The Golden Alchemists: Fuck It ππ
The Mystical Dance of FUNK YOUππ
Conference of the Birds, the Sufi Classic
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My father often beat me as a child for no reason. As a way to fight the abuse, I danced when he wasn't looking. I loved to watch dancing in the Islamic Mosques in Los Angeles where I grew up. Ladies of the night became my mother figures as they worried why a young boy was roaming the streets alone. Some would feed me and hug me. I lived on the streets. . . These are notes from my World Rhetoric course that I later taught. . .
I loved to read the Sufi mystics. Written by a 12th century poet, Attat which means herbalist or alchemist, this classic work of mysticism is about a gathering of birds who are trying to decide who will become their leader. They journey through seven valleys: "Search, Love, Mystic Apprehension, Detachment/ Independence, Unity, Bewilderment, and Fulfillment in Annihilation" (Dick 14).
These are the paths that are needed to become a saint. Furthermore, "two themes in particular are diffused throughout almost the entire poem - the necessity for destroying the Self, and the importance of passionate love" (Dick 19).
Being a heretic
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Sufism is often about not conforming. To break the chains, one must be different. Indeed, ". . .it is always love that flies in the face of either social or sexual religious convention. It may be love between a social superior and inferior (e.g., between a princess and a slave), it is commonly homosexual love; or,as in longest story of the poem (. . . about Sheikh Sam'an) it may be love between people of different religions " (Dick 19-20). "scandalous" "blasphemous" "forbidden" "flouting of convention" (Dick 20).
"Attar's concern to demonstrate that the sufis' truth exists outside of human conventions . . . " (Dick 20).
They find their leader, a Simorgh, a phoenix like being representing the eternal.
To me, Islam was about breaking the rules and saying Fuck it.
Rhetoric of Islam
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Currently in America when we think of Islam, we tend to think of terrorists. That is too bad because Islam has a history of esoteric teachings that rival any religion and seem to have more in common with other esoteric traditions like the tantric ideas of Hinduism or the alchemists of Europe or the shamanism of Asia. Sufism, the mystical way of Islam, is the term used for this esoteric tradition.
It borrowed from the Hermetic writings, including Poimandres, from Greece and Egypt; also it was influenced from "pre-Islamic" mystical writings, e.g., from Asian, including tales about Buddha, Avicenna's "Salam and Absal" (Bakhtiar 7)
Bored in the USA > SONG
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Sama, Mystical Rituals
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Many Sufi practice mystical rituals or Sama which include dancing, singing, chanting and / or instruments as a way of experiencing Dhikr, a remembrance of God. The famous dances of the whirling dervishes are an example. Such traditions of Sama are often credited back to the Persian master and poet, JalΔl ad-DΔ«n Muhammad BalkhΔ« (1207 - 1273).
Such acts or performances seem to have a lot in common with the rhetoric of Shamans where sound, color, light and movement are critical aspects of connecting to the divine.
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The Stages of Yaqueen
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For a Sufi trying to find liberation, there are stages to follow. The journey to Walaya (Sainthood) is found through Yaqueen (Certainty)
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1) The Knowledge of Certainty. The starting stage of thinking.
2) The Eye of Certainty. The middle stage of visions.
3) The Reality of Certainty . The final stage is liberation.
At one point I was a philosophy major who loved to dance. I loved women from the Middle East for they were always kind to me and quoted the Koran. I feel at home with them. Fuck it, dance more to be more alive. . . . I love visiting countries like Malaysia with its large Islamic community.
Persian Sufi Dance in Los Angeles
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Sources>
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Bakrtiar, Laleh. Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest New York: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print
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Davis, Dick. "Introduction." Farid Ud-Din Attar. The Conference of the Bird. Trans. Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis. New York: Penguin Books. 1984. Print.
About the Creator
SAMURAI SAM: Wild Wayne
π Bitch from Planet X, Certified Personal Trainer, Ted Talk Speaker, Gothic Scholar, Yoga Dude, Black Belt, Spanish Speaker. Writing Coach, Cancer Survivor, Korean Born, Japan, Italy raised, grew up In LA, as a gymnast, Jazz Drummerπ!
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