15 January 2025
Dear Companions on the Path,
It’s a new year. Let’s imagine a January day in the life of an everyman we’ll call Fulan ibn Fulan.
Fulan is doing his best. But it’s winter and the days are short. The price of everything is going up and bills are mounting. At work, there are unsettling dynamics. Meanwhile, a friend who was once full of warmth has inexplicably “unfriended” Fulan. What is more, his body is beginning to feel its age; his toes ache when he wakes up in the morning. When he turns on the news, the news is war, terrorism, and genocide.
Fulan goes for a walk. The air is crisp on his cheek. A host of sparrows are twittering in the hedge. One of them flies up into the air, and all at once Fulan remembers that there is a facet of his being that, in much the same way, is capable of flight.
The sidewalk is bright with sunshine. The Sun above is the same Sun that illuminated the worlds of Rumi, of Pythagoras, of Ishtar, of Adam and Eve (peace be on them!). And yet each year, each day, each moment, the Sun’s light is new. “A new creation,” Fulan hears himself say.
Fulan’s walk takes him to a path encircling a half-frozen pond, and he sees the sky reflected in the still water. As above, so below. A heron is poised on one leg, rapt in meditative attention. A presence suggests itself, and Fulan has the unmistakable inkling that the genius loci of the pond is greeting him, a spirit who has seen many things.
Back at home, Fulan sips a cup of tea. Things aren’t all bad. Money may be tight, but there’s enough to live on. The situation at work is admittedly frustrating, but on the other hand it’s an opportunity to try out some enhanced social skills. As for the fair-weather friend, Fulan realizes he doesn’t really need anything from the fellow, and simply wishes him well in his latest pursuits.
Fulan muses further: the crow’s feet around his eyes—and even his sore toes—are really badges of honor, marks of long experience in the mysteries of embodiment.
Then there’s the news. Fulan has been meaning to write to his governmental representative, and he’s heard that there are newly-arrived refugees in the area who could use a helping hand. He decides today is the day.
Fulan ibn Fulan will do his best. It’s a new year, and all of Heaven is smiling on him.
Heartiest New Year’s wishes to you, dear friends. May Heaven smile on you this year and always.
Yours ever,
Pir Zia
P.S. Continuing in the sequence, you will find my brief Earthic commentaries on the Silver Chivalric Rules here.
Our annual Inner School Leaders Training is designed for leaders within the Inayatiyya’s Inner School, including Coordinators, Representatives, and Retreat Guides, as well as those in training. Please only register if you fit one of these categories. All Inner School leaders are encouraged to attend and to participate in real time, or to watch the video which comes with registration. More details and registration.
Join Inayatiyya musicians Cofe-Inayat Fiakpui, Gayatri Hull, Wahhab Sheets, LatifaNoor Anderson, Ophiel van Leer, Ruhiya, Sahar-un-Nisa Wakach, Mehmet and Ali Ungan, to share sacred sound, silence and contemplations in remembrance of the great musician Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan on his 98th Urs, February 5th, 2025. More details and Zoom link.
All friends, new and returning, are invited to join us as we explore the terminology of the Sufis as set out in A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms by Abd al-Razzaq al-Qashani, a key textbook in Sufi circles for the last six and a half centuries. During each class, Pir Zia reviews the terms in alphabetical order, according to the original Arabic. Then he may also add terms unique to the lexicon of the Inayatiyya. More details and registration.
This spring we return toward what it means to create happiness in life. Over four weeks, Pir Zia will guide us through our own inner happiness landscape, providing simple yet profound teachings from the work of the Sufi mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan. We will explore themes such as cultivating purpose, developing a positive attitude, dealing with life’s struggles, tempering our reactions, and how to find meaning—all leading to greater contentment and happiness. Each classincludes teachings followed by spiritual practices to continue throughout the week ahead. As in last spring’s course, “Being in the World,” our four weeks together will be directly applicable to our day-to-day lives. More details and registration.
We are launching a new section of the Zephyr to share news about recent passings into and out of this earthly realm. If you have any news to share, specifically about births and deaths, please send it to zephyr@inayatiyya.org with the subject heading “News of the Caravan.” Photos are welcome.
To visit the remembrance site where you will find remembrance pages for more than 150 Inayatiyya murids, please go to sufiremembrance.net. To initiate a remembrance page for a murid who has passed contact sufiremembrance@sonic.net.
The Zephyr is a monthly newsletter of the Inayatiyya, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. For more information, please visit us at inayatiyya.org.
Inayatiyya
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