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Lent: A How-To for Mystics

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(Reprinted from Elephant Journal. First publication 3/8/11.)

I am not, nor have I ever been, your typical Christian. Most wouldn’t even call me Christian, though I would say my spiritual reality is very catholic (small “c” intentional) and I do have my own special relationship with Christ.

I am in no way claiming to be your spiritual adviser in these things. As a Mystic, you most likely draw from many faiths as I do, finding merit in each. Religion is a veil gracing the heart of what prayer and spiritual practice offer. (You say thief, I say liberator!)

As a Mystic you are also your own Priest, and therefore vested with the power to administer your own sacramentals. (I say Mystic, you say heretic!)

As with any spiritual under taking, intention is everything. So in choosing the way you want to observe Lent, remember that it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. In other words, it’s not about “making it to Easter”, it’s about learning from the experience.

1. Basics of Lent: Lent is the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday (in this case, March 9) and Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday is the end of Lent, and the beginning of the three holy days of Easter.

2. Three Pillars: There are three pillars of Lent in traditional Catholicism. The pillars are fasting, prayer, and alms-giving. The basic premise of these spiritual undertakings

a. Fasting isn’t really about not eating, it’s about what you learn from not eating, or how you allow not eating to alter your perception. It can also be about allowing yourself temporary liberation from the cycle of eat-or-be-eaten, getting really high on just your breath, or allowing yourself the space to allow for worship to become a higher order of priority than bodily needs.

Spiritual fasting is a varied experience. People do it for all kinds of reasons, and get all kinds of results. I recommend that as you fast, you noticing your hunger. Experience your hunger as the hunger of that Rumi had for conversation with Shamz. That Teresa of Avila had for Christ.

b. Prayer is an adjunct to spiritual fasting that makes the whole more than the sum of its parts. When the energy of hunger is turned to a fevered devotion, prayer becomes a love song to God.

c. Alms-giving is a way to make the concept of sacrifice foundational and interactive. What are you willing to give up in order to benefit the lives of those around you? In your chosen hunger are you willing to feed with your food those who don’t choose hunger? Are you willing to offer your time, energy and intention to putting the words “love your neighbor” into action?

3. How-To, for the Mystic:

a. Ash Wednesday: “Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” —Genesis 3:19.

Ash Wednesday is the day when you see Catholics walking around with ash crosses on their foreheads. You, as your own Priest, will want to prepare a mixture of ash and water or oil. The ash can be from a piece of paper with a “sin” you’d like to eradicate written on it.

Once cool take the ash, make the paste, and paint a cross on your forehead with the ash, recognizing your willingness to bow before the Will of the power greater than yourself.

b. Build Your Lent: How much do you want to fast? What do you want to abstain from? What are you willing to tithe or offer up?Will you fast with water only? Bread and water? One single meal? Any of these options, or even less stringent undertakings such as eating lightly, forgoing meat, or forgoing other foods you enjoy. Or even foods you just eat habitually.

How do you want to enact the teachings of Christ?

This is not about the sacrifice that Christ made, but about the sacrifices you are willing to make in order to become more Christ-like. What actions can you surrender, and what actions can you commit to that will allow the light of Christ to flourish within you?

c. Holy Thursday, aka Thursday of Mysteries. Now it’s about Christ. This is a commemoration of the Last Supper.

After the last super was that night under the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Reflect upon the Sacrifice that Christ was facing. What cup of poison are you shying away from? Will you take the cup, or will you flee?

Spend this night in reflection of what’s being asked of you by God.

d. Holy Friday is a commemoration of the crucifixion of Christ. Traditionally this is a day of fasting and mourning. If you really want to go for it you could spend Friday dressed in sack-cloth and covered in ashes, or taking a more direct and experiential connection with the Passion of the Christ, spend a in a cave wrapped in nothing but a shroud.

e. The Easter Vigil begins Saturday evening. You may take Saturday as another fasting day, clearing the ash and dust from your soul, until evening which is the officially the beginning of Holy Sunday, or…

f. Resurrection Day! You’ve made it! Don’t you feel great? What have you been reborn to, aside from the love of Christ? Or, in addition to it? Eat, drink, and be merry, bathed in the Light of Love and Rebirth!

I hope you have enjoyed your journey through this Mystic’s guide to Lent. May it provide good food – and fast – for thought. Amen.

Lent: A How-To for Mystics at Elephant.

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Read my latest at Elephant Journal, Lent; A How-To for Mystics, TODAY!

Excerpt:

I am not, nor have I ever been, your typical Christian. Most wouldn’t even call me Christian, though I would say my spiritual reality is very catholic (small “c” intentional) and I do have my own special relationship with Christ.

I am in no way claiming to be your spiritual adviser in these things. As a Mystic, you most likely draw from many faiths as I do, finding merit in each. Religion is a veil gracing the heart of what prayer and spiritual practice offer. (You say thief, I say liberator!)

As a Mystic you are also your own Priest, and therefore vested with the power to administer your own sacramentals. (I say Mystic, you say heretic!)

As with any spiritual under taking, intention is everything. So in choosing the way you want to observe Lent, remember that it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. In other words, it’s not about “making it to Easter”, it’s about learning from the experience.

Read the rest NOW at Elephant! Enjoy, and peace be with you.

Seven Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Islam

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Reprinted from elephantjournal.com, first publication date 9/4/2010

Bismillah, ar Rahman, ar Rahim. (In the name of Allah, most beneficent and merciful.)

Ramadan kareem!

1. Mystical Oneness with God
In a mystical sense, Islam is a non-dualist religion. When I first read these words by ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatima bint Muhammad, I was overwhelmed with a sense of, “Oh my God! Exactly!”

Thus whoever attaches attributes to [God] recognizes His like, and who recognizes His like regards Him two; 
and who regards Him two recognizes parts for Him;
 and who recognizes parts for Him mistook Him;
 and who mistook Him pointed at Him;
 and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him;
 and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.
Whoever said in what is He, held that He is contained;
 and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else.
~ Ali ibn Abi Talib

Ali ibn Abi Talib was of the house of Muhammad—peace be upon him. Ali was the first Muslim to convert after the Prophet was said to have been visited by the angel that brought God’s words to Muhammad. Those words were the Qur’an (the recitation). Fatima bint Muhammad—peace be upon her—was the daughter of Muhammad.

Ali and Fatima were two of the earliest Muslims. So the mystical fibre of Islam is root-deep.

2. Who is Allah?
Allah has the same roots as the Aramaic “El” and the Hebrew Elah. Allah literally means “The God.” “al” means ‘the,” and “elah” (or some variation of it) means “god.” God does not have a gender in Islam, though is referred to as “He” out of respect.

Yeah, I know, kinda messed up, but at least Muslims don’t actually think God is some guy sitting in the clouds. It is considered a grave violation and failing to give attributes to Allah, because as with anything, defining Him/It limits It/Him.

3. Islam and Peace
The Arabic words “Islam” (for the religion) and “salaam” (peace) are from the same Semitic roots; S-L-M. The word Islam means submission, and is taken to mean submission to God (similar perhaps to the expression “God-fearing”). It could as easily mean peace, purity, safety.

In common understanding, to be Muslim means to have surrendered your will to God; to have submitted one’s will to the grace of Allah.

4. Jihad
The word jihad has come to be synonymous with “holy war” in the American vernacular. It has been used by the Palestinian people to mean “uprising.”

Jihad actually means struggle.

“The best jihad is (by) the one who strives against his own self for Allah, The Mighty and Majestic,”
~ the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad—peace be upon him).

5. Honoring Your Mother in Islam
There are many Hadiths (loosely; stories that offer the teachings of The Prophet) that beautifully address the role of the mother in Islam.

One such says: I said to the Holy Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah, I desire to go on a (military) expedition and I have come to consult you.” He asked me if I had a mother, and when I replied that I had, he said, “Stay with her because Paradise lies beneath her feet.”

Another says; I asked the Prophet who has the greatest right over a man, and he said, “His mother.”

One of my favorites goes like this: I asked, “Messenger of Allah, to whom should I be dutiful?” He replied, “Your mother.” I asked, “Then whom?” He replied, “Your mother.” I asked, “Then whom?” He replied, “Your mother.” I asked, “Then whom?” He replied, “Your mother.” I asked, “Then to whom should I be dutiful?” He replied, “Your father, and then the next closest relative and then the next.”

6. Marriage in Islam
While arranged marriage is still common in many Muslim cultures, any woman has the right to refuse a marriage match. And, while polygamy is considered lawful in Islam, a polygamous marriage may only occur where both (or all) women are in accord with the choice to be co-wives.

Divorce is legal in Islam, and a woman is guaranteed a divorce settlement even before marriage. Additionally, in marriage a man’s property becomes communal property by law, but a woman’s property remains in her own claim.

7. Sex in Islam
“Permitted to you on the night of the Fasts is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and you are their garments.”
(Qur’an, 2:187)

Obviously, Islam has a long way to go in regards to creating a healthy relationship with sex. (Still, don’t we all?)

Yes, it’s a homophobic religion, and one with strict regulation of sexuality beyond even that.

However, when sex happens within the container of the laws of Islam, i.e.; between a lawfully wedded woman and man, Islam (on the whole) has fewer sex-negative or sex phobic views than you would think.

Contraception is allowed, as is first-trimester abortion. In addition, sex has many extra-procreative purposes in Islamic faith, including deepening companionship between husband and wife.

“The Prophet himself, while not divulging all aspects of his own sexual life, was known for his nature as a loving husband who was sensitive and physically demonstrative. In several hadith, he speaks about the importance of foreplay and speaking in loving terms during sexual relations. Again, the concept of mutual satisfaction is elucidated in a hadith which advises husbands to engage in acts that enable a woman to achieve orgasm first. …Sexual dissatisfaction is considered legitimate grounds for divorce on the part of either wife or husband.”
- Source.

There’s even the suggestion that sexual intimacy between man and wife is a gift of worship, and something a Muslim will be rewarded for by Allah.

Female circumcision is not an Islamic practice, but an African tribal one, that predates the introduction of Islam to the areas that practice female circumcision (aka FGM, or female genital mutilation). The vast majority of Islamic countries and cultures do not practice female circumcision at all.

In honor of Ramadan, the most holy month in Islam, I hope we can all take a moment to honor the diversity of faiths that hold the world together, as much as they might tear it apart.

Clinging to anything causes suffering, and there is no exception to the rule here. But while we share the air, we share breath. Let’s be inspired by each other. And allow the outer jihad to give way to the greater jihad; the jihad of one’s own soul.

In Honor of Ramadan

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Reposted from Ramadan, 2007

Another part of my journey in Islam

Credit: http://arabiccalligraphy4u.blogspot.com/2009/04/zahra-and-mohammed.html

Ramadan kareem!

Yes, I am observing the fast of Ramadan. I never could have foreseen this, but I don’t know why. It makes perfect sense. Beginning after my first trip to the Holy Land, I started studying Islam. My most recent trip ended just as Ramadan began. My first day home was the first day of Ramadan.

While in Bethlehem, the excitement level was rising. I was invited by many to extend my trip and to spend Ramadan in their homes. (Yeah, the whole month. I have never met with such utter hospitality.) I couldn’t, though if I had been able to I certainly would have. Leaving was difficult as it was, and I would have loved to have spent this holy time in a Muslim community.

Instead, I came home, and have taken Ramadan by myself. I am studying deep into Islam, and have found many elements that speak directly to my heart. The spiritual side of Islam appeals to me more than any other religion I have studied. (Notice I didn’t say spiritual path, I specifically said religion.) The spiritual aspect is Mysticism. Direct relationship with God, no mediation, the awareness that God is both imminent and transcendent.

The law and politics side is more sticky, tricky, trigger-happy for me.

And for both these things I am exceedingly grateful. The part that makes sense with no need for translation. The part that is my home already, is my heart, my love, my life, my surrender, my path. The part where God is, and i am.

And, the part that is so alien that I can’t look directly at it without engaging in separation.

How does all of it “make perfect sense?” I could not have thought of a better way to pull “my self” outside of myself; outside of the known, outside of the assumed, outside of the easy, the comfortable, the illusory. Sometimes it’s too easy to fall into ease, and not even realize that Truth Eternal has been sacrificed in the offing.

Ego rebuilds itself moment to moment, assuming new shapes to hold, contain, divide, define itself by. Even the idea of enlightenment can stand in the way of our relationship with It.

Circle of Women, Tomb of the Patriarch, Al-Khalil/Hebron

Circle of Women, Tomb of the Patriarch, Al-Khalil/Hebron

So, the perfection lies in being stretched beyond my own edges in a way that I ask for again and again. Through the frame of Islam, I can see God unchanged, unchanging. The way I have come to know It. I can also see where my ego is attached to the way I encounter God, approach God, conceive of God.

One of the big jokes of it all (and there are many, many Big Jokes for me in the terrain of my dissembling soul), is that God cannot be approached. God is. Eternal. Everywhere present, but in no one place localized. Beyond our comprehension. So, even on the mental level, God cannot be approached.

As a Mystic, I can say that all paths to the Divine are equal, while knowing that “path” is a misnomer, and “to the” a misleading statement. Even naming It,  whether “Divine” or “God” is a veil.

“love is a veil between lover and loved
more than this I am not allowed to say.”
Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

Even the idea of love is separation. In claiming a beloved, earthly or divine, we put ourselves into separation. Through this separation we have the chance to seek reunion.

Just as delineation limits by virtue of fixing “some thing” in place, love and aversion limit by placing things outside of ourselves, which creates something outside of The Other, as well. There is a sense of “the thing I am”, or “the thing I am not.” Both reinforce division.

But where better to see my assumed flaws, faults, assumed strengths? Where better to see my attachments?

In this, the healing of the world.

As my sense of self lies shattered into pieces on the ground around me, I laugh, and I cry. Some shards melt into the earth and become cells of the ageless soil. Some wisps of vapor, becoming the unchanging air. Some become sparks of light and join with the unwavering light of the sun.

And even beyond the joining with the geological and universal, each element in its time fades and joins the eternal, returning to the first home, the last home, the home that is now, and always will be; the heart of The One.

In the midst of the agonies and the ecstasies of mergence, emergence, mergence…I come back to the moments of peace where there is no separation.

What if “that I am,” were true of everything. What if inside and outside were an illusion? What if there were no line between work and life. Relationships with people and with God. Spiritual path and life, just as it is.

Cessation. At the heart of it all is surrender. The moment where lover and beloved are not two, but one. Nay, are none.

Ma salaam,

-LaSara (Fatima ‘Abd-Rahim)

“The foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him, the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him, the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure, and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognises His like, and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.
Whoever said in what is He, held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation. He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.”
-The oneness of god, according to Ali ibn Abi Talib

“I testify that there is no Deity (Lord) except the sole and matchless Allah. And the testification of the singleness of Allah is a word that Allah has declared sincerity (as) its reality, and made the hearts the centre of its contact and union. And has made the specifications and research of the oneness of Allah’s station obvious and evident in the light of meditation. The Allah Who can not be seen by the eyes and tongues are unable and baffled to describe His virtues and attributes. And the intelligence and apprehension of man is helpless and destitute from the imagination of his how ness.”
-Fatima bint Muhammad