Discovering Unity Evening Course

April 27 – June 15, 2017

A seven week evening course in Central Oxford. “Who in the world am I. Ah, that’s the great puzzle” Lewis Carrol.

Course Description

This evening course is devoted to a practical exploration of the unity of being. From a perspective of oneness, it asks us to pay deep attention to our relationship with ourselves and the world. The course includes meditation, contemplation and conversation.

This will be the 9th running of the course and is limited to a small intimate group. It’s spirit is one of gentle gathering in genuine self-enquiry, to enhance the opening of our natural ability to consciously experience the grace of who we are beyond any pre-condition or belief.

These are the words of Ally Stott, one of the facilitators on this course:

“These are extraordinary times that we live in, each day a new arrival. A challenge, a shock, a joy. So much uncertainty, so much potential, so much opportunity. We can often feel pressed to meet what is presenting itself, we can feel bewildered or simply overwhelmed and feel the need to turn away. And all of these feelings and fears are heightened when we believe that we have a separate identity, that the felt sense of ‘me’ has independent existence from other ‘things’ in the ‘world’.

How would it be to gently and heartfully explore this illusory self that believes itself to be separate? If it is of interest to you to deepen your understanding of your true-nature, to really see the face of God everywhere you turn, or to find more skilful means to navigate you way through this life, you may wish to consider joining us for this course.”

Course Dates

The evening course format is meetings on a weekly basis on Thursday evenings (7.30pm – 9.45pm)

Meeting Dates:
April 27th
May 4th, 18th & 25th (plus the afternoon on Saturday May 27th)
June 1st, 8th & 15th

Facilitators

The course facilitators are Derek Elliott & Ally Stott

Derek has a contemplative background. He is a practising yoga teacher and active poet. He is also a noted figure in the contemporary furniture movement. www.derekelliottyoga.co.uk

 Ally accompanies people as they make their way on a journey towards knowing themselves. She has a background as an artist, is a registered transpersonal psychotherapist and loves being in her allotment. www.allystott.co.uk

Booking & Fees

Cost: £80

For a booking form please contact: oxford@discoveringunity.org.

For further information please contact:
Derek Elliott on 07771 707 178 or Ally Stott on 07968 691 870.

A course introduction is available on request.

‘Pieta’ by Fenwick Lawson in Durham Cathedral. Photograph by Derek Elliott.

‘You suppose you are the trouble
But you are the cure
You suppose that you are
the lock on the door
But you are the key that opens it
It’s too bad that you want
to be someone else
You don’t see your own face,
your own beauty
Yet no face is more beautiful than yours.’
                                          Jelaladdin Rumi

Love and Knowledge in the Light of Unity | the Direct Path

A Beshara Foundation Course

Introductory weekend at Sutton Courtenay Abbey, Oxfordshire
14th – 16th February 2025
(Zoom attendance also available)

10 x bi-weekly online sessions
27th February – 3rd July 2025
Thursday evenings, 19:00–20:30 GMT/BST

This course provides a full introduction to the principles of Beshara in terms of both knowledge and practice. Taking the metaphysics of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi as a starting point, the course explores what it means to understand oneself and the world in the light of the Unity of Existence.

Contact: besharacourses3@beshara.org

Love Divine: a conversation between Rumi and St. John of the Cross

Meditation and poetry workshops 

Fortnightly from 18th January – 29th March
Saturdays: 10:00am – 11:30pm (GMT)
or
Fortnightly from 25th January – 5th April
Saturdays: 10am – 11:30am (Pacific Time), 12:00pm-13:30 (Central Time), and 5:00pm-6:30pm (UK time).

Meditation workshops following a format of reading some lines of poetry with contemplative meditation and shared reflections. There are a few places left.

Jesus Across Space and Time

An interactive seminar

Saturday 30th November 2024
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

An afternoon devoted to discussion of the question: what is the knowledge we can attain if we contemplate the person of Jesus and his function and role in the world of humanity?

The Ways of the Heart IV: Praise and Service

21st November – 19th December 2024
Thursdays, 19:30 – 21:00 GMT

A new 28-day intensive online course combining daily (individual or group) meditation, study and contemplation.

Know Yourself & The Twenty-Nine Pages

Weekly from November 1st, 2024
Fridays 18:00–19:30 GMT

Weekly from November 24th, 2024
Sundays 13:00–14:30 PST (timed for US and Pacific Rim)
Mondays 8:00 – 09:30 AEDT

Weekly from November 12th, 2024
Tuesdays 21:00–22:00 GMT
Note: this group will be studying the Twenty-Nine Pages only

Online study of texts that form an introduction to Muhyiddin ‘Ibn ‘Arabi‘s metaphysics of Unity

Contact: Michael Cohen, london@beshara.org

Finding happiness and purpose in today’s world

A Comprehensive Beshara Course for Young Adults

1st October – 3rd December 2024
Weekly on Tuesdays, 19:00 – 20:30 GMT/BST
Online via Zoom

This is a new, pilot course for young people offering participants an opportunity to explore and make sense of the world around and within them. It is designed as a voyage of discovery toward a more fulfilled life. The course addresses the whole person – body, mind and spirit – by drawing on a wide range of sources and techniques.

Contact: besharacourses3@beshara.org

Union

An interactive seminar

Saturday 20th July 2024
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

Union is the only remedy for separation
Those who do not attain Union cannot be at peace. (Mehmed Muhyiddin Üftāde)

We shall investigate the theme of Union as exemplified in the writings of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Üftāde, Bulent Rauf and others.

This is an interactive seminar facilitated by students of Beshara.

The Alchemy of Human Happiness

Weekly on Saturdays (USA)
19:00–20:30 CDT online via Zoom

Weekly on  Sundays (Australia)
10:00–11:30 AEST online via Zoom

An opportunity to study and explore a recent translation of a seminal work of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi from his famous Meccan Illuminations (al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya).

This study group is timed for participants in the Pacific Rim.

Contact: Mary Boyd-Brent, mboydb3.11@gmail.com

Restoring the Broken Order

Learning from Ibn ‘Arabi

Saturday 20th April 2024
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London

An exploratory seminar on some themes from the Wisdom of Breathing Out in the Word of Seth, the second chapter of Ibn ‘Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam (The Ringstones of Wisdom).

The Secrets of Voyaging

Weekly on Saturdays
13:30–15:30 GMT online via Zoom

An opportunity to study and explore a recent translation of a seminal work of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi: The Secrets of Voyaging (Kitab al-Isfār ‛an natā’ij al-asfār).

Contact: Michael Cohen, london@beshara.org

Letters by Bülent Rauf

Weekly on Tuesdays
21:00–22:00 BST/GMT

An online study and reading of the Letters of Bülent Rauf. This is an existing group with a limited number of places. New participants are very welcome.

Contact: Yafiah Katherine Randall
yafiahkatherine@gmail.com

Nestled in the Womb of God

Hindu-Muslim comparative inquiry

9th December 2023
14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London

A seminar by Hina Khalid

This seminar ventures into the relatively unexplored terrain of a Hindu-Muslim comparative inquiry into the intimate presence of the divine reality to the finite world. It offers a comparative analysis of the conception of the infinite in the worldviews of two major philosopher-poets of the Indian subcontinent – Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) and Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).