As you may know, one of the requirements of this wand that I am forging is a gift from the author Elif Shafak. Why you may ask, So have I. In fact I have no idea. I came across a Turkish saying the other day…
“Divine guidance is to bring a man to perplexity”
Seems quite appropriate to my life for the last eight or so years. Going back to the gift, I have no idea how I am going to acquire that. It’s the universes problem. I will follow the path, such as it is. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed reading her books and highly recommend them. A mere month ago I literally devoured an offering by Elif called, Forty Rules of Love. It is a historical novel based on the meeting between the now famous Sufi poet, Rumi and an itinerant Dervish named, Shams (of Tabrize). A meeting that changed Rumi’s life forever.
As I read through the tale, I did fancy a resemblance between me and the travelling heart-seeker Shams. Although I do confess that that semblance vanished by the end of the book.
The Forty Rules that the title mentions are rules that Shams lives by and as the author mentions at the end of the book, are derived from the works of Rumi and Shams. We travel with Shams from the streets of ancient Baghdad to the village of Konya (home of Rumi) as he quests for an apprentice. As the journey unfolds so do the rules…
As I said, the book is a bit of a page-turner and I finished it in one sitting. I felt though that it deserved more reflection and so I decided to incorporate it into my daily routine for 40 days. One rule a day. Then I had a better idea, why not share it! With this in mind I created a group on Facebook and asked for people interested in following me on this journey. I am happy to call it a success even though we are only on Rule 16 today as I write this. If you feel inclined to, please come and join us here: Facebook Group Forty Rules of Love.
Not only is there a 160 people strong group but there is a trip to Istanbul and Konya planned and a live webinar workshop. It seems that from humble beginnings a veritable mountain of enjoyment is being created and enjoyed.
So you might be asking, what’s this got to do with Hedge Druid? Well, it is another thread along the sacred path isn’t it? Two months ago, I had no idea who Elif Shafak was and then, through journeying on this path, not only am I getting to know her quite well, but I will (as the path dictates) be meeting with her in the near future. I love it when the universes plan comes together.
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CHRIS: The aptness of Rule 13 almost made me cry.
