The Novel Coronavirus & the Life of the Spirit: Class Video Is Now Online
March 16, 2020
Yesterday’s class is now posted on our Vimeo page which can always be found at vimeo.com/inayatiyya. As a result of our class, we will now gather every Sunday at 3 pm EDT. Pir Zia will teach, followed by small groups via Zoom, and then a larger Q&A.
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A number of you were unable to join us because our Zoom account only allowed 300 people. Over the coming week, we will up our capacity and refine our processes. Over the next eight weeks, we will likely all become video conferencing experts!
If you are joining us from another time zone, you can check your timing with timeanddate.com. Also, for updates, please check the Inayatiyya’s blog related to the Coronavirus: inayatiorder.org/coronavirus.
The Novel Coronavirus & the Life of the Spirit: A Special Class Online Today
March 15, 2020
When: Sunday, March 15 at 3:00 PM EDT
Where: Online via Zoom
Please join us for a special class with Pir Zia and guests Sarida Brown & Devi Tide, Vice Presidents of the Sufi Healing Order in Europe and North America, respectively. We will collect our energies to attune and discuss the effects of, and how we positively affect, Covid-19 coronavirus as a growing pandemic.
3:00 pm The Novel Coronavirus and the Life of the Spirit
During his teaching, Pir Zia will explain, and we will practice, the word of power Khayr to be said 101 times daily during this time.
3:45 pm Conversation / Q&A
4:10 pm Sufi Healing Service for the World w/ Devi Tide
Devi will also introduce a Sufi Healing Practice that could be useful to us.
4:30 pm The Universel
After our closing, Jennifer Alia Wittman, Executive Director of the Inayatiyya in North America, will stay on Zoom to answer any questions about organizational direction as it relates to Covid-19 coronavirus. Our next class and healing service will be Sunday, March 29, 3-4:30 pm EDT online worldwide. See here for the Inayatiyya’s related blog: inayatiorder.org/coronavirus.
Inayatiyya Response to Coronavirus #2
March 11, 2020
Over the last week, we have continued to track the evolving situation regarding COVID-19 coronavirus and related recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO). After much consideration and consultation with medical professionals and other experts, out of an abundance of caution, we are taking the following actions effective immediately:
• We have decided to follow the recommendation to limit public gatherings until further notice. The CDC and WHO both advise that this is the best way to contain the spread of the virus, with special concern for those age 60 and over and/or with underlying health conditions.
• We plan to offer online programs only for now. This applies to Pir Zia’s worldwide schedule and activities at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia.
• Our next program will be Pir Zia’s Sufi Teachings class, Sunday, March 15, from 3-4:30 pm EDT. This program will be online only and feature Pir Zia together with Devi Tide and Sarida Brown, Sufi Healing Order Vice Presidents from the United and Europe, respectively. We will use Zoom video conferencing so that we can all see one another and share in ways to spiritually approach the possibility of a growing pandemic.
• Pir Zia will now offer his annual German Easter Retreat online only (from Virginia), Good Friday, April 10, through Easter Monday, April 13, 2020. The theme is Resurrection. Details will soon be made available inviting you to join us.
• Individual Inayati Centers and teachers may decide to still hold gatherings depending on the circumstances affecting their local area. Please check with your local Inayatiyya contact, if you have one, to see if in-person classes and other events are still being planned near you.
• At this time, we plan to go forward with our summer schedule of programs, including Season of the Rose in the United States and the Zenith Institute Camp in Switzerland, and will continue to monitor the situation. We encourage you to register now to reserve your space, reassured that we will refund your money if there is reason to cancel.
Please email us at astana@inayatiorder.org if you have questions specific to our policies related to COVID-19 coronavirus. We remain here to hold and serve our community throughout the uncertainties of the coming weeks and months. For ongoing updates about the Inayatiyya’s response to the Covid-19 coronavirus, please see inayatiorder.org/coronavirus.
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Last week we shared the practice, Khayr. We encourage you to continue to say this mantra daily, repeating Khayr 101 times in the morning or evening. (Khayr is an Arabic word meaning goodness, welfare, well-being, benevolence. You may learn how to pronounce the mantra on Voxifier.)
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Inayatiyya Response to Coronavirus
March 4, 2020
As we experience the worldwide response to Coronavirus (Covid-19), we too are following the news, consulting experts, and seeking guidance about how to limit the spread of the virus and protect members of our extended community of spiritual friends.
With this message, we are initiating what will likely be an ongoing communication sharing updates over the coming months. As of March 4, 2020, our response is as follows:
• We are following advisement provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).
• We are encouraging all those who do not feel well to stay home rather than come to Inayatiyya gatherings at the Astana in Richmond, Virginia, at the Abode in New Lebanon, New York, at Fazal Manzil in Suresnes, France, at the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan in New Delhi, India, and those held by local Inayati Centers worldwide. If the technology exists at a particular site, we will make special accommodations for you to join via Zoom from afar.
• We are encouraging all those who do attend Inayatiyya gatherings to come prepared to frequently wash their hands, to cough into the bend of their arm or into a tissue that is quickly discarded, to refrain from hugging and touching, and/or to leave events if they begin to feel unwell with a cough and/or fever. As supplies allow, we will keep hand sanitizer and tissues readily available at all gatherings.
• Our top priority is the health and safety of our community. We are monitoring and evaluating the situations at each of our locations and will continue to take measures to safeguard our sites and those who visit them. Please check our social media and website for updates.
• We are developing contingency plans to keep our community uplifted, connected, and informed as events unfold.
• We are encouraging people to contact us if there are questions. If you have questions about a particular gathering, please contact the event organizer and/or host site. All general inquiries may be sent to astana@inayatiorder.org.
In our school of Sufism, certain sacred words are used to bring prayerful attention to situations in the world. In the present situation, we recommend using the word Khayr as an invocation of Divine protection. This mantric word may be repeated 101 times a day while concentrating on the healing power of God.
Khayr is an Arabic word meaning goodness, welfare, well-being, benevolence. You may learn how to pronounce the mantra on Voxifier.