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Toward the One, United with All
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Zikr & Sama
Sufi Song, Sound, and Prayer |
"The power of
sound is great. Why
is this? It is
because sound arises
from the depth of
one's being, and
because sound can
also touch the depth
of one's being. The
Mantra Yoga of the
Hindus is based on
this principle. The
Sufi term for this
is Zikr, the use of
words for the
unfolding of the
soul.
"Music is the art of arts, the science of all sciences, and it
contains the fountain of all knowledge within itself. Music stands
before the soul without producing any impression of this objective
world in either name or form, thus preparing the soul to realize the
infinite."
-- Hazrat Pir-O-Murshid Inayat Khan,
The Mysticism of Sound |
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Zikr
(“remembrance”) and
Sama (“listening”) are ancient Sufi
spiritual practices of sacred sound, music, singing, deep
attunement, and body prayer used by mystics for centuries to open
and clear the heart.
Our evening begins with
kirtan, devotional singing,
from many different spiritual
traditions, praising and praying
together with breath and voice.
Next, our wonderful musicians create for us a sacred space of
contemplative listening, the Sama, through exquisite improvised
melodic expressions of heart and spirit. This space of inspired
sound can be used for silent meditation, free movement, or Turning.
Then we join hands in the sacred Zikr circle of remembrance
experiencing through our whole
being the
limitless Divine Presence within and all around us.
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