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'Created in awe of the She in me. My knowing, my courage, my creative…
Created in awe of the He in me. My wisdom, my movement, my container…'
This first collection of art and poetry was inspired by my conversation with Nature and Spirituality and was named after verse 53:17 of the Quran, The eye did not waver… These particular lines inspired the desire to remain present in merging worlds; a possibility born from weaving in the wide steps taken from my Sufi path with Rumi, through indigenous wisdom, and encompassing myriad Guides and Ancestors that walk in the Seen and Unseen worlds. The work also reflected the merging of my Pakistani heritage with growing up in a northern English town.
Exhibited work below
ARRIVED
Inspiration from RayofGod.com. An illustration honouring those moments that I am able to fully arrive, integrated and unashamed.
fear
the heavy weight of fear, it stops movement, imprisoning dreams...
Rains of doubt
It’s a wonder to me that anything gets done when the doubt gets in. It pours down creating a thick grey fog, over all the potential ideas.
The chorus of my doubt...
the fear
self worth
the shame of being seen
never quite good enough
the no
the yes
the stop
the blank
or envy with its pointy fingers
and the pain of it all
come
I am rooted
The chorus of my doubt...
the fear
self worth
the shame of being seen
never quite good enough
the no
the yes
the stop
the blank
or envy with its pointy fingers
and the pain of it all
come
I am rooted
ELIF
The 1st letter of the Arabic alphabet. For me, it represents the unflinching sword of Truth. To live in one version of me rather than the many. The one who meditates. The one who doesn’t. The one with friends. The one who hides. I am collecting them all - so I am whole, standing rooted and living that expression of wholeness.
The Box
A little girl walks into a room, and is told lovingly that she can no longer enter because she is a girl. It’s the same room she played in not long before - she wonders quietly what changed. Soon she is told that it is a good idea to wrap herself up with cotton threads. The girl watches the boys and wonders if something has changed for them too. The elders with long beards and knitted shawls have kind eyes…they must know best…so she follows the rules, knowing someday it will all make sense…
The Darkside
The dark side reaches out as we reach in. That adventurous pull, holding an unsettling way of being on this Earth. Diving into the uncomfortable which pushes the walls created from the ache of fear.
THE I DID NOT WAVER
Arabic calligraphy from the line 53.17 of the Quran - ‘the eye did not waver’. Inspiring an unwavering way of being when navigating the pot holes of the world.
My East, My West
One day I noticed the sands of my ancestors land in a London coffee shop. I realised in disappearing lines, the meeting point of me leaves nothing outside. This drawing showcases one of my ancestral homes a place called - Thera Chak in Pakistan. And the doors are the many thresholds of life....A drawing celebrating the coming together of me.
Merging Meditation
The Merging. Soft rain. Diamonds falling from the sky. Children are playing, falling in and out of days. And thirsty worlds sing in praise. I am the water. I am the water. I am the water. A calling of home. Deep within the layers of Earth. In the smell of burnt autumn skies. We rest in warm. I am the fire. I am the fire. I am the fire. The grace of a kiss placed between sharp corners. And eyes...eyes that see through...through it all. I am the love. I am the love. I am the love.
Cosy Afternoons
Those days where the heavy grey Sky draws close and the sound of Rain becomes the rhythm of everything. The walls hug themselves in. Warm amber lights drip the world in sweet honey like feelings. And books, the beauty of books, pillars holding up the Sky. The perfect sofa. The perfect blanket. Hidden ones lean in and everything is safe.
You are Me and I am You
Drawn to try and capture those moments in meditation where the soul meets the whole of everything. The leaning in of the Trees the Sky the Stars. The leaning out into the living of all things...
Meditation in Movement
The joy of meditation in the comfort of sound. A silent void on the London underground. The hustle and the bustle, shoulders rubbing, musical murmurs of conversations - The thread of Silence, knitting His expansive being into the sound of it all.
iNSomNiA
Sometimes I lay awake at night, listening to the gentle snoring of people. Longing to be in their sleep world, a place I just cant find the door to. The blue Sky in this drawing is the dream world. And the figures are the versions of me trying to enter.
The Giant loved to hug Trees
From a short illustrated story called - The Cumbrian Giant - a book in progress.
Al Wali, The Friend
Is there anything closer for the Source of Life to be that friend. Al-Wali is one of the 99 names of God in Islam. There are probably a trillion names to describe this Infinite Love. I love this one, because I have known this friendship. Known in the friendship of the Tree, known in the friendship of the Great Sky, and known in the beauty of the Birds...
I wish I could hug a cloud
Inspired by a serious question - ‘what would it feel like to hug a cloud?’
I wish I could hug a cloud. I think it would be Squishy with love. It would be on a hot summers day. I would say, thank you for
the Rain, the Rivers, the Sea and Me.
I wish I could hug a cloud. I think it would be Squishy with love. It would be on a hot summers day. I would say, thank you for
the Rain, the Rivers, the Sea and Me.
The Pause
...for a few moments before the huge wave of life comes in.
She
Created in awe of the She in me. My knowing, my courage, my creative...
Stand Firm
Inspired by the desire to connect to my inner knowing even in times when it felt like I was swimming against a current. Drawing specifically inspired by my navigation of the covid 19 years. I learnt to trust my body and found answers arrived with the inner silence found in meditation. Much love to these dear hearts who brought ease in my confusion - Kabir Helminski, Orcalegirl, Robert Kennedy, Zach Bush, Dr Mercola....and many more...
THE I DID NOT WAVER
Arabic calligraphy from the line 53.17 of the Quran - ‘the eye did not waver’. Inspiring an unwavering way of being when navigating the pot holes of the world.
The Lote Tree
Drawing inspired by the Great Heron and the legend of the Lote Tree.
Al Hakim, The Teacher
I have known teachers and guides centuries away from now. A knowing which connects me deeply to my living in the present. Words are not enough to express the gratefulness that has freed me from my slavery, because of these teachers. And one teacher always brings another, the friends of the wise - gently moving me from place to place, adventure to adventure.
Siema the Tree
As Siema held the mug with her branch like fingers, she wondered if her Treeness would appreciate the taste of coffee….
No
The No born in the spirit of freedom. The No in setting boundaries. The No in standing firm in the midst of a storm. The No that is filled with a warriors spirit. This call, its tentacles wrapping themselves around intuition - this No lives in the now.
Life and Death
I bow my head to the circling deaths of me
I fall on my knees for the loved ones who left me here
The Spring in me
The Summer in me
The Autumn in me
The Winter in me
spirals in the wind…
I fall on my knees for the loved ones who left me here
The Spring in me
The Summer in me
The Autumn in me
The Winter in me
spirals in the wind…
'When I dream what would happen when we live to serve each other,
I imagine roses upon roses filling the world — a time not too far from now.'
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