(Be Here Now Network)
Omid Safi - Sufi Heart Podcast | Episode 15 Fireside Chats with Rumi: Love, Suffering and Illumination
Dr. Omid Safi begins a series of discussions around the teachings of Rumi that illuminates the path of our spiritual journey.
The Secret Heart of Rumi
Omid explores the origins of Fihi Ma Fihi, 72 short discourses with Rumi that effectively provides an intimate fireside chat with the 13th-century mystic.
Becoming Illuminated (9:15)
“The sun turns ordinary stones into rubies,” Omid examines this metaphor that Rumi repeats often in his teachings. He looks at how we can apply this richly layered metaphor in our spiritual lives.
“This is one of Rumi’s favorite metaphors, of the fact that transformation – illumination – is a possibility for everyone.” – Dr. Omid Safi
Starting With The End (22:00)
When beginning the spiritual path, many of us start where we are at – suffering, in our ego, and tarnished by our time in the world. Omid looks at another teaching from Rumi that offers a glimpse at what lies in wait for us at the end of our spiritual journey.
“One approach is that you start with people where they are – chained to their own ego. Chained in a way that they are almost powerless to resist their own urges. The prophet, in a way, is the liberator that takes people out of the bondage of the ego. To do that takes a people who are willing to look at their own suffering, brokenness and pain.” – Dr. Omid Safi