Diving Into Life
An Inner Guidance Group w/ Gayan Macher
December 3rd – 5th, 2021
Diving into Life is community of spiritual friendship and practice for adults in their 30s and 40s. Led by Gayan Macher and Gulrukh Patel, this retreat weaves contemplative inquiry together with the Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan and traditional practices of meditation and Zikr.Â
Contemplative inquiry is the great art of Listening inwardly – listening for guidance to the deepest questions of your heart, for understanding of your life, and discovery of your true self. New members, upon a simple intake process, are welcome.
Speakers
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Gayan MacherGayan Macher is a companion and guide to those who are called to the courageous path of love. He has practiced and taught the universal Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan his entire adult life. In addition, he has studied Buddhist practice, the Diamond Approach, and psychology, where he explored emerging understandings of the formation of the ego. Gayan leads group retreats and has guided scores of individual students. He collaborated with Pir Zia Inayat Khan in designing Suluk Academy, and taught at Suluk for eight years. Along with Taj Inayat he created Sufi Retreats, and then New Rain, which became laboratories for the process of awakening and spiritual maturation. Gayan also has a 40-year career as a consultant to executives of organizations, having worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies as well as non-profits of all sizes. Among Gayanâs great loves is music. He plays guitar, and as a singer-song writer has recorded two CDs of original songs.
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Deepa Gulrukh Patel
Deepa Gulrukh Patel is an activist and facilitator with a special interest in the arts, interdisciplinary collaboration, contemplation, diversity, and equality. She has worked with organisations such as the BBC, ActionAid, and the Arts Council of England. She is currently working with the University of Sheffield, UNCHR, and other partners on a number of projects with refugees in Jordan at the Zaatari refugee camp. She is also working with the Fetzer Foundation on a project around Virtual Sacred Spaces. Voluntary work is an important part of her life and in the UK she is Chair of Tamasha Theatre Company and The Loss Foundation, a charity for the bereaved of those who have died of cancer. Deepa has been involved with the inner life since she was a teenager and is the director of a summer meditation camp in the Swiss Alps. She is a teacher and guide in the Inayatiyya, a Sufi lineage founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan and the Vice-Chair of the Inayatiyya International Board.