“Within each of us is a part of ourselves that is waiting to rediscover that it is part of the divine whole, connected to all.”

Join us for a deeply illuminating conversation with Neil Douglas-Klotz, as we explore the heart of his groundbreaking work, Original Meditation: the Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation. Drawing on decades of scholarship and contemplative practice, Neil invites us into the living world of the Aramaic language Jesus spoke—a language rooted not in abstraction, but in breath, earth, body, and relationship.

Neil invites us to rediscover Jesus not as a figure confined to history, but as a guide into a spirituality of connection, compassion, and lived experience—one that feels especially resonant in a time when many are longing to restore a sense of belonging within creation itself.

In this interview, we’ll explore how Aramaic tradition of prayer and meditation recognizes ancient creation accounts as sacred stories of origins—alive, and participatory, rooted in a worldview where creation is not finished in the past, but continuously unfolding in sacred time.

Rather than a distant or doctrinal faith, this ancient tradition points toward a path of intimacy with the natural world, the human community, and the divine presence moving through all things.

 Books by Neil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D.

Neil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D. is a renowned writer, researcher, teacher, and musician in the fields of Middle Eastern spirituality and the translation and interpretation of the ancient Semitic languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Living in Scotland, he was for many years the co-chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion.

A frequent speaker and workshop leader, he is the author of several books. His books on the Aramaic spirituality of Jesus include Prayers of the Cosmos, The Hidden Gospel, Original Meditation: The Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation, Blessings of the Cosmos, and Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus (2022).

His books on a comparative view of ‘native’ Middle Eastern spirituality include Desert Wisdom: A Nomad’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions and The Tent of Abraham (with Rabbi Arthur Waskow and Sr. Joan Chittister).

His books on Sufi spirituality include The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish and A Little Book of Sufi Stories.

He also edited four collections of the work of Middle Eastern mystic Kahlil Gibran. He has also written a mystery novel set in the first century C.E. Holy Land entitled A Murder at Armageddon. His biographical collections of the works of his Sufi teachers include Gardens of Vision and Initiation (Samuel L. Lewis) and Illuminating the Shadow (Moineddin Jablonski).

For more information about his work, see the website of the Abwoon Network (https://abwoon.org/ or his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNeilDouglasKlotz/)