Awakened Dreams: Raji's Journeys with the Mirror DedeAwakened Dreams was written in the early 1900s at the end of the Ottoman era by Ahmet Hilmi—humorist, revolutionary, and Sufi mystic. Raji—a young man disillusioned with science, philosophy, religion, and with life as he knows it—meets a grandfather-like "madman" who lives in a cemetery and wears clothes patched with bits of mirrors. The Mirror Dede, though apparently mad, makes more sense than anyone Raji has ever met. From time to time they drink coffee together, and as the old man plays a reed flute, Raji's transformation is mirrored through a series of awakened dreams. He experiences changes of perception which show to him the limitations of our ordinary human faculties, and he encounters various prophets and holy beings who reveal to him the secret of his own existence. This book has the charm of Hesse's Siddhartha, the wry humor of a Vonnegut novel, and the visionary wisdom of Castaneda's Don Juan series. It continues to be used as a vibrant teaching tale in many Sufi circles. Though a story of mythical dimensions, Awakened Dreams is not a fantasy but a transcription of the spiritual journey based on Hilmi's own experience. |
Contents
The Assembling Place of the Wise | 41 |
Kaf Mountain and the Phoenix | 47 |
The Sea of Grandeur and the Great Whirlpool | 64 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Ahriman Algan alif answer arrived asked astonished asylum Awakened Dreams Bahadir Banu beautiful became become began blessed light body Brahman Buddha café called Camille Helminski cemetery coffee Coleman Barks crazy creatures darkness donkey dragon drink eternal existence face father feel fell field filled front hafiz hand happiness heart Hill of Nothingness Hilmi holy light Hormuz human Jabilsa Kaaba Kaf Mountain kiss kurush laughed Layla living looked lunatic Maksut Manisa master Milset Mirror Dede Mirror of Union morning night opened my eyes palace passed Phoenix pleasure poor prayer Qur'an Raji Raji's replied rotten tomatoes scholars seven someone soon soothsayer sorrow soul speak spirit spoke stone stood strange Sufi Sufism Surah tablet tanbur Tantan thing thousands throne Throne Verse truth universe vizirs voice walked warrior wisdom words Wrath young