The Ziraat Concentration of North America

An Activity of the Sufi Order International

Home • Teachings •Symbology • Resources

Ziraat was inaugurated in 1926 by Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan of India, who taught in the United States and Europe in the early 1920's. Inayat Khan introduced the inner life to many westerners, and spoke of spiritual liberty and the underlying unity of all the world's spiritual traditions.

Ziraat uses the symbols and dynamic processes of agriculture as ways of describing the inner life, and as ways of finding a bridge between the spiritual and material worlds.

Ziraat is an initiatic school, open to all who feel a commitment to spiritual awakening and to the protection of this sacred world. It is an activity of the Sufi Order International, but one need not be a member of the Sufi Order to join. Initiation in Ziraat confirms a pledge to affirm and cultivate the divine seed within our being, and thereby to help in the preservation and restoration of our world.
......................................................... Sharifa Norton

 

For more information about Ziraat, please contact Sharifa Norton, Head of the Ziraat Concentration in North America at ziraat@earthlink.net.

An Emerald Earth

"A stirring Sufi call to the inner and outer work
necessary to open our hearts and to mend the world."
— Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
Full review at
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=19397

"...a mystical orientation that is accessible, relevant and eminently natural"

—Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Spiritual Leader of the Sufi Order International, Founder of Seven Pillars House of Wisdom and Suluk Academy

AN EMERALD EARTH
by Felicia Sharifa Norton and Muinuddin Charles Smith
ISBN 978-0-6152-3546-2
Price: $19.00
trade paper, 6 x 9, 192 pages

An Emerald Earth expresses the teachings of Ziraat in a way that is accessible to all, celebrating a natural spirituality rooted in everyday life. Drawing upon the universal teachings of the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan on the “natural self,” this book calls us to clarify the mirror of the heart and to restore our deep connection with all of creation. It likens the unfolding of our being to the process of cultivating a field or garden to bring forth fruitfulness. Our natural state is one of resonance with Nature, receptive to the beauty and creative of the harmony that ever seek expression in our lives. Incorporating meditation practices, rich teaching stories and poetry from Sufi, Buddhist and other mystic traditions, An Emerald Earth affirms the infinite power of the heart, pointing the way to an uplifted world and a spirituality that is grounded in service to all of life.

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

With the environmental crisis finally recognized throughout the world, is it too late? No! An Emerald Earth celebrates Sufi wisdom that, since its very beginning, has held the sacred green earth at its center. Today this wisdom guides us toward restoring ourselves and our relationship with the natural environment.

—The Very Reverend James Parks Morton, pioneer in sacred ecology, Founder of the Interfaith Center of New York, Dean Emeritus of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City

This book is filled with much gentle wisdom and its message is one of peace and service. I hope that the authors’ call for a life devoted to doing what is beautiful will find its way into many hearts.

—Tom Cheetham, author of “The World Turned Inside Out,” “Green Man, Earth Angel” and “After Prophecy: Imagination, Incarnation and the Unity of the Prophetic Tradition”

An Emerald Earth awakens the memory of the Ancient Call. A messenger reminding us to return Home. The authors offer a gentle invitation, a practical guide, like the Crow’s earthy caw, moving us deeper, yet again, into Oneness. Our clear vision is restored and our recognition of that primordial knowing that there is no separation…our true nature and Nature are indeed a Sacred Union.

—Roberta Mary Pughe, psychotherapist and author of “Resurrecting Eve: Women of Faith Challenge the Fundamentalist Agenda”

An Emerald Earth is an open invitation to those who are longing to re-discover the primordial harmony of the human soul and the natural world, both mirrors of each other and helpers to each other, both woven from the same cloth by the same Weaver. This wonderful book is constructed as an actual spiritual travel, using the stepping stones of meditation practices which guide the reader to experience how contemplation of the creation reveals human reality, and conversely how awakened humanity protects and elevates the creation to its own divine potential.

—Shaykha Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi, Spiritual Guide of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order

Available at Amazon and other on-line booksellers.

Please click here for more information
www.anemeraldearth.org

Authors
Sharifa Felicia Norton and Muinuddin Charles Smith are senior teachers and retreat guides within the Sufi Order International and the Ziraat tradition. Sharifa serves as head of Ziraat for the Sufi Order in North America . They founded and facilitate the Light of Guidance Center for Sufi Studies in NYC (www.lightofguidance.org). Sharifa dances professionally and teaches dance at the United Nations International School, and Muinuddin teaches leadership and group dynamics at Hofstra University. They are married and live in New York City, and travel internationally offering retreats and workshops on the Sufi path and on realizing the sacred in every aspect of life.

©2013 The Ziraat Concentration of North America