Whirling is an open secret. The Whirling Dervish tries to get out of the way to reveal it.

"Dervish" literally means "doorway" and is thought to be an entrance from the material world to the spiritual world. Within the Sufi Mevlevi Dervish Order, founded in the 13th century by the Persian mystic philosopher and poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, lies the origin of the Mevlevi Sema, or dance of the Whirling Dervishes.

The whirling or turning, is a prayer during which the dervish’s body can open to channel the divine invisible energy which pervades the universe. For this to occur, the dervish attempts to be empty of ego or sense of self. 

Turning in place with one symbolic palm extended upward to receive and one extended downward to give, the dervish does not attempt to keep this energy - the intention is to be a vessel through which the energy can pass on to others. But as in any type of meditation,  it is a struggle.

Everything in the universe revolves - the planets around their Sun, our Earth on its axis, the protons, electrons and neutrons in our body. The Whirling Dervish aligns him or herself with that cosmic movement so that when the dervish turns, the invisible world opens.

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