Day Retreat: Sufism and Shamanism– A Source of Healing for the World

Sufism and Shamanism – A Source of Healing for the World
October 25th, 10am – 4pm
Insight for Wellbeing Meditation House, 11c Allerton Park, Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7 4ND

Suggested donation: £30 (only to cover costs. any excess will be donated to charity)

In these troubled and often painful times we live, there has never been a greater need to find sources of healing and peace for ourselves and the world around us. Whether we believe they are rooted in a greater spiritual power or simply within the human psyche and imagination, such sources of healing can help us survive and find meaning in our lives.

This day retreat explores traditions of sufi ritual from Central Asia and Turkic Anatolia, which developed side by side with local shamanism, absorbing many of its features whilst stimulating new healing practices drawing on both traditions.

We will consider healing rituals kept alive by women in Central Asia in the 20th Century during the years of Soviet repression of religion, when women were uniquely placed to preserve tradition in private while men were more visible to the authorities. We’ll explore how these women learned their healing skills and how their ceremonies were understood by participants.

We will then explore and taste a specific tradition within sufism considered to bring healing power – “baraka” – from heaven to earth. We will explore in simple form the movements of the whirling dervishes from Turkey, and we’ll perform a full ceremony of sufi chanting from the tradition of Jelaluddin Rumi as a form of “spiritual journey”, travelling together through deeper/higher worlds within the heart to the source of true healing, the Divine Presence.

Anyone is welcome, from any religious or spiritual background. The forms of the practices we’ll explore are Islamic, but our teachers from Konya in Turkey who passed them on to us did so in a spirit of inclusivity and open-mindedness, and we try to continue this great-heartedness as best we can. The physical movements we’ll be sharing are very simple and don’t require any particular level of fitness. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.