Issue 24 of Sufi Journal explores the relationship between divine will and human surrender, emphasizing the inner transformation that occurs as the self dissolves in God. In his discourse, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh teaches that seekers begin by exerting free will, but as they advance the self’s will dissolves in God’s command, culminating in submission and contentment. The articles examine diverse paths of spiritual awakening: Dorothy C. Buck contemplates purity and devotion in “Mary and the Virgin Heart,” Shuja Alhaq traces the spiritual legacy of the saint Miyan Mir, Lloyd Ridgeon studies the mystic vision of ‘Aziz Nasafi, Mark Nepo reflects on unlearning as a return to the Divine, and Jeffrey Rothschild’s story “The Sign of the Severed Head” evokes mystical sacrifice. The poetry of Herbert Mason, Muhammad Isa Waley, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, and Charles Upton expresses longing, illumination, and the pain of love. The “Old Wine in New Bottles” piece retells a tale from Rumi’s Mathnawi, in which a man’s inability to endure the pain of tattooing a lion becomes a parable of the soul’s fear of self-sacrifice, contrasted with verses urging endurance and the burning away of ego on the path to unity.