one of my most favorite Middle Eastern poems goes about the virtue of destruction of the self. it goes something like “in near extinction, i become exalted.” tonight, i saw what this means when i saw the Turkish Whirling Dervishes. this is not some cheap bellydancing on a cruise but a witness to a holy ritual. i am given the opportunity to witness how it is with dance, focus, meditation, and music, the body, the self, the mind become dissolved in prayer as if for a moment to be truly one with the universe. i do not know much about music but the Turkish zither was the most beautiful sound tonight. I was this close to Rumi tonight seeing those priests swirl like beautiful planets in the cosmos. My Istanbul trip is complete but it is not yet done And I am grateful.
this trip is a runner-up for among…
View original post 22 more words
