Tag Archives: hermitage

V :: If He Opens a Door for You

I ended my retreat with two concepts that were entirely new to me. One is from Wayne Muller: Resolve to go through an entire day assuming that you are trustworthy, that all your feelings are accurate, that all your perceptions and intuitions are reliable.Legacy of the Heart Give that concept three hours of journaling. GiveContinueContinue reading “V :: If He Opens a Door for You”

IV :: Unearned and Unearnable

My spiritual advisor JMD had encouraged me to explore God’s love through the Sufi mystics. I associate sin and God’s love with Christianity, obedience and God’s mercy with Islam. Islam is safe and quieting and beautiful in obedience and mercy. When I meditated on the Love of God, I realized its scope. Unearned. Unearnable. AndContinueContinue reading “IV :: Unearned and Unearnable”

III :: The Snake Lady Explores Obedience

I converted to Islam in 1988. I tell people: “I chose Islam because I need lots of rules to tell me I’m doing it right.” Obedience is often considered a lesser form of religious expression. In our culture there aren’t a lot of opportunities to talk about obedience and I had not developed a vocabularyContinueContinue reading “III :: The Snake Lady Explores Obedience”

II :: Woot to a 13th Century Egyptian Sufi Sheikh

I was amazed by what I found in Sufi mysticism. Ibn ‘Ata’Illah’s Book of Wisdom sang of God in verse as I have no language for. He captured exactly what I think, what I feel, how I approach God, and what I struggle with in prayer. What I’m trying to say is, he nailed itContinueContinue reading “II :: Woot to a 13th Century Egyptian Sufi Sheikh”

The Hermitage X: Making Plans for Progress

So, I’ve been back for about a month now and I wanted to check in on my progress. After I returned, a Muslim friend of mine who recently went on her own retreat advised MAKING PLANS when you got home to keep up the momentum. PrayerDaily prayer is again a part of my life, whichContinueContinue reading “The Hermitage X: Making Plans for Progress”

The Hermitage IX: Arriving Back in Lansing

The weekend after I got home, I had a dinner date with my friend Dragon. We met on Saturday at bookclub at the library where I work. She’d texted me that she was interested in hearing about my time at The Hermitage, but I was feeling shy. I didn’t want to sound like I’d goneContinueContinue reading “The Hermitage IX: Arriving Back in Lansing”

The Hermitage VIII: Winding Down My Retreat

As my last few hours wound down, I spent more time in the company of others. Silent company, but community nevertheless. I took my knitting to the common area after packing up my room and changing the sheets to begin to reaclimatize. After lunch, I said goodbye to my friend, thanking him for being theContinueContinue reading “The Hermitage VIII: Winding Down My Retreat”