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 author of Tears from the Mother of the Sun with visual artist Amruta Patil, Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; and Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France. -
Azar Baksh Don 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 co-Madar-ul-Muham of the Inner School of the Inayatiyya in North America and Oceania. She was first initiated in 1975, and studied deeply with Pir Vilayat until his passing and now supports Pir Zia and his work. She has presented several teaching and training programs in the Inayatiyya Inner School in person and online. Amida directs the Inayatiyya’s Retreat Concentration and Retreat Guide Training Program. In that capacity she works with an international network of experienced retreat guides and mentors. She has served in many capacities within the Inayatiyya over the 50 years, including as a founder of Suluk Academy. Currently she is designing programs for Coordinator and Representative training, and for the Sophic Whorl/Spagyric Gyre as retreat. Her professional background is in education. She has taught in progressive independent schools in Maryland and California. She now lives in the high southwestern desert, 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, co-Madar-ul-Maham of the Inner School of the Inayatiyya, 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.
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Jamila Cranston-BuckleyJamila Cranston-Buckley began her journey on Sufi Path with the words “Toward the One, the Perfection of Love Harmony and Beauty” and in her heart there was a deep resounding response. As a 26 year old seeker an inner decision was made: To live for Love, Harmony and Beauty, with reverence and homage to all who carry this lineage, and tend this sacred flame of the Message brought by Hazrat Inayat Khan. Jamila is an Inayatiyya Representative and Guide in Aotearoa, New Zealand and holder of the Inner School of Sufi Wisdom. She is also an Alchemical and Healing Retreat Guide, mentor for Suluk Academy, and treasures tending her garden and food forest, exploring wellbeing through movement, eating well, cultivating community and consciously working with all states of mind.
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Nizam un Nisa Ayeda HusainNizam un Nisa Ayeda Husain is a senior teacher and guide in the Inayatiyya. A long-time journalist specializing in Sufism with a double masters in journalism and Near Eastern studies from NYU, she teaches Sufi meditation, chanting, and philosophy with a special emphasis on Rumi’s poetry as a means of healing and evolving. Ayeda has run Sufi centers in her hometown of Lahore, Pakistan; in Dubai, where she once lived; and in Oakville, Ontario where she lives and works. She has led spiritual retreats worldwide, taught Sufi meditation to Buddhist monks in Tokyo, and has been invited to the United Nations as part of an international delegation of spiritual leaders.
