Spiritual Guidance: Inayati Order Leaders Training Module
with Aziza Scott, Suhrawardi Gebel, Amida Cary, and Naima Brown
Online, Sundays 11 AM - 2 PM EDT/EST, Sep. 22, Oct. 6, Oct. 20, Nov. 10, Nov. 24 2019
We invite you to an online course of the Inayati Order Leaders Training Module on Spiritual Guidance. This course is a comprehensive and deep training in the meditation practices taught by the Inayati Order. This is invaluable material for teaching classes and guiding Murids.
We will offer this training in a series of 5 classes to go more deeply into the module on spiritual guidance. We are exploring this form to allow integration and deepening between sessions. We are planning the time so that friends from far and wide can join us!
Some of our most experienced teachers will be sharing the most important elements of guidance which they have culled over decades of deep study and practice. If you have taken this module before consider taking it again as there is always more to understand in this very sacred relationship between Guide and Murid. There will be room to ask questions and for sharing in groups and dyads.
Some of the essential themes are the role of the Guide, the Guide /Murid relationship, models of offering guidance and practices for character building, spiritual growth and situations in life. We will also clarify the difference between the psychological role and the spiritual guide role.
We will explore attuning to another, trusting intuition and collaborating in friendship . We will offer situations which one may have to face as a guide and share together how we respond.
" Then the question arises: what is meant by initiation? Initiation, or in Sufi terms Bayat, first of all has to do with the relationship between the pupil and the Murshid(a). The Murshid(a) is understood to be the counsellor on the spiritual path. The Murshid(a) does not give anything to or teach the pupil, the mureed, for they cannot give what the latter already has; they cannot teach what one’s soul has always known. What is done in the life of the mureed is to show how the path can be clear towards the light within by one’s own self. This is the only purpose of one’s life on earth. One may attain the purpose of life without a personal guide, but to try to do so is to be like a ship traversing the ocean without a compass. To take initiation, then, means entrusting oneself in regard to spiritual matters to a spiritual guide. " - Hazrat inayat Khan
Completion of the Leaders Training Modules are a requirement for appointment as a Representative. Representatives in training in the Inayati Order Esoteric School Leadership Training program will need to have completed this course during or before their training; existing Coordinators and Coordinators in training are also encouraged to take this course. Existing Representatives are also invited to take this course for ongoing enrichment. It covers material that may not have been available in the past.
The course is also open to those in leadership roles, or training for leadership roles, in the other 5 activities of the Inayati Order, or in leadership roles in one of the member organizations of the Federation of the Sufi Message.
This course is guided by four senior teachers of the Inayati Order, Aziza Scott, Suhrawardi Gebel, Amida Cary, and Naima Khabira Brown. During this course participants are guided through the foundational practices of Spiritual Guidance in a sacred retreat atmosphere. There will be opportunities to ask questions, share experiences and engage in an online community of friendship. Participants will receive a manual of the guidance practices which are covered in the course.
When : Sundays, Sep. 22, Oct. 6, Oct. 20, Nov. 10, Nov. 24, 2019
Time : 11 AM - 2 PM EDT/EST
Where : Your sacred space! This is an online class through Zoom
Cost : Early Registration: $150.00 by Sep. 8th, Registration $175 after Sep. 8th, 2019
Registration : Coordinators, Representatives, and Coordinators or Representatives in training in the Inayati Order Esoteric School may register by going to https://inayatispiritualguidance.eventbee.com
All others should contact Widad Sabina Cox sabinananda@yahoo.com.
Upon registration the instructions for connecting to the course will be sent via email. PC, Mac, Android, and IOS are all supported.
For further information and questions please contact Widad Sabina Cox sabinananda@yahoo.com.
Aziza Scott, M. Ed. , is the emeritus head of the Esoteric School and of the Retreat Program of the Inayati Order. She brings insight and experience gained from many years of leading meditation retreats and conducting workshops throughout North America, Europe, and India.
Suhrawardi Gebel has been a murid since 1971 and a guide in the Order since 1980. He is a mentor for leaders-in-training for the Esoteric School. He has contributed to the training of retreat guides and has offered individual retreats for many years. From 2004 to 2012 he served as Secretary General for the Order and is currently Chancellor for the Knighthood of Purity. Suluk Press has published two of his books, Root Speaks to Bud and Nature’s Hidden Dimension: Envisioning the Inner Life of the Universe .
Amida Cary guides the Inayati Order’s Retreat concentration and its Retreat Guide Training program, with the support of 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 and has worked closely with Pir Vilayat, Aziza Scott, and Pir Zia. She collaborated with Pir Vilayat for many years editing his curriculum and establishing the website www.universel.net. Amida has guided murids, and individual and group retreats in the Inayati Order for many years. She is also a founder of Suluk Academy, has served as Suluk faculty, and is the I.O. Regional Representative for Northern California.
Naima Khabira Brown is Vice President of the Inayati Order Esoteric School. She is a teacher, spiritual guide, retreat guide, educator and artist. Naima directs the program for training Coordinators and Representatives (teachers and guides in the esoteric school). She is a founding mentor of Suluk academy and senior advisor to the program. Naima is an organizer, center leader and teacher for the Inayatiyya in the greater Boston area.