“My life speeds towards Thee as the blowing of the wind.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan
25 November 2025
Dear Friends,
There is a landscape so vast, so open, that it seems the sky itself has come down to dwell upon the earth. This is the steppe – a wide and boundless plain, home to silence, wind, and the unseen.
It is no accident that the steppe, like the desert, has given rise to deep mysticism. Across Central Asia, Anatolia, Persia, and beyond, Sufis have walked these open lands, following the wind as it moved across the grasses like a breath from the Unseen. The steppe is the domain of air – the most subtle of the four terrestrial elements, invisible yet everywhere. It cannot be grasped, and yet it sustains all life.
Hazrat Inayat Khan reminds us:
“We ordinarily think of the breath as that little air that we feel coming and going through our nostrils; but we do not think of it as that vast current that goes through everything […]”
To walk the steppe is to be shaped by vastness. There are no walls, no boundaries – only horizon. It is in this open space that the heart learns to listen to what is not said, to perceive what is not seen.
And perhaps this is one of the deepest teachings of air: that the most essential truths are not given in images or certainties, but in breath, in wind, in the subtle exchange between soul and sky.
In Sufi cosmology, air corresponds with intuition, inspiration, and the breath itself – the sacred vehicle of the Divine Name. The steppes, with their winds unblocked and unbroken, have always been a sacred training ground for the mystic’s breath. In the poems of Yunus Emre, the songs of the Qalandars, and the zikr of nomadic dervishes, we hear it still: the song of the plains, the breath of God moving through open hearts.
As part of our ongoing campaign honoring the sacred aspects of landscape, we now turn toward the steppe – that expansive, unguarded space where wind and spirit meet.
And now, we’d like to share something different: a special gift is coming to all who support the Inayatiyya in 2025!
On Giving Tuesday, we will share details about Sharing Sacred Places, an intimate online gathering where donors will be invited to experience the living landscapes where our tradition is inspired, practiced, and renewed. Members of the ONA Board and others will be sharing stories, poems, and reflections about landscapes with personal significance. We will also announce an opportunity for you to share about the places you have a special connection to, no matter where you live!
Thanks to the generosity of so many companions, we are approaching the 50% mark of our Fall Appeal goal. To date, we have received $91,101 (45.6%), and we humbly ask your help in raising the remaining $108,899. If each member of our community offers even a small gift before Giving Tuesday, we can cross that milestone together and step into the homestretch of our campaign with strength.
Give today and be among the first to receive your invitation to Sharing Sacred Places.
Just as the wind carries pollen from flower to flower, so too does your giftcarry remembrance from heart to heart. Let us walk together across the boundless steppe of the soul, guided by the wind that knows no borders.
With heartfelt breath and gratitude,
Josh & Tajalli
on behalf of the Inayatiyya Fall Appeal 2025 Committee
Nazish Riaz, Board Chair | Ambreen Coombs, Treasurer | Nilufar Maryam Hasnaa, Board Member | Mika’il Petin, Executive Director | Tajalli Roselli, Astana Staff | Josh Octaviani, Astana Staff
The Inayatiyya is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization (Tax ID #23-7159641). Your donation may be fully deductible for tax purposes per United States IRS guidelines. Please note that donations made by check must be received by Friday, December 26th to be considered as within 2025. If you would like to make a donation by mail, please send it to Inayatiyya, 112 E Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
