Postneshin Jelaluddin Loras

Our heart cries when we have no respect and love of each other. We can receiveand give
with pure hearts, insh'allah. If you do not have the ear, you cannot hearthat.

One spark burns a whole forest. One sparkle is enough for me. Don't blameothers.
That is bananas (crazy), Look at yourself. People are depending on you. Weare the
precious of God.

on pilgrimage

Slowly and surely we have to learn what pilgrimage is... the way of learning.There is the idea or intention to get baraka from all the saints - Christ,Zoroaster, Mohammed... Open your mind and reach for the gold in each of us.This lives forever. This is the saint that lives forever. Sefer Baba saysthe dead body can hear, but cannot talk. Every single part (of the body)demonstrates what it is to pray. Even as our body dissolves in the earth,every single particle of dust has language, has prayer. Saints are alivein the heart of the one who believes. That is how I see. Nothing accidentallyhappens. God knows all things. This is the path of Sufism...come, come again.

new names

The following is Jelal's commentary upon giving Salih and Gulshen their Sufinames in Istanbul, October 23, 1997.

A name arrives from what we characterize, the state in which we live. Inour order, we are not mureeds or disciples. We are friends. If you have anew name, you deserve it. The new name does not make you different from whatyou are. Your parents gave you the right name. You bring that name with you.I am a witness. I have a Rose in the Portland community, (Gulshen). Gailfor me is the rose in the rose garden. The rose is the smile. The rose representsLove. My brother Seth, his devotion brings me to the name Salih, the manof devotion.

Mevlevi family camp

There is only one reason for a Mevlevi family camp, and this is for growth.Let go...share our fragrance with each other. We wish to worship God. Godis need less. God does not need our prayer. The truth I believe is more thanacademic knowledge. It is the truth of the heart, of experiences, the knowledgeof HAQ. When the heart cracks like the shell of the nut, this is the mostprecious moment in someone's life.