A Decade in the Heart of Sufism: A Middle East Odyssey : Second Edition (The Timeless Sufi Wisdom of Shaykh Nazim and A Decade in the Heart of Sufism: A Middle East Odyssey Second Edition. Book 5) Kindle Edition

A Decade in the Heart of Sufism: A Middle East Odyssey is a memoir reflecting on my time as Shaykh Nazim’s book editor and publisher in the 1980s. It is a riveting story of adventure and faith, as my pursuit of the Sufi Path led me to ecstatic festivals in Egypt, to Mecca for two years, and then to live alongside Shaykh Nazim in Damascus, where I received daily teachings alongside a small group of Western Sufi aspirants.Join me on this journey of discovery into the Heart of Sufism—experience life in the Middle East and chant ecstatically with the wild dervishes of Cairo, feel the adrenaline rush as we escape from the clutches of the Syrian secret police. Climb into the VW van with Shaykh Nazim and me as we journey through Europe to meet groups of seekers.This book is readable, descriptive, and humorous. Each chapter consists of short subsections with catchy titles. The text alternates with photos from the past, as well as other illustrations of the places I lived and of my travels.In this second edition, I have further refined the narrative and added several talks the Shaykh gave on the occasions mentioned in the book. I have also included a selection of the poems I wrote during and after my sojourn in the Middle East.The companion volume to this book, The Timeless Sufi Wisdom of Shaykh Nazim is also presented in an easy-to-read format, featuring numerous illustrations and concise chapters organized by theme. I recommend that you read those teachings simultaneously with this memoir.Excerpts from A Decade in the Heart of SufismEgyptian EcstasyThe dervishes beat out mesmerizing rhythms on the drums, and a crazy-looking woman with dreadlocks attacked a violin, As the music ramped up, people moved back and forth rhythmically, then joined hands, lifting them towards the sky and chanting “Allah!” Allah! I joined the chorus and experienced oneness with my fellow worshipers, Egypt, and the whole World. I felt myself to be a single strand in God’s hands, being woven into the fabric of life along with all beings: past, present, and future.A Slice of Paradise One day, after the Shaykh had given a particularly powerful talk to a tiny group of Western devotees, none of us, including the Shaykh, seemed inclined to leave the Zawiya after the sharing was completed. Eventually, we stepped outside but stood together in the small space near my room and just stayed there.Finally, I asked the Shaykh, “What is going on here? Why don’t any of us want to leave this place?” He said, “Because this zawiya at the foot of Grandshaykh’s tomb makes the connection to the lineage palpable; this holy place is a little slice of paradise. And who would want to leave paradise?”Leaving Damascus in a Big HurryOne day, while having breakfast, somebody knocked on the door more loudly than usual. It was a friend, Zachariah, a young Syrian from an elite background who was too eccentric to fit in with his own milieu but blended in perfectly with all of us. “Zak! What’s up?” “Ibrahim, you and Abida had better get out of Syria fast! The secret police have gotten wind of a rumor that both of you are originally Jewish and, therefore, in their minds, must be Israeli spies.”It only occurred to me later that Zak could only have known this if he himself were an ”observer” for the government; be that as it may, he had clearly been affected by the Shaykh’s teachings and had a genuine fondness for us.The survival instinct and the desire to stay out of the infamous Syrian prisons served to focus my thinking—I began to plan a quick getaway. With sadness but also a sense of relief to be leaving a country that had just been traumatized by a vicious civil war, we said one last prayerat Grandshaykh’s tomb, asking for his protection in our escape from possible arrest and prosecution as spies. Read more