Description
Join us for a truly mystical event of divine remembrance, poetry, and whirling.
Dhikr is the act of calling upon God through invocation, sometimes loudly to the powerful beat of a drum, at other times softly or silently in the depths of the heart.
Whirling is the central meditational practice of the Sufi Mevlevi Order. The turning of the body echoes the solar system as it orbits the Sun, helping worshippers to abandon personal desires and focus on God. Accompanying the dhikr will be recitations of Rumi’s poems and whirling dervishes from the Mevlevi Order, the spiritual school founded on the teachings of Rumi.
The sema will be led by teachers Mahmoud Mostafa and Khadim Chishti, and a group of whirling dervishes. This gathering is open to people of all faiths and none, whether to actively participate, or to simply witness this great celebration of Love.
About the Speakers
Mahmoud Mostafa
Mahmoud Mostafa is a deputy teacher of the Threshold Society and follows the Mevlevi path of Jalaluddin Rumi under the guidance of Shaikh Kabir and Camille Helminski. Since 1995, Mahmoud has been devoted to the study and practice of Tassawuf. In the course of his development, he received teachings from Sufi shaikhs in the USA, Turkey, Syria, South Africa, and Egypt.
Khadim Chishti
Khadim Chishti has been on the Sufi path since 1974. She is initiated in three Sufi orders: as Senior teacher in the Chishti Sufi Order of the West under Pir Vilayat Khan; as Khalifa in the Helveti Jerrahi under Nur Lex Hixon; and currently as Khalifa/Deputy in the Mevlevi Threshold Society under Camille and Kabir Helminski. She trained with a Lakota Medicine Man while he lived in Portland, Oregon for a time and was adopted as his sister. She has been leading a Sufi circle for over 38 years in her local community in Portland, Oregon, and also teaches in Islamabad Pakistan, as well as other online communities.
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