Dear folk,
I awoke a few days ago to a memory of something that happened many decades ago. When i was in my early twenties i travelled to Turkey to visit the resting place of Rumi in Konya. Most people have heard of or read Rumi, the great poet/mystic of the 13th century. And the place where he is buried has a strong and beautiful presence. While i was in Konya i got to hear of the man who was the head of the Mevelevi Sufi order in Konya. The Mevlevis’ popularly known as the whirling dervishes are the lineage that came after Rumi. I got it in my mind to meet this man. I was very shy, but gathered enough courage to knock on the door i had been directed to, but with considerable trepidation. It was answered by an elderly man with grey hair, whose name was Sulayman Dede, and he simply invited me in without asking me what i wanted. He spoke no English and I spoke no Turkish, but he sat me down and gave me tea and we did our best to communicate. Eventually we settled into silence and as time went by my nerves subsided and i felt more at home. I spent a whole day in his company. I was given tea and food. And he just sat there with me mostly in silence. I am sure he had better things to do than sit with this raw young man all day, who had come with such effrontary. When i finally left his house i was completely at peace. At that time it was a lovely gift.
So i asked myself why did i wake from sleep with this particular story of long ago? I have the sense that it was a reminder being given to me, as to the nature of generosity. I was always taught that real generosity is offered without expectation of recompense. It drops like gentle rain from ‘heaven’, and when i am aware of its fall, I start to experience an environment where everything that previously felt separate now feels lovingly relational. I feel that this ‘gentle rain’ is always present as a gravitational pull in everyone’s day to day experience, even if we are not aware of her. I say ‘her’ as this quality seems to be embody the presence of a nurturing that is very feminine. I can all too easily be pulled along by the hurly burly of what absorbs my mind, and when this is interrupted by this quality of graciousness i notice that the gratitude that arises in response is like a ‘mist’ rising from the ground. The response is not separate from what promotes it, both the rain and the mist being qualities of this water of generosity. The more i go on, the more i feel this naturally arising thankfulness is like a key that opens simply to ‘more’, without needing to define what this ‘more’ is. All of this feels quite prominent at this time of year, with so many flowering bodies coming to bloom in response to the warmth of the sun.
I do understand that with all the personal and global challenges of these times, this can come across as a bit glib. But i am convinced that the ‘bias’, this ‘natal’ quality of grace is fundamentally present in doorways we may or not to choose to have opened. Simply put..when these doors open, it really helps and i am grateful to be reminded of this.
I am offering a 6 week meditation course at the Vishuddha centre by the river Thames in Oxford, where we meet each Friday evening between 7.30 and 9pm starting on the 17th October. This is open to everyone. Details can be found here. From previous experience I have found that sitting in good company always offers that portion of extra magic.
Fundamental to our experience of the life that passes through us is the way we breathe. What has become known as ‘breathwork’ has become increasingly popularised as a healing practice. In the yoga tradition breathwork is known as Pranayama, or the science of the life energy. It has developed resources over thousands of years to help us benefit from being intimate with the breath that passes through our bodies. My intention is to start a monthly workshop at the Vishuddha centre to help us nurture an ongoing Pranayama practice, starting on Sunday 9th November. Details can be found here.
I also intend to run a retreat day on January 3rd in Oxford. Further details to follow.
I also want to recommend a day retreat being offered by lovely Ally Stott at Wytham Village Hall on Sunday 19th October entitled ‘Fruitfull Darkness..entering autumn alchemy’. Details here.
The photo is of me looking very relaxed after a movement ‘performance’ in a woodland, at a week workshop run by Sandra Reeve. She is a remarkable practitioner of Amerta movement which originated in Indonesia. This explores our experience of movement as an integral aspect of the living body of the earth. Details of her offerings are here.
Wishing everyone well
With love
Derek