Wishing you a Blessed Holy Month

Ramadan is upon us. May we feel the breeze of it's grace surrounding us in the air we breathe. Rituals from the Course's perspective are not necessary, it's a training of the mind in the end. Rituals that we do from guilt are not necessary either, it's literally coming from our unconscious guilt and we can release them. If like me you were raised Muslim and had a few rituals drilled guilty into you, it's ok, like my Sufi friends say, rituals must come from a deep propulsion to Love.

I LOVE Ramadan

And to me, fasting is DEFINITELY a mind training. Trying again and again to control my anger while hungry and tired, with kids perfectly 200% charged with energy while they happily live oblivious to my own fatigue. Ramadan's ritual I don't do out of guilt but out of true surrender to can I be better? Can I give to those in need this month and hold them in my heart regardless? Can I remember we are all suffering and being kind is as essential as life itself and is actually 'real' life itself? Can I live in my own faith community and enjoy communion with iftar together as a culture and remember Muslims regardless of skin tone, language and locale are breaking fast at one big Divinely blessed table?

This month I have one request of you my readers. It's what my elders modeled to me again and again.

Forgive me.

I'm very imperfect. I often re-edit my site so look back on previous posts, you will see they change. It's simply because I'm still learning. I'm not Arten or Pursah or the Voice for God that Helen heard. I'm doing my best and there is simply nothing in the world that means more to me then your holding me in grace this month. May we fast together, pray together, enjoy the Quran together (Yes my nondualist self loves reading and revisiting the Quran) and do our Course lessons together.

Yours Eternally in the One Heart,

Ibtihal