Sunday's spiritual discovery-Sufism

BAD! Kitty Art Studio
(above) pen and Ink on paper
"Making Magic" by: HMBT 2006
Sufism, what is it?
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By now, most of us are aware of the existence of Kabbalah, or the tradition of Jewish mysticism. However, mysticism can be found in many belief systems, and Islam is no different. The central belief of Sufism (an ancient branch of the Muslim faith) is that love is a projection of the essence of God to the Universe. Sufis believe that love is all around us - quite literally - in everything and everyone. Indeed, they say, the totality of existence (good and bad alike) is a reflection - and manifestation -- of God... and that we can find God within ourselves!

Sounds kind of "New Age" doesn't it?

Dervishes - or people of the Sufi faith - believe that God wants to recognize beauty. In turn, they believe God sees, in each of us, himself within the dynamics of nature. In other words, we're all divinely inspired expressions of god - just as we are, no matter how flawed we perceive ourselves to be.

So what is the aim of Sufism?

The goal of the Dervish is to let go of all notions of duality (and therefore the individual self) and realize the divine unity of all things. In this purest form of existence, we become our truest selves, shining brightly as the aspects of god/the universal energy that we, individually are meant to personify.

But how does this translate practically? In other words, how does one practice Sufism?

Put simply, Sufism is a religion concerned less with worship than it is with personal experience. Like Zen Buddhism and Gnosticism, Sufism teaches that meaning can only be derived from life when one goes through the process of seeking truth, knowledge and the self. They also believe that the energies we need to do this are dormant, but inherently existent in each of us. Guides lead Dervishes through process work with the Six Subtleties (or Lataif-e-sitta, which are most relatable to the tantric chakras) and in turn, they are believed to become whole, realized human beings upon completion of the process.

What does this boil down to?

In short, Sufis are expected full, active participants in their lives. They seek to experience god by fully experiencing themselves. As one old Sufi metaphor goes:

"There are three ways of knowing a thing. Take for instance a flame. One can be told of the flame, one can see the flame with his own eyes, and finally one can reach out and be burned by it. In this way, we Sufis seek to be burned by God."

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I have studied many of the worlds faiths, ancient and new. It's a hobby of mine. Sufism is really interesting to me because it is ancient and full of great stories, and it's really a religion about the celebration of life. I do not subscribe to any one faith myself, I do like learning about them and what I learn always influences my work. I did a huge series of works a few years back (all sold now) about the dervishes, Rumi (My favorite sufi mystic and poet) and seeing God in everything around me. The beauty of being alive, the magic in every moment, the grace and edge of hell that can come with every breath. I thought Sufism was brilliant at showing humans a way to live with Passion and Grit.

The above drawing is one of my private, not seen by the public eye, journal pages. I draw and write in my journal daily, the practice has brought many paintings and artworks to the surface and saved many others from the depths of memory.
I thought it would be nice to share some of them here with you, every once in a while.

I hope you enjoyed the information and the peek inside my private diary.
Happy Sunday to you.
Live with Passion today!
Heather
www.badkittyartstudio.com

Passion Tree

'Passion Tree'

Oils on gallery wrapped canvas

needs no frame, ready to hang.

24" X 36"

2005

Never before offered for sale...

Now $350.00 + Shipping

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"Trees serve as homes for visiting devas who do not manifest in earthly bodies, but live in the fibers of the trunks and larger branches of the trees, feed from the leaves and communicate through the tree itself. Some are permanently stationed as guardians of sacred places. "

Source: Hindu Deva Shastra, verse 117, Nature Devas

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Passion Tree is a work about love, faith, and of course passion.

I was making inspired love to my Mate Man one day, and while in the throws of passion, I found this painting in my head. After the cuddling, and soft words I ran to the studio to get it down. When there I painted for 8 hours straight, in a flurry of knowing and my expression of love. Overcome by the vision, and power of the love I feel for this wonderful man that I get the privilege of living, loving and learning with, I painted like a woman possessed.

My tree is in close-up, you can only see half of my passion because it is so great, huge, and sometimes overwhelming that I wanted to only share a portion of it with the world. He is a marvel of strength, and he has never once said to me, "you can't do that." He has never doubted me, my abilities, or lost faith in me, our family, or our love. I painted this painting as a testament to the world, that in the 12 years we have been together, I have never felt so loved, supported and accepted, for who I truly am at any given moment.

For those things and so much more, I love my man.

I hope you enjoy the work too...

the painting is much better in person,

the depth of color, the highlights,

the textures are lost in this photo...

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com