In the orchard and rose garden
I long to see your face.
In the taste of Sweetness
I long to kiss your lips.
In the shadows of passion
I long for your love.
Oh! Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.
By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.
You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.
- Love Poems of Rumi, Deepak Chopra What does it mean to "stand outside yourself"? What is the nature of ecstasy and its role in this journey of human experience?
Featured in Link TV, this episode of Global Spirit, host Phil Cousineau explores the ecstatic state - a global phenomenon found in all kinds of spiritual, religious, and wisdom traditions. Cousineau is joined by guests Sobonfu Somé, author and teacher of African spirituality, and Andrew Harvey, a British scholar specializing in the works and teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi. This lively discussion is interwoven with video segments that transport the audience on a journey inside different cultural expressions of divine ecstasy, asking why and how ecstatic trance is practiced around the world, and why it fascinates so many people today.
This episode includes unique video footage of a Sufi Zikr ceremony in Turkey – the practice of remembrance that brings participants to an ecstatic state of connection with God. Also featured are powerful scenes of traditional and modern day trance rituals which uncover the altered state experience which people seek through dance, trance and spirit possession. The program features Orisha priestesses from Nigeria and Brazil, and Shaman healers from the Kalahari and Korea, all pulsating to a provocatively similar beat with thousands of young people losing themselves at an all-night techno-rave event in an Australian forest.
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The Journey Towards Oneness Beneath the seeming differences that separate the world's religions, there is a deep undercurrent of teachings that point in the direction of Oneness, or "Unity Consciousness" - the indivisible totality of all creation, all beliefs, all religions and of the universe itself. This program explores the concept of Oneness, and traces its evolution and expression through seemingly different religious and spiritual traditions. Physicist Ravi Rivindra and Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee bring a wealth of insights and revelations to the discussion, spanning the realms of both science and mysticism.
Click here to Watch.
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Sound of the soul: Does music have a special transcendent power? An inspiring antidote to religious fundamentalism and violence, SOUND OF THE SOUL ultimately reveals the essential Oneness among all faiths, so aptly expressed in the Afghan singer Farida Mahwash's closing affirmation: "Music has no religion, no borders, no boundaries. Music is the sound of the soul." This program features an interfaith discussion of the film with Marla Kolman Antebi and Sarah Talcott, organizers of Jewish and Christian interfaith youth projects, and Kabir Helminski, a muslim, sufi teacher and musician.
Click here to Watch.
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Lunch with Bokara: The Heart of Islam Islam is arguably the most misunderstood and also feared religion in the world today. Yet, few people know that sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, much like the core teachings of Christianity, is built around the concept of Love - Divine Love and love for all Creation. From the ecstatic bliss of the whirling dervishes to the multi-layered mystical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, sufism has recently become more well- known in the west, as a practice which promotes tolerance and acceptance among all peoples and faiths. Its a conversation with Qadiri Sufi teacher Shaykh Ahmed Sidi Kostas who talks about Islam, Sufi perspective of justice, veil and Divine intoxication.
Click here to Watch.
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More CEM Products Documentary that aims at the discovering Unity in Diversity 
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