My vision for the future of the Abode of the Message and the Sufi Order as revealed to me this date at the Abode Meditation Hall during the morning attunement led by Taj Inayat on the occasion of the Abode’s 40th reunion.

Dear Pir Zia,

I. Background

It was raining. Which of course means Pir Vilayat was present. I was struggling, like usual, to meditate without getting distracted, and stay focused and concentrated. I am not a particularly adept practitioner of the art; nor am I what one might refer to as the most knowledgeable Mureed. All the more startling for me to receive this vision. I am a doubting Thomas, though that would be a kind understatement. I share this because it demonstrates the power of the vision for it to have pierced so thoroughly and so completely this thick exterior. Had it not been for Melissa I would not have been there at all. So thanks to her, and to all who through their action, or inaction, had me in the right place at the right time to get this transmission.

We are at a crossroads, and we have been struggling with which of the many paths before us is the one to take, or even if we have found all the possible paths to choose from. It is a puzzle. The puzzle being: What is the future for these two entities so near and dear to our hearts? Over the course of the reunion this had been THE topic of discussion. It had been going on well before the reunion with an online forum being the primary board upon which all who cared to post their thoughts did post. I had stayed away, but was kept informed by my beloved wife, Vimala, regarding the main ideas. I could see how the dialog was affecting her, and chose to stay away. However, I did read the response by Pir Zia to the question: where would he reside. My reading is and was that where the school of esoteric studies, Suluk, is, is where his abode will be.

The Abode of the Message as I have envisioned it since my arrival in 1982, barely three months since I had been initiated by Pir Vilayat, which was barely a month since I had learned of his existence or of our order of the Sufis, has always been the location of the esoteric school. The Abode community, as I envisioned it, was the school’s instructors, administrators, staff, buildings and grounds, cooks, in short all of the things that make a college work. Because of the nature of the school, esoteric studies, all of these people would be a living teaching tool. This perception was a natural outgrowth of my own experience as I had been, until my arrival at the Abode, a college student in my third year at school in Maine. It was there that my formal education of Sufism began when in the course of my studies I took a course on mysticism and another on Islam. In each I did a paper and presentation on Sufism. I was smitten. Dis-satisfied with college

and only interested in Sufism, I landed at the Abode. There is of course more to this than that, and I’ve left out a Sufi Saint from Herat, but that is for another day.

II Understanding the Vision

In my vision I saw the Abode’s past, present and future. I saw all who had been there and were there, and I saw a glimpse of those who will be there. I heard the voices of all who had spoken in the days before. They were all pieces of the puzzle and they all fit together. It was clear and powerful and put me in unfamiliar territory.

The puzzle is complex with many pieces. Pir Zia is the border. Anyone who has ever worked a jigsaw puzzle knows you start with the border. It is the key. It holds all the pieces and gives shape, form, and meaning to the image. It is essential.

In less than 12 hours from the time of my vision I found myself outside in the courtyard having just come from an impromptu meeting of the SOI Board members still present and convened at Pir Zia’s request. This to me is proof positive of the power and truth of the vision as it clearly and convincingly resonated with all those with whom it was shared and propelled me from a somewhat hesitant participate at a morning session to Pir Zia’s office with people with whom I’ve had little to no contact before, and who have had none with me. Yakin excepted.

As I get further in time from the vision, fog is clouding my memory and it is harder to remember the details. The central message remains clear. Perhaps if I were more adept at this sort of thing I could hold it longer. It is so very quick, over in an instant or so, but it is filled with so much.

III The Vision

1. Suluk

The Abode is not the place for the Suluk Academy. It is not a good fit.

Pir Zia’s mission is the school. It is what he must do and we must help him.

The school needs to be in an urban environment where it will be more easily accessible to more people. The way to spread the message far and wide is to be where there are more people to hear it. We are living in a time and in a place where the popular perception of Islam is that of an increasingly barbaric, unforgiving, rigidly dogmatic, religion. We are a counter weight to that perception, and an antidote, and we need to be more visible. This requires an urban setting.

2. The Abode The Abode remains an intentional community.

Housed in the former South Family Shaker buildings, it was built to be an intentional community. It is part of our divine inheritance. We were entrusted with its safekeeping. Its future may not be the same as we know it today, but, the Abode of the Message was unlike the South Family Shakers as well. If, when the Abode was founded, there had been Shaker Brothers and Sisters living there, opening their home to a new venture, different yet kindred , would we have shut them out after becoming ascendent. No, of course not. The same will be true of the future Abode. How nice it would have been, and how wonderful it will be, to do the transmission in person rather than through time and space.

It remains a Sufi center.

It continues to be a retreat center.

It is the summer home of Pir Zia.

His refugee from the heat and cacophony of city life. The Berkshires are famed for being a summer home. No less an august group than the BSO makes its summer home at Tanglewood. It would be fitting for our conductor and his orchestra to do so as well.

The mountain camp remains for that purpose: a summer camp for the school and related

programs.

We cannot all make it to Chamonix and need this type of presence and experience here.

It will be more Earth based.

The farm will continue.

We all must eat and what better way than through the Abode Farm.

I clearly saw Evan and the horses in the fields. This vision is particularly strong.

Personally this is difficult for me to state. Evan and my beloved daughter, Sarah, are partners and conceived this farm, but her visage is not as clear. She has a role, I believe, and it is, I further believe, in attracting young artists, writers, farmers, musicians and other young people of kindred souls. I am proud of Sarah and her accomplishments and potential but I did not see her the way I saw Evan in my vision. Now, even as the fog grows thicker, I still see him clearly. The night before my vision Evan and Sura had a very deep and insightful discussion in the back dinning room. I saw they were deeply engaged on the topic of the Abode’s future. I now believe my presence there was to witness the exchange. Sura will have her say on this, but the farm is very important to the Abode’s future. The herb garden is also of great potential. I have seen these kids work and their potential is significant.

Suluk requires initiates. The Abode does not.

To limit admittance to initiates only is to limit the talent pool needlessly. The right balance will be struck, but only though the trial and error of self governance. We should be mindful that of the entire Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village there was only one Church Family but many other Families like our own South Family, now the Abode Family. People come and go. Some stay and get initiated. This was the Shaker experience. It has been the Abode’s experience.

IV Argument

I see two beautiful flowers, distinct and complimentary. They share the same pot and their roots have become entangled and pot bound. They need their own space to flourish and grow. If they stay in the same pot neither will reach its potential and either, or both, will eventually die. Too many the solution is a choice between: 1, staying together as now, ignoring the inevitable, consciously or unconsciously, and hoping for a favorable outcome; or 2, killing one to save the other. I see another path: to separate them with care so minimal damage is done to each. The problem it is said is we lack funds for another pot. I see we do not. I see what we lack is a plan of action; and to a lesser extent a skilled gardner (or gardeners) to oversee the separation. Though I think in actuality we have them. When we have a plan and a leader(s) the funds will follow. No one has said they will not help, but, everyone wants to know before they help what they are helping.

Pir Zia is not the leader for this task. It will be too time consuming and take too much away from his core mission. It must be delegated to another person or persons. Four things will need to happen. 1. A new home will need to be found for Pir Zia and Suluk.(I have suggested Detroit as it is urban, centrally located, is begging for people to come and settle there and thus has inexpensive housing stock, and has a large Muslim population. Nothing is written it cannot be replicated to other environs here and overseas as well.) 2. The Abode will need to be in-powered to take over self governance with all that entails. 3. Funds will need to raised for Suluk’s move and the Abode’s transition. 4, The legalities of the separation will need to be achieved. Of the four the last may prove the most difficult.

I heard the voices that love the Abode and feel they have no say, no place, and they are lambs to slaughter who must go, and in doing so take with them all those Abode Family Members who came before with them, and see this wonderful place meet its demise at the hands of those who do not know or do not care. I also heard the voices of those who see how the SOI struggles to keep both plants alive with finite resources, and believe they may have to choose to remove a limb to save the body, even though others see it as removing the heart.

In this moment we have a crisis. We all can see that the status quo will not work. What equally will not work is blame and finger pointing. We must all be on board and pulling together in the same direction and in harmony. I saw this too.

The parable of Mt. Rd. School was seen. It was time for the school to go. It was no longer a good fit. It is now thriving and growing, and valuable space was re-acquired. But, the way it was handled lacked the care to prevent minimal damage to both. A longterm relationship suffered harm which could have been avoided. We can avoid this.We thank MRS for teaching us this lesson

Suluk and Pir Zia, like MRS, must find a new home. The Abode must remain a community of Sufis and other seekers, and kindred souls whether known or unknown.

We must make this happen, together. It will not be easy, it will not be painless, it will not be free. But it will work. I have seen it.

V Conclusion

Thank you for listening. It has been an exquisite, enlightening experience. I am, and will no doubt continue, processing what has happened. I am deeply appreciative to all of you who have helped guide me through this. I would like to especially mention Taj whose morning attunement, of which I have no memory but have know learned from others was a powerful Masters, Saints and Prophets, got things really rolling, and who then took the time to help me afterwards come to an understanding of what I was experiencing. And Pir Zia, who listened and brought together those who also needed to hear. I quite forgive you for that ice ball you drilled me with in the back all those years ago on a snowy day in the courtyard. Your father was nearby and you ran to him for protection when you saw it had struck home, and hard, and its recipient was not in a forgiving mood. I got hit by another one even harder this Sunday morning. Guess good pitching arms run in the family.

I am, and remain, at your service. Gabriel