>> Upcoming Special Events
Upcoming Special Events
This is a list of special, one-time only events displayed in order of the date of the event. Past special events are listed here. A separate listing is available for regular, ongoing events.
We aim to include in this list all the events sponsored by Toronto SOI centres that are participating in this website, other Inyati events in Toronto and the GTA, and some of the major Inyati events in the "Toronto region." We've defined the Toronto region as being within a seven hour drive from Toronto city centre. "Inyati" events are Sufi events sponsored by an organization that traces its roots to Hazrat Inayat Khan. The Sufi Order International maintains a list of worldwide special SOI events.
Ramadan Retreat at the Abode - New Lebanon, NY, Sep 3-6, 2010
The Abode of the Message, in New Lebanon, NY, is hosting a Ramadan retreat from September 3-6, 2010. More information may be available at the event's webpage, or you can contact the programsoffice [at] theabode [dot] net (Abode Programs Office) (518-794-8095).
Fulfilling the Pledge Ramadhan Retreat
with Imam Salim and Tara Chishti
"Am I not your Lord who cherishes and sustains you?"
They said: "Yes! We do testify!"
— Quran 7:172
In a time before time we pleged our sacred bond with the creator of all things. Ramadhan is part of fulfilling that pledge, taking time out of our lives to exist in remembrance of our lord and of that pledge. During this retreat we will gather together to experience the deep sacred meanings and message of Ramadhan. We will fast during the day immersed in zikr, prayer and sohbet. And we will share joyous meals together in the early morning and after sunset. At night we will answer the call of the night prayers and remembrance of God. Celebrate the inner meanings of the Ramadhan fast with us — a journey towards our heart's longing.
The Ramadan retreat will begin with Mahgrib prayer on Friday (approximately 7:30pm), September 3rd and end at Mahgrib on Monday September 6th. We will gather each day before the early morning prayer and have Zuhur (the morning meal) before the fast begins. Those who are able will fast through the day, and those who cannot will have lunch on their own. We will break fast each evening and share the evening meal as well.
The retreat itself will include Zikr, Sohbet, prayer and practices. This is a very traditional time to do retreat — the last days of the Holy month of Ramadan and it is a time of renewal, purification and re-dedication.
The room and board cost is $70 per person per day and includes food — this totals $210 for the three days. In addition, the cost of the program itself is on a sliding scale of $75 - $110.
Imam Salim Chishti is the Imam in Residence at the Abode of the Message and a Representative and Guide in the Sufi Order International. He has dedicated his life to the study and teaching of practices that bring us closer to the divine.
Tara Chishti is a representative in the Sufi Order, a retreat guide and a healer. Tara loves working with all those who are seekers on the path to help them fulfill their own God ideal. Tara is also a licensed Acupuncturist and Doctor of Chinese Medicine, her work on the spiritual path deeply informs her medical practice.
Please contact the Abode Programs Office or visit the event's webpage for more information. Call 518-794-8095 to register, or complete and send this registration form to: Abode Programs Office, 5 Abode Rd., New Lebanon, NY, 12125.
Breathing Alive - Buffalo, NY, Sep 11-12, 2010
This workshop is the Breath Module, which is now an official part of the curriculum of the Sufi Order. This training is appropriate for all Leaders and Leaders-in-Training in the SOI Esoteric School and the Activities, and for advanced mureeds (Sufi Order initiates) with the recommendation of their Guide.
Breathing Alive: The “Breath Module”
for Leaders & Advanced Mureeds
with Hafizullāh Chishti
Saturday, September 11, 2010, 10:00 am – 5 pm,
with an evening program of Zikr
Sunday, September 12, 2010, 10:00 am – 1 pm
in Buffalo, NY
We intend, as the first essential object of this training, to convey that “being conscious of the breath” is much, much more than awareness of the breath of the body. We will work to impart a living experience of Breath as the cause and the receptacle of every movement in life and of life itself.
Topics will include:
- Becoming aware of the qualities and impressions that transpire ("breathe across") on the Breath, between the Inner and Outer and between people, and which usually act upon us outside of awareness.
- Fundamentals of Breath Diagnosis: Perceiving whether the Breath is Jemal or Jelal, and what Element is predominating in it at the moment, and what this means for our experience of self and life.
- How to use the Breath to set and direct the attunement of a class or Zikr circle, especially with regard to the "Directions" of Breath spoken of by Murshid as Reach, Depth, Rhythm, and Volume.
- An understanding of the basic principles of Breath so that breath practices can be properly understood and tuned to each specific application.
- A technical review of the foundational breath practices of the Sufi Order.
Tuition:
$85 early registration, $95 after August 9th.
Students and seniors, $65 early registration, $75 after August 9th.
Space is limited. A deposit of 50% reserves your place.
There may be work-exchanges available; speak with the registrars.
For registration or location information, please contact Wadud Cretella (hecca [at] frontiernet [dot] net) or Zaynab FitzPatrick (zaynab [at] frontiernet [dot] net), or phone 585-248-0427. For more information about this workshop, you may also visit its webpage (which may be more or less up to date than this page).
Hafizullah is a senior teacher in the Sufi Order International, and is one of the primary developers of the Breath Module. He has walked, stumbled, crawled, and danced the Sufi path for 33 years. He is active in developing core curriculum for the Sufi Order, and his life passion is in sharing in sacred space and spiritual practice with those who are awakening.
Hejirat Day Celebration - Toronto, Sep 13, 2010
Dear Friends: On September 13, 2010, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Hejirat Day, which is the day the founder of our order, Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan left India to bring the Sufi Message to the West. To commemorate the event we invite you to join us for an evening of music, remembrance and fellowship. This evening of remembrance will feature a vina concert (the instrument Murshid played) and other activities to celebrate the occasion.
The celebration will take place at the Friends Meeting House, 60 Lowther Avenue*, 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. As we plan on serving Indian treats, it is important to know how many are planning to attend, so that we can plan appropriately. Please e-mail Amina (amina [at] soitoronto [dot] org) if you are planning on joining us.
* The Toronto Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is at Lowther Avenue and Bedford Road. It is near the intersection of Bloor St. and Avenue Rd. (Avenue Rd. north of Bloor 
changes to University Ave. south of Bloor.) From Bloor and Avenue, it is 2 blocks north and 1 block west. (map)
The meeting room entrance is at the left-rear of the house. For wheelchair access, enter from the meeting parking lot on Bedford Road. To park in the meeting parking lot, turn right (north) on Bedford, then left into the second driveway. There is also paid parking available at Bedford and Bloor.
Study Circles Introductory Meeting - Toronto, Sep 28, 2010
As you may be aware, as part of our Esoteric School activities the Centre holds Study Circles to engage in an intensive practice and study of the Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings. The practices and teachings we cover are focused on the five different grades of Sufism, the physical, intellectual, mental, moral, and spiritual and use the vehicles of breath, sound, prayer, concentration, study and meditation.
Joining a Study Circle requires the intention to attend all of the classes in the yearly series and engage in daily practice to fully experience the power of the practices and teachings. The schedule for each Study Circle is developed based on what dates work for the participants in each circle.
Each September the Centre holds an Introductory Meeting to organize the year’s Study Circles and provide a sample of how the circles operate. This year’s meeting will be held on Friday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. The Study Circles are open to initiates in the any of the Inayati Orders and to those wishing to learn more about initiation into the esoteric school.
If you are unavailable to attend the September session and are interested in joining a Study Circle or wish additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would also appreciate an RSVP if you are planning to attend and are not currently participating in a Study Circle.
Peace, Love and Blessings,
Hafiz (hafiz [at] soitoronto [dot] org)
Emerald Earth Retreat: Harvesting the Fruits of Awakening - New Lebanon, NY, Oct 30-31, 2010
Sharifa Norton and Mu'inuddin Smith will lead an Emerald Earth Retreat at the Abode of the Message in New Lebanon, NY, on October 30-31, 2010. "In this weekend retreat, in the beauty of the Berkshire mountains in autumn, we will share in deep practices for cultivating the natural self, exploring the alchemy of the soul’s journey, and orienting more clearly to our unfolding purpose"
"Attuning to Sophia, the sacred wisdom of the earth, and drawing upon the profound Ziraat teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, we will explore the stages and dynamic processes of cultivation. These teachings provide a code on how to do our work, to fully till the field of our being, and to bring the seeds of our ideals into manifestation. Restoring our intimacy with the sacredness of all of life, we participate in serving an earth of beauty, and realize that in this service is perfect freedom."
This retreat is open to all, those experienced or new to spiritual practice.
A flyer for this event is available, with additional information.
Retreat guides Sharifa Norton and Muinuddin Smith are senior teachers within the Sufi Order International, in which Sharifa also serves as head of the Ziraat in North America. Together they founded the Light of Guidance Center for Sufi Studies in New York City. They are co-authors of the book "An Emerald Earth: Cultivating a Natural Spirituality and Serving Creative Beauty in Our World" (website), and offer retreats and workshops internationally.
The Abode of the Message is about a seven hours drive from Toronto. We've created a page with more information about this Sufi Order community and conference centre, or you can visit the Abode website.
Judging Voices/Sacred States - Ithaca, NY, Nov 5-7, 2010
We all have an inner voice that tells us we are doing things wrong - that we are somehow deficient. That voice leaves us feeling ashamed and guilty. It is tied to a false image of who we are and how the world is and anchors us in that image. This workshop will explore the inner structure that holds that voice (the superego), what it is, how and when it develops, and most importantly - ways to deal with it. When we can successfully confront our superego, and still that inner voice, we release the false image that we hold of ourselves and begin to access our True Being; our Essential Self.
Judging Voices / Sacred States
A workshop with
Mahdiah Esther Jacobs Kahn, LCSW
Sponsored by Ithaca Sufi Center
November 5, 6, 7, 2010
The workshop will be didactic and experiential and will cover the development of the superego and its evolution into an ethical system and eventually its absorption into essential structures that hold our values, ideals and a way of living that is in line with Being and our True Self. The critical judgmental voice anchors us to a limited false image of who we are and blocks our True Being and the sacred states that hold our real values. It ties us to ideals that we mistake for Truth and blocks the opening of spiritual dimensions of Being.
Mahdiah Esther Jacobs Kahn, LCSW is a senior teacher and retreat guide in the Sufi Order International. She is a professional therapist who earned an MSW from New York University in 1966. Mahdiah is also a senior teacher in the Diamond Logos work. She developed the work with the superego for the Diamond Logos teachings and it quickly became apparent that this work was a pivotal piece of all spiritual work. She lives in California and has taught in the United States and Europe.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 5, 6, 7, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Road, Ithaca, NY. [map]
The cost is $225.00 before October 1, $275.00 after. For any one day the cost is $100.00. (There will be a processing fee of $35 for cancellations and no refunds after October 15.)
Please register by sending a check written to Ithaca Sufi Center. Mail to NurQalbia Candice Emmons, P.O. Box 61, Van Etten, NY 14889. For more information and lodging needs email: cae5754 [at] gmail [dot] com.
This workshop can be preceded by 5, 10, or 14 day solitary retreats guided by Mahdiah at Light On the Hill in Van Etten, NY. For information on retreats, contact Light On the Hill at: lighthill [at] clarityconnect [dot] com. (Retreats are available whether or not the workshop is attended.)
Retreat with Aziza Scott - Kalamazoo, MI, Nov 12-14, 2010
Aziza Scott, head of the SOI Esoteric School, is tentatively scheduled to lead a weekend retreat/workshop in Kalamazoo, MI, USA, from November 12th to 14th, 2010. This event is sponsored by the Kalamazoo Sufi Order center. More information will become available as the date approaches.
This retreat has limited space and local Sufi Order initiates generally get first priority, so please contact Kate Nur about attending (and be understanding). Until more information about the retreat is available, you might find last year's annual event description useful.
Aziza Scott, M. Ed., has been a student of the retreat process for over twenty years and serves as the head of the Esoteric School and as Director of the Retreat Guide Training Program of the Sufi Order International, working closely with first Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and now Pir Zia. She has many years of experience leading individual and group retreats and conducting workshops in the United States, Europe and India. Aziza runs a retreat center in the Berkshires, Massachusetts.
10 Degrees of Separation: A weekend with Anna Less - Toronto, ON, Dec 3-5, 2010
In this workshop led by Anna Less, we will learn about the ten transformative stages of inner development that every soul experiences in its life journey. When difficulties occur while we are trying to learn the archetypical lessons from each stage of transformation, a filter develops that causes us to recreate and interpret our lives according to our past difficulties rather than experiencing who we truly are. We will learn to redirect our lives with movement, breath music and joy.
Both psychologists and mystics of many traditions have explored this journey in an attempt to understand and explain its purpose. This workshop integrates the wisdom and healing practices from both.
These practices include deep relaxation, music, stories, breath, sound, inner awareness, and guided meditation from different ancient traditions such as Yoga and Ayurveda, Taoism, Buddhism and Chinese Medicine, and mystical Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
This is a weekend designed to transform how you view life and give you a glimpse of your true being.
NOTE: This event is still in the early planning stages and the details may change. This summer we'll have more information, including a flyer, and an official news announcement will be posted on this website's front page.
Anna Less is a senior teacher in the Sufi Order, and co-director of Rising Tide International. She is one of the few Westerners to hold a Ph.D. in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which she was granted by Zhejiang College of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. Anna brings a deep understanding of the mystical underpinnings of physical form, and an ability to relate the subtleties of the spiritual path to our every day lives.
New Year's Retreat at the Abode of the Message - New Lebanon, NY, Dec 28-Jan 1, 2011
The New Year's retreat at the Abode of the Message is an annual tradition. This event is tentatively scheduled for December 28th, 2010 to January 1st, 2011. More information will become available as the date approaches.
The Abode is about a seven hours drive from Toronto. More event information may be available at the Abode Programs website. Until more information is available, you might find the description of last year's event ("Winter Renewal at the Abode") to be helpful.
Eat, Dance & Pray Together - Toronto, ON, Dec 31, 2010
The Awakening Heart Circle, a Sufi Order International centre in Toronto, hosts an annual New Year's event. The evening generally features a pot-luck dinner, Universal Worship service, and Dances of Universal Peace. More information will become available as the date approaches.
Labor Day Retreat at the Abode - New Lebanon, NY, Sep 2-5, 2011
The Abode of the Message hosts a Labor Day (US holiday) event every year. We'll have more information about the 2011 event as the time approaches. You might also want to visit the Abode Programs website, in case there is new information there. We have a page for the 2010 event.