I’ve always been drawn to stories that mirror the inner journey in unexpected ways, and The Conference of the Birds is one of those special works that does exactly that.

In this episode of The Higher Self Dialogues, I sit down with Omid Asgari and Ghonche Alavi from the MTO Zendeh Delan Ensemble, whose contemporary Sufi presentation of this 12th-century poem brings its message powerfully into the present moment. We explore how a group of birds searching for their king becomes a profound allegory for the spiritual journey itself, and why this story still resonates in a world full of noise, uncertainty, and longing for meaning.

Both the presentation in London, which premiered in December 2025, and this conversation stayed with me long after we recorded. It invites you to reflect on where you are in your own journey.

What We Explore

• The Journey of the Birds as a Mirror of the Self
• How Attar’s story of the birds searching for the Simurgh reflects the deeper truth that what we seek outwardly may already exist within us.
• The Seven Valleys of Transformation
• From longing and love to unity, wonderment and annihilation, we explore these stages as lived inner experiences rather than abstract ideas.
• Why Uncertainty and Loss Are Part of the Path
• The Valley of Wonderment, in particular, reveals how confusion, grief, and disorientation can be essential to deeper transformation.
• Sacred Music and Movement as Spiritual Practice
• How the ensemble uses music, poetry, and sama (whirling movement) not as performance, but as a lived expression of the spiritual journey.
• The Higher Self as Clarity, Not Distance
• A grounded and accessible view of the higher self as who you already are, beyond limitations, distractions, and conditioning.

Zendeh Delan’s work is a reminder that the spiritual path isn’t something abstract or removed from life — it’s something lived, felt, and expressed. Whether through music, silence, or moments of uncertainty, the journey continues to unfold.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re searching for something more, this episode offers a powerful reflection: perhaps the journey is not about finding something new, but recognising what has always been there.

For more information about the MTO Zendeh Delan Ensemble and their work, check out the following links:

https://www.zendedelan.org/

(You can also find their latest performances, tour dates, and local events via their website and social channels.)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zendehdelan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZendehDelan

X: https://twitter.com/zendehdelan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zendeh-delan®-sufi-music-zekr-&-sama/about/

Episode Resources:

Learn more at: https://higherselfdialogues.com

If you'd like to be a guest on the show, reach out via socials or visit: www.antonjarrod.com

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The seasons are turning — though you may not yet see it.

In early February, the land sits in a quiet threshold. The light is returning, but winter has not fully released its hold. In ancient traditions, this liminal period was marked as Imbolc — the quickening beneath the surface, the first subtle stirring of new life.

In this episode, I reflect on how the higher self journey mirrors these natural rhythms. Spiritual development is not linear. It moves in cycles of withdrawal, reorientation, expression, and integration — just as the earth does.

What if silence is not absence?

What if dormancy is not failure?

What if the turning happens long before the evidence?

Drawing on seasonal archetypes, equinoctal shifts, and the intelligence of liminal time, this episode explores why growth cannot be rushed — and why depth has its own timing.

It was through contemplating these natural cycles that I recognised something important about this podcast as well. If the higher self journey is seasonal, then the container for this dialogue must honour that rhythm too.

What You’ll Discover

· The Higher Self Has Seasons: How silence, confusion, and withdrawal are integral phases of spiritual maturity.

· The Quickening Beneath the Surface: Why transformation often begins before we can see or articulate it.

· Honouring Natural Rhythms: Why spiritual dialogue — including this podcast — must move in cycles rather than constant output.

This episode is an invitation to notice the season you are in, to soften your expectations of constant growth, and to trust that something may already be turning — even if it has not yet bloomed.

Episode Resources

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www.higherselfdialogues.com

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The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight again.

At the end of last year, I spent some time reflecting on what the upcoming announcement might reveal about the state of the world –– not as a prediction, but as a mirror. Now that the announcement has been made, this episode returns to that question, and sits with what it may really be showing us.

Today I explore what it means to live in a time of escalating risk without collapsing into fear or despair, and how a higher self perspective invites a more mature, grounded response to power, responsibility, and uncertainty.

Rather than focusing on catastrophe, this is a reflection on consciousness — personal and collective — and the quieter choices that shape our shared future.

What You’ll Discover

· The Doomsday Clock as Mirror: Why the clock reflects our inner state as much as external threats, and what it reveals about how we live with power.

· Beyond Fear and Polarisation: How reactivity and “us versus them” thinking quietly accelerate the very dangers we’re worried about.

· Growing Up as a Species: What this moment asks of us individually — not heroics, but maturity, restraint, and inner alignment.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, look more deeply, and consider how the smallest ways we meet uncertainty may matter more than we think.

Episode Resources

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Learn more at higherselfdialogues.com

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