Jewel, Spirit and Mud

8th October, 2021
15th October, 2021
22nd October, 2021
Time: 19:00 AEDT / 10:00 BST

An online Zoom seminar series in three sessions on the makeup of the human self according to Ibn ‛Arabi with Avi Abadi. Each session will last 75 minutes.

Contact: markvtemple@gmail.com

Seminar Description

In commenting on the Wisdom of the Heart, Mu’ayyid al-Jandi* writes: “[Apart from certain of the envoys and mystics,] none addressed the question of the self’s reality, its uniqueness, its essence, its established entity, its unknowability, its being of the Real and of Creation, its servanthood and its lordship.”

In principle, this seminar is a commentary on that sentence, the key assumption being that each of the eight properties Jandi mentions refers to a mode of the human self as it occurs in a degree of being. The seminar will also attempt to show that, regardless of the discoveries made in the field of neuroscience, arguments as to the nature of self have not changed in essence since Jandi’s day.

The seminar will run over three weekly sessions and will include presentations and study of passages from Jandi’s commentary on the Fusus al-Hikam.

*  Mu’ayyid al-Jandi (d. 1291?) was the foremost disciple of Sadruddin Konevi, the adopted son and heir of Ibn ‘Arabi. He wrote the first full commentary on the Fusus al-Hikam at the behest of his teacher.

Avi Abadi has been a student of the work of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi for forty odd years. For several years he was the Director of Studies at the Beshara School (now known as the Chisholme Institute). He has led numerous seminars supported by the Beshara Trust, and presented the Beshara Lecture in 2018.

Booking

Cost: FREE via Zoom

Contact: Mark Temple at markvtemple@gmail.com

Neoplatonism and the Islamic Tradition

Saturday, December 3rd 2022
14:00 – 17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London, UK

The teachings of Plotinus and his followers, known today as ‘Neoplatonism’, became the dominant philosophy of Late Antiquity. Neoplatonism represents a common heritage shared by the cultures which arose out of the three monotheist religions. Its legacy bridges the divide between East and West, North and South. This presentation examines the question of the degree to which the Islamic tradition bears the imprint of Neoplatonism.

Seminar led by Stefan Sperl, Emeritus Professor at SOAS

Scilla Elworthy

Building Peace – how can we be useful?

May 27 – 29, 2017
Chisholme Institute, Scottish Borders, UK

Peace can be built – here’s how to do it. A TED talk and workshop with Scilla Elworthy.

Essential Rumi

Weekly on Tuesdays from 21st September, 2021
19:30 – 21:00 BST/GMT

A 6-week course focusing on the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi.

Contact: besharacourses@beshara.org

Work by James Suzman: A Discussion

The history of work from the stone age to the age of robots

Sunday 3rd December 2023
15:00–16:30 GMT via Zoom

A chance to discuss the topic of Work as discussed by James Suzman in a book recently reviewed in Beshara Magazine.

Know Yourself

Know Yourself

July 14, 2019 (11am – 1pm)
The Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh, UK

An introductory talk and workshop with Cecilia Twinch, translator of a new edition of this 13th century text – an explanation of the oneness of being – attributed to Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi.

‘How One Becomes What One Is’

Saturday March 25th, 2023
14:00-17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London, UK

“Man is a rope, fastened between animal and superman – a rope over an abyss. A dangerous going-across, a dangerous wayfaring, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous shuddering and staying-still. What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal; what can be loved in man is that he is a going-across and down-going” (Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

The Alchemy of Human Happiness

December 7th, 2019 (2–5pm)
Rudolf Steiner House, London UK

An introduction to a new translation of a core chapter from Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi’s Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya with the translator, Stephen Hirtenstein.

Ibn Arabi Study-Week Retreat

July 16 – 23, 2016

An opportunity to study Ibn ‘Arabi’s Fusus Al Hikam in a group setting at The Chisholme Institute, led by Avi Abadi

The Kernel 246

Kernel of the Kernel

Weekly from 27th February 2022
Thursdays
16:00–17:30 PST
Fridays 10:00–11:30 AEST

A study of Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s translation of Ibn ‘Arabi’s exceptional treatise for those who undertake the journey with the aim of Union.

Some Principles of Esoteric Education

Saturday June 17th, 2023
14:00 – 17:00 BST
October Gallery, London, UK

A conversational seminar with texts. Throughout history the “awakening of the potential for perfectibility” of the human being has been the aim of every school of esoteric education no matter how the outward forms differ. In this seminar we shall explore through conversations and readings how each one of us can nurture and develop this knowledge practically in the contemporary world.

The Beshara Lecture 2023

The Coincidence of Opposites

Speaker: Iain McGilchrist

Sunday 9th July 2023 14:00 BST (via Zoom)

If there is Oneness, what are the Many? Are they the same? What do we mean?

The Transformative Power of Beauty: Joseph and the Myth of Reconciliation

14th March, 2021
16:00 – 17:30 GMT

An online seminar exploring the Joseph myth. Joseph is understood as one of a community of prophetic figures, whose story emerges as the epic and emblematic story of divine knowledge revealed to humanity. The centrepiece here is beauty, and the focus of the presentation will be on beauty and its intimate relation to truth.

Registration via Eventbrite