Beloved friends of Southwest Sufi Community,
Although you departed over a month ago, I can still feel your presence on the Land. I can hear the resounding voices as we held hands, sang and danced in our beautiful new Pavilion, as we gathered for those delicious meals, and as we crossed the creek to visit the dargahs of our Teachers. I still feel your closeness as I go about my days on this Sacred Land living in the vision of Pir Moineddin and Murshid Sam. Today I will visit the dargahs of our Pir Moineddin, Murshid Wali Ali, and the others whose voices linger in the wooded glen where their earthly bodies reside. I will listen closely, for they have guided me here, and continue to guide me as I join hands with my fellow communitarians to care for and steward this sacred ground into the future. Today, on this day of thinning veils, of magik and blessings, we reach back to our ancestors for guidance and courage, blessings and bestowal of grace to build a world of Love Harmony and Beauty for all. A very brief bit of SSC history here….. Our dear brother Yaqin Sandleben, was generous in his support of SSC in the early summer of 2005, when SSC was desperate for cash to make the final balloon payment to own the Land free and clear. Yaqin gave from his true heart of generosity by purchasing 200 acres of SSC land, and with this we were able to fulfill another initiation and secure a future for SSC. Of course, this was before my time living here, so I can only imagine the overwhelming anxiety SSC experienced again, and again, to make the payments, and the incredible reality of how many angels came forward in support! Deep gratitude to all the angels, the hard work of the residents, and the summer retreats, for today, SSC is a fully self-supporting 501c3 non-profit, serving the vision of an all-inclusive residential a spiritual community and retreat center. During Yaqin’s tenure as President of the SSC Board of Trustees, he led SSC through the process of creating the Conservation Easement. We now have a legacy that protects our portion of Bear Creek in perpetuity. 1450 aces of the total 1500 that make up SSC are in conservation. We have worked alongside The New Mexico Land Conservancy to create this legacy. We are joining with conservation organizations in New Mexico to protect and heal this living stream that flows through the desert of the Southwest as a tributary of the mighty Gila. It is a legacy we hope to enrich and expand through our continued love and devotion to this Land where our Pir Moineddin saw a vision for the future. The time has come and Yaqin is ready to sell his 200 acres so he and his family can be free of this encumbrance, and can use the money for their own destiny. They no longer envision building a home on this Land, realizing that that opportunity has passed them by. We want to prevent these 200 acres being sold to the highest bidder, becoming yet more pasture for more cattle, or worse a hunting playground with ATVs and modern cowboys who would likely degrade the quality of the creek and the Land, piercing the purity and symphonic silence in which we are so fully embraced. In our gratitude we seek to fulfill the wish of Yaqin and his family, returning to them the generosity they once gave. And for this we need help. A little about the 200 acres….. Two sections of Bear Creek flow through this Land in a canyon with beautiful river benches. The same species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, riparian plants and insects that our conservation easement protects are present on Yaqin’s Land. The old riparian forest of huge sycamore, junipers, pinyons and other trees provide a rare ecosystem with a year-round stream. Much of this land is fenced. There is also a potential 5-acre homesite if the remaining 195 acres were protected with our easement. Through our continued partnership with The New Mexico Land Conservancy and The Center for Biodiversity, we have an opportunity to raise half of the funds to purchase Yaqin’s 200 acres. This is where we need your help. We need to raise $175,000. This may seem like a daunting amount at first, and yet we have experienced again and again the grace that comes from the generous hearts of Beloveds. If you are interested in contributing, or have the means to work with us as an angel, expanding our legacy and purpose, please contact me directly. As a 501c3 non-profit, all donations are 100% tax deductible. On behalf of the Board and Residents, with great love and gratitude for all that is, Bahaar SSC Board President