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 Desert
Rose
by Lila Moore
The
Judea desert has inspired mystical contemplation since ancient
times. The bizarre earth formations and the colourful sand create
a landscape that stirs the human imagination. The desert is
so beautiful and strangely alien that it takes the mind away
from ordinary thoughts and tangible reality.
For thousands of years the surreal looking terrain has attracted
mystics and seekers as a perfect site for inner reflection,
meditation, prayer, ritual and spiritual work.
The conjunction of the Dead Sea and the desert creates a wondrous
impression. Like the desert, the sea is almost motionless with
slow moving waves by the shore. The sound of the slowly moving
waves is like a delicate slow motion hiss with a soothing effect
on the senses and the mind.
The sea is like a colourful reflective surface, silver at dawn,
gold at sunrise, sky blue in the morning, turquoise at noon,
and lilac at sunset. The colourful sand glows in the sunlight,
and the gold painted mountains of Moab at sunrise are contrasted
by the deep red hues of the mountains of Edom at sunset.
During the full moon the desert is lit with a magical translucent
aura. At night the stars pierce the dark body of the sky like
huge diamonds emanating the light of distant worlds. The Milky
Way engulfs the earth like a dazzling necklace.
The mysterious beauty invokes a sense of awe and adoration.
Mystics draw inspiration from this well of wonders making the
place a ladder with which to climb toward higher realms and
sublime states of consciousness.
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in jars in the caves of Qumran
ignited the imagination of scholars and mystics. The Essenes,
a monastic community, authored the scrolls in their reclusive
settlement by the Dead Sea about two thousand years ago.
The Essenes practised a strict spiritual discipline purifying
themselves in the Dead Sea twice a day. Amongst the manuscripts
was found an apocalyptic text known as the War Scroll on the
battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.
Even today, special spiritual journeys following the footsteps
of the Essenes are taking place. Local nature mystics regard
Qumran as a sacred place. The caves they say contain the essence
of love. Qumran is the physical manifestation of the Spiritual
Heart or the Heart Chakra, a place of infinite love and compassion.
‘My
beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna in the vineyards
of En-Gedi,’ Song of Songs.
Oasis of Love
En-Gedi, meaning the spring of the goat, is the name of a
lavishing oasis by the Dead Sea. The place has inspired
poets, artists, seekers of truth, and philosophers since
ancient times and its love inspiring natural essence is
featured in Song of Songs. The oasis is a place of healing,
peace, joy and ecstasy.
Song of Songs
‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy
love is better than vine.’ Song of Songs
The Oasis Experience series contains meditation
films that feature the beauty and magic of the desert and
the oases which the mountains embrace. The locations of
the love-inspired films and meditations are the same sites
that inspired Song of Songs, one of the most potent mystical
hymns on love. Fragments of the song were found in Qumran’s
caves amongst the scrolls of the Essenes. Margaret Starbird
whose Great Work inspired and informed the Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown traces the origin of Song and Songs to the
litany that accompanied the rites of the hieros gamos, the
Sacred Marriage in ancient Sumer, Egypt and Canaan.
The oasis of Ein-Gedi is a key image in the Oasis Experience:
Love programme. It is portrayed as a symbol of physical and
spiritual satisfaction and abundance. Other images and meditations
reflect the healing alchemy that love brings in a form of
a harmonious marriage. Love in its harmonious form is the
birthright of each soul. Love’s wisdom is as illuminating
as the brightest star and as old as the first spark of light.
 ‘No
longer will you be called ‘forsaken’
and your lands ‘desolate’
but you shall be called ‘beloved’
and your lands ‘espoused’ (isa, 62:4)
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