Right palm up, left palm down

When the semazen turns, the right palm faces up to receive from heaven and the left faces down to pass it on to the earth. Nothing is kept. The whole teaching, in two hands.

I don't whirl much anymore; my knees vote no. But after the evening prayer I sit with my hands like that on my knees and breathe with a phrase a Naqshbandi friend gave me: hush dar dam, awareness in the breath. Every breath in, received. Every breath out, given away.

Ten minutes. Then the tea goes on, as always.