Meeting Notes Nov. 18th

We were 5: H, T, J, D, U. B stayed home with K, and M stayed home with E - everyone's been feeling the fear of sickness in the air with all the H1N1 news. We missed B's notetaking, but half way through I decided to take notes.

We debriefed the logistical business of Shahabuddin's workshop The Art of Conscious Death. We talked about starting a ritual gear box, in addition to the tea/coffee/food box, with Volume 5 of the Sufi Message, which contains "Aqibat", and The Soul's Journey for death work, and Ziraat & Universal Worship & Healing altars & papers & Dance of the Soul, so we can do the rituals at the drop of a hat.

We talked about how Shahabuddin's work last spring on the "caravans" of incarnation intersects with this fall's work on the soul's journey. But I can't remember the great things that were said on this topic.

We wondered about the function of the yahrzeit candle and saying kaddish at the yahrzeit - they're not to bring the soul back close to the earth - what are they for? H says she thought you said kaddish for those who can't say it any longer.

I told my story about the train transfer station metaphor for the transfer of impressions in the jinn realm. Beings leave the angelic realm are like folks moving from Hawaii to Minnesota, but without any information about the destination - they know they'll probably need something. Beings leaving the earthly plane are like folks moving from Minnesota back to Hawaii, never to return. The outgoing won't be needing that winter hat, no more gloves, parka, heavy socks, so they strip them off and leave them at grand central jinn station. The incoming look and say "hey, that looks great!" and pick up two left boots and 5 purple gloves, and head to earth. That's how impressions get traded, and it looks like reincarnation of certain traits of a person, but is maybe more like a big recycling bin.

There were several realizations from the workshop.

• The jinn realm isn't just the mind world, but is the mind/heart world.
• A system of 3 layers is manageable, unlike those systems of 7.
• Eliminating past and future lives gave someone great relief and the sense of the immediacy of life.
• One ray changes in density, but is simultaneously available to all levels when in touch with the densest.

And from the walking the planes exercise, specifically.

• H was saying she expected to feel more resistance to entering the earth plane, but seeing Shahabuddin standing at that gate as the guide reminded her there are guides with us.
• J met someone she knew from outside the workshop, but didn't want to talk.
• Someone liked that the portapotties were part of the earthly world.
• I took pictures and we talked about the need for permission before publishing them on the website.
• We noted the places of hesitation, the varying length of time it took people, the feeling of missing something when you left one of the realms and passed to another.
• Someone said you're not really you when you leave the physical.
• Someone else noted the seamlessness of those coming in as you're going back or the other way around. We're not alone.

D noted that a whole level of fear of death has evaporated from her life as a result of this workshop. She put some plans in place for death maybe 15 or 20 years ago, but it's time to revamp, and others of us don't have anything or barely anything in place. In the past, Shahabuddin has given "write your own obituary/funeral/plans" as an exercise, and we're thinking of taking it on together anyway.

Someone tells the story of a former murid's mom who came to him after her death and said Hazrat Inayat Khan was right about what happens after death.

J counted 106 people at the Wednesday evening presentation. Nobody decided to attend the whole weekend from trying out Wednesday night, and only one of the two people who asked for the open evening was there, but we saw lots of people you don't see often, and some people we'd never seen before.

We'll need a new space for April, for a continuation of dying work, for 65 people, with wheelchair access and carpeting. We noted a couple places to check out.

We tried to make a date for next month, gave up, hugged and went home.

T.