Rumi Day and a new Steward in Leeds, 17th-18th Dec



"When our holding on loses its grip
and we stop pretending to know
and we rest in the innocence of Now
and allow life to flow.
When we realise we are part of a love so divine
What need is there of I, me, or mine?"

(poem by Kim Birch, North of England Circle)

Our annual celebration of Rumi, mystic poet of love, took place in Leeds this weekend. It began with a short ceremony late on Friday night, the evening which is traditionally celebrated in Turkey as his "wedding night with the Beloved", or in other words the night he passed away in 1273 by the western calendar.

Then on Saturday we held a Day of Reflection in Rumi's honour, in Steve Suleyman Hart's house. It began with a period of silence intermingled with reading different translations of Rumi's poetry. Then we read and discussed a chapter from the new book "Towards a True Kinship of Faiths" by the Dalai Lama, on the importance of understanding and mutual appreciation between the World's religions.

Then we had a workshop looking at the Islamic ritual prayer, considering what the different postures suggest, and the intentions behind the prayer. We talked about surrendering the heart, through the body, to what we most love and trust, laying down all our concerns and worries and problems, giving it all up...

After a shared lunch, Steve gave a talk on "Rumi, Devotion and Loving Action", and Zang performed a short hand-over ceremony, with Steve Suleyman (pictured above!) now taking on the role of Circle Steward for the North of England Zen Peacemaker Circle.

We finished with a session of Islamic chanting - "zikr, the remembrance of the Divine" - and singing, and left in bright spirits.

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