Nov 2010

Photo: Charlotte Ballenger, Sebastopol, CA

Beginnings

How do we begin? What is the first note, word, or prayer that opens the way? There are, I suspect, as many ways to start a journey as there are journeys to take.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Hazrat Inayat-Khan’s  departure to the West from India in September 1910. His journey also marks the beginning of our lineage (the Inayati presence) outside of India. We include here a video of Pir Zia Inayat-Khan (Hazrat Inayat-Khan’s grandson) giving an address on this occasion. We also include other articles on beginnings—ways to begin practice, begin letting go, and begin opening to what is unfolding for each of us. I hope you enjoy it.

Tamam Kahn, our fearless editor-in-chief, has been busy spreading the word of her new book Untold: A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad, and left the keys to Journal with me. It has been an honor (and challenge!) to serve in her stead. This issue would not have been possible without the continuous love and support of Kyra Epstein. Namaste.

One closing story about the mystery of beginnings and the creation of The Sound Journal: back in late summer when we began work on this edition, this writer, full of summer light and hope, was positively brimming with words and ideas for this issue. But each time I put the pen to paper, nothing would come. Try as I might, the well was sealed. Finally reaching the point of real despair, I realized this beginning for me was just not ripe. And so another lesson on the way: some beginnings are easy, some hard, and some simply must be waited for!

Joseph McIntyre
Guest Editor

Contents

Hejirat Day Address
The 100th anniversary of Hazrat Inayat-Khan’s journey from India, and the beginning of a new Sufi century in the West
by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan

We Begin In Sound
Excerpt from Physicians of the Heart: A Sufi View of the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah
by Wali Ali Meyer, Bilal Hyde, Faisal Muqaddam, Shabda Kahn

Got Hoplessness? It’s the Beginning
Some beginnings start by simply letting go…
by Kyra Epstein

On Beginning the Journey: A Guide to the Sufi Ruhaniat Path
Heartfelt and wise council to anyone starting practice
by Sheikh Zahir Qalbi Orest

Beginnings
A perspective on beginning the journey as a “Sufi kid”
by Daniel Baker-Jud

Beginnings
One poet’s look at the mystery and magic of beginning
by Jane Delozier