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A Way in the Wood
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A. Helwa, in her Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam tells of the "oil lamp" of her heart being lit up to the bliss of sacred Love -
I was born Muslim, but growing up I was never taught how to love and be loved by God. Eventually, as a teenager, I gave up praying, and for the next decade I wandered in search of something that would fill the emptiness of my soul. I visited mosques around the world, lived in a monastery, had spiritual experiences meditating with Buddhist monks, studied Taoism and Kabbalah, but I still couldn't find the inner peace I was seeking.
In my early twenties, I was traveling through a small town in Turkey called Cappadocia, when the divine spark of faith reignited within me like lightning. All it took was my eyes to fall upon a woman who was drowned in her worship of God. I watched her pray in an old seventeenth-century animal barn, as if nothing in the world existed but her divine Lover.
She did not robotically repeat words of prayer like a formula; rather, every word she uttered came with a silent "I love you, my beloved Lord." Her words were like synchronized dancers swimming in unison in the ocean of love that poured out of her. She was the first person I had ever seen in my life that not only prayed but she herself became the prayer.
I knew instantly that she had everything my soul had been seeking, but I still had no idea exactly what it was or how I would reach it. I was perplexed as to how I could suddenly feel at home in a strange land I had never known. ...
I know now that the beauty that I witnessed in Turkey was not just a woman in love with God, but God's unconditional love pouring upon her. It was the fragrance of this divine love that awakened the sleeping lion of faith within me.
Once the oil lamp of my heart was lit again, the dominoes began to fall - until I fell into the presence of an imam from the holy mosque of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, who would teach me how to water the seeds of love and faith within me. It was through the guidance of this elderly Palestinian man ... that my life would forever change.
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We never know what will light the oil lamp of the heart. However, it will be a relational experience. Someone, somewhere may say or do something that will speak deeply to us of Truth. The stimulating encounter may be more of an influence over time than one encounter.
Also, we need to live and be in such a manner that can inspire another to faith or a renewed faith. Like the woman praying alone in the barn, in ways we are not aware of or intend, our devotion, love, and faith are contagious. We can, like the praying woman, be a sacramental presence.
This woman was seen to be the prayer she was praying, a prayer flowing from and with love. Love is the most positive attraction, the most healing balm.
Do you trust being love is enough to touch the hearts of others deeply? Do you trust you can be love for others? What does it mean for you not only to pray but to be the prayer you pray? What is a sacramental presence? Who has been a spiritual inspiration to you simply through their being a loving presence? Who has been influential through their devotion to Spirit and, thereby, inspired you to grow in a like devotion?
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*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2023. Permission given to use photographs and writings with credit given to copyright owner.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
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