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Can AI Foster Mysticism?

I’ve been writing frequently about mysticism because, for me, writing is not separate from the mystical path. When we are fully “present” with what we are doing — writing, dancing, listening — we remain there for a time, inhabiting a state of consciousness before gently returning to the surface of ordinary thought.But today I want to turn toward a different question. Could Artificial Intelligence (AI) become a threat to spirituality — or might it somehow support it?To approach that question, let me first clarity what I mean by mysticism. Mysticism is not a doctrine. It is not theology. It is not philosophy. Mysticism is a direct encounter with what I call the One Consciousness — known by many names: Creator, Love, Light, Nothingness, God, Source. In that encounter, the illusion of “otherness” falls away, revealing a unity of our innermost essence that was always present. Across traditions, mystics speak of the same shared

Our Beliefs are Personal. Our Laws Are Shared

I was listening to Reza Pahlavi speak at Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday. After his remarks, the next speaker began talking about our rights as Americans coming from God. To support this claim, he cited the familiar phrase: “…we are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”This statement caught my curiosity — both as a mystic and as someone deeply inspired by the U.S. Constitution. There are two very different ideas about where rights come from, and the distinction matters both spiritually and legally.UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (June 1776)The phrase “all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” comes not from the Constitution, but from the United States Declaration of Independence. That document expresses a spiritual claim — that human rights exist prior to government. In tha

Rumi and the Storms of His Time

My previous post motivated me to share a bit more about Rumi’s life. When we think of Rumi, we often picture a serene poet of love and union. But his life was shaped by tremendous upheaval.When Rumi was a child, his family packed up their lives in Balkh (present-day Afghanistan though at that time it was part of Iran) and fled to the current city of Neyshapour, a major center of learning and culture. The Mongol armies under Changis Khan were sweeping through the Middle East like a storm — cities burned, libraries turned to ash, families scattered. They finally found refuge in Konya, Turkey. But even there, peace was fragile: the empire was crumbling from within and would soon bow to the Mongols as well.It was an age of uncertainty, fear, and loss — yet out of that soil, Rumi’s vision of boundless love, unity, and compassion blossomed. Instead of despair, he turned to the eternal, reminding us — through his poems written in Persian language — tha

Why Negotiation with Iran’s Regime Is So Difficult Today

In mid 1980s, in a persuasive argument class taught by Deborah Tannen at Georgetown University, I wrote a paper analyzing Oriana Fallaci’s bold 1979 interview with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.What struck me most was not just the political disagreement — it was something deeper:a clash between two fundamentally different ways of reasoning.On one side was Fallaci, representing a tradition of persuasion, questioning, and debate. On the other was Khomeini, whose authority rested on scripture — where interpretation was not open, and disagreement itself could be seen as illegitimate.This difference matters today more than ever, as the world once again asks whether negotiation with Iran’s ruling system is possible.WHAT KHOMEINI MADE CLEAR FROM THE BEGINNINGIn that 1979 interview — conducted shortly after the Iranian Revolution — Khomeini expressed views that defined the ideological foundation of the Islamic Republic:“Islam governs every aspect of life

From Guernica to Iran: When Power Falls, Consciousness Must Rise

Last month in Spain, I stood before Guernica by Pablo Picasso — the most impressive work of art in the country. It is not simply a painting. It is a wound on canvas.The painting is called “the bombing” because General Francisco Franco, who would rule Spain with an iron fist for 36 years, gave permission to Adolf Hitler in 1937 to use the Basque town of Spain as a guinea pig to try out Germany’s new air force. The raid leveled the town, causing destruction unheard of at the time.Within a few short years, such destruction would become tragically commonplace, culminating in the loss of some 55 million lives in World War II in 1944.In just weeks after the bombing of the Spanish town, Picasso painted this monumental mural so the world could not look away.Standing there, I was stunned. I moved slowly across the canvas as tears streamed down my face. A woman on the far-right howls into the sky. A horse in the center screams in agony. On the left, a

Strength Without Cruelty — Rethinking “Just War”

Last night I couldn’t stop thinking about the possible consequences of bombing Iran’s infrastructure. The distinction between Iran as a civilization, and Iran as it currently exists under the Islamic Republic matters deeply. A nation carries memory, culture, and millions of ordinary lives. A regime is a political structure that may or may not reflect them.In earlier reflections, I’ve explored the idea of a “just war” through a mystical lens. On March 19, for example, I described it as a war that uses force only as a last resort, stays within clear moral boundaries, acts from the intention to protect for the greater good rather than punish, refuses to dehumanize even opponents, and remains accountable so that power does not slide into cruelty.Today, I want to approach the same idea from a more secular perspective. Interestingly, when I do that, I find myself drawn to the highest ideals in the history of my adopted country, the United States. At th

A Crack in Iran’s 47-Year Wall of Repression

In the past couple of days, I’ve read strong statements from voices across the political spectrum — each claiming moral clarity about Iran, war, and justice.It is easy, from afar, to speak in the language of moral positioning. Those who speak from lived trauma remind us that the Islamic Republic of Iran has, for decades, imprisoned, tortured, and killed thousands of its own citizens for the simple act of seeking freedom and dignity.The killing of thousands of unarmed protesters over a few days in January of this year alone, and the blinding of young demonstrators are not abstractions. They are documented realities. They are wounds carried in the bodies and memories of millions of Iranians — myself included — in pursuit of imposed theological ideology.At the same time, it is important to acknowledge complexity. While many Iranians see moments like this as a long-awaited weakening of a repressive system, some fear instability and unintended consequences,

Listening to Abbas Milani on Iran’s Possible Turning Point

I’ve been following Iran’s news closely and listening to interviews with Iranian experts. About an hour ago, I heard comments from Abbas Milani that strongly resonated with what I’ve been thinking — and posting — over the past few weeks.Milani is an Iranian American historian, director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who has written extensively about modern Iranian politics and society. Here is the gist of what I heard:• THE IRANIAN PUBLIC HAS LARGELY MOVED BEYOND THE REGIME. According to multiple indicators, about 82% of Iranians oppose the ruling system. Radical political Islam in Iran is effectively exhausted. Iranian society today is more secular than any other Muslim-majority country, with a strong desire to separate religion from the state. Polling and diaspora research also suggest that Iranians hold some of the most favorable views of America in the Middle East.• THE

Why This Discussion Stops Here

We’ve explored a lot about what “resistance” really means — both the courage to act in the world and the inner strength to remain steady, aware, and unreactive.We’ve acknowledged that standing up — marching, voting, writing, organizing — is vital, and that inner alignment with our state of consciousness is the foundation that makes such actions wise and effective.At this point, there isn’t much more to add without repeating the same ideas. The takeaway is simple:External action and inner awareness are not opposed; they complement each other in the sense that action without being rooted in the state of consciousness risks ineffectiveness and burnout. But opposite does not: being in a state of inner awareness, even without marching, organizing, or other overt activism, can still send ripples of positive energy into the world. Those ripples matter because they influence the collective consciousness — helping calm fear, reduce reac

What Does “Resistance” Really Mean?

Someone raised an important point about my use of the word “resistance.” He said that if everyone just “meditated” instead of taking actions, authoritarian bullies would tighten their grip, and we’d be left powerless. He argued that standing up in the external world — through I assume protest, advocacy, organizing, or even risking one’s life — is the real form of resistance.I hear you. History has shown us again, and again that courageous people who step forward in the world have changed its direction. Their sacrifices matter.But here’s what I want to add: mystical meditation, inner clarity, and alignment with our essence are not INSTEAD of action — they are the ground from which wise action emerges. Without that ground, our fight for justice can become fueled by the very qualities that sustain cycles of oppression.Resistance, in the sense I use it, means not letting our consciousness be taken over by news media and commentari

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