Following the Old Indian Path

Several months ago, on an exquisite early autumn morning, I dropped my children at the school bus before beginning my first commute to the Seven Pillars House of Wisdom’s office in New Lebanon, NY, where I had recently accepted a staff position. As they crossed the parking lot, I watched closely to make sure they were being wary of the other cars, and that those drivers were wary of them. Trailing his twin siblings, my youngest turned back, waved and smiled before he disappeared up the bus’s first step.

Remembering Lynn Margulis

Lynn Margulis, my mother, had a stroke on November 17, 2011 and died five days later in her own bed. The following text is slightly modified from a reading, written for my nieces and nephews, given before scattering her ashes in a private family ceremony at Puffers Pond in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Trust in Life

If you had written a large opus about Sufism, its teachings, practices and history, and asked me to write an introduction, I would have shrunk back from such a task. But you intended to write a little book that should primarily be a testimony of your personal experience of Sufism,  and a guide for those who feel drawn to follow the instructions of your meditations. For these pages you asked for my presence. How could I have denied my presence as a friend?

“Mocktail” Recipes

Interested in throwing your own “mocktail” party? Here are the recipes for our famous, homemade “mocktails,” Sans-gria and No-hitos, as seen at our Open House on June 15th, 2012. Enjoy!

Gone to Earth and Sufism

The Mystery of Love

One evening in Bombay, during a gathering of disciples, someone asked, “All the religions of the world agree that unless man recognizes his own self, he is incapable of any kind of ascent. What is meant by recognition here? Is it the recognition of man’s own being or the being of the cosmos?” Others asked similar things. Responding to the questions put forth, Pir O Murshid ‘Aziz Miyan Sahib, the revered, said that he would provide a condensed exposition. The discourse continued deep into the night. The gathering was large, with every faith, creed and denomination represented. The audience listened with heightened interest and some even penned down the oration. All that was recorded has been divided into six parts and printed. This is an abridgement of the first part.