Guidance in the First Station
A Retreat for Inner School Leaders w/ Pir Zia
Friday – Sunday, January 20th – 22nd, 2023
Over the last two years, Pir Zia has been gradually introducing the paradigm of the Sophic Whorl, a cognitive map that derives from Murshid’s teachings on esoteric physiology, the seven lata’if of classical Sufism, and Pir Vilayat’s alchemical insights.
The Sophic Whorl is most optimally navigated by means of a spiral movement, the Spagyric Gyre. The first station in the Gyre corresponds with the root center, the Center of the Formative Mold. The path of spiritual transformation necessarily begins here.
Before all else, grounding is necessary. In fact, the root center proves important more than once in the path; its relevance is ongoing. In this session we will explore the needs of murids in the station of the Formative Mold and the practices and methods of guidance that most cogently address the problems and prospects of this region of the path.
Two sessions a day will be devoted to study and practice led by Pir Zia with additional Breakout Sessions led by senior teachers in the Inner School in which we will share meditation and suhbat together. Attunements and topics will focus on those introduced by Pir Zia during the weekend.
This retreat is designed for leaders within the Inayatiyya’s Inner School, including Coordinators, Representatives, and Retreat Guides, as well as those in training. All Inner School leaders are encouraged to attend and to participate in real time, or to watch the video which comes with registration.
For participants based in Oceania, recordings will be provided as promptly as possible and there will be a local timeframe offered for breakout sessions.
You are warmly invited to gather in centers or regions, with each participant registering individually. We are all looking forward to being together in January.
THE ALCHEMICAL SPIRAL SCHEDULE
Suresnes Time (CET)
Friday 20 January
- 3:00 – 4:15 pm Pir Zia
- 4:15 – 4:45 pm Tea Break
- 4:45 – 6:00 pm Pir Zia
Saturday 21 January
- 9:30 – 10:45 am Inner School Europe, Turkey & Pakistan
- 10:45 – 11:15 am Tea Break
- 11:15 – 12:30 pm Inner School Europe, Turkey & Pakistan
- 3:00 – 4:15 pm Pir Zia
- 4:15 – 4:45 pm Tea Break
- 4:45 – 6:00 pm Pir Zia
Sunday 22 January
- 9:30 – 10:45 am Inner School Europe, Turkey & Pakistan
- 10:45 – 11:15 am Tea Break
- 11:15 – 12:30 pm Inner School Europe, Turkey & Pakistan
- 2:30 – 3:45 pm Pir Zia
- 3:45 – 4:15 pm Tea Break
- 4:15 – 5:30 pm Pir Zia
Richmond Time (EST)
Friday 20 January
- 9:00 – 10:15 am Pir Zia
- 10:15 – 10:45 am Tea Break
- 10:45 – 12 pm Pir Zia
- 2:00 – 3:15 pm Inner School North America
- 3:15 – 3:45 pm Tea Break
- 3:45 – 5:00 pm Inner School North America
Saturday 21 January
- 9:00 – 10:15 am Pir Zia
- 10:15 – 10:45 am Tea Break
- 10:45 – 12:00 pm Pir Zia
- 2:00 – 3:15 pm Inner School North America
- 3:15 – 3:45 pm Tea Break
- 3:45 – 5:00 pm Inner School North America
Sunday 22 January
- 8:30 – 9:45 am Pir Zia
- 9:45 – 10:15 am Tea Break
- 10:15 – 11:30 am Pir Zia
TUITION & REGISTRATION
Tuition for the three days is $85 including video and audio provided within a few days of the program. Partial scholarships are available as needed. All teachings will be provided via Zoom.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about the content or other details of this program, please email innerschool@inayatiyya.org. For registration and scholarship, please email Josh at astana@inayatiyya.org.
Guidance in the First Station is taught by Pir Zia Inayat Khan, carrier of the Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia’s teaching will be complemented by additional faculty, to soon be announced, during the mornings in Europe and afternoons in North America.
Speakers
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Pir Zia Inayat KhanPir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, a school of Sufi contemplative study and practice. He is the author of Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest; and the editor and compiler of Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan, for which he also wrote the critical introduction. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France. inayatiyya.org
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Nizam un Nisa Ayeda HusainNizam un Nisa is a Shaykha, Cheraga, Guide, Representative and Facilitator of the Anjumani-Islam group in the Inayatiyya. A student of classical Chishti Sufism since 1988 and a devoted follower of the Inayatiyya since 2004, she has led Inayatiyya centers in Lahore, in Dubai and now in Oakville, Ontario where she lives. A journalist and editor by profession with an MA in Journalism/Near Eastern Studies from NYU, Nizam un Nisa is a graduate of the first European Suluk class, Knight of Purity, and mentor to the Naubahar Suluk class. She has led Sufi retreats, taught Sufi meditation to Buddhist monks in Tokyo and been invited to the UN as part of an international delegation of spiritual leaders. She is currently working on setting the Urdu poetry of Hazrat Inayat Khan to music.
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Jamila Cranston-BuckleyJamila Cranston-Buckley is a student of life. She has worked in the fields of Well Being for 40 years. A practitioner of Oriental Healing, Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture, Jamila continues to deepen in understanding the Five Elements as they manifest through every aspect of life. She treasures the philosophy of Wholeness and Interdependence of living systems found in approaches such as Sufi teachings, Oriental Medicine and ‘Perma-Dynamics’. Her passions are gardening, exploring wellbeing through movement, eating well, being in community, growing communication skills, cultivating compassion and consciously working with all states of mind. Her focus is tuning and polishing her Heart-Being, to listen more fully and deeply to self, others and life. Jamila is the Inayatiyya’s National Representative for New Zealand and holds the work of the ‘Inner School’. She guides individual and group retreats to tend heart, soul, unfold unique gifts and purpose of life.
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Don Azar Baksh WeinerAzar Baksh Don Weiner is a senior teacher in the Inayatiyya and a retired Ph.D. psychologist. He has been teaching meditation to a variety of populations for over 50 years. He has written GPS for the Spiritual Journey and Upgrading the Operating System of the Soul: A Manual of Quantum Sufism (with a foreword by Pir Vilayat). He and his wife Ravani Rah Diane Weiner have written The Gabrielite Work – Broadband Spirituality for the 21st Century, Awakening as a Human*Divine Being, and Beyond the Wonderful- Transforming the World with the Light of Your Being. They have developed a synthesis of their work together over the years called the Gabrielite Work, which offers advanced spiritual methodology integrating contemporary scientific discoveries with the wisdom of ancient Sufi traditions, as well as the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat, and Pir Zia. Video and audio recordings of classes they have offered are available on their YouTube channel – drdonwcc.
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Amida CaryAmida Cary is Director of the Inayatiyya’s Retreat Concentration in North America and its Retreat Guide Training Program, working in concert with an international network of experienced retreat guides and trainee mentors. Her primary focus is encouraging all involved to enter the transformative depths of the retreat process. Amida is an experienced retreat guide herself and has worked closely with Pir Vilayat, Aziza Scott, and Pir Zia. She is a founder of Suluk Academy and has served as Suluk faculty. Amida lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Zumurrud ButtaZumurrud Butta serves as Vice President of the Inner School of the Inayatiyya in Europe and leads the Inner School in Germany. She offers individual and group retreats and retreat guide training, has taught at Suluk Academy in North America and Europe and is serving on the Suluk Global Committee. Zumurrud teaches courses on Sufi mysticism in Europe and online, with a focus on the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Ibn ´Arabi and the female transmission of mysticism.
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Nigel Huzur HamiltonNigel is a qualified psychotherapist of some 40 years, working extensively with his clients in their dreamwork and helping them through their personal Alchemical transformation process. He is the Co-founder of the Dream Research Institute, London, and is the author of Awakening through Dreams (2014). He was initiated in 1978 by Pir Vilayat. As the UK Inayatiyya Representative, he is an experienced retreat guide having guided groups and individuals on spiritual retreats for some 38 years. Nigel has also taught as part of the Suluk Academy in the US, Europe and Zenith Institute Camp in Switzerland.
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Jacob Miraj DominicusJacob Miraj Dominicus helps people deepen their meditative practice. Jacob has been a murid of the Inayatiyya since 1997, served on the Inayati Order Board of Trustees under Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and Pir Zia Inayat Khan, and helped start Suluk Academy serving as its inaugural administrator. In 2007, he graduated from Suluk’s Kafur class. Since 2015 Jacob has co-led retreats with Gulrukh Patel at the Zenith Institute in Switzerland. He currently serves as the co-Madar-ul-Muham of Inayatiyya Inner School (Oceania and North America). Professionally, he consults with corporate teams and teaches meditation. Jacob holds a B.A. from NYU in Organizational Behavior, Narrative Theory, and Mysticism and has been a Visiting Scholar at NYU Tisch’s Interactive Communications Program (ITP). He lives in Los Angeles, where he studies the Chinese martial arts of Xingyi and Bagua and lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats.
