Podcast
Sufi Heart with Omid Safi
Hosted by Be Here Now Network · EN
The Sufi Heart podcast with Omid Safi features teachings and stories about a sacred tradition of love, one that manifests outwardly as justice and inwardly as tenderness. Drawing primarily on the wisdom of the Islamic tradition as well as the legacies of the Civil Rights movements and other wisdom teachings, Omid invites you to a meditation on the transformative power of love and recalling the necessity of linking healing our own hearts with healing the world.
Omid Safi is a teacher in the Islamic mystical tradition of Radical Love, and serves as a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University. Omid’s passion for teaching has been recognized by his ten nominations for Professor of the Year awards.
Omid has published extensively on the foundational sources of Islam and Sufism. His Memories of Muhammad is an award-winning biography of the Prophet Muhammad. His most recent book is Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition.
He teaches online courses through Illuminated Courses on topics ranging from Rumi to the mystical dimension of the Qur’an. Lastly, he offers for the general public Illuminated Tours , spiritually oriented contemplative journeys and retreats which have brought more than 2,500 friends from over twenty countries to Turkey, Morocco, Andalusia, and now Umrah since 2002.
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Episodes
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Ep. 40 - The Thread Between Traditions with Joshua Michael Schrei
Mar 1901:20:07Tap to summarizeOmid Safi and mythology expert Joshua Michael Schrei explore the shared threads of spiritual traditions, discussing ecstasy, discernment, and the courage to cultivate a heart that becomes a refuge for others.This episode was originally recorded for The Emerald, a podcast that explores the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. Brought to life through the wise, wild, and humorous vision of Joshua Michael Schrei — a teacher and lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world — the podcast draws from a deep well of poetry, lore, and mythos to challenge conventional narratives on politics and public discourse, meditation and mindfulness, art, science, literature, and more. Subscribe to The Emerald on your favorite podcast app for more conversations like this!In this episode, Omid and Joshua navigate:The connecting thread between different faith traditionsThe mythic, the ecstatic, and the embodiedMaking contact with the mysteryBuilding spiritual rhythm through daily practiceReal friendship: holding up the mirror to one anotherStaying consciously open but maintaining wise boundariesSpiritual naivety, working on discernment, and being aware of self-justification Political activism and taking accountability for our own rolesMaking our hearts a garden in which others can seek shelterAbout Joshua Michael Schrei:Josh Schrei is a podcaster, myth teller, teacher, and a lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world—in particular the Indian subcontinent. Throughout a lifetime of teaching, study, meditation, and yogic practice, wilderness immersion, art, music, and public speaking, Josh has sought to navigate the living, animate space of the imagination and advocate for a world that prioritizes imaginative vision. Josh has taught intensive courses in mythology and somatic disciplines for more than 20 years. Keep up with Joshua on his website and stay tuned for fresh episodes of The Emerald. "When we re-find that ecstatic thread, then we find that thread unifies so many things that we once thought were disparate. The divine has always been accessed musically, through story, through art, in so many different ways, through mythic study. All of this is a different way of getting out of agitated consciousness and into a place where we can find that ecstatic experience." –Joshua Michael SchreiAbout Omid Safi:Omid Safi is a teacher in the Islamic mystical tradition of Radical Love, and serves as a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University. Omid’s passion for teaching has been recognized by his ten nominations for Professor of the Year awards. Omid has published extensively on the foundational sources of Islam and Sufism. His Memories of Muhammad is an award-winning biography of the Prophet Muhammad. His most recent book is Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition. He teaches online courses through Illuminated Courses on topics ranging from Rumi to the mystical dimension of the Qur’an. Lastly, he offers for the general public Illuminated Tours , spiritually oriented contemplative journeys and retreats which have brought more than 2,500 friends from over twenty countries to Turkey, Morocco, Andalusia, and now Umrah since 2002. "There is such a thing as the dark side of the force and there is tremendous power in it. There are people who derive their reason to live and ability to get up in the day from that very negative energy. I don't think it's the healthiest one, I don't think it's the most beautiful one, but to pretend that it's not real and merely an illusion I think that's setting yourself up for a very rude awakening. Maybe what you want is to hold up the mirror and say yes this has power, but is this the most beautiful way to live? –Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 39 - The Womb of Love: Feminine Wisdom & Embodied Islam with Willow Brook
Feb 401:10:16Tap to summarizeFocusing on the feminine side of religion, Omid Safi and Willow Brook express how divine love and connection transcend all binaries. This episode was originally recorded for the Wild Heart Podcast with Willow Brook - a podcast that explores divinity in daily life with themes of love, mysticism, grief as a spiritual path, and sensual embodiment. Learn more: Wild Heart Podcast | On YoutubeThis time on Sufi Heart, Omid Safi chats with Willow Brook about:Navigating this mass global suffering Tapping into love while going through crisis Remembering that the self and collective are wrapped up togetherConnecting to the lived experience of othersWhat it means to make love and beauty realLessons from great activists like MLK Jr. and Malcolm XHow essential black women have been in the civil rights movementExpanding our notions of love beyond the romanticThe divine mother and feminine wisdom within IslamDeeply knowing that we are never apart from GodHow we are all living in the same spiritual ecosystem, the same divine wombThe dichotomy of form and formless, body and spirit Love as embodied serviceAbout Willow Brook:Willow Brook is a love coach, interspiritual companion, and earth-rooted educator dedicated to helping people awaken to deeper intimacy, presence, and love. For over a decade, she has guided individuals and groups through transformational spaces around the world, weaving somatic intimacy practices, ritual, meditation, and song to support the alchemy of heartbreak into embodied and nourishing connection. Through her signature coaching program, Open to Love, Willow supports those who long for fulfilling and soulful relationships with their bodies, partners, and the divine but feel held back by the pain of the past. As co-founder of Wild Heart with Mirabai Starr, she also facilitates community grief gatherings and ceremonies rooted in the divine feminine for people of all genders. Listen to Willow's The Wild Heart Podcast to hear more about the intersections of love, spirit, and embodiment. You can also keep up with Willow on Instagram.About Omid Safi:Dr. Omid Safi is the director of Duke University’s Islamic Studies Center. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King and Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He leads spiritual tours every year to Turkey, Morocco, or other countries, to study the rich multiple religious traditions there. The trips are open to everyone from every country. More information is available at Illuminated Courses & Tours.Check out Omid’s books Progressive Islam and Radical Love for more progressive perspectives on wisdom from ancient sages “If we are both in the same divine womb, what atrocity would I commit without it also coming back to me? How would it change our idea of environmental responsibility? Not only because this is our only home in all of the infinite galaxies, but because we are living in the same spiritual ecosystem and all of that is contained in the divine womb.” –Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 38 -The Mystical Teachings of Ibn ‘Arabi
Jul 1400:55:46Tap to summarizeOmid Safi discusses Sufi teachings from one of the greatest muslim mystics, an Andalusian sage named Ibn ‘Arabi."When Ibn 'Arabi comes, he sits with all of himself. When he's listening, he listens with all of himself. When it's time to go, he gets up with all of himself. All of him is here, so I can give him all of the love. That's such a practice, and it's such a challenge for all of us who are always distracted. A lot of Sufi practice is really this art of being present." – Omid SafiThis week on Sufi Heart, Omid Safi illuminates:The life of Ibn ‘Arabi from Andalusia, to Morocco, Turkey, and Damascus The prayer of opening and Ibn ‘Arabi’s text, Futuhat al-Makkiyya (openings of the heart)Removing that which veils you from direct presence with GodExperiencing Kashf—the unveiled revelations that arise from intimate communion with GodThe paradoxical ‘yes and no’ response that Ibn ‘Arabi often gave to philosophical questions and finding beauty in the paradoxRemembering that we do not see God, we are seen by GodPresence and mindfulness as a core feature of Sufi spiritual practiceHow Ibn ‘Arabi’s life teaches us what it means to have a teacher and blurring together seeker and masterA commentary on all in the natural realm that is made beautiful Dissolving the illusion of separation between lover and belovedA poem from Ibn ‘Arabi on alchemy and the Prophet “Most people translate it as ‘I become’ then ‘I become the sight by which you see’. Ibn ‘Arabi says ‘it’s not I become, I am’. It sounds really different, it hits different. I am the eye by which you see. I am the hearing by which you hear. I am the hand by which you touch. I am the tongue by which you speak.” – Omid SafiAbout Omid Safi:Dr. Omid Safi is the director of Duke University’s Islamic Studies Center. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King and Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He leads spiritual tours every year to Turkey, Morocco, or other countries, to study the rich multiple religious traditions there. The trips are open to everyone from every country. More information is available at Illuminated Courses & Tours.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 37 – The Path of Love, Harmony & Beauty
Jun 1001:13:22Tap to summarizeIlluminating Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on radical love, Omid Safi leads listeners down the Sufi path of love, harmony, and beauty.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.This time on Sufi Heart, Omid provides a lesson on:The Sufi tradition of radical love, universal harmony, and experiencing beauty Hazrat Inayat Khan’s timely and timeless teachings Music as a sacred bridge between cultures and a channel for divine connectionThe universality of love across religions and wisdom traditionsSeeing the unity in the multiplicity and the multiplicity in the unity The reduction of love to romantic ideals and reclaiming its divine essenceRadical love, loving all beings, and the claim that love is GodThe mystical poetry of Hazrat Inayat Khan and RumiThe ultimate unity of love, lover, and beloved Seeing each one of our faculties—sight, sound, breath, as a portal to see and be seen by GodThe symphony of creation and what it may sound like if we operated in harmonyHow global disharmony—social, political, and ecological—reflects spiritual/inner disconnectionHarmony as one of the keys that connects the human realm to the divine realmThe divine light of God which is hidden in each of our soulsSurrendering willingly to beauty and allowing it to connect us to the divine mystery of GodThis episode was part of a longer conversation with friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust. Omid encourages listeners to check out that offering, part of their series on “Mystics and Prophets”, HERE.About Omid Safi:Dr. Omid Safi is director of Duke University’s Islamic Studies Center. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice. He leads spiritual tours every year to Turkey, Morocco, or other countries, to study the rich multiple religious traditions there. The trips are open to everyone, from every country. More information is available at Illuminated Courses & Tours. "The path of radical love makes an extraordinary claim. The claim is fundamentally the notion that there is no ultimate divide between the love of God and the love of creation. Love is one. Love is not merely a quality of God, love is God. It is the very being, very essence, very heart of God." – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 36 – Re-Enchanting the World with Joshua Michael Schrei
Apr 10, 202501:11:49Tap to summarizeRe-enchanting the world with God, the beloved, Omid Safi and teacher Joshua Michael Schrei explore the push-and-pull relationship we have with the divine. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.This week on Sufi Heart, Omid and Joshua get into:The many types of love we experience with the divine How the seeker was first being sought by GodThe possibility of tying together the sensual and the spiritual Nature as a living saint and master of seasons/cycles Remembering the greater picture that we are all a part of Balancing transcendence and imminence Considering how we relate to lack and longing Being in ecstatic union with the beloved Knowing that God is present both within and without moments of consummationHow the treasures of our lives are often related to the hardships we have enduredWhat activism could look like in the political and social climate we are living inRe-enchanting the world and suffusing it with divine love The ripple effect of global events and how everything is interconnectedPontificating how we can build a just, loving society Check out Joshua's podcast, The Emerald, where you can explore more of the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. You can also keep up with the podcast via Instagram.About Joshua Michael Schrei : Joshua is a podcaster, mythteller, teacher, and a lifelong student of the cosmologies and mythologies of the world — in particular, the Indian subcontinent. Throughout a lifetime of teaching, study, meditation and yogic practice, wilderness immersion, art, music, and public speaking, Joshua has sought to navigate the living, animate space of the imagination and advocate for a world that prioritizes imaginative vision. Joshua has taught intensive courses in mythology and somatic disciplines for over 20 years. He is the founder of The Emerald Podcast, which combines evocative narrative, soul-stirring music, and interviews with award-winning authors and luminaries to explore the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, and imagination. Less a traditional podcast and more a multi-layered sonic journey, The Emerald aims to reawaken the lost promise of oral storytelling tradition — the transmission of the direct felt experience of wonder and awe, and the rekindling of our relationship with spirit. Keep up with Joshua on his website. “In any great love affair, in every great love-making, there is always that moment where you lose track of where your body ends and the beloved's body begins. There is no more notion of who is the lover and who is the beloved; there's only the moment and pure absolute pleasure and bliss. That's in some ways what the mystics are trying to get to. They're trying to get to that place where the boundary between you and I, lover and beloved, human and divine, becomes very blurred.” – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 35 – Deepening Faith Through Inter-Spirituality with Mike Petrow and Drew Jackson
Mar 5, 202500:49:21Tap to summarizeOmid Safi sits down with Mike Petrow and Drew Jackson from The Center for Action and Contemplation, founded by Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, to explore how a unified approach to spirituality can deepen our faith.This podcast was originally published on the Everything Belongs Podcast, produced by The Center for Action and Contemplation (CFAC).The Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) is an educational nonprofit introducing seekers to the contemplative Christian path of transformation. Franciscan Richard Rohr founded the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in 1987 because he saw a deep need for the integration of both action and contemplation—the two are inseparable. As Father Richard likes to say, the most important word in our Center’s name is neither Action nor Contemplation, but the word and. This podcast episode explores elements of a chapter in Richard Rohr’s book: “Entering the World of Another: Francis and the Sultan of Egypt.”Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.Hosts of the Everything Belongs podcast, Mike and Drew, enjoy a conversation with Omid Safi about:Love as a representation of God in actionThe heart of the Islamic traditionSeeing the soul of the divine in all humansComing from love and returning to loveConsidering how we want to spend our livesThe genocide and pain happening in our worldRemembering the core roots of religion as kindness and loveTraversing across many different traditions and seeing the beauty in it allThe importance of language and art in our experience of life and religionSaint Francis and the Sultan as a model for compassionCombining the mandates of contemplation and action“What if we come to see the human heart as the highest shrine of God? How would it change the way we live together? How would it change the way we treat one another? How would it change the way we walk on the earth? The more our ethics and contemplative life feed into each other, the more luminous all of it becomes.” – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 34 – The Mystery of Love with James Cooke PhD
Jan 16, 202500:44:20Tap to summarizeGetting down to the basics of Sufism, James Cooke and Omid Safi discuss the mystery of love and our enmeshment with God.This time on the Sufi Heart podcast, Omid Safi and James Cooke discuss:Sufism and mystical IslamGetting closer to a divine realityTypes of love within SufismRecognizing that we are interwoven with all thingsPure love as the antidote of egoHow we are enmeshed with GodMaking our daily life our practiceThe diversity within traditions of IslamMisrepresentations of Islam in mainstream mediaExtending love to absolutely everyoneSelf-love and growing in our practice of lovingAbout James Cooke, PhD:James Cooke started the Inner Space Institute with the aim of helping greater numbers of people to access spiritual growth, without any of the unscientific beliefs that are common in spiritual circles. James trained as a neuroscientist after an awakening as a teenager that showed him the reality of spiritual states of consciousness. He holds three degrees from Oxford University (a PhD and Masters in Neuroscience & a BA in Experimental Psychology). He has conducted scientific research for over a decade at institutions such as Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley, University College London, Trinity College Dublin, and Riken Brain Sciences Institute in Tokyo. James is the author of The Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive (coming December 2024), which synthesizes science and spiritual insight to offer a radical solution to the Hard Problem of Consciousness.“I feel like for some people, this emphasis on love can be quite healing to hear, because I grew up in a time where there was a kind of grotesque, simplified caricature of Islam…it’s healing to have contact with the reality of these traditions.” – James Cooke, PhDSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 33 – When Religion Is A Stranger
Nov 8, 202401:09:39Tap to summarizeExploring what it means to practice Islam in a world filled with evil, Omid Safi explains how strangeness can bring us back home to God.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.In this episode, Omid Safi holds a talk on:Sacred sounds and the movement of the heavenly spheresHeavy hearts from global suffering and genocideThe counterculture of Islam when it beganLooking into our own communities to consider what seems strangeNot being afraid to veer from traditionWays that we can become strangers to our own religionStanding with those who are vulnerableReturning home to the loving presence of GodRemembering what it means to be a SufiTaking care of the poor, the needy, the strangers, the lonely“We want to become re-acquainted and return to our original home which is the very loving presence of God. That’s where and when we’re going to be at home.” – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 32 – Star Wars, Yoda & Sufism
Jun 6, 202400:56:18Tap to summarizeOmid Safi discusses how modern myths like Star Wars can connect us to Sufism and the mystery of the universe.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.This time on Sufi Heart, Omid Safi has a discussion on:The story of Moses in the Qur’anMoses’ teacher, ‘the green one’, and Yoda from Star WarsHow myth-makers revive spiritual traditionsThe mythic language found in music and moviesHow Taoists, Muslims, Christians, and more see themselves in ‘the force’Everything as animated and the energy that flows through all thingsRecognizing that we are made of the elements and of GodHow George Lucas asks beautiful questions in subtle waysConsidering the mystery rather than having all of the answersThe many forms that Allah may appear in and finding saints in ordinary peopleHow movies fill a gap when we mistrust formal religion“Luke and Obi-Wan, apprentice and master, this is the very stuff of the Sufi tradition, This is part of that re-enchanting that Star Wars is trying to accomplish. It’s trying to remind us that there are these mysterious ways of the heart, of the soul, of the universe, that we can still learn.” – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ep. 31 – Hazrat Inayat Khan and the Sufi Path of Love
May 10, 202400:50:27Tap to summarizeSharing insights from the path of love, Omid Safi discusses the teachings of Sufi philosopher, Hazrat Inayat Khan.Today’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.In this episode of Sufi Heart, Omid Safi explores:The universality of loveComing back to the centerExperiencing God directlySigns of God in scripture, nature, and our own soulsHaving an open heart for all of humanityPracticing love as a religionGoing into our breath for full presence and communion with GodHow vast God is, yet how close we are to GodThe singular focus of God as the belovedThe necessity of our ancestors’ wisdomThe path of the mystic vs. ordinary religion“The center is where we come to have that direct, immediate, unmediated experience of God, which is to say, the heart.” – Omid SafiSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →