BESHARA
Beshara is a name for the perspective that there is only one unlimited existence, expressing itself infinitely as a gift of love.
The potential to realise this truth lies within every human heart.
The awakening and realisation of this potential is the aim of this education.
The word Beshara is originally Aramaic, its meaning can be rendered as “good news” or “omen of joy”. It indicates the very positive and valuable effect that any movement towards a more inclusive and harmonious perspective represents.
COURSES & EVENTS
Mirrors of the Transcendent in the Cosmos of Ibn Arabi: The Body as Metaphor of Divine Self-Revelation
25th-26th July 2025
The Warburg Institute, University of London
A joint symposium held by the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and The Warburg Institute.
More details: https://ibnarabisociety.org/events/
Booking: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/events/cosmos-of-ibn-arabi-2025
Aspects of Science, Imagination and the Mystical
Saturday 14th June 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
With Peter Coates
This talk will consider the vital role of the Creative Imagination in Natural Science and in the Mystical Philosophy of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Paradise E’Now or The Smile of the Spirit
Saturday 24th May 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
With Charles Mugleston
A special Birthday Celebration with music, exploring, experiencing & soulfully enjoying the Ruba’iya’t of Hakim Omar Khayya’m translated & adapted by the Anglo-Irish genius Edward FitzGerald of Woodbridge, Suffolk into “English Music” in 1859.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Open Meetings
Monday 7th April, 2025
Monday 5th May, 2025
17:30–18:30 BST
Saturday 26th April, 2025
Saturday 24th May, 2025
9:00am-10:00am BST
Are you interested in sharing your thoughts and in contributing to the development of Beshara? We are excited to invite you to another series of monthly online Open Meetings
Know Yourself
Saturday 26th April 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
You yourself are the object of your quest
Reading and discussion of a classic explanation of the Oneness of Being, attributed to Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi and Awhad al-din Balyani and translated from the Arabic by Cecilia Twinch.
Contact: Michael Cohen, london@beshara.org
BESHARA MAGAZINE
The intentions of Beshara Magazine: an interview with the editor, Jane Clark
Beshara Magazine provides a platform for intelligent and thought-provoking material embodying a unifying perspective. Its concern is not with one particular field of activity, but with unitative ideas and initiatives as they arise in many different areas of contemporary thought.
LATEST ARTICLES
Transmission Across Cultures
Writer and art historian Diana Darke brings to light the largely unacknowledged influence of Islamic architecture and craftsmen on the iconic buildings of Europe
‘If you are building a prestige project, of course you’re going to go for the best, wherever it comes from.’
George William Russell: A Forgotten Irish Mystic
Gabriel Rosenstock gives a poetic response to twelve visionary paintings by the ‘myriad-minded’ writer and polymath
‘[Through his works] we may see the world once more in its primal beauty, may recover a sense of the long-forgotten but inextinguishable grandeur of the soul’
Rolling Out the Doughnut
Leonora Grcheva of DEAL talks about how Kate Raworth’s innovative economic theory is being translated into sustainable practice in cities across the world
‘The Doughnut gives us a new way to conceptualise who we are, how we position ourselves as part of the living world, and how we can reimagine our future’
Emily Young: Giving Voice to the Earth
The distinguished sculptor Emily Young talks about her work and the stories that stone can tell us
‘What does it look like when a human is at one with the universe? Embracing it all…’
Richard Lewis: Pilgrim in the Land of Children
Robert Hirshfield appreciates the work of a teacher who has devoted his life to inspiring children to write imaginative poetry
‘A child is the privacy of a universe learning to talk to itself.’
RECENT TALKS
Ibn ‘Arabi and the Ecological Crisis: a Merciful Nemesis? Revisited
Speaker: Peter Coates
Delivered at the October Gallery, London, September 2023
A talk and discussion with Peter Coates about the ecological crisis and its deeper significance.
“Hubris against the essential divine order of nature would be followed by its appropriate nemesis” (Aldous Huxley)
BESHARA LECTURE 2023
The Coincidence of Opposites
Speaker: Iain McGilchrist
Delivered online on 9th July 2023
If there is Oneness, what are the Many? Are they the same? What do we mean? Iain McGilchrist suggests that the coincidence of opposites is a truth of unsurpassed importance, but that we have been educated into believing that it is, quite simply, nonsense; and that this plays a neglected role in our failure to make sense of the world.
PUBLICATIONS
Letters
Bulent Rauf | This book presents letters full of profound insights to students corresponding with Bülent Rauf (1911–1987), who was Consultant to the Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education.
Kernel of the Kernel
Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi | “For the one who is ready to look into the depth of his or her own being, to the kernel of the kernel which is his essence, this book is invaluable, pointing out the path of progress for those who may become entangled along the way.”
Know Yourself
Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi / Awhad al-din Balyani | The power of ideas has been expressed in many ways. It is also true of a wrong idea, illusion, and the most deep-rooted and limiting of ideas is the idea of our own existence. “Know Yourself” is a clearing away of misconceptions, so that a true perception may appear.
The Trust is supported entirely by philanthropic donations and voluntary work.
BESHARA WORLDWIDE
Beshara courses and events are held around the world, organised by independent groups and individuals who share a common belief in the importance of this education.
To find out more about our worldwide groups, follow these links:
The Beshara Trust (UK)
Beshara Netherlands
Beshara North America
Beshara Southeast Asia
Beshara Australia
© The Beshara Trust (UK) 2022. All rights reserved