The spiritual practice of developing authentic, embodied connection to new land and community through gradual rooting rather than forced assimilation or nostalgic denial.
Rabia al-Adawiyya spoke of union with the divine occurring through surrender to what is rather than grasping for what was. In diaspora, mystical union with place-becoming describes the spiritual process of gradually belonging to new land. This is not the painful erasure of forced assimilation nor the protective closure of never letting new place matter, but rather a mystical opening to genuine connection with new home. Through seasons, celebrations, relationships, and embodied presence, found family members develop authentic roots—learning the land's stories, participating in local ecosystems, building genuine friendships, and allowing new place to shape their identity while remaining transformed by their origins. This concept honors that such rooting takes time and requires simultaneous holding of multiple homes. Like Rabia's path of surrendering to divine presence, this becomes a spiritual practice of openness, allowing new place to teach and transform while maintaining love for ancestral homeland. The mystical union emerges when migrants stop seeing themselves as perpetual outsiders and allow genuine belonging to unfold through patient presence and devoted community-making.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
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