Greetings everyone, I am Yūsuf. I currently live in Baghdad. I am an academic exploring the relations between Islamic mysticism and dharma traditions. I have a deep interest in lucid dreaming and visionary dreamwork.
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Great to have you join us in this 24-hour Night Club! Looking forward to hearing more about “the relations between Islamic mysticism and dharma traditions.” What have you found thus far?
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This is a rather vast subject as the interaction between these two worlds has been constant since the early times of Islam. Good studies on this matter have been written by great academics like Daryush Shayegan and Carl Ernst. Reza Shah Kazemi has produced a great study with s foreword by the Dalai Lama on the common ground between Islam and Buddhism.
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How about dream practices. Are they similar?
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Indeed they are strikingly similar and it will be the subject of the work I intend to publish. The material is very rich and I doubt an article could do justice to it because there is do much to explore.
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Looking forward to seeing it.
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Welcome my friend. Great to have you. For those interested, Yusuf and I had the first of several interviews last week, which we will soon post.
You are a treasure trove Yusuf.
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Thank you so much Andrew for your kind words. I was thinking that it may be useful to create a reading list for people who wish to read more about the subjects we’ll be discussing. What would be the most appropriate section to post those reading lists?
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Hi @Yusuf_al_Hurr that sounds like a great idea!
I think that the #resources:books category or more generally the #resources category are good options. How does that sound to you?
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it was nice to meet you briefly (and hear your conversation) during your interview with Andrew 
I was working tech support 
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Esselamou aleykoum and welcome to the community, Yusuf. I actually just got here myself.
Very much looking forward to this interview and the reading list you intend to post! I have three great friends in the Islamic tradition, two from Oran, Algeria, and the third one a baghdadi like yourself. Last time I saw one of my Algerian friends - who has the same name as you - he talked of Islam and I of Buddhism, and indeed the parallels are uncanny. And a few days after that conversation, he had his first lucid dream!
Cheers!
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Hi Andy,
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I will be posting a thematic reading list either tomorrow or after tomorrow. Yes I remember you. I am glad you enjoyed the conversation.
Stay blessed
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Alaykum salam
Contrary to what a lot of people think there are some deep and old ties between traditional Islam and Buddhism. Hopefully this will be discussed quite at length in the series of interviews that are coming inshallah.
Stay blessed
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This is very interesting and I would add that even the unpretentious (largely non-academic) circles I move in seem to be aware of ties between Islam and Buddhism.
I’m hoping scholars and/or practitioners will develop a more “ecumenical” outlook on dream practices in general so that we can benefit from different maps and perhaps even access other tools from other traditions. Where the dream technologies are similar, it could also be helpful to practice using slightly different metaphors, which may suddenly be more evocative to us and allow us to open a door that seemed tightly shut for the longest time…
Much as I marvel at the mind boggling intricacy and elegance of the Tibetan practices, I’ve always suspected that other traditions must have developed their own tools. I’m assuming some such tools have been lost and others have been misunderstood or brushed aside for any number of reasons. Perhaps some will resurface, particularly as there is an increasing interest in conscious dying.
Anything you might share on this topic through your unique lens would be extremely valuable to all, I’m sure.
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