My thought for this morning ...

Our lives are made up of a million moments, spent in a million ways. Some are spent searching for love, peace and harmony. Others are spent surviving day to day. But there is no greater moment than when we find that life, with all its joys and sorrows, is meant to be lived one day at a time.

This morning I am thinking of Hazrat Inayat Khan's daughter for she was a Sufi, too but with a life path much different and in contrast to her father's. I wonder if she had to explain what saying "I am a Sufi" means to others? Personally, this 61 year old woman reached that bottom this last March when those around me only heard those words and adjudged them with the rendering that I was an insane woman to label my being in such a way. And today I chuckle at those who label themselves as 'Christian' yet you would be hard pressed to look at their lives and see them as "Christ-like".

How in the heck can you talk about Sufism to people who have yet to grasp that the three letters of our Alphabet that spells G.O.D is a "European Linguistic Invention" using the TOOL of a written alphabet?

In the Semitic language of Aramaic which Jesus most likely spoke, the Aramaic word which is translated as God in the European bible was actually Alaha. According to some linguists, the word Alaha which Jesus spoke would have had the ending "a" softened or not pronounced at all, leading to the pronunciation "alah". Since the Arabic language was largely derived from the earlier Aramaic (much the same as Aramaic was derived from the earlier Hebrew), the modern Arabic word Allah is likely derived from the earlier Aramaic pronunciation "alah". Indeed, Allah of the Qur'an and Alaha of Jesus refer to the same One. In contrast, the word "God" is a relatively new, and perhaps unfortunate, European invention which has been the source of much misunderstanding and conflict. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/mv_glossary.htm

My love of LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY led me to my Sufi Teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan

In the Semitic language of Aramaic which Jesus most likely spoke, the Aramaic word which is translated as God in the European bible was actually Alaha. According to some linguists, the word Alaha which Jesus spoke would have had the ending "a" softened or not pronounced at all, leading to the pronunciation "alah". Since the Arabic language was largely derived from the earlier Aramaic (much the same as Aramaic was derived from the earlier Hebrew), the modern Arabic word Allah is likely derived from the earlier Aramaic pronunciation "alah". Indeed, Allah of the Qur'an and Alaha of Jesus refer to the same One. In contrast, the word "God" is a relatively new, and perhaps unfortunate, European invention which has been the source of much misunderstanding and conflict. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/mv_glossary.htm

HUMANS AS INVENTORS

inventor

c.1500, “a discoverer,” from L. inventor (fem. inventrix) "contriver, author, discoverer," agent noun from pp. stem of invenire (see invention). Meaning “one who contrives or produces a new thing or process” is from 1550s.

Hazrat died in 1927 and his statement concerning the European invention of the word GOD as a source of much misunderstanding and conflict carries truth today. You need only walk into the Reference Section of your local library with its shelves of specialized English dictionaries (ranging from auto mechanics to zoology) to grasp the idea of the humans innate ability to be INVENTORS of words that carry meaning.

GOD - MY MIGHTY HEALER

The Sufi prays to God every moment in one's life, invoking God's Name and realizing at the same time that the self is no other than God. For to a Sufi God is not a personal being but a mighty healer to awaken the soul from its delusion of earthly individuality, and a guide to lead it to self-realization, the only aim in life.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi

The law of harmony: that one must put oneself in harmony with oneself and with others.

I gave up my music because I had received from it all that I had to receive. To serve God one must sacrifice what is dearest to one; and so I sacrificed my music. I had composed songs; I sang and played the vina; and practicing this music I arrived at a stage where I touched the Music of the Spheres. Then every soul became for me a musical note, and all life became music. Inspired by it I spoke to the people, and those who were attracted by my words listened to them, instead of listening to my songs.

Now, if I do anything, it is to tune souls instead of instruments; to harmonize people instead of notes. If there is anything in my philosophy, it is the law of harmony: that one must put oneself in harmony with oneself and with others. I have found in every word a certain musical value, a melody in every thought, harmony in every feeling; and I have tried to interpret the same thing, with clear and simple words, to those who used to listen to my music. I played the vina until my heart turned into this very instrument; then I offered this instrument to the divine Musician, the only musician existing. Since then I have become His flute; and when He chooses, He plays His music. The people give me credit for this music, which in reality is not due to me but to the Musician who plays on His own instrument.

-Hazrat Inayat Khan