December 19, 2007 

"What I know of the divine sciences and of Holy Scriptures
I learned in woods and fields, by prayer and meditation.
I have had no other masters than the beeches and oaks."
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Welcome to the Santa Cruz HeartStream Pulse Newsletter!
The HeartStream Pulse is sent as a service to our Santa Cruz HeartStream Sufi Community as a communications forum. The Pulse will include: notices whenever a personal need arises, services to offer, housing available, items for sale, notices about interest/discussion groups, and community-related information to share.

In this season, we dedicate the HeartStream Pulse this month to letting in the Light that surrounds us and is us. We honor the Divine Light as it arises in the nature of the earth and human being, bringing forth our soul seed into full expression of what it is to be, fully alive, as that divinity. We also honor the offering of what we discover in our journey with humility and joy to the One that dances our little souls into the infinite Presence, Love and Light that is our true nature and our birth right as the children of this same Living One. We also honor the celebrations and sacredness of letting in and expressiong the divine nature of light as it arises in all cultures.

This month's HeartStream Pulse may have events not yet posted on the current
HeartStream Local Events Calendar

Click here for a map and directions to The Garden Sanctuary.

Fill your heart with dancing and singing the Aramaic Lord's Prayer Cycle.

This holiday celebration will be on Sunday, December 23rd from 7 to 9 pm at the Garden Sanctuary.

Who is the Aramaic Jesus? Aramaic was the spoken language of Jesus, and is still spoken in parts of the Middle East. Speaking the Lord’s Prayer in the original language of Jesus can have a deeply profound effect on those of us used to the English version many of us were taught. In “Prayers of the Cosmos, Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus” author and scholar Neil Douglas-Klotz presents to us this opportunity to experience the Prayer (and Beatitudes) in a much more expanded way, through the original Aramaic words, through new (to our ears) translations and through ‘body prayers’ to feel the words more deeply.

Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz has also gifted us with a Dances of Universal Peace Dance Cycle of the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes which I was privileged to study with him in the mid-1980's. He has given me his blessing to lead this work.

For more information, call Nancy at 831-336-8461 or 831-332-4962

The HeartStream Visioning Circle
Creating a Structure for Community Support

Come create with us on the 4th Thursday of each month at 7 pm.

Dearest HeartStream Community,
In our Visioning Circle on the 4th Thursday of November, we talked about how to create structured support within our community to help us in times of need. Our focus was to learn about Hospice and how to help when one of our families is faced with a life-threatening disease or accident. One of our sisters, Selima Cobb, from Hospice in Scotts Valley, came and enlightened us on many things about Hospice and the end of life process that I think many of us did not know. But more importantly the conversation that we as a group shared about a subject that is so often so difficult to have, became powerful and bonding. It was truly an example that to be informed is to be empowered as a Spiritual Human Being.

Many inspirations came out of the evening, but there were two that I think were outstanding. The first was to offer a series of informative classes such as 'How hospitals work and how to best take care of loved ones', 'Knowing what to expect from your medical insurance', and 'What is an Advanced Directive Form and how do you fill it out'.

The 2nd inspiration was to put together a resource list of doctors, alternative medicine practitioners, insurance help, lawyers, etc, from our community. So who do you trust and have had a positive experience with that would be a good resource? Please think about it and soon we will have a site where we can make this information available to everyone. I look forward to our next Visioning Circle on Thursday, December 27th at 7pm at the Garden Sanctuary. If you have any questions or comments you can contact me at laurabathrick@sbcglobal.net. Refreshments will be served.

Holiday Solstice and Zhikr
A Sufi Celebration of Light with a Special Kids Production

Come join with your Sufi loved ones on Friday December 21st, from 6 to 9:30 pm for a celebration of the Christmas Holiday, Solstice and Zhikr.

A Sufi Celebration of Light at the Garden Sanctuary

6:00 - Holiday singing, hot spiced cider, chai, marshmallows around a fire,
         a surprise visit From Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, and a dress-up
         enactment of the BE NICE TO CAMELS musical for all the kids and
         your inner child!
7:00 - Solstice candle lighting ceremony and labyrinth walk.
8:00 - Ecstatic Zhikr - remembering the names of the One Being as we call
         back the light and turn the wheel of the year.

   Wear warm clothing, cost is $10.00. Contact Tofah at 831-479-9278
   for information or visit www.sufievents.com.

Mariam's monthly class will begin in late February or March.

On November 30, Mariam Baker blessed Santa Cruz by leading an evening of Zhikr and practices. She also shared the 'Turn' with us and many were excited with the prospect of her facilitating a class in the Mevlevi Turn which Mariam has agreed to help with.

It will most likely begin late in February or March and will be a day of training each month and then regularly scheduled practice sessions as a community. If you are interested in more information or in participating in this practice, please contact Tofah at 831-479-9278 or tofaheileen@cruzio.com, so we can try to accommodate your schedule as we plan.

Come gather for a Play Day of fun with your HeartStream Women's Community each month to joyously celebrate being in community!

A group of us Sufi women gathered together at Laura's house Wednesday, December 12th, for a wet and wild day (evening actually) of fun. We shmoozed and got a chance to socialize and ate del-ISHQ-ous snacks that we prepared for sharing. Cynthia then led us all in a short dance lesson to learn Zumba! After our Zumba lesson, our evening turned toward wonderful, relaxing massage and soaking in the fabulous hot tub in Laura's garden.

You're invited to come and join us at our next Sufi Women's Play Day! The date and other information will be emailed out on Wayne's 'Sufi Community Events Calendar'. To be added to Wayne's email list, send an email to events@sufievents, and include your name and email address. Wayne's email list is private and never sold to or used by another organization.

You can email me, Adora, at adoradeva@got.net or call (831) 566-9678 for more information or with your play day ideas. Adora Deva

Dr. Willa Keizer will be offering a comprehensive three-year course of study leading to a Doctorate of Vitalistic Healing degree (D.V.H.) beginning in January that represents the convergence of a life of research and practice in the esoteric arts. I have been studying with Willa for the past 5 years and highly recommend this course to anyone who wants an experiential journey through the deep wisdom streams of sacred knowledge. —Tofah

The first session, which will be presented at the Garden Sanctuary, Sunday, January 13th, is free to HeartStream Sufi Community members, but reservations are required.

There is a stream of Healers who throughout the ages from both East and West have attuned themselves with the stars and cosmos and used divinatory techniques, sacred toning, and alchemically potentised plant allies to promote healing and self-realization. This attunement arises out of the quest for connection to the Divine and realization of our true Divine Nature. These healers maintained an awakened and respectful relationship with the elements which is one of the most fundamental Sufi practices.

In ancient Egypt, the royal priests studied the operative forces of the universe and, through these studies, developed special skills in many areas, including medicine making. These remedies were prepared with accompanying sacred toning and ceremony. Those consuming the medicines were instructed to take them in a sacred way which also included healing tones and rituals. The deity associated with the priestly art of healing was Thoth, who was known to the Greeks as Hermes.

The Hermetic Arts developed according to the dictum of Hermes as stated in the Emerald Tablet, “That which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above, to perform the miracles of the One.”

Much later, the Roman world became Christian, and many practitioners of the Hermetic arts fled to the Arab lands so that they could practice their Art freely, without persecution. It was there that the Arabic prefix “Al” was added to the Greek word “khem” (Black earth, referring to Egypt) to form what we now know as Al – khemi or Alchemy. This is one way that the stream of Vitalistic Healing has come to us. *(See footnote about the name Al Hakam, one of the Islamic names of God)