TRAVELING IN THE HOMELAND

In the Naqshbandi Sufi tradition (founded in the 1300's, a very fertile century) there are eleven principles for spiritual practice. One of them is entitled "Traveling in the Homeland."

Curious that I have come across this today, since we are leaving by airplane this evening to travel in our homeland, across the U.S., to arrive in New York tomorrow morning. The red-eye special, economy class, in poor weather!

The homeland the Naqshbandi's refer to is the interior homeland, that born and bred within our psyche that offers wrenching despair and ecstatic freedom and all the colors in between. The practice is learning to detach from identification with "me," regardless what colors arise, and move from a place of curiosity, welcoming the whole inner group home.

Imagine the 1300's for a moment. Remember how few had access to teachings (oral traditions that they were), and fewer still had the leisure to ponder shaping their spiritual ambitions. I imagine thousands living from hand to mouth, busily trading, harvesting, hunting, parenting, nursing various offspring for years on end. And I see gathering, as the birds are flocking now, like the 100 or so sparrows that were lined up on our telephone wire recently. Great gatherings that meant walking for days to come together to worship, trade stories, trade goods, make babies, and return home. And small gatherings to briefly rise above the demands of daily life in praise of the One. Always with music and respected leaders; And probably connected to nature's rhythms. And I imagine circles of folks, always circles, where everyone was included, gazed upon, part of the process.

How many were capable of looking into their psychic processes then is any one's guess. But these days it is an expectation of every layer of our culture, if not other cultures, that we are responsible for our outbursts and creativity, and we have the capacity to change the homeland for the better. Buddhism calls for welcoming the "hungry ghosts," who plant themselves in the middle of the dining room and refuse to leave until they're fed. Sufism's word is the "nafs," our small selves vying for autonomy. Hinduism embodies our inner world as elaborate characters full of mischief and service. Could we presume the psyche so longs to be known that we are now functioning more fully from our minds to embrace the hard work of transforming the darker characters into working partners?

When I travel I quickly fall into observation, neutrality and delight at the myriad of ways the One manifests. It's easier away from home, less is taken for granted. I think I'll make a special effort to observe my inner territory, check out who's home and who's hiding. We're heading to see my family which is fertile ground for wars in the inner homeland, or joy at reunion. Pilgrimage comes to mind, passing through, gathering and returning, and not becoming too attached to the other travelers, inner or outer!