Passing Through

.............

I would go several days a week. Sometimes I would just go and hang out at the Mosque with the other Hispanic Muslimas.

That was a long time ago though.

I will keep you in my prayers.

.......

 Hi Natalia,

     Wow! You are so brave! No wonder you have so much knowledge! Did you go to mosque on Friday or Sunday? I am so glad that you joined the discussion!

Take care!

P.S. Today is a big day. I am praying for a miracle!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Yolanda it depends on where the prayers/meetings are held

At times only a thick curtain separate the women and men in prayers or meetings. In some places they have a flat television for them to see even if they are divided the way that I mentioned.

At other gatherings they may be in separate buildings. Again, they have one or more televisions for the women to see and hear clearly.  It all depends on what type of gathering it is.

How do I know? I once upon a time went to a local Mosque.

Dear Friends

I just finished this piece:

Path Of Excellence – In Your Destiny, In Mine, And Indeed, In Ours

Hope You Enjoy It :)

Dear yolanda

The men and women are kept separate, but they listen to the same sermon

The reason that you didn't see any women was because the Prayer Leader, Khamenei, was in front of the men .. The women were back there somewhere :)

Take Good Care,

PT

......

Hi! Nur-i-Azal,

      I bookmarked Roshan's website, his music sounds so beautiful!

Thank you soooo much! Take care!!!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

......

 Dear PT,

        I watched a lot of post-election protest coverage on TV 'cause I did not work during summer. I saw several Friday prayer videos on TV, the prayer was held in Tehran University, one time Khamenei was the prayer leader, the other time, Rafsanjani was the Friday prayer leader, I did not see one woman in the video....I saw all guys......I was wondering if women and men worship together or they have separate worship halls?

Thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.....

 Hi! Nur-i-Azal,

      Thank you for the links. I am listening to your friend's music at this moment. All of you have way more knowledge than me in everything....Thank you for your kind words...thank you..be very honest with you, I made a lot of foolish mistakes....I am not that great!..I am really learning here....I watched the American Indian videos in your blog 2 days ago, I watched 4 videos in total......I visited many National Parks and ran into American Indians many times, they are always super friendly to me and treat me like part of the famiy.....they thought I was American Indian....I told them that I am not, they were super disappointed.....I am not sure what religions they have.....I visited Saguaro National Park and watched a video in the visitor center....according to the video Indians feel saguaro cactus spirit and is sacred! It is kind of interesting.

Thank you and take care!!!

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro

 Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear Nur-i-Azal

It's always good to see you back

Please feel free to share with us your thoughts

Tks Again,

PT

Omnibus

Passing Through: as always you've nailed it in one.

R2-D2: The religions start becoming ends to themselves for a simple reason: self-perpetuation (i.e. survival instinct), money and a selfish claim to exclusive propriety which then is always on the prowl to out-do the competition and even take them over. Sound familiar? Organized religion is about big business, and nothing else, and the only way around this problem, as far as I see it, is for people to start creating and proliferating their own individual religions based around their own experience of the Spirit through the sacredness of the Earth and then encouraging others to do exactly the same.  

Yolanda: you are great!

BTW have any of you heard of a performer named Rainer Scheurenbrand? The highlight links to his Myspace where you can listen to a few tracks from his latest album JARDIM. There's a strong Brazilian Jazz influence in his work. He's German but also calls himself Roshan. Check it out...

Also check out my good friend Darpan.

May the Force be with ya'll good people! You're the Torches shining in the darkness around these parts ;-)

.....

Hi! Humility,

 You are very welcome! Take care! 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

...........

 A Song for Peace by Kitaro

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.......

 A Song for Peace

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Thanks yolanda!

I enjoyed all the videos - You've good taste!

.....

 Dear PT,

     Thank you for embedding the videos. Thanks! Thank you for answering my questions. The Azan sounded like a singing to me. It is like a solo without musical accompaniment. Wow! Sufism has a lot of Chinese connections, I got to read it closely this weekend. Shahram Nazeri music sounds like Uighur music to me. They use very similar musical instruments, like handrums......Thank you for showing me how to embed the video. I am so happy that I learned a new skill!

Take care!!

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda) .

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear yolanda

All of the videos in your batch from the Chinese Muslim girl down are beautiful:

My favorites are:

First, 

and then,

and, finally:

Thank You Very Much Sweetheart :)

PT

.....

Here is Kitaro's video, Caravansary, it shows mosques from different places and from Iran including the Jameh mosque in Yazd, the one which appears in Iranian currency:

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.........

Hi Humility,

  Here is another Kitaro's masterpiece, Dawn/Rising Sun

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear yolanda

I am going to e-mail you on how to embed a video

I'll also leave another comment after listening to this beautiful selection,

Tks,

PT

......

 Dear PT,

    This singer is a Muslim girl herself, the song is tailored made for her. I am not sure if people like her voice, the subtitles are probably in Uighur language with arabic alphabets:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdRTmcLpqnY

*********************

 This song is a country song by Canadian singer, Shania Twain, it sounds like a gospel song 'cause it mentions "Hallelujah"

 //www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5E4gzW9S4

********************

This is a super beautiful Persian song with a great message about "Peace", my Iranian Math teacher told me that the guy with sun-glasses fought in I/I war, and he is a very nice guy...I have listened to this song over 50 times, the guy has an amazing and mesmerizing voice: 

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtCo1--xo_k

********************

This is a buddha or Guan Yin dance. All the dancers are deaf, but they are amazing 'cause they have made the dance so beautiful and unique:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HpWkNsGCms&feature=related

********************

So far I have loaded Persian, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist videos, I will have more questions and discussion later!

Thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

.....

Hi! Dear PT,

     Do you know how to embed a video?

Thanks,

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

All Religions ..

are meant to be a vehicle to understand God and Divinity. However, unfortunately, they tend to end up becoming an end to themselves.

Completely forgetting their original intentions, and mission,

Sincerely,

R2-D2

Dear yolanda

Thank you for your comment

When Muslims pray in the mosque, there is no music played as in in a synagogue or a church

However, there is a call-to-prayer which is called Azan (or Adhan)

I do want to emphasize something about the Sufi aspect of Islam:

Sufism in many ways resembles the Gnosticism of Christianity

They believe in the true Experiential aspect of the Spirit Of God

For example, Rumi (Mowlana) was a Sufi - And his works reflect that

I need to also say that there are great many Persian artists, such as Shahram Nazeri, who incorporate Sufi teachings in to their music:

This is an example of his music 

If you go to YouTube, and search under his name, a lot of beautiful music comes up :)

Regarding women Muslims being prayer-leaders, etc., to be honest with you, I have never seen one - However, I would like to emphasize that in the Mystical traditions of Islam, as in the Mystical traditions of Christianity, potentially, anything is possible :)

Sufism and Mysticism, as in Gnosticism, should be able to break down the gender barriers as they are truly meant to Transcend such things :)

In a typical mosque, women sit on one side, and men sit on the other side - As far as I know, the sermons are pretty much the same

Please post the Music that you found on YouTube - I look forward to watching it,

Thanks,

PT

P.S. Please let me know if you have any additional questions

:)

I am your Prophet, and you are indeed mine, never forget that, not even for a moment
I am your Mohammad, and yes, you are my Jesus, now my sweet, sit down, and let me tell you, a story

and,

My brother Moses, and our friend Bahaullah, all claim to be Prophets of God
Our prophesy, and your spirit, yes my sweet, more blessed, than all Prophets put together, and now, sit down, and let me tell you, a story

P.S. Thanks yolanda for the charming music-videos - I really enjoyed them!

......

Dear PT,

       I don't dare to blog......I don't have the confidence....I am glad that I posted the videos here and it is OK with you. Thank you! I like music a lot! The music makes me very happy!

I got a question: When Muslims worship in mosque, besides sermons and prayers, do they sing hymns? 

Can mullahs be women?   When female muslims worship, is their service different from guys'? 

I found a muslim song on you-tube, do you mind if I load it here? The singer is a Chinese muslim girl, her song is about Islam. The singer is very pretty......but I am not sure if the singing is good. As you know, the whole thing is subjective, if you like it, you like, if you don't.....you don't.

Thank you!

Take care!! 

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"

Dear yolanda

Thank you so much for the beautiful videos

You may want to blog them so that others can enjoy them also :)

Please let me know if you have any questions about the piece

Peace,

PT

......

 Dear PT,

Here is my favorite verses:

All religion, no religion, yes my darling, let's embrace each other's spirits, and nothing else
Embrace God's Truth, unabashedly, with no reservations, yes my sweet, and now come, and let me tell you, a story

Every step you take, in the blessing of God, your very spirit, will be showered, with much anointing

Thank you so much! They are very beautiful!!!

Your verses remind me of my first name in my language meaning "easy-going and tolerant"! I do love harmony!

Here is a piece of New Age Music by Japanese composer, Kitaro, A Song for Peace, the music is the same, but the visual images are different:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy8nuc3UEZk

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATobFL1_z4I

Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)

"Cactus in the Desert"