Poetics of Science: Inspiration

April 21 – 23, 2017

The first of three seminar weekends at the Chisholme Institute offering interactive presentations and workshops with speakers from diverse backgrounds including literature, Buddhism, psychology, art, the greater ecumenism, and music, as well as films and music nights.

Event Description

The compelling idea that inspired The Poetics of Science seminar weekends is inspiration itself. Inspiration is the creative, inexhaustible source through which the human reality can be directly known, be it through the science of the physical universe explored as an object, or through the embodied discovery of the hidden, interior realm of the heart.

Programme

Friday April 21st
      19:00          Supper & Welcome (followed by music)

Saturday April 22nd
  9:00 – 9:20     Narda Azaria Dalgleish: The Right Hemisphere and the Metaphysical Heart
  9:20 – 10.15   Edie Irwin: Who’s speaking? Who’s listening?
10:15 – 10:45   Coffee
10:45 – 12:45   Edie Irwin: Workshop in listening
13:00 – 14:00   Lunch
14:30 – 16:00   Ghoufran Warlow: Listening is the Bridge
16:00 – 16:30   Tea
16:30 – 18:30   Dorothy Alexander: Adventures in Found: An introduction to Found Poetry and a free-flow writing workshop
19:00 – 20:00   Supper
20:30          Music concert: STEMS*

Sunday April 23rd
  9:00 – 10:15   Gwendolen Dupre: Imagination and Knowledge: Aesthetics, Dreams and Individuation
10:15 – 10:45   Coffee
10:45 – 12:30   Charles Verey: Reflections on the life and work of Dom Sylvester Houédard
13:00 – 14:00   Lunch
14:30 – 15:30   Dorothy Alexander: Free-flow writing-reading workshop texts
15:30 – 16:00   Plenary Session
16:00 – 16:30   Tea

Full programme information and details of speakers.

*STEMS are a ‘Cinematic’, Post-Rock, Neo-Classical band, currently performing with four musicians: 2 violins, a cello and a guitar. The band was formed in 2011 with the idea of seeking a new relationship between experimental guitar and classical instruments, to create music with the energy of avant-garde rock music but with elongated and intense structures of Western and Indian classical music.

Booking & Fees

Booking:
Please fill in this on-line registration form, or write to secretary@chisholme.org
For more information, email info@chisholme.org
Tel +44 (0)1450 880215

Early Bird Rate:
10% discount for bookings received and paid for by April 7th

Residential:
– Whole weekend (incl. full board Friday to Sunday):
– Shared accommodation (double or triple bedroom): £135
– Single room accommodation (limited availability): £165

Non-Residential:
– Whole weekend, including all meals: £80

Day Rates:
– Day attendance with lunch, excluding evening £35
– Saturday evening (incl. supper) £12

Concessions: Students and under 25s: 20%;
Special discounts are offered to anyone participating in the Gardening Fortnight preceding the seminar weekend.
Contact: francesryan2001@yahoo.com

Volunteering:
A number of FREE PLACES are available for volunteers wishing to help with some of the hospitality for the weekend.
If you would like to volunteer for this event, please write to francesryan2001@yahoo.com

The Poetics of Science: Inspiration

Chisholme Map

Chisholme House, Hawick TD9 7PH, UK

 

 

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Thursdays
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14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

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Weekly from 19th September 2026
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14:00–15:00 GMT

Online study of The Kernel of the Kernel, a selection of key passages from Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi’s Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah, translated into Turkish with commentary by Ismail Hakki Bursevi (1652-1728AD). Translated into English by Bulent Rauf.

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Part 1: Introductory weekend at Sutton Courtenay Abbey, Oxfordshire
16th – 18th October 2026
(Attendance Face-to-Face or by Zoom)

Followed by.
Part 2: 10 fortnightly online sessions
29th October 2026 – 18th March 2027
Thursday evenings, 19:00 – 20:30 GMT/BST

Part 3: Optional residential weekend and/or 10 days at Chisholme House, Scotland 1st–11th April 2027

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BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

Contact: besharacourses3@beshara.org

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An online course presented by Jim Griffin  

Fortnightly from October 2026 – May 2027
Saturdays: 10:00am – 12:00pm (UK time)
or
Saturdays: 5:00pm-7:00pm (UK time)

Workshop series following a format of reading with contemplative meditation and shared reflections.

“The traditions of the past are very great in their own place, in the past, but I do not see why we should merely repeat them and not go further. In the spiritual development of the consciousness upon earth the great past ought to be followed by a greater future.”

Sri Aurobindo

Dante and Virgil approach the river Acheron; Charon raises an oar against a group of souls; Charon ferries souls; Charon ferries Dante and Virgil; a monk

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A Guide to Dante’s Inferno for the Intrepid Traveller

Saturday 25th July 2026
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

A talk by Robert-Louis Abrahamson.

Contact: Michael Cohen  london@beshara.org

Open meeting, people sat together on the ground in a circle

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Monday 13th April, 2026
From 17:30 BST

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Avalon art song

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14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

Contemplative reading of the spiritual poems of one of the greatest Ottoman Sufi masters, Mehmed Muhyīddīn Üftade (1490-1580).

Contact: Michael Cohen  london@beshara.org

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Weekly on Saturdays (starting March 2026)
13:30–15:30 GMT online via Zoom

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Contact: Michael Cohen, london@beshara.org

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14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London

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Contact: Michael Cohen  london@beshara.org

St Martin and the beggar

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Tuesdays at 19:00 – 21:00 GMT (8 sessions)

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This course is now fully booked. To join a reserve list or to receive notification of a future possible iteration of the course, email besharacourses3@beshara.org

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14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London

Contemplative reading of some of Niffari’s “Spiritual Addresses” in a new English translation by Angela Jaffray, and exploration of their relevance to us in the present moment.

Contact: Michael Cohen  london@beshara.org