophically, not logically, not piously, but actually. So one is not afraid of enemies”.

It is wise to remember that no matter what is unfolding; political quagmire, war, AI abuse, abuse of our body called Mother Earth - the assignment for living beings is the same - to dedicate ourselves to deconstruct the notion of a separate self, awaken to our True Nature - Unity - Union, all the while developing our ability to practice Loving Kindness and Compassion.

Quoting our own Hazrat Inayat Khan, “The work of the sufi has nothing to do with any particular religion or creed, but just this simple thing, to be able to be in rhythm with life’s conditions and be in tune with the Infinite”

Inshallah, I will be in Sarasota Oct 26th for an all-day Sufi Retreat, with support from our dear and musical Sheikh Maitreya Stevens. December brings a three day retreat on Maui and in January our 20th Annual Northern California Sufi Sesshin.

Reminding you all of my new website <pirshabda.org> where you can find my schedule, my monthly letter, all my cd’s for download, a section called “For the Birds” and still to come, a section for Raga Classes.

For our next wazifa practice, I would like us to recite a practice that our colleague Pir Zia Inayat Khan gave his whole Inayatiyya family a year ago - the recitation of AMAAN 101x daily! 

Our dear Ghulam Rasool writes: “Ya Amaan means 'O the One Who gives safety and security'. Also generally, Amaan or Al-Amaan is used with Al-Hafeez which means: We seek refuge in Allah. It also means 'O God! have mercy! save us! preserve or protect us!"

Recently Pir Zia has written: "Reciting Amaan expresses our ardent and urgent prayer for the complete stoppage of the systematic destruction of human lives in these regions, the free flow of vital aid in the form of food, water, and medicine, the expeditious rebuilding of hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods, and the appropriate addressing of the rights of individuals and communities. Please continue to keep the living thought of peace and justice at the forefront of your mind and heart and continue the daily recitation of Amaan until the harrowing bloodshed ends, and it cannot end soon enough.”

Much love,

Shabda

Sarasota Retreat                                        October26

Maui Sufi Camp                                          December 6-8

Northern California Sufi Sesshin          January 19-24, 2025

Ongoing Local Monthly Gathering

Zikr in San Rafael                            One Thursday a month