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1. The light of the full moon pervading the house

2. The refreshing feeling of ablution first thing after sleep - the water tingles on my skin

3. The comforting burbling of the coffee pot being the only sound

4. The sense that all the world is asleep, the day full of possibility not yet begun

5. Getting back into bed afterwards!

Posted by Satya at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

onight M. and I had a party to attend in the city from six to eight, though I wasn't able to break the fast until 7:06. We timed it so we could pick up some dim sum from our favorite place on the way, and I could eat it in the car as soon as the sun set, at which point we'd be arriving at our destination. These are the types of mundane little things that suddenly become quite important when you haven't eaten for thirteen and a half hours.

By six forty-five we were headed south across the Golden Gate Bridge, with the sun taking its time to descend into the ocean. It was an exquisite paradox between wanting the sun to set so I could eat and drink, and enjoying the utter beauty of the moment. If you've never seen it, the approach into San Francisco from the north is incredible at sunset. You round a curve from the hills and suddenly the whole area is laid out before you: to your left, Alcatraz, with the Bay Bridge and the Berkeley hills beyond - the water between is dotted with white sailboats. To your right, the endless ocean, perhaps with a lumbering shipping liner bobbing its way to destinations unknown. And in the center is San Francisco, a sweeping view from the Transamerica Pyramid and the tall skyscrapers of downtown to the small little houses nestled on hillsides, separated by the green swath of Golden Gate Park. As the sun goes down it pours rosy gold on everything, and the sky is still blue to the east and a nearly full moon is becoming brighter and bolder.

The smell of dim sum nearly overpowered me, but the hunger is the important part. The empty belly, the dry mouth, and the tender spot on my forehead from prostration. They're the offering and I give them all willingly - to ask for a prayer to be answered, to acknowledge a gift received, or sometimes - most of the time - just to say hello.

Posted by Satya at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

he first week of Ramadan is almost over, and I'm settling in I think. This morning I cracked the face of my alarm clock by flinging it off the nightstand when it went off at five. Oops. There is a slight cottony film over everything - hard to tell if it's from a disrupted sleep schedule or the fast. Sometimes I'm on auto-pilot from one prayer to the next. At moments I'll feel such a strong need for something - a cup of coffee perhaps - that it's almost hard to bear. And then it passes. When I get lonely I think of anonymous Muslims in San Francisco fasting along with me. I think of them lining up at Gordo at sunset, timing their transaction with the very moment they will be able to chomp into a hot, cheesy burrito. The fact is, I believe in the work of the spiritual path, in drudgery and hunger and longing. It's all right with me if it's difficult. For some of us, it's supposed to be difficult.

Posted by Satya at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ay one of Ramadan is in full effect. I guess "full" might be the wrong word, though, as I'll be fasting until sundown (at 7:23 PM here). I woke up at five for breakfast and fajr prayer, and it's only a couple hours later - just trying to get some work in before the hunger and thirst set in, and then I'll go back to bed until the next prayer time.

My complete disclosure is that I only pray five times a day when I'm observing Ramadan, which isn't every year - just when I feel compelled to do so. But when I am observing, the rhythm of the prayer cycle adds a lot to the experience for me. My day revolves around prayer, and the day is broken up into smaller segments instead of stretching out interminably. I also find that I have more mental space once the primal hunting and gathering instincts cease to rule during the day (okay, so I'm hunting in the snack drawer and gathering a handful of chips, but you get the idea).

This year I feel drawn to do it because it's such a huge time in my life. I turned 30, finished Suluk, and passed my first degree black belt test all in the span of a few months, and in one more give or take I'll be married. It's a good time in my life to enter a reflective and meditative state so that these changes don't pass me by in a blur of mundanity. And Ramadan, though difficult, is a good way to do that.

Read on if you'd like a more complete picture of what Ramadan entails.

More About Ramadan:
(These are the basics, but there are crazy technical points on all these things expounded in great detail elsewhere if you want to get down to semantics....)

The month of Ramadan is a lunar month beginning the day after the waxing crescent moon is first sighted (or calculated to appear in the sky). The fast begins each day at Fajr, the pre-dawn prayer, and ends at Maghrib, the prayer immediately following the sunset. There are two obligatory prayers (more are optional) between Fajr and Maghrib, and one more night prayer after Maghrib.

I usually get up in time to eat some oatmeal, yogurt or eggs, and fruit, and have a bit of coffee and some water before Fajr. Afterwards one abstains from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity until after Maghrib. You can brush your teeth and there is a purification ritual with water before each prayer, so that helps ease the dry mouth feeling sometimes.

At Maghrib I break my fast traditionally with dates and water, complete the prayers, and have a big old delicious dinner. Food never tastes so good as during Ramadan!

There is also a spiritual component of Ramadan where one fasts or tries to fast from obscene language, anger, judgement, etc. and give extra help to those in need. When Ramadan is over there's a big feasting holiday ('Eid) and I'm still deciding whether to throw a dinner party or not...

Just one more note about Ramadan: the days are getting shorter so the first day is the hardest, and it gets a few minutes easier each day. Because of the lunar calendar, however, Ramadan falls earlier and earlier each year. My first one was fabulous because it was the middle of winter and the sun set at around 5-5:30, but now it's a longer haul. I'm not sure if I would attempt Ramadan during the long hot days of summer, but props to all the Muslims who do.

Posted by Satya at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)