Eat, Dance, and Pray with People

The second issue of Art in the Archives, an occasional newsletter about GTU's special collections, is now available online.

Jibreel Delgada Trabal, GTU PhD student, unravels the influence of Sufism in America through Murshid Samuel L. Lewis in  “Eat, Dance, and Pray with People: Peace Plans, Pilgrimages and Poster Art in the GTU’s Sufism Collection.” Jibreel draws from two New Religious movement collections and includes objects from the Sacred World Art Collection.

Within the archives are materials about  Sufism in 20th century America, especially the activities of the American Mystic Samuel L. Lewis. Lewis, a San Francisan native, was recognized as a master in Sufism, Zen Buddhism, and Yoga. In the Sixties, Lewis founded the Dances of Universal Peace, which briefly rented space at San Francisco Theological Seminary, an organization that now spans the world.

In addition to archival and other resources at GTU, Sufi Ruhaniat International has created an extensive website on Lewis and recently published a 748 page book Sunrise in the West: The Life of American Mystic Samuel L. Lewis by Wali Ali Meyer.

I’m not going to go into any theology, unless we experience it. Because if you listen to me now with your ears and I speak with my tongue, we’re still in thought. So I give these walks and dances so you can listen with your whole body.

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis