Hazrat Inayat Khan
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- Marie Rubeau on Verena Karima Paripurna Hochheimer
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- Rahmana Dziubany on Verena Karima Paripurna Hochheimer
- Heather MacLeod on Shemmaho Daystar Jephi Sioux
- Saki Lee on Mikhail David Horowitz
- Amy Bean on Zakir (Siddiq) Richard Jacobs
- Nizam Ellen Ash on Maria Christina Fernandez
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Even as recently as mid-November, dear Ishwara reached out to me after a Zoom to offer her presence and support if I wanted to talk. She and I did not have the chance to get to know one another aside from some gatherings where we shared space over the years, and yet there she stood with me, ready to serve, even so close to the end of her own time here. I feel deeply grateful for her generosity of Heart. Fly free, Ishwara!
Friends,
I’ve included a poem that Ishwara sent to me this past June. The poem was inspired in her dance with the wazifahs and
how that dance manifested in her life journey of being human.
Unwinding the threads
Unraveling the trauma
Tight turmoil loosens its grip.
Love stretches its stiffened fingers,
Our ligaments soften.
The light in our bones becoming more visible,
Our softened fabric,
An Ishq-filled hand,
Touches our heart.
Hu.
Ishwara Thomas 6/12/20
I’d never gotten to know this beautiful aging lady until a retreat in Washington State last year, but Ishwara opened up as a great friend to me during those few days — we chatted often and I felt so unexpectedly close to her. I am missing her lively energy, and wishing her a peaceful and joyous new life in the hereafter.
Bringing back my memory of dear Ishwara, I feel the softness of her gaze and her warm, enveloping hugging. What a deep and beautiful soul. The night I learned of her being in transition via the email shortly before she passed, as I lay in bed I was lifted to such an extraordinarily high and beautiful plane that I felt it was Ishwara and what she was moving towards. I was so grateful for that experience, unusual for me, and I felt I had experienced both the Presence that welcomes us home to the Unseen, and Ishwara in particular, gracing me with this frequency and the comfort and knowledge of her transitioning and well-being. Thank you, dear Ishwara. It was so sweet to have known you on the earth.
Ya Salaamo Dear Sister, Deep Spiritual Guide, Mother of All,
Ishwara
On the skirts of Mevlana’s Urs you have chosen to fly
On the darkest of days, you flood your hopeful light
and give to us, again and again
the boundless and forever,
the tender and
joyful and
highest wisdom
contained in
the love of the Holy One and
Ishwara.
Blessed are we who have known you.
Ya Fatah!
Our Beloved Ishwara established Teahouse of the Soul in Tucson, and so truly hosted this gathering of Friends that at one point at least five Sufi orders were present together in her home. She of the deep searching heart mind, knowledge, openness, and generosity was present, so present, with all people regardless of background, orientation, or belief systems. When she spoke, her voice carried and communicated this presence.
Ishwara, Rafia, and I enjoyed a year working together on Rafia’s book of poetry and paintings. Rafia wanted Ishwara to make a recording of the book because her voice beautifully expressed the experience behind the poems. In the trees outside her home, birds were always singing.
I’m ever grateful to this beautiful soul for her friendship.
I met Ishwara in the 1980’s when she returned to Tucson. She became active in the Tucson Center for the Message. Ishwara was a tireless worker for the Message and helped in producing numerous camps and retreats with Pir Vilayat Khan and others during the 1980’s and ’90’s. I departed Tucson in 2000, returning in 2015. We started meeting with others for a morning meditation on weekdays. These sessions were a wonder filled deeply felt connection as we worked our way through The Physicians of the Heart. I miss her.