As-salamu ‘alaykum, brothers and sisters and fellow travelers. We want to take a moment to recognize and address the difficult time we are in as a community and as a world. There is so much pain and difficulty happening in Gaza and the Middle East. What can we do? How can we help those in need and how can we help ourselves manage how we feel about it? The first answer–which is the real answer for every difficulty we face–is to remember Allah, subhanallah wa ta’ala. Sometimes, remembrance takes the form of being by yourself or in a group doing dhikr (e.g. tawba, al-wird, al-wadhifa, etc.). At ..read more

as it walks through the Stations of the Way This teaching from our holy sister Maryam was originally offered through the Sufi Center Minnesota earlier this year. Though the title and much of the content is about “healthy and holy bodies” the backdrop is a practical and insightful journey through the stations of the nafs, heart, and soul. Maryam is gifted with a style of teaching that brings the sacred knowledge down to earth, making it more accessible and eaiser to understand. Her full transcript is included along with the link to the zoom recording of the original teaching that is being shar ..read more

View a powerful message of hope and healing for our community offered by SSC’s Board Chairman, Abdul Latif Howard New Initiatives at Feb. Sohbet At our next community sohbet on Tuesday, February 22nd, SSC has more to share about new initiatives and the light of intention that is bringing them up through the soil. We sent an email with some of the details, which you can read here. Our community is a living breathing ecosystem with a spiritual heart and a body that we all share. Each seed, each sprout, and each tree has its place and its unique needs. SSC intends to be the interconnected roo ..read more

Recently, a beloved I know of, but who I had never had a 1:1 conversation with, reached out to me. Last night we had a wonderful conversation. What came up was a sharing of how Sufism, through Sidi’s teachings, captured this beloved’s heart and how in the beginning of their walking their heart was drunk with awe and the unexpected aliveness of faith and experience of Allah with an endless quality to it. And then well-meaning beloveds in our tariqa came along with their perceptions of the religion, with their shoulds and “I know best” approach to the path, and they dampened the fire ..read more

How are you? As-salamu alaykum, beloveds! This is Shams Wesley (nee Deckter). I want all of you to know that I love you and I miss seeing your smiling, shining faces! Are you well? Are you feeling Allah’s love in your heart? I truly hope so. If not, you can reach out to any of us at SSC by commenting on this blog post or through the options on our Help page. One of My Favorite Teachings One of my favorite teachings is from The Path to Allah, Most High. I love this book so much! The mystical, spiritual, beautiful truths it contains just send my heart soaring. Do you remember the teaching “The ..read more

One Intention is to Serve and Support You Over this past year, SSC has held to one intention; to connect, listen, and serve the needs and hopes of our Shadhiliyya community. Behind this intention of service there is a greater intention–to inspire beloveds to stand in their truth and be the holy jewel that Allah, Most High has been preparing you to be for all of your life. Before Sidi passed, he stated, “I have given you everything.” Now is the time to actualize the gifts and the wisdom our guide entrusted to his students. In Music of the Soul, Sidi writes; “Keep your brothers and sisters spec ..read more

Moving Forward In 2021 we held many meetings with community and with the building officials on Napa County to consider all options for the future of the Land. We have decided to move slowly and keep listening for guidance as a clear vision begins to emerge from the Land before making any major commitment to rebuild. We have improved the road all the way to the new Land past the original Mother Center site which required the clearing of hundreds of dead trees and the grading and rebuilding of the road. We have begun to look into the natural springs on the New Land and are investigating what wo ..read more

Hi everyone! Please join us for our monthly community meeting tonight. This is an opportunity to bring up any questions, concerns, suggestion you may have for SSC, and it’s also a chance to connect as a community and share what’s moving in our hearts. This Month’s Discussion This month we plan to discuss the new website. We’ll give everyone an overview of what the website contains, how you can use it to support yourself and your community, and we’ll answer any questions you may have. We will also discuss a few new initiatives outlined on the website here and here  ..read more

As salamu ‘alaykum, beloveds. SSC hosted an open and hopeful update and sharing of intentions and vision for the Land in Pope Valley, CA, last Saturday, August 13th. Mahdi, Said Bin Yunus, and others shared their visions and answered questions. Beloveds could feel the light of what was opening and many offered support and encouragement. SSC intends to hold another special Land sohbet in mid-September so that you may all be a part of this important discussion as things continue to open. This is not a simple public works project, it’s becoming a real movement–a movement generated from a few tend ..read more

Building a Healthy Spiritual Ecosystem for our Community Beloveds, our intention is to open the door to a new way for us to live and be in community together. This past year, Murshid Marz Rida has been working with us to help us understand what a healthy ecosystem looks like and how this paradigm relates to our Sufi Community. It’s a way that is natural and based in our fitra. A way that responds to all of our needs in a holistic way when it is operating from a place of health, not fear. With Rida’s encouragement, we now see how natural ecosystems are examples that Allah has provided us ..read more