PAST COURSES & EVENTS
More Intimate Dialogues with Reality
Saturday 7th February 2026
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
Intimate Dialogues with Reality
Saturday 29th November 2025
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
Finding happiness and purpose in today’s world
A Blended Learning Course for Young Adults
Part 1: Introductory in-person weekend at Colet House in London
27th – 28th September 2025
(Attendance Face-to-Face or by Zoom)
Followed by.
Part 2: 10 weekly online sessions
6th October – 8th December 2025
Weekly on Mondays, 19:00-20:30pm BST/GMT
This is a course for young people who want make sense of the world and their place in it. It is designed as a voyage of discovery toward a more meaningful life. The course addresses the whole person – body, mind and spirit – by drawing on a rich range of wisdoms and techniques. Building on the successful pilot offered last year, the course invites anyone with curiosity and a desire to lead a more fulfilling life. The course begins with an introductory weekend in London and is then followed by ten weekly online sessions.
Contact: besharacourses4@beshara.org
This course has now been postponed to 2026. Date to be confirmed.
Love and Knowledge in the Light of Unity | the Direct Path
The Beshara Foundation Blended Learning Course
Part 1: Introductory weekend at Sutton Courtenay Abbey, Oxfordshire
10th – 12th October 2025
(Attendance Face-to-Face or by Zoom)
Followed by.
Part 2: 10 fortnightly evening zoom meetings
23rd October 2025 – 26th March 2026
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 know oneself and the world in the light of the Unity of Existence.
BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW
Contact: besharacourses3@beshara.org
William Blake and the Rediscovery of the Imagination
Saturday 25th October 2025
14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London
“Nature is imagination itself!” declared Blake – also realising that imagination is divine.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Why are young people lonelier than ever and what can be done about it?
Saturday 20th September 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
This interactive presentation will discuss findings from research with young people about loneliness. It will also put forward possible solutions that can help diminish loneliness in this demographic.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Open Meetings
Monday 14th July, 2025
From 17:30 BST
Are you interested in sharing your thoughts and in contributing to the development of Beshara? We are excited to invite you to another online Open Meeting this summer.
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 5th May, 2025
Monday 2nd June, 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
Open Meetings
Saturday 22nd March, 2025
9:00am–10:00am GMT
Inspired by the turn out at the recent open meetings, we are pleased to invite you to our next online Open Meeting. This meeting will give priority to our friends in Australia and the Asia Pacific before we open up the space to continue the conversation with everyone else.
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
Open Meetings
Monday 13th & 27th January, 2025
Monday 10th & 24th February, 2025
18:30–19:30 GMT
Are you interested in sharing your thoughts and in contributing to the development of Beshara? We are excited to invite you to a series of four fortnightly online Open Meetings launching in January 2025.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
“It is rather hearts, clinging to the door of the Divine Presence”
Learning from Ibn ‘Arabi
4th November 2023
14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London
A talk and seminar by Eric Winkel
Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165–1240) was one of the world’s great spiritual teachers. Since 2012, Dr Eric Winkel has dedicated his life to the first-ever translation of and commentary on the entirety of Ibn Arabī’s al-Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah (The Openings Revealed in Makkah). Ten thousand pages of the original handwritten manuscript make up 37 books of the complete work. In this seminar, he will discuss Ibn ‘Arabi’s seminal work and its significance for us now.
Drowning in the depths of Rumi’s Masnavi
‘You are not a single you, o good comrade; nay, you are the sky and the deep sea’ – Rumi
30th October – 27th November 2023
Weekly Zoom sessions
19:00–20:30 GMT
This course is an opportunity to study and explore some of Rumi’s main spiritual teachings from the Masnavi, which is considered to be his masterpiece.
How Rumi Opens the Eye of the Heart
14th October 2023
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
A talk and seminar by Alan Williams
The 13th century Masnavi of Jalāloddin Rumi is not a story book, yet, like the Bible and the Quran, it is full of stories. What are the secrets the Masnavi reveals? They may be summed up in the phrase ‘the opening of the eye of the heart’. The primary question of this lecture is: how does the Masnavi effect the opening of the heart?
The Mysticism and Spirituality of St. John of the Cross
2 online series of 3 Meditation Workshops
30th September, 28th October, 26th November
Saturdays, 10:00–12.30 BST/GMT
and
October 12th, November 9th, December 7th
Thursdays, 17:00–19.30 BST/GMT
Two poems by St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night and The Spiritual Canticle, will form the basis of our meditation.
Exploring the meaning of ‘Know Yourself’ according to five wisdom traditions
27th September – 6th December 2023
Fortnightly Zoom sessions
19:00–20:30 BST/GMT
This course offers the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of what it is to Know Yourself in the mirror of five Ancient Wisdom traditions and to explore their relevance to each of us and to the current modern era.
This course is now full. If you would like to join a waiting list for the next one, please contact admin@beshara.org
Ibn ‘Arabi and the Ecological Crisis: a Merciful Nemesis? Revisited
September 16th, 2023 (14:00–17:00 BST)
The October Gallery, London
A talk by Peter Coates about the ecological crisis and its deeper significance.
The Ways of the Heart III: The Compassionate Heart
5th September – 14th November 2023
Tuesdays, 20:00 – 21:30 GMT
An online Beshara course exploring a spiritual life in the contemporary world.
An Introduction to Ibn ‘Arabi Study
Mondays 19:00–21:00 GMT
Fortnightly Zoom sessions
This study series is an introduction to Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi’s story and perspective studying The Unlimited Mercifier by Stephen Hirtenstein. The scope of this illuminating book embraces both the inner and outer aspects of Ibn ‘Arabi’s life as each mirrors the other.
The group is underway but is open to anyone interested in joining as each session is fresh and unique in itself.
A field where we can meet…
RUMI 750 – a gathering
Saturday 2nd September – Monday 4th September, 2023
Chisholme Institute, Scottish Borders, UK
An immersive weekend marking the 750th anniversary of Rumi’s death, known as his Nuptial Night. Come and explore how Rumi’s relevance informs every aspect of the current era; from ecological to economic, cultural to spiritual, while also intimately connecting with our own lives.
Exploring the Meaning of Service in the Context of Self Knowledge
23rd July 2023 & 30th July 2023
(Sundays) 13:00–14:30 PDT
Two online sessions reading, discussing and contemplating short papers in the light of this title.
Know Yourself & The Twenty-Nine Pages
Weekly from 16th July 2023
Sundays 11:00–12:30 BST
Online study exploring the oneness of being in the teachings of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
Singleness, Oneness & Singularity
Speaker: Avi Abadi
Saturday 15th July 2023
2:00-5:00pm BST
The October Gallery
The metaphysics of unity according to Ibn ‘Arabi
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?
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.
Spiritual Addresses of al-Niffari
Weekly from 3rd June, 2023
Saturdays: 13:30 – 15:30 BST
Online study and contemplation of the Spiritual Addresses by al-Niffari.
Qualities of Love: Trust, Certainty, Patience, Resolution and Veracity
Friday to Sunday, 19th – 21st May 2023
The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire
These five qualities have been at the core of practice at Beshara and are considered essential attributes to be developed by those wishing to know themselves in order to know God.
This residential weekend will provide an opportunity to contemplate their meaning and practice through meditation, study and conversation in a tranquil setting.
Singleness, Oneness & Singularity
Metaphysical Foundations of the Fusus
Fridays 21st and 28th April 2023
Online 19:00 – 20:15 AEST
An exploration of the metaphysical foundations of the Fusus al-Hikam, as they are presented in the introduction to the commentary rendered into English by Bülent Rauf and Jandi’s commentary on the Wisdom of Singularity.
Intimate Dialogues with Reality
Saturday April 22nd, 2023
14:00 – 17:00 BST
October Gallery, London, UK
Reading and contemplation of some of Niffari’s “Spiritual Addresses” in English translation, exploring their relevance to us in the present moment.
FEEDBACK
OUR NEWSLETTER
SEE ALSO
© The Beshara Trust (UK) 2022. All rights reserved