What has come up for me is to ensure that this expression, if used to any capacity, received in anyway, is sound and clear… that anyone who reads it isn’t subjected to my own subjective interpretations of a word that holds possibly religious, dogmatic, belief orientation, rigidity, and more to any single person or group. I do not desire anyone to ever feel that what I state is to be absolute or firm but for it to be reflective, open, and fluid to the here and now. That is my desire.

With sincerity, I hope that the words below reflect to you all that embarking through this “term” (Sufi, Sufic, Sufism) is an invitation to the possibility of a universal perspective in the light of the Absolute Unity of Being. I have found that this word carries The Note, a note found in many notes.

What I am trying to etch towards with my experience of this word is possibly carried between each person, group, identity, dogmatic approach, philosophical layers - it can be heard when someone says they view the world through the lens of Christianity, they practice Islam as a way to tread through life, they explore sexuality to tune inwardly to view the outward world, there expression of dance and movement connects themselves deeply to It, and so on.

Sufism, Rosicrucianism, New Ageism, Transcendentalism, Conservatism, Progressivism, and on and on… cannot equate to this Absolute, The Absolute, in which I am attempting to describe but may serve, if approached consciously and for what The Moment demands, as a point of view - a mere lens to see The Reality. It cannot nor ever be static or it shall naturally fragment and only remain cultic, stuck, “religious”, ridged, and still, which when happens, as we see many times in all of these “isms” swayed in this direction, they begin to rot, which can serve as a lesson, as it's usually from the inside out.

For sure, from my experience, I have found that this Word, which we as an organization are choosing to use, is certainly not static, but always, in which I hope to echo, adapts itself to the current time, place, and people.

Experience……..

Shortest Answer:

What is Sufism? Love Expressed & Experienced In A Certain Octave, Accessible To All.

What does it mean to be a Sufi? A Lover Expressing & Experiencing Said Octave In a Particular Way, Not Stuck In It, But Sincerely Willing To Hear It All.

Shorter Answer:

What is Sufism? A tapestry woven with threads of experiential wisdom, transcending religious confines to explore the depths of human consciousness and divine connection.

What does it mean to be a Sufi? Being a Sufi is to embark on an introspective odyssey, seeking not just knowledge but a transformation of the self, guided by the principles of love, humility, and a quest for the Divine (perpetuity in remembrance) - a door open to all or a caravan in motion and welcoming to all.

Longer Answer:

What is Sufism? An experiential journey that transcends and yet with simultaneous immanence via many doctrines, philosophies, and _____. It's a quest that delves into the heart - Heart - hearts - & Hearts (“The miracle is not Oneness but the miracle is Oneness found in diversity”) of Existence, seeking to unravel the mysteries of life through experience and transformation. Sufism from my experience with it - through it - lost in it - and so forth - is not confined to a set of rigid beliefs; instead, it appears to be fluid, an evolving path that integrates insights from various traditions, emphasizing the importance of being in the world but not of it. It has been a journey of the heart, where love, compassion, and a deep yearning for the divine play pivotal roles.

What does it mean to be a Sufi? To be one is to walk a path of continuous self-discovery and growth - ever evolving, ever unfolding. It's a commitment to understanding oneself and the universe in a profound, non-superficial way. A Sufi seeks to transcend (oscillating with what was made mention via immanence) the ordinary, conditioned perceptions of reality, striving for a state of consciousness that is clear, unobstructed, and deeply connected to “_____”. This journey has not been solely about personal enlightenment; it's about contributing meaningfully (intentionally) to the world, balancing insights with everyday existence.

Allegorical Explanation (Especially noting Inclusivity With Depth):

Imagine a garden filled with various flowers, each with its unique fragrance.

In this garden, Sufism is like the scent of a particular flower – noticeable and distinct, yet just one part of the garden's vast array of aromas.

This fragrance, while captivating, is not the entirety of the garden's experience, but can certainly assist us in opening the door to see the Whole.

It's a crucial note in the symphony of scents, an essential part of the whole, but not the whole itself.

The fragrance can lead one to explore and appreciate the garden more fully, but it is important to remember that the garden is made up of many such scents, each contributing to the overall beauty.

Similarly, consider a piano with its many keys. Each key, when struck, produces a unique sound, beautiful in its own right. Sufism can be likened to one of these keys. Striking this key creates a lovely note, but it is not the only key, nor does it encompass the entire musicality of the piano. Just as a single key contributes to the potential for a melody, Sufism offers a path-a title-a position to understanding the grand composition of The Experience, but is not the experience in and of itself.

Like the fragrance of a flower or a single piano key, is significant and beautiful, it is part of a larger, more complex tapestry, while, if aware, can give a glimpse after glimpse of It.

Poem

2/21/22 Monday

I don't like teapots I can't see through

Although I prefer them,

I can't see in dimly lit rooms

it's fine,

The isness of a place reveals itself to me

Not by sight but through grace

The shattered vase I once was

called back the pieces of it self

And the storms of life

delivered the rest of me to my feet

Heard in the thunder

If it is to be, it's up to me

Lightning flash

And that's life.

Everything is a symbol and metaphor, and I’d like to approach my idea of Sufism from this reference point. I’ll start off with a quote, although I can’t remember who it's by:

“It is not the symbol itself but the thoughts that gather around it. There is that association which makes it significant. Symbols and metaphors are, by their very nature, things that act as focal points for emotions or imaginative speculations; they summon out of us. They belong to the world of myth, even if they have a mundane origin. They are not distinct entities, for they readily merge into one another, making patterns of bewildering complexity. Nevertheless, the combinations of symbols and metaphors are not haphazard; it is just that the rules governing their use are not understood.”

Sufism is an approximation. I mean this in its ability to be conveyed as a faith, religion, tradition, or experience. It is a symbol. It is an objectification of the unsayable. There are as many “Sufisms” as there are Sufis who practice or don’t observe a practice. They approximate their agreements and then form an ism, much like a single cell resonating with another similar single cell; they gather together more and more, thus becoming an organism. This is the way of life. These isms, like words and language forming in a similar manner, are symbols of conveyance, organizing around similar or resonating ideas. They all have a function, building the Bifröst (a word I pulled from mythology). And like the cells that make up our bodies, they carry the unsayable, the indescribable, the unspeakable, in organized clumps of objectification. Clumps of objectification for human consumption, building the Bifröst to the inexpressible infinite.

When human minds and hearts encounter this inexpressible infinite, it is experienced as eternal bliss consciousness, a rapture of divine love, crossing the Bifröst and falling through the veil.

Humans across ages needed symbols, words, language, clusters of objectification to describe “It.”

And so each experience of “It” had culture, tradition, the age of that transmission, laid or projected overtop of “It,” as the object of attention. And I’m sure endless wisdom of life, death, God, and growth is unfolded from here; it can be no other way. But also its opposite, an infinite of chaos and destruction and ignorance, teeming from the same good intention, masquerading as divine love, comes from here; this overlay, the mistake of the intellect.

These clusters of objectification began to get confused with the actual experience, trading the living of it for holding in the memory the verbal expressions, metaphors, and symbols of those who experienced “It” from different times, different cultures, and different traditions getting jargon confused with the actual having, experiencing, living, or Being “It.” And every once in a while in Sufism and whatever faith one may have been born in or chosen, once in a while, someone will cross objectification into the Bifröst and then will fall through the veil, and there find “It,” the indescribable, the unspeakable, that which has always been, and always been their realest Self, that which all the mystics of each faith over time immemorial fingers have been pointing to. And after that experience, they will usually cut and paste their own culture over it, in an effort to describe it. Then the followers will come and bury it the rest of the way with judgment, law and the projection of their personal or traditions’ convictions.

This is what Sufism is to me. Squeezing into shoes I’ve outgrown, asking questions that have been answered for me by experience. For me, it's swimming backward upstream. A stream I’ve crossed already, although in the form of many other names, clusters, and clumps of objectification attempting to carry and say the unsayable, and navigating the horde of practitioners with opinions and books about how I should live, and right and wrong. However, at its (Sufism’s) height not so different from a poem when it is most successful, most transcendent, but at its worst the beginning of division and pain.

And yet to exist in this world, one has to choose the best approximation for people to engage with you. Are you black, are you white, what’s your sex, what is your sexuality, what’s your tax bracket, what’s your religion, who is your guru? So maybe in this vein of existence, Sufi, in its very simplistic meaning (and minus the possible traditional Muslim origin) of the word can be my approximation, a mystic, a modern ascetic.

Each approximation can be as powerful as the most successful poem. And it is with this inspiration of “leaning into”, I, with this idea of Sufi as it relates to myself as a mystic, lean into our shared approximation of eternal divine love.

Poem

Mon. 3-21-22

How is it that I experience pain and gratitude at the same time?

How is it that bliss can exist while pain is also present?

It seems that this bliss is primordial, foundational, underlining even, while the pain or suffering is grosser, a more superficial aspect of my experience..

Search the suffering, the pain, you’ll find that it's often circumstantial. While this bliss remains beyond the relative always changing, phenomenal reality of my world and experience.

How is it that these two contradictory experiences exist within me simultaneously?

Is it because I sit in the most sacred of seats, the throne of the witness?

Ever experiencing, and yet ever apart or separate from the experience.

To answer the question “what is Sufism?” one must first answer the question “what is mysticism?” because Sufism is a “genre” of mysticism, it is the Arabic word for mysticism.

So what is mysticism?

Mysticism is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that encompasses a range of beliefs, practices, and experiences, often centered on the pursuit of direct, intimate communion with a transcendent reality or divine presence. It is a dimension of spirituality that transcends conventional religious structures and doctrinal boundaries, seeking to explore the deeper, hidden aspects of existence. Mysticism is characterized by several key elements:

Direct Experience: At its core, mysticism places a profound emphasis on direct, personal encounters with the divine or transcendent. Practitioners, known as mystics, seek a firsthand experience that goes beyond intellectual understanding and ordinary perception.

Transcendence of the Self: Mysticism often involves a journey toward the transcendence of the individual self or ego. Mystics aspire to go beyond the limitations of the personal identity to attain a sense of unity with a greater reality, whether defined as God, the Absolute, or a cosmic consciousness.

Intuitive Knowledge: Mystical experiences are frequently described as intuitive or non-rational, transcending the ordinary modes of knowing. Mystics often rely on inner insight, symbolism, and a sense of inner illumination to grasp truths that may be ineffable or challenging to articulate.

Unity and Oneness: Many mystical traditions emphasize the concept of unity, emphasizing that the ultimate reality is a singular, undivided essence. This oneness may extend to the interconnectedness of all existence, blurring the distinctions between the divine, the self, and the cosmos.

Contemplative Practices: Mystics often engage in contemplative practices to cultivate a heightened state of awareness and receptivity to mystical experiences. These practices may include meditation, prayer, asceticism, and rituals designed to facilitate a deeper connection with the divine.

Symbolism and Paradox: Mystical language often employs symbolism and paradox to convey experiences that surpass ordinary comprehension. Mystical texts and teachings frequently use metaphorical expressions to evoke a sense of the ineffable and the mysterious.

Cultural Diversity: Mysticism is found across various religious traditions, including but not limited to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. Additionally, there are secular or non-religious forms of mysticism that focus on the exploration of consciousness and transcendent experiences outside of traditional religious frameworks.

With that understanding in mind, I would say Sufism is mysticism with a scent of oud. It's mysticism sipped with Turkish coffee and the sound of kamancheh. It is the quarter notes of mysticism. It is a flavor, a taste, a hue of green that relaxes the eyes. Sufism is mysticism fired up in passion and love. It is mysticism as if it were born in the desert, then traveled the world and back. It is mysticism whirling around itself.

At its peak, Sufism develops persons who are 'sons and daughters of the moment' - fully engaged in the here and now with reverence and openness. This epitomizes the Sufi inquiry: "How can I give this moment its proper due?"

One must keep in mind that there is a wide spectrum of practitioners within Sufism. Some practice Sufism from a traditional Islam-centric approach, while others adopt a more universal perspective. The universalist might view the traditionalist as having a limited and attached approach, while the traditionalist might perceive the universalist as embodying an unrooted, superficial approach lacking real depth.

Nonetheless, Sufism draws seekers who are interested in a particular aesthetic. This aesthetic can't escape the culture it emerged from, yet it is ever evolving as Sufism touches the shores of other cultures and finds ways to merge with them. As these diverse influences intertwine, Sufism becomes a living tradition reflecting the collective consciousness of its practitioners.