Biography: Daveed Rhodes

Daveed has been on the musical path for all of this lifetime. He was brought onto the Sufi path in 2009
when he and his beloved, Shunya Caban, were invited to be musicians in the zikr circle on Kauai. Soon
after, he and Shunya met Leilah and Bodhi Be and began joining them as musicians. Daveed took
initiation with Bodhi Be and became a member of the Sufi Ruhaniat International in 2013.
He and Shunya have a strong connection with the SSC and lived there for nine months in 2023-24, and
still consider it their spirit home. Now residing in nearby Silver City, they remain actively involved in the
SSC community, as well as the Silver Sufi community.

Biography: Susanne

Susanne is a founding member of the Southwest Sufi Community.

So many precious teachers over the years have graced her life and tell much of her story; Thich Nhat Hanh, Prema Dasara, Anahata Iradah, Sheika Nurjamila Elliott, Sheykha Fariha, HH the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Thinly Dorje, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and HH Holiness the Dalai Lama.

She spent many years in her beloved Mother India.

She walks this precious land singing to all sentient beings, holding her family, this community, dogs, nestled in her heart. Susanne is a retired Waldorf kindergarten teacher.

Biography: Bevan

Being here at SSC these past few years has increased my love of life, our Mother Earth, and the divine feminine in general – these are interconnected in profusion all around one here. I’m continually increasing my recognition of this along with what Lynne McTaggart has to say:

“It has been demonstrated that all matter exists in a vast web of connection and that an information transfer is constantly going on between living things and their environment. We need to redefine what we designate as ‘me’ and ‘not me’, and reform the way we interact with other human beings, practice
business, and view time and space. We have to imagine another way to ‘be’. We have to blow up all
our societal creations and begin again, building over scorched ground.”

What my background has been in various disciplines, dreams and endeavors is not important.

Biography: Peter Lipa

Joined the Sufi caravan in 1979, and became an official resident of the SSC in 1997. Moineddin became an inspiration for exploring the inner life, and what has ultimately helped me become a witness/watcher on the path. Over the last quarter century have visited the SSC numerous times. Living there about a year and a half. Due to some health challenges have chosen to reside now in a more urban setting. Over the years have helped out where I could with many varied projects on the land and remotely. Served on the Board, and currently as an advisor.

Biography: Chant Thomas

Chant Thomas has lived in wilderness settings for nearly 50 years diving deep into the Wild, embedded in the embrace of Divine Creation. Chant first encountered Sufis in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park after an all-night Grateful Dead concert in December 1972. Sam’s tribe pulled him into Dances of Universal Peace and he wept with joy connecting with all those dancing eye gazers. Chant has lived at Southwest Sufi Community since 2020.

Biography: Waduda Welsh

Khalifa Waduda Welsh has been studying Sufism since the late 70’s. She has three daughters and six grandsons, and she enjoys sharing spirituality, sword fighting and nature with them. She is a leader of Dances of Universal Peace, a sufi guide and a mureed of Pir Shabda Kahn. Waduda serves SW Sufi Community in financial support. She is the Treasurer for Sufi Ruhaniat International. A CO native, she lives at the base of the mountains in Boulder.