The Seeker’s Journey: An Alchemy of Love
Wednesdays, September 9 – 30, 2026 via Zoom
8:00 – 9:15 pm ET (New York)
As the rose opens by the influence of the sun, so the soul unfolds by the light of love. — Hazrat Inayat Khan
You are warmly invited to a four-week journey into the heart of the Inayatiyya, a living tradition of Sufism that honors the unity of all religious ideals and the unfolding of the divine within the human heart.
Every seeker’s path has a shape to it. There is the setting out, and the question of what to carry. There are the challenges that meet us along the way — some of which turn out to be teachers. There are the first tastes of something opening within. And there is the return: coming back into ordinary life changed, with the soul finding its voice in the world.
The Seeker’s Journey: An Alchemy of Love follows that arc across four evenings. Whether you’ve been inspired by the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat, and Pir Zia, moved by the music and poetry of the tradition, or simply touched by a mysterious inner call, this course is for you. No previous experience is needed.
Each week, a senior teacher from the Inayatiyya introduces one stage of the journey, weaving together teachings, contemplative practices, and space for questions.
Dates & Themes
Class 1: Wednesday, September 9 — Preparation for the Journey: What to Take?
With Yaqin Aubert
We consider what the inner life asks of us at the outset, and what a seeker carries — and sets down — before setting out.
Class 2: Wednesday, September 16 — Challenges Along the Way: Now What?
With Nizam un Nisa Ayeda Husain
We meet the difficulties that arise on the path: the unlearning and unravelling that the journey requires, and how challenges themselves become instruction.
Class 3: Wednesday, September 23 — A Taste of Within: Glimmerings of Transformation
With Rahmana Santorelli
We turn toward the first openings of inner experience, and how transformation announces itself long before it completes.
Class 4: Wednesday, September 30 — Alive in the World: The Soul Speaks
With Azar Baksh
We return to ordinary life awake, exploring how the soul finds its voice in the world and how the inner journey expresses itself outwardly.
Whether you are ready to take a next step or simply wish to listen more closely to the call of your heart, this course is an invitation to explore the path ahead.
Join us on this journey. This program is open to all.
Details
All sessions are Wednesdays, 8:00 – 9:15 pm Eastern Time / 5:00 – 6:15 pm Pacific Time. For those in Oceania, sessions fall on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am in Eastern Australia and 12:00 pm in New Zealand — with the exception of the final session on October 1, which is 1:00 pm in New Zealand.
There are three tuition options to meet all needs:
- Supporter: $120 ($30/class). If you’re able to give a little more, this helps sustain our programs and the wider work of the Inayatiyya.
- Standard: $80 ($20/class). Our suggested level.
- Limited Income: $40 ($10/class). If the standard level is a stretch.
Scholarships are available — please email astana@inayatiyya.org before registering.
If you miss a class, video will be made available a day or two after each session.
If you have questions about the Inner School or this series, please email innerschool@inayatiyya.org. For registration and scholarship questions, please email astana@inayatiyya.org.
Speakers
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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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Rahmana SantorelliRahmana has been a student on the Sufi path for several decades, since being initiated by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. She serves as a representative and guide in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and offers regular classes through this center. She leads Gatha classes online through the Boston Inayatiyya. Rahmana is a retreat guide and a mentor for the Sophic Whorl Retreat Guide Training and is a healing conductor in the Healing Order. She is retired from her
vocation as a reading specialist helping children find keys to inner discovery. She lives in western Massachusetts where she can be found walking her dogs in the woods, near lakes and rivers, or tending to the plants and creatures in her perennial gardens. -
Yaqin AubertYaqin Joseph Aubert has been studying in Sufism for more than 40 years and is a senior teacher in the Inayatiyya Order, as well as past Vice President. He was first initiated by and studied with Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and now studies with Pir Zia Inayat Khan. Yaqin is a Seraj (senior minister) in the Universal Worship and has been a teacher in the Suluk Academy, a school of contemplative study with students around the world. He is a founding member and former director of the Abode of the Message, a conference and retreat center in upstate New York. He guides seekers to unfold the fullness of their being. Yaqin is a storyteller, and leads individual and group retreats, and seminars in North America.
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Nizam un Nisa HusainNizam un Nisa Husain is a Murshida, Cheraga, Guide, Representative and Facilitator of the Anjumani-Islam group in the Inayatiyya. She is also the National Representative of Inayatiyya Canada. 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 and has mentored several Suluk classes including the first graduate Suluk. 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.
