As you know, Alegria is waiting for us back at Finike Marina in Turkey. The Marina has a nice newsletter and this just arrived. I post it here for your enjoyment.
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“Come, come again, whoever you are, come!
Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!
Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times,
Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are.”
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi
1207 – 1273
Mevlana who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam, but not a Muslim of the orthodox type. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him and to his disciples all religions are more or less truth. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to men of all sects and creeds.
Source mevlana.net
Dedicated to all my friends around the globe; lets hope for tolerance and peace in 2013!
Clärchen IV and crew
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I do not remember Clärchen IV, so I assume that they came after we flew to the States. I sincerely hope that they are still there when I get back. I have my ticket, but no idea exactly when I can fly.
Janet & I visited Rumi’s tomb in central Turkey. Many years ago, I read and thoroughly enjoyed several books by Idries Shah about the Sufi philosophy. They were a strong influence on how I think the Universe works. See if your library has them. They are different, so if one book does not appeal, look at several before you give up. IMHO, the Sufis know a thing or two about the Universe.
Or, Google around for the words Rumi, “Idries Shah”, Sufi and so on. You may be very pleasantly surprised.
BTW We have seen men do the twirling “Dervish Dance”. The real McCoy is a meditative technique that we were told comes from a passage in the Koran that is something like, “No matter which way you turn, there you will see God.”
So, they spin to commune with God. Unlike a figure skater, they can spin for 20 mins that I have seen and I suspect much longer than that.
Fascinating group,
Dave & Janet
like Rumi, we welcome all cultures and beliefs. “Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are.”
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