One weekend please, fully loaded

It has been an eventful weekend, with lots of things going on. Friday night was a crazy and fun night at Fiesta Azteca with Jesica, Adam, Jeremy & Barry; Carey was spinning on the back deck. Sunday morning, I loaded and hauled a pickup truck full of trash out to the city dump. David Lavy & I got a little lost trying to find it. I then spent that afternoon with Heather and her 2 year old nephew Thaddeus, he is an adorable handful. I also did two loads of laundry - I am really not sure how I fit that in.

Dinner was a pleasant time with my Sufi brothers and sisters. We had a magnificent meal at Anatolia, a Turkish venue with the best Baklava in Nashville. The group then proceeded to Muhammad Jamal & Jamila’s home, were we did zikr. In Sufi devotions, zikr (or Remembrance) represents both a solemn ritual and a spiritual state of mind or heart, in which the devotee seeks to realize the presence of God. We ended the night with a delightful sharing of damiana tea which a friend, new to the group, had brought. We also had the unexpected blessing of screening a 1989 video of Pir Vilayat’s trip to India. Our Pir is such a character, so full light and humor.

Sunday morning, I cooked breakfast for Barry and Carey. Jim had some food too. We decided to go to Shelby Park to enjoy the morning air and the magnificent sun. We had a grand conversation and a revitalizing walk. Today was the day for Circle at my home, so after some time at the park we headed back to the house. The Circle of Spiritual Friends has been meeting at my home since its inception (about 3 months now) and I feel very blessed by the process/sharing we go through together. Today we had a slightly smaller group than usual. A few of our members are out of town and a several are getting ready to leave for their summer vacations. Jamal & Jamila with be going to Europe with Claire, while Caleb & Heather are headed to Australia. I see lots of adventure and stories to look forward to when they back. Meanwhile, the group here will continue to work on the exploration of inner space; the seldom charted, and sometimes even uncharted spaces of the soul.

Barry, Jim & I ended the day with a screening of “Being Julia.” Set in Great Britain, the movie had very good acting and a creative story line. A good movie all around, I enjoyed the surprise ending. I highly recommend it.