Aziza Lusansky-Inayat-Khan

Dear ones,

it is with deep sorrow that I forward this announcement from Hamida.
Aziza is our last living God-parent, both for the DHO and for the Ruhaniat.

Ya Salamo! May she rest in peace within the Heart of God,
and may her reunion with her beloved Hidayat be Rainbows of Light,
and Love, and Laughter.

our healing service starts shortly, so I will stop here,
and write up more for her Memorial Page this afternoon.

In Service to the Real
hakim sauluddin


Dear Shabda, Sauluddin and Aslan,

to our great regret Aziza, your Godparent, has left us, to join her beloved Hidayat. I am on my way to Munchen, and can tell you that the wonderful Schnede book will be shown in the Museum: so much living and loving energy it shows, and Aziza was so happy when receiving it last year.
If anyone feels like writing something, it can be sent to the Sufi Museum.
With love from Hamida

Saul In Scotland

Mastery of Everyday Life:
Sufi Workshop on Breath, Magnetism, Heart and Healing
with Murshid Saul Barodofsky; assisted by Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz

September 20-21 — Saturday and Sunday — 10am-5pm
Kirkcaldy, Scotland (nr Edinburgh)

IMG_2414This two-day workshop will include chant, meditation, breath practice, walking meditation, movement and other active tools to help one build magnetism and meet the challenges of everyday life. These tools allow one to become a channel for healing for oneself and others. Practices will be drawn from many world traditions, as it is the Sufi way to see unity in all spiritual paths.

Saul will also share what the Sufis call baraka or heartblessing through his telling of stories about his travels worldwide and his time with various spiritual teachers and healers. Saul is the spiritual director of the Dervish Healing Order and an original student of Murshid Samuel Lewis (1896-1971), the founder of the Dances of Universal Peace. Saadi Neil (author of The Sufi Book of Life) will assist him by sharing some of these circle dances, which raise life energy for self-healing. This is the first UK workshop led by Murshid Saul, who is from the USA.

This two-day, non-residential workshop is open to all and sponsored by the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning (www.eial.org) and the East Scotland Ruhaniat Sufi Community with support from the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace (www.eicsp.org)

Venue: The Old Kirk in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Kirkcaldy is just north of Edinburgh, easily accessible by bus or rail. The Old Kirk is situated within easy walking distance from bus or rail stations. We can recommend local B&Bs close to the venue. Access is from Kirk Wynd (KY1 1EH) or Church Lane (KY1 1BG). Please check the venue website for details of disabled access and parking: www.kirkcaldyoldkirktrust.org.uk

Please register in advance with Nataliya or Neil (info@eial.org). A deposit of £50 will secure your place. Contact us for bank details and payment arrangements. Suggested donation for the weekend is £140/101 concessions, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

For more information contact: Nataliya or Neil: info@eial.org. Tel. 0131-208-1331 (message)

Report: DHO Haus Schneda, Germany – 2011

Dear ones,

am back home, in between gatherings, and wanted to give a short report on our 27th annual meeting at Haus Schneda in the North of Germany.

The house itself is over 100 years old, and was stylishly built to be durable, beautiful, and inspiring…with much carved wood paneling and glass, creating a beautiful inner space. The grounds are wonderful, with old forests, and fish ponds, spacious lawns and a magnificent array of rhododendrons.

The house and grounds are currently owned by a Sudanese Sufi Order, and we have been made welcome guests since 1984.

Our new cook is a fantastic ayurvedic chief, and cooks lamb and chicken for us in addition to her wonderful vegetarian cuisine. May-June is Spargle season, and we had fresh, local white asparagus in a Hollandaise sauce. yummy.

The big news is that we had 28 young people and children with us this time. Mostly they have grown up coming to Shneda each summer, and now that they are grown up, they still do. Some even bring their girl or boy friends. It’s so wonderful to see the future walking alongside us.

Aslan joined us to lead evening dances and choir, Baraka acted as my translator, and Subhan once again took a ton of pictures.

I must say the meetings are growing higher and higher every year. Alhamdulliah! When one looks at the pictures of the same people only 7 or 8 years ago, one can hardly believe the growth in their light and love and laughter.

next stop Mt Shasta.

all love and blessings and see you on the Mountain next week

sauluddin

Uniting Our Families in Morocco, Europe and the USA

Beloved one,

In continuation of the great work done already with Morocco by Pir Shabda and Tamam Kahn and having a couple of Moroccan mureeds in New York City this opened a window of interest on Morocco. I had lunch recently with the NY Moroccan consul Mr Beyyoudh Abderrahim and with Selima Raoui (who is in the Sufi Ruhaniat and who applies in her art work the writing of the name of Allah as a spiritual practice). Khadija and I have also met with Dr. Mokhtar Ghambou, Professor of Post Colonial & Anglophone Studies at Yale University and President of the American Moroccan Institute. The AMI as it is known just sponsored last month a conference on Moroccan Sufism at Columbia University with Ahmed Kostas.

I am preparing a trip to Morocco at the end of September and would like to share our interest (NY/NJ DHO & Sufi Ruhaniat family) in providing support to the ASMED project. This is one of the project that I would hope our DHO and also Sufi family would support. Another project concerns developing a spiritual community (Kankah) in Rabat with families that would adopt orphans children and with financial sponsorship from American and European families.

In return Morocco has much to offer including a long tradition and history in mysticism and sufism. For those on the spiritual journey what better way to continue our deepening in our studies while offering service and help. Since such programs are driven by our Moroccan sufi family members (Salima and Asmaa), supported in principle by the consul and the AMI, this shows great opportunity to unite our hearts between Morocco and the USA.

In addition we are working (Khadija Goforth and Jean Pierre in New York City with our local family) to have a major fund raising event in March 2006, for such effort, that will be called “Peace through the arts” and will bring great musicians, dancers and artists from Morocco. It will be a participatory event so we will share the dances of Universal Peace also.

ASMED (Association for Supporting Mothers and Children of the Desert) was founded in 2003 with the objectives of sustaining and helping mothers and children of the Moroccan desert.

The creation of the Association was initiated following the participation of two young women to the international female Rally that occurs annually in the dunes of the Moroccan Sahara – the “Rally des Gazelles” – 2001 Edition.

Mrs. Habida Dassouli, a Moroccan marketing advisor and Mrs. Muriel Hayet, a French teacher established in Morocco, witnessing the great precariousness of the populations of the area crossed by the Rally, especially women and children, their isolation, the inexistence of medical infrastructures, the almost total absence of primary health care and lack of hygiene and public heath, had the idea of a concrete and effective humanitarian action, setting up a Medical Caravan to try to concretely meet the elementary needs of the populations in the area. It is with the objectives of alleviating the difficulties and the harsh reality of the life of the women and children in these villages, that ASMED was created.

It is from their meeting with Pascal Valenti, a French entrepreneur also installed in Morocco, that ASMED will take form. The Association was officially founded in June 2002 and obtained its legal status of caritative organization in September 2002. There are certainly much caritatives associations in Morocco, but for these villages which do not appear on any geographical maps and which the only relevant statistics go back to 1992, assistance is scarce. Without this caravan these remote populations practically would not have access to medical care. Being too distant from everything and left to themselves, they are cut from the rest of the world.

From its beginning ASMED convened a voluntary medical team of specialized physicians and nurses, coordinated by Doctor Wafae Bisbis-Abounaidane, gynecologist / obstetrician and University professor. In the 2003 Caravan, the medical team was composed of eight Moroccans physicians and one professional nurse. They were all volunteers and gave intense effort and energy to the cause.

ASMED wants to continue its work. It also contemplates other complementary projects, all aiming at fighting medical precariousness and lack of assistance. ASMED wishes to work in a context of sustained development and perenniality. At medium or long term it even considers the distribution of medications, drugs and pharmacopoeias associated with the creation of health infrastructures, supply of drinkable water, socio-economic development through, for instance, micro credit for women’s projects, etc. It is an entire region that should not only survive, but also live.

Anybody interested in Morocco, contemplating a visit in the future on a reasonable budget, who would like to explore Moroccan Sufism or who could contribute money and/or medical expertise (I pray that some American doctors and nurses could volunteer time to this effort) to such project (ASMED) please contact me (I will send you the complete file on ASMED showing the list of medical equipment needed)

Love and blessings,
Jean-Pierre

PS: ASMED file is in the files section on the DHO Listserv

Visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, 3/2005

When lights went out ………….all over Europe

Visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, Palm Sunday 20 March 2005

In early March this year I offered to go with my friend Jo to Poland, specifically to visit the concentration camps near Krakow.  Jo, a non-Sufi non-DUP yet like-minded friend of many years, had recently been inspired to create some artwork on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz/Birkenau and now wanted to visit there in person.

We flew to Krakow on a Saturday, and that evening Jo and I prepared for our visit with the healing ritual, adapted for places of great suffering as recommended by Saul.  During our bus journey the next day, and throughout our time at the camps, the Sufi Invocation was constantly on my breath, and I felt an increasing gratitude for this constant sense of support as, entering beneath “Arbeit maketh frei”, we were surrounded and immersed and had no choice but to look, see, imagine.  I was aware of my face becoming more and more drawn, I avoided looking at others, and noticed that most people were responding similarly.

That evening, back at our hotel in Krakow, having showered and changed our clothes, Jo and I found our own ways of beginning to process some of what we’d experienced. She wrote and wrote whereas I sang and danced, sang and danced.  First, all the Dances of Universal Peace honoring the Jewish tradition, again and again.  Then the first line of the Aramaic Prayer, closing with saying the whole prayer.  Finally the spoken Fateha, switching my focus of concentration to peace in the Middle East.

Some days later, back home again in Edinburgh, I opened my computer and began to write about my experiences – and this is what I’d now like to share with you …………

Aware of my feet as I walked along Edinburgh’s streets, it seemed incredible that these same shoes had, only a few days previously, walked along stony paths, along concrete corridors, through mud and across rubber matting, up stairs, along railway sleepers, across grass.  They had taken me to Poland.  They had taken me to Auschwitz and Birkenau (known also as Auschwitz II).  They had followed our Polish guide as she expertly swept us along in the allotted time from room to room, building to building, all the while delivering a clear and factual account of what was before us.  And today, before walking out in them again in my home town of Edinburgh, I had stopped to recall where these shoes had last walked before brushing the dust of Auschwitz from them.

Shoes, shoes, shoes.  A mountain of shoes behind glass, footwear of all kinds, heavy shoes and light shoes, expensive, cheap, tatty, new, adult’s, children’s, sandals, clogs.  Colored shoes were there for sure, yet somehow the memory is of grayness, dust-covered, worn-down.  Where had these shoes been worn for the last time?  Did they walk to the gas chambers, the solitary cells, the execution yard?  Were they scrabbling for footing at the sides of ditches being dug for the corpses?  With respect, human security, even self-respect and hope of every kind completely gone, did they in fact carry their owners willingly to their demise?  Was that final walk, for some, made in dignity and knowingness, a voluntary giving up of life when the life left to them was no life at all?

Shoes were not the only items on display behind glass walls.  Women’s hair filled another huge display area; pots and pans and various kitchen items; walking sticks, crutches and artificial limbs; hair and shaving brushes; dentures; spectacles; clothing, even from babies.  Everything that could be salvaged from the human body was salvaged.  Taken from the despised, nevertheless it was all destined for recycling to help support German soldiers wounded in battle – also providing a double bind for the SS themselves, double binds being needed to keep them in thrall to an insane regime.  A terrible symbiosis underpinned by fear on both sides.

Our introduction to Auschwitz had been by means of a video in a room full of people, many standing.  Some scenes were familiar, but what was new was that many of these photos were not stills – sudden movements of the emaciated and hollow-eyed somehow seemed shocking, a timely reminder that, in spite of their appearance, these people had indeed been alive when the photos were taken; a reminder of the endurance of the human spirit, with body wasted and frail beyond imagination; a reminder of the strength of the will to live, perhaps seen here in its last resort.

In Auschwitz we saw cells for solitary confinement, the suffocation cell, an enclosed yard where executions by firing took place.  We saw improved quarters for camp informers and the superior rooms used by the SS.  We also stood inside the old gas chambers beneath the holes from which cyanide had been dropped.  Bodies had been crammed into the space to provide sufficient natural heat to vaporize the cyanide pellets.  We saw the ovens.  But extermination at Auschwitz was not efficient enough.  With 700 bodies per day to dispose of and the crematoria only able to cope with half that number, the gas chambers and ovens were closed down in preference to the more extensive and efficient procedures being built at Birkenau, a huge concentration camp intended to take in men, women and children.  Whereas the buildings at Auschwitz were brick-built, having previously been an army barracks, those at Birkenau were wooden pre-fab constructions, supplied from Germany.  Originally intended as stables for 50-plus horses, at Birkenau each hut provided sleeping space for 700, sometimes increasing to 1,000.  Night-time space would be a better description than ‘sleeping’, the wooden-slatted bunks being in tiers of 3, each wide enough for 10 bodies, provided all turned at the same moment.  Space between the bunks was minimal, so the scene as one looked down the length of the room was of almost continuous wooden slating interspersed by upright supports.  It was the fittest who were able to climb into the preferred top bunks, knowing at least they would not be covered by dripping excrement from bodies exhausted with diarrhea lying in the bunk above. A few burning coals in a bucket were provided when the temperature dropped sufficiently below freezing, and this in Silesia, a coal-mining area of Poland.  Ironically these rooms provided jobs in which people were most likely to survive – cleaning the latrines, the battery of holes barely giving shoulder-to-shoulder space and which in-mates were allowed to use twice a day.  Cleaning these was preferable in terms of life-expectation, in spite of the stench and risk of infection, to having to walk in all weathers to hard manual work in the labor camps.  Running water was laid on after Birkenau had been functioning two years – prior to that prisoners had no alternative but to drink supposedly purified recycled water from latrines and primitive washing facilities.

Birkenau is enclosed by deep ditches inside double perimeter fences of wire and barbed wire, interspersed by watch towers.  I stood between these double fences, attempting to imagine escaping through one in darkness only to be caught by searchlight before the second. The tallest tower above the entrance gate, with rail tracks passing beneath, provides a view of the whole camp.  I stood here also, this time attempting to imagine myself in SS shoes, hearing the rumble and clanking of the next trainload to arrive. Gazing across the huge area of the camp I imagined it filled again with the wooden huts that once occupied this space.  Complete huts only occupy the foreground now, the SS having burned down the majority in the last days of January 1945, before liberation.  Only the brick chimneys survived, two to each hut, neat rows of twin chimneys now covering the ground to the far perimeter fence.  Beyond the fences the land between Auschwitz and Birkenau had been kept free of buildings and trees, so that escaping prisoners could be better seen, and this was also where ash from the crematoria was spread, as fertilizer.

Eric Berne taught that, under stress, we regress to either a childish part of ourselves or a part that we involuntarily absorbed from our parents, depending on who we are currently communicating with and the context.  Thus, under the conditions of a concentration camp, in-mates would be likely to react from their Conditioned Child ego-state towards the very real (rather than subjectively perceived) Authoritarian Parent ego-state of their aggressors.  The Games People Play (Eric Berne, 1964) would be played out at the ‘nth’ degree, with destructive or self-destructive endings.  Further, if the SS were to function effectively, they needed to be kept in bondage to their insane regime – and that was carried out not only from the threat of death they themselves faced if they failed in their duties, but from believing they were morally right to do what they had to do.  In a wider context, perhaps one needs to remember that the so-called science of eugenics had been interesting Western intellectuals for some time.  Any humane feelings that might begin to surface in an individual Nazi were therefore a threat to their own life and had to be squashed; any feelings of compassion and the whole house of cards could start to come down.  Unlike the ‘Games’ that people usually ‘play’ (ibid), the whole set-up was self-perpetuating with no likelihood of an end being brought about by the ‘role’ change normal in human social interactions.  Only intervention from outside could do that – and contemplation of that raised questions in my mind of the outside world, of not only Poles, not only Germans but the whole of the Western world. Where was the country that really opened its doors to Jews and Gypsies?

The words of a children’s song ask: “When I needed a neighbor were you there, were you there?  When I needed a neighbor, were you there?”

Knowing, feeling, accepting that the darkness of the concentration camps, of victims and perpetrators both, is shadow residing within myself, since Palm Sunday this year I’ve found myself changing the words to: When you needed a neighbor, where, oh where, was I?

Lights indeed went out all over Europe.

Alice Fateah Saunders
March 2005

Report: Federation of the Sufi Message – 2004

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 was the opening of the Federation Retreat in Katwijk aan Zee, Netherlands, close to Amsterdam. Wednesday and Thursday were supposed to be rainy days and we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun even with moderately cold temperature. Ominously, the sky stayed clear during that first day. Inside the Temple Murad Hassil, built in a place where Hazrat Inayat Khan had profound meditation experiences, old and new friends meet in a warm atmosphere of unity and sympathy, as brothers and sisters. All records of kissing and hugging must have been broken that day. This year was the Sufi Movement's turn to host the retreat.

Hidayat Inayat-Khan opened with prayers and a few words of welcome, and Karimbakhsh Witteveen added his welcome to everybody. Jami Klein (Sufi Order International), Michael Schouwenaar (Sufi Contact) with Hannah (Ruhaniat's mureed) whom he met at the Federation's meeting in Kansas City, Dahan Bakker (Sufi Way), Moinuddin Clarke (Fraternity of Light centered around Columbus, Ohio), and Shabda Kahn (Sufi Ruhaniat International) represented with many others the branches that sprouted from the message of Love, Harmony and Beauty of Hazrat Inayat Khan. They all gave messages of unity and peace.

Pir Shabda Khan quoted Hazrat Samuel Lewis: "I'd like to go to a peace demonstration where the demonstrators demonstrate peace." All of us are praying repeatedly "Toward the One". This makes it clear that we must endeavor ourselves to practice this prayer to move in the direction of towards the One and towards unity amongst all of us.

The Sufi Ruhaniat International had the honor of presenting the first program. Pir Shabda Khan, Murshid Saul Barodofsky (Virginia), Murshid Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz & Kamae Miller (Scotland), Firdousi Wyrick, Vakil Forest Shomer, Abraham & Halima Sussman (Boston), Jean-Pierre & Monick David (New York City), Attar Boudewijn (Oregon), Farunnissa Rosa (North Carolina), Noor-un-Nisa Karyn Wyse (Florida & Colorado), Munir Peter Reynolds (Montana), Gita Onnen (Germany), Brita Kuegelgen and Hauke Sturm (Germany), Karin & Suleyman Fourier (Germany), Illona Vorslav and Natalia Safonova (Russia), etc… where among the many faces representing the Ruhaniat. Of course there were dances, Zikar and plenty of laughing. The Ruhaniat was compared to some "troubadour group" of the Federation of the Sufi Message.

The second day Hidayat remarked that "rules are made to be broken" during breakfast. He said it in jest and in French, referring to May 68 in Paris when the students wrote that phrase on government walls. Shabda told us that he expected an email confirming his meeting with Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan retracting his 1978 edict that had caused the Ruhaniat and the Sufi Order to follow their own ways.

The small group meetings of the morning allowed personal networking among attendees and presented a great venue to deepen bonds among members of the different branches of the Federation. The order of the day was to attempt to put abstract ideas into symbols. We all did it and all responded with great creativity to the challenge. This is a great group practice to exemplify concentration, meditation and creativity as a team.

The Sufi Way and the Fraternity of Light shared the afternoon presentations. The Sufi Way, followers of Murshid Fazl Inayat Khan, had a beautiful program with little talk but with singing practices, which created a deepening atmosphere. The Fraternity of Light showed their way of devotion in integrating Murshid's message into their lives and community.

The evening was reserved for the dances of universal peace that made people move, sing and be joyful with deep focus and concentration on the presence of the One. That day the sky stayed clear and the sun warmed us of his presence and compassion.

Friday was the most beautiful and warm day of all. After prayers the small groups had to create stories from sentences given them. Sufis are known for story telling, so we were asked to step in line with this tradition and compose our own stories. We heard stories about monkeys and a bird with blue wings, an elephant who adored roses, white bicycles (trust in God and do not forget to attach your camel "in this case bicycle that is appropriate to Holland"), etc...

Sufi Contact showed their way of following the path, with a strong concentration on Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, single-minded and deep.

Then, the Sufi Order International turn came on. They had a message from Pir Vilayat for the Sufi Ruhaniat which confirmed that the 1978 edict was rescinded and that opened the way for reconciliation of differing point of views. Most importantly it will facilitate the work of unity to happen wholeheartedly at the local level among people of different branches. Pir Zia sent a message wishing all of us good luck and mentioning what had befallen at the Sanctuary that is at The Abode in New York State. It was an afternoon of sharing the deep sorrow expressed by Taj now that the Sufi Order Pir is so ill.

Krishna de Caluwé's "Noorunissa" was played in the evening by a fantastic cast including Nawab, Saul, Monick and Rani Katleen (who is a shaika in the International Sufi Movement). Noor's story is well documented in many books; however, this show gave such human poignant dimension to it that many could only let some tears go by.It is  a moving presentation that was played in front of a deeply appreciative and impressed audience.

Pir Shabda concluded the evening with ragas and classical Indian music.

The morning sky was cloudy that Saturday but the afternoon was gorgeous again. It seemed that all the elements were conspiring in the celebration of our coming together in harmony. The walk from the Savoy hotel to the Temple takes thirty minutes along the beach and presents the best opportunity for physical exercise in the day.

The morning was spent with small groups again sharing our own practices. The afternoon was reserved for the presentation by the International Sufi Movement. The Sufi Movement showed some practices including the chromatic Zikar and the Universal Worship.

In the evening was a presentation of the new CD with the voice of Hazrat Inayat Khan (re-edited in close cooperation with Pir-O-Murshid Hidayat Inayat Khan) and memories and reminiscences of the times of Hazrat Inayat Khan and his Companions, his brothers, who for years have led the Sufi Movement as Representative General: Maheboob Khan, Mohammed Ali Khan, Musharaff Khan, all of them a great inspiration because of their deep devotion to Hazrat Inayat Khan and also their deep spirituality.

A dance led all the participants into farewell until next year at The Abode of the Message in New York State.

Sunday morning saw the meeting of the Federation Council, which ended in harmony and with many "till next times". Present were representatives of the organizations: Sufi Way, Sufi Contact, Sufi Order International, Sufi Ruhaniat International and International Sufi Movement. Hidayat insisted to keep the name of "Federation of the Sufi Message". Shabda noted that the Ruhaniat would maintain its noted style of practices.

As we left at the airport to go back to New York, Pir Shabda on his way to Dulles, DC and Natalia Safovona on her way to Moscow, Russia, showed up at the same time. Pir Shabda shared his account of the meeting with Pir Vilayat Khan in Paris and we are most happy of such resolution after so many years that caused so much confusion for many. He can only remind one of the words of our godmother Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett "to always place harmony and love before principles," when she accepted a glass of wine at Saul's house at the dismay of the six contemplatives Buddhist student monks present. Murshid Wali Ali had expressed our dilemma so beautifully in his letter published in the Ruhaniat mureed's manual: "how can a teacher after taking hand reject a mureed in the name of rules?"  That bond, that love, that friendship between a teacher and the mureed is forever, does not matter what, as Hazrat Inayat Khan said and Hazrat Samuel Lewis remarked in his commentary on the Path of Initiation and Discipleship (Chapter IV, page 64).

Love and blessings

Jean-Pierre

Report: Pan European Camp – June-July 2003

Most beloved of God,

This was the first time that the majority of the Ruhaniate’s “Most Senior Teachers” participated as teaching staff at a European Camp. Even better, we were joined by our Pir, Shabda Kahn. And, most of the Shiekhs/Shiekhas and Kaliphs/Kaliphas from Europe. A very powerful teaching crew indeed.

The scene was very lovely, with good food (too much pork), great cheeses, fine weather, and a wonderful extra large main hall for dancing and our All Camp Classes.

A note of acknowledgment to Saadi for being a masterful “Master of Ceremonies,” to Shabda for holding the post so well, to Fatima for her Darshan (ala Murshid) to the whole assemblage, to Mariam for presenting Frieda’s (and Moineddin’s) work so effortlessly, and to Kamae for her strength and presence. Ya Shakur Allah.

It was wonderful to be with our German and Russian families again (so soon) and, to meet our family from the British Isles. Inshallah! There shall be more interactions.

The one scene that stands out in my heart is the “Russian Room”: Seems that the folks from the former Soviet Union all decided to bunk together – one large room, and about 25 plus folks. A raucous party. It grew so loud one night I went over to ask them to tone it down. I knocked and was pulled into their circle. I immediately had Russian’s all over me, hugging and sitting on me and bathing me is so much love I could only stay and drink it in. Alhamdulliah! Or, as Murshid would have said – “That’ll teach you.”

What with the “high” I experienced from Shneda in May, the juice from this camp put me over the top, and I remained exalted and heart centered all through Turkey. Naturally I bought too many rugs.

I look forwards to seeing you all at next years (2004) DHO Gathering at Mt Home Resort in the No. California Wine Country – June 22 to 27.
2 Swimming pools, great food & frivolity amidst the trees.
Contact: Jennifer Avian

And, Don’t Forget Our Upcoming Events:

2003:

September in Prague – DHO Europe – September 12-14
October in Seattle – Murshids Meeting and JAM – October 20-26

2004:

February in Shneda – DHO in Europe – February 27-29
May in Shneda – our Jubilee Gathering – Celebrating 20 Years – May 17-23
April in Europe – Ruhaniate JAM (April 9-11) Federation (April 15-17)
June at Mt. Home in Northern California – June 22-27

I send you all my love and blessings –

Yours in service to the real
– hakim saul

Report: DHO Haus Shneda – May 2003

Beloved ones of God,

This past month we celebrated our 19th annual gathering in Germany.  Alhamdulliah!
There were over 100 of us: 80 plus adults, and over 20 children.  We came from Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Holland, Switzerland, and of course the USA.

Kaliph David Dalley (celebrating his 10th year of teaching in Germany) led us in ecstatic dances, Sheikh Aslan Scott Sattler directed the choir, Sheikha Ananda Cronin offered heart sung zikr, and yours truly led us in the spiritual walks.  The Healing Ritual was shared daily amongst the local conductors.    It is heart warming to see the ritual so well established in Germany. Ya Kalbi!

This was a family camp, with mostly returning participants, but there were some new comers.  Its always amazing to me how quickly they adapt to our energy stream.

Each day we had the absent healing ritual, sung zikr, choir, spiritual walks, dancing and a bedtime story.  The response to our evening homework was powerful and very moving.

For the first time we had a woman’s and a men’s meeting.  This was well received and seemingly very needed.  Speaking for the men, more than one adult male expressed deep gratitude in feeling, for the first time, their place as a man amidst the company of other men.  The women created a chalice of energy to sing the zikr of the prophetesses, and then did their walks.  Ya Shakur Allah!  Truly, Murshid Sam’s spiritual walks have found a responsive home in Europe.

One of the many highlights of the gathering was a group phone call to our Godparents Hidayat & Aziza. (With thanks to Puran for the use of his cell phone.)  We sang “Happy Shneda Day to You”.  It was very sweet and very moving. Hidayat is recovering from an operation to his hand, and is doing very well.  Ya Shaffee. Ya Kaffee.

The food, of course, was fabulous.  May is white asparagus season in North Germany, and our fantastic cook (Siggy) outdid himself.  (It’s a lot of work to hand peal asparagus) And the breads, and fresh baked rolls, and the great local cheeses.  Too bad we had to come home.

Inshallah!  When Subhan Michael Spencer photos come out, we look forwards to another great
exhibition on our web site.

And, a very special thanks to our translating staff:  Shemsuddin Jukoff, Kalipha Brita Anapurna, and Ram Dass.  And, very special thanks to our registrar and camp organizers Martin and Bakti Kuchler.  Ya Shakur. Ya Shakur. Ya Shakur.  To you all.  We couldn’t have done it without you.

Alhamdulliah!  Next year is our 20th year of bringing Murshid Sam to Europe.  Our Jubilee Gathering will be in May 2004.  And, don’t forget Prague in September of this year (2003).

I send you all my love and blessings, and my prayer that God grants you the highest manifestation of Gods Plan for you.  May it come soon.

Yours in Service to the Real,
Hakim Sauluddin

June 7, 2003  Charlottesville, Virginia

2003 Meetings

Dear DHO Family,

I am sorry to say that we must cancel the DHO Gathering this year. There is just too much happening in my life to organize it. My apologies.

However, there is an alternative for those with a taste for travel: Haus Shneida DHO Gathering – May 26th (Monday) to June 1st (Sunday) 2003. The timing is very auspicious, as it is the best time to eat the local white asparagus – we call it ‘spargle’ time – yummy.

The location is in North Germany – between Hamburg and Hanover. The house is fantastic – our Godfather, Pir Hidayat Inayat Khan, calls it Camp Wonderland. Pricing is very moderate. The food is fabulous, as is the setting, location and general ambiance. And wait until you meet our family from Germany, Russia, Holland, and the Czech Republic. You will be welcomed with open arms.

The teaching crew will be: David Dalley (dance), Scott Sattler (choir), Ananda Cronin (sung zikr), Subhan Spencer (photography), Hakim Saul (healing ritual, walks, Zikr Allah).

For more information please contact: Neli & Martin Kuechler

all love and blessings, and again my apologies for this years cancellation – hopefully we shall see you amidst the trees and the greenery

hakim saul