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Poetry & Spiritual Intelligence

The aim of our weekly meetings is to develop and practice the art of sohbet (suhbah in Ara ic!" Although this important term contains a great many nuances# one of its ma$or meanings in a Sufi setting is %spiritual conversation&" That is# as we meet together we aim to strengthen our a ility to hold spiritual conversations" The atmosphere we aim for is one of self'reflection# in which we gradually come to understand more of our selves and thus connect with the divine" (ur work together is essentially a out increasing our capacity to witness# ourselves# others and the heart that sits etween our nafs ( roadly %ego&! and the )eloved" *e strive to develop this kind of gentle self'awareness so that we can est cultivate our sense of character and courtesy ( adab! and thus e a le to talk with inner knowledge that relates to us and others" *e are not often called upon to e+ercise this aspect of ourselves in the contemporary world" *e are very much involved in all the hustle and ustle of modern life and the demands that society makes upon us" *e have also inherited a Cartesian duality# where knowledge and its e+ercise often serves to divide up the mind# the ody and the spirit" A purely %intellectual& focus often fails to open us to the needs and energies of other group mem ers" The sym olic language of poetry touch oth the heart and our emotions# provoking gradual recognitions of self'limiting patterns and eliefs" ,ery often# when we are struck y a poem we are transformed y the words we read# to the point where we can sometimes e literally speechless" It often takes time for us to try and convey the emotions con$ured y the poem" This is a precious e+perience# a delicate time# not $ust a loss of words or intellect ut a worthy connection of head and heart -umi uses metaphors from nature to remind us that what we are learning a out is living and dynamic" To help us e+plore these connections# it might e helpful to consider the following. /" Take your time to speak# take the poetry simply to egin with" The more you read it and the more others in the room comment# the more you will notice that your understanding increases" Its est to wait your turn efore you share this new insight with the group" This allows the energy to flow evenly etween us" *e need each other to deepen our understanding" 0" in the words of Sheikh 1a ir "" 2et each person in the circle speak in their turn# from their heart# sharing either concrete o servation of their own lives and e+perience# or an insight" If someone feels they have nothing to communicate from their heart they may pass" *hat is spoken is from and for oneself# never a commentary on or reply to another person&s sharing" 3ach person in the circle should e their own 4editor"5 The est words are# generally# few and from the heart

Cardiff Sufi Group

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