Events List

Facilitators: Philip Tansen O'Donohoe and Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz.
Venue: Skye Room, Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB.
Dates: Saturday 23 November - Sunday 24 November 2013.
Time: Saturday 23 November: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Retreat: 10am-5pm.
Saturday 23 November: Retreat Evening of Sufi Zikr and Storytelling: 7.30pm-9.30pm.
Sunday 24 November: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Retreat: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: "To the Sufi, self-pity, tears at what happens to the self, are 'haram,' prohibited. But tears at the thought of the Beloved, at the realisation of some truth, are allowable. Extreme joy for what happens to the self is not allowable. But joy in the thought of the Beloved is allowable. The heart is touched, it is moved by the thought of God. It is then that the dervishes dance. Sometimes the dance expresses the action of the Beloved, sometimes it is the face of the Beloved."
--Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan

Although controversial in various interpretations of Islam, Sufis in many countries have used music as a method of spiritual awakening. In India, following the methods of Pir Moineddin Chishti and his students, music helped build community as well as provide a method of deepening in devotion and prayer. This became the origin of Qawwali music, which has since contributed to the mixture of world music. Because this music is rooted in devotion rather than performance, it continues to change and grow rather than simply recreate or re-enact old performances.

This weekend workshop will explore the ancient methods Sufis have used to experience music as a spiritual practice and prayer. In this way, one becomes an 'empty reed,' as Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi recommends. At the same time, we will explore and experience new Western styles of Sufi music, linked to movement, chanting, poetry, meditation and storytelling. Saturday evening, Tansen and Saadi will guide workshop participants in an extended experience of Sufi zikr, using movement and music in various forms. The evening will end with Sufi storytellling.

The weekend will begin with a Friday evening of "Sufi Kirtan," which uses traditional forms of music in new melodic and rhythmic ways. The intention remains, as it did for our Sufi ancestors, to open ourselves to the deepest connection with the divine Beloved. The Friday evening is open to all.

The workshop leaders are UK senior teachers (murshids) in the Chishti Ruhaniat tradition of Sufism (see www.sufiruhaniat.eu), in the line of Sufi Ahmed Murad Chishti and Hazrat Inayat Khan Chishti. Saadi (Neil Douglas-Klotz) is the author of several books on Sufism and Middle Eastern mysticism, including The Sufi Book of Life, Desert Wisdom, The Tent of Abraham and Prayers of the Cosmos. He is the co-founder of the Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace, MESP, with Neill Walker. Philip Tansen is a singer and musician who has made a life-long study of use of sound in healing and spiritual development. He has trained in various forms of meditation over the last 30 years.

Cost: Friday Evening Sufi Kirtan: £10 (This evening is open to all).
Saturday and Sunday: £140/£110 (Concessions). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Alice Fateah Saunders, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +44 (0)131 664 6206.

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