October 17, 2014
Lesley University
Sherrill Library, Room 350
Brattle and Mason Streets, old campus
4:30 P.M.
RSVP to
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/karmu-a-plac-in-the-sun-documentary-film-screening-and-panel-discussion-tickets-13562482751
If you have any questions, please contact Beth at 617-349-8833…
Karmu gave herbal medicines to everyone who came to see him. He would give people either “red” medicine in a drink which was herbal “black” medicine disguised in a sangria like fruit punch, or he would hand them capsules of “black” medicine or give them a straight shot of his decoction of black medicine. Hardly anyone who came in his house didn’t get something to ingest. This use of herbs was unique during this time period.
In 1968, there were not health food stores in every major city. It wasn’t commonplace; there were not multiple health food stores nor were they any chain stores such as Whole Foods in major cities. If there was a store, it had bins of raw herbs, not prepackaged jars of herbs and herbal compounds lining the shelves. In 1968, there was only one herb store, in Cambridge. When Karmu needed Aloes, he had someone place an order with Dick Martin, the owner of Attar. It had to be a special order, as they didn’t have 60 pounds of aloes in stock.
Karmu’s most used herbs were aloes, goldenseal, valerian, snakesroot, Life everlasting, to name a few. These were the backbone of “black” medicine. While his use of herbs was unusual for the period, now it now seems commonplace.…
By Peter Beren
Published in Cambridge Phoenix, November 27, 1969
© Peter Beren, reprinted with permission
Many things are whispered in Boston about the Holy one; herbalist, magician, either one of the great stand-up comics of our time or the Black Maharishi. You approach the House of Karmu with mixed feelings. Walking down the ramshackle length of Green Street in Cambridge, you find yourself exceptionally attune to every unexpected noise. A cat screeches and scurries across the street; somewhere leaves rustle and a door slams. As you walk up the creaking stairs, a voice booms out–“Have no fear!”–and you are shuffled into the combination living room-kitchen where the Holy One holds his nightly court.…
Janet Z. Giler, Ph.D., studied healing with Karmu. Her master’s thesis (1981) describes how he thought healing occurred. An edited version, Karmu – Urban Shaman (2012), is available as an ebook at Amazon. She has been counseling individuals and families since 1982. Her three other works are: Socially ADDept: A teacher manual (Wiley, 2011); The ADDept Curriculum (CES, 2000) which comes with the training video From Acting out to Fitting In (CES, 2000, with editing by Justin Bergeron). Her first book Redefining Mr. Right (New Harbinger, 1993) was cowritten with writer Kathleen Neumeyer. She currently practices family therapy in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.…
Andrew Weil, M.D., is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing oriented approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. Combining a Harvard education and a lifetime of practicing natural and preventive medicine, Dr. Weil is Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he also holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Rheumatology and is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health.…
Sufi Samuel Lewis talking about his poem the “Black Christ.”
Sufi Sam Lewis had a vision in the early 1970s. He wrote a poem about a man who he called the “Black Christ.” When he met Karmu, he said he met his man.
Sufi Sam was an inspiration to many people and was the one who led many of us to Karmu’s door to learn how to heal others.…
Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and science journalist. Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times. His 1995 book Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half, with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 40 languages, and has been a best seller in many countries.…
Samuel L. Lewis was a student of Inayat Khan, who gave him the name Ahmed Murad in 1946. Samuel Lewis, now Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti or Sufi Sam as he was popularly known, devoted his life to peace through action. Later in his life he was recognized as Murshid – the Arabic for “Exalted Teacher.” As a spiritual leader he founded the movement Dances of Universal Peace. The Dances of Universal Peace continue to be practiced and shared by the murshids of Sufi Sam.…
Shabda Kahn has been a disciple of Sufism since 1969. He is a direct disciple of Murshid Samuel Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti) and worked closely with the great American Mystic Joe Miller. Shabda is currently the Pir (Spiritual Director) of the Sufi Ruhaniat International and the Director of the Chisti Sabri School of Music. He is also a disciple of the illustrious Tibetan Buddhist Master, the 12the Tai Situpa Rinpoche.…
Abraham Roy Sussman, Psy.D., is a clinical psychogist and musician who has been engaged in the healing arts since the early 1970’s. Currently, he travels worldwide as an activist peacemaker, teaching meditation and psychological healing, and sharing a spiritual practice known as Dances of Universal Peace.…