Harmony: Hearing the  Symphony of Life: Sufi Music and the Mysticism of Sound with Philip Tansen O'Donohoe and Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz, 10-12 October 2014

Organisers: Jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, EIAL.
Facilitators: Philip Tansen O'Donohoe and Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz.
Venue: Friday 10 October 2014: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Saturday 11 - Sunday 12 October 2014: Stockbridge House, 2 Cheyne Street, Edinburgh, EH4 1JB.
Dates: 10-12 October 2014.
Times: Friday 10 October: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Kirtan: 7pm-9.30pm.
Time: Saturday 11 October: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Retreat: 10am-5pm.
Sunday 12 October: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Retreat: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: “Why does a mystic give such great importance to harmony? Because for a mystic his or her whole life is one continuous symphony of music, each soul contributing to the symphony by his or her particular part in the music.” – Hazrat  Inayat Khan

Sometimes we may feel out of tune with our surroundings and even with ourselves but we may not know exactly why that is. Join Neil and Philip to find out how you can listen and learn to sound your own note and to resonate more fully in harmony with the symphony of life.

On this retreat we will explore chant, meditation, breath practice, Sufi movement and Dances of Universal Peace designed to open the inner voice of the heart and allow it to authentically express who we are--and can become. The Sufis have pioneered this work over centuries, and we will be sharing gems from this tradition, which the leaders have personally experienced with teachers around the world.  Practices and Dances will also be drawn from other spiritual traditions of humanity, as it is the Sufi way to witness unity in all heart-paths toward the One.

The great classical Sufi Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi speaks of becoming a hollow reed through which the divine blows its breath. We attempt to have this become our living experience, not simply a poetic concept, so that we can experience harmony, rhythm, and creative melody in our inner world, as well as our relationships with others.

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

The workshop leaders are UK senior teachers (murshids) in the Chisti Ruhaniat tradition of Sufism (www.sufiruhaniat.eu), in the line of Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti and Hazrat Inayat Khan Chisti. 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 (see www.abwoon.com).  He is the co-founder, with Neill Walker, of the Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace (MESP) and the cofounder of the Dances of Universal Peace Network in 1982. Philip Tansen O’Donohoe is a singer and musician who has made a lifelong study of the use of sound in healing and spiritual development.  He has been described as a modern day mystic who is a regular guy. He has trained in various forms of meditation over the last 30 years and is a senior mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace. He teaches this work around the world (see http://philipodonohoe.com).

Please note disabled access is available at both venues.