Baraka and Cantillation from Alexis Rotella

two new-to-me words:

"Baraka is an Arabic word that means “blessedness” or “divinely inspired.” . . .

"No doubt the poems by Rumi and tagore have baraka. Unlike the traditional Muslims, Sufis embrace the Muse, or Mother Goddess. In order for something to have baraka, it seems that it must be infused with that deep, intuitive, female quality. That which is strictly intellectual cannot have baraka and the Japanese themselves who mistrust Western logic are first looking for a subjective quality which cannot be named before they will even do business with a foreign entity."

"When a writer or artist is in a trance while working (or when one is taken over by the Muse), her poetry often takes on an otherworldy quality. When we’re working in this state, we cantillate. We are close to the Mother God, and when in this altered state we believe that we are loved by the Creator."

--Alexis Rotella
http://alexisrotella.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/why-does-alexis-rotella-use-punctuation-and-capitalization-in-her-little-poems/