Different faiths turn and face one another

Dianne Brause

June 19, 2010

I left home and my conservative “Bible Belt” Ohio farming community in 1963. Then I joined the Peace Corps and have traveled widely ever since, exploring people, places, cultures and religions far afield from what I knew in Ohio.

I returned “home” every year to see family and friends, but always I felt myself as “alien” — not quite able to fit into the local belief systems that felt somewhat too narrow for me.

Recently, I have returned more frequently as my parents have aged. I moved back when it became obvious that my dad was dying. We put him into an assisted care facility and I continued to stay with my mother in the beautiful farmhouse he had built her years ago.

Occasionally, I would return to the West Coast for seminars, classes and training sessions in my most current spiritual tradition — the Mevlevi Order of America, a Sufi group that follows the teachings and practices of Jelaleddin Rumi, the now-famous 13th century poet.

In August, while in training with these “whirling dervishes” in Washington, I called back to check on my dad. They told me that his heart and lungs had just stopped for a time, and then, miraculously, he had come back to life! The nurse in attendance thought it was close to “a miracle.”

This December, I came to California where our group was performing the “Sema” — a ceremony choreographed by Rumi’s son after his death in 1273 and performed by Mevlevi groups each year around the world in December, in honor of this great teacher.

On the morning of Dec. 17, 2009, I awoke at 4:30 a.m. with a sense of my father. I called back and was told he had gotten up, been bathed and went back to bed. I sent my love. An hour or so later, I received the call that Dad had died peacefully in his sleep.

Then, in my e-mail I found a message that my friend, Esin Hanim Celebi (the 20th generation great-granddaughter of Rumi) had gone into the Shebi Arus “Wedding Night of the Soul” Sema ceremony commemorating Rumi’s death. It was being performed in Konya, Turkey, where Rumi lived, taught and was buried. I found that it was at the exact time of Rumi’s passing 736 years ago that my father passed away!

That night I, too, performed the Shebi Arus ceremony with my Sufi community, praying with each turn I made, that my dad would be swirled up in a column of light and aided by my turning to a glorious new life of light and joy!

I wondered who would meet him there? His deceased family members? Rumi? Jesus? God/Allah (Him/Her/Itself?) I do not know what happened for Dad, but for me it was an incredible miracle to know that throughout the world, people were “turning” in remembrance of Rumi’s “Return to the Beloved” — just when my dad (who had never heard of Rumi) was making that journey as well!

Dianne Brause is a semizen and teacher in training in the Mevlevi Order of America. As a Sufi follower, she respects the teachings of all positive and light-filled spiritual teachings. This column is coordinated by Lane Interfaith Alliance to offer inspiration, share personal spiritual experiences and bring a deeper understanding of individual faith perspectives with the intention of blessing our community and world. For information, visitwww.laneinterfaithalliance.org or call 541-344-0430.