ALNOOR LADHA >
Political Activist/ Visionary / Writer

sufi lineage holder

When I was about five years old, my uncle started spending summers with us in Vancouver. He was a professor of Islamic history and philosophy at McGill and was a well known Sufi mystic, heretic and rabble-rouser. Given his teaching schedule, his penchant for making trouble and his lack of faith in my social context (which included a rough neighborhood in east Vancouver and an absentee father), he decided to spend some focused time with my brothers and me. 

His first lesson to us on Sufism was, “Allah is a metaphor for the universe becoming self-aware. There is no Allah up there. Allah is everywhere. All there is is Allah.” His second lesson was, “Sufism is the practice of becoming conscious of both the inner and external self-awareness so eventually you will only be able to perceive the Oneness which is Allah itself.” His final lesson that first day was “If anyone tells you they ‘know’ what Allah is or what Sufism is, they’re not a true Sufi. To be a seeker is to be involved in the conscious application of mystery and not-knowing so that true wisdom may choose to present itself through you. This is Haqqiquat.” 

Those initial lessons developed into much deeper layers of unknowing. They became the un/foundations of both my political and spiritual practice. If the universe’s evolution included my consciousness, then what I desired for the world was a part of the universe’s own desire(s). This initial insight led me into a life’s work in political activism working on issues of ecological breakdown, impoverishment and economic inequality.

I wanted the world to reflect the higher values of equality, altruism, generosity, interdependence, compassion and care. Knowing the universe was becoming self-aware through my consciousness also prompted me to deeply understand and critique the global operating system of late-stage capitalism. It helped me link the spiritual aspects of the struggle as I started to understand how my inner world is reflected in the external world and vice versa. 

As we approach the brink of civilizational catastrophe and collapse, I find myself in an inner renaissance of exploration around Sufism and other mystical lineages such as Taoism, shamanism, Tantra, etc. I find myself sitting with other Elders that hold a more ancient, ancestral wisdom that is connected to the callings and desires of an animate Earth. I find myself yearning for these teachers, both individuals and communities, to share their teachings more broadly so more humans can become self-aware of both our inner states and the consequences of our actions. This quest has led me to the work of Awakening Spirit. In the process of humbly approaching wisdom carriers and asking what knowledge they want to share with the world, I am also learning to listen more deeply, to develop my own epistemology of not-knowing, to refine my vision for the post-capitalist, post-anthropocentric, post-patriarchal, post-colonial worlds that are emerging through the re-telling of stories of ancient futures that could be, and that are already here. 

(Based in Costa Rica)