Course Themes

Preface: Introduction to Ibn Arabi and his perspective.
1. The unity of being
2. Creation, the coming into being and the love to be known
3. The human being
4 .The human being and the natural world
5. The spiritual path

Each theme is divided into one or more sessions (see full syllabus below) and supplemented with background reading/video/other formats that address the topic in a variety of ways – including the perspective of other traditions or modern thought.

Course Syllabus and Dates

Introductory residential weekend: Friday 16th– Sunday 18th February 2024 at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay
(if unable to attend in-person, it will be possible to join the main sessions through Zoom)

• Introduction to the course
• Introduction to Ibn ‘Arabi’s life and thought by Cecilia Twinch
• Full reading and discussion of Know Yourself introduced by Cecilia Twinch (translator)
• Introduction to meditation and 2-3 daily group meditation sessions
• Work as service
• The role of devotion and devotional practices

Online Presentations and Seminars

Live seminar dates: Thursday evenings, 19:00–20:30 GMT/BST

1. Different Faces of Unity (Jane Clark) – 27th February
2. The One and the Many – a sacred discourse in geometry (Jane Carroll) – 13th March
3. Creation and the Cosmos (Jane Clark) – 27th March
4. Singleness, Oneness and Singularity: the metaphysics of unity. Part 1 (Avi Abadi) – 10th April
5. Singleness, Oneness and Singularity: the metaphysics of unity. Part 2 (Avi Abadi) – 24th April
6. The Truly Human Being (Part 1): Adamic images and principles (Stephen Hirtenstein) – 8th May
7. The Truly Human Being (Part 2): Adam in the Fusus al-hikam (Stephen Hirtenstein) – 22rd May
8. The Human Being and the Natural World (Jane Clark) – 5th June
9. The Spiritual Path (Part 1): remembrance, receptivity and the “private face”. (Jane Clark) – 19th June
10. The Spiritual Path (Part 2): the road is long, the sea is deep. (Rim Feriani) – 3rd July

The Learning Environment

Our main focus will be on the writings of Ibn Arabi, as a sound foundation from which to appreciate the metaphysics not just of Islam, but of other spiritual traditions. This proposes a different approach from the usual idea of knowledge as something one might acquire. It can nonetheless be very helpful to have a clear intellectual grasp of Ibn Arabi’s metaphysics, which are in themselves intrinsically beautiful, and can bring us to a place that is beyond the grasp of the rational mind.

Ibn Arabi often expounds that the reality he is referring to can only be known through unveiling or experience. Terminology such as “re-realisation of Divine taste” is also used. This implies that there is a place in each one of us that can experience a kind of re-cognition of this knowledge of ourselves, although we are normally veiled by our creatural condition. “Knowing“ in this sense is experienced as a kind of remembrance or realisation, as it comes from  our essential interior reality, which is the same as the reality underlying everything.

We begin every session with an invocation or prayer for the meaning to be opened for us and ask to be brought to its level rather than be confined to our own understanding. This is followed by a short meditation. Equally we end with an acknowledgement and appreciation of the meaning we may have been given collectively and individually, whether it be an insight, image, feeling, greater clarity or movement of the heart. For all action, whatever it may be, is ultimately a matter of love.

Inner Experience and Practice

As indicated above, the approach to the material will be from the point of view of the spiritual seeker rather than it being a matter of purely academic knowledge. To reinforce this element of practice, aspects of the spiritual path (theme 5) will be woven into themes 1–4.

In order to bring the knowledge alive, students will be given something related to the topic to contemplate or practice during the interval between sessions and for them to journal how this has affected or changed their everyday way of seeing things. These insights can be shared at the beginning of each following session.

Depending on where in the world students are based, it might also be possible to meet for an informal session or meditation during the week we are not studying together.

Course Materials

Materials will include an introductory video presentation of each session’s subject matter (this will be recorded so can be viewed at any time), together with some reading material, as preparation for live online discussion meetings. A more extensive list of background reading will also be provided as a guide for anyone who wishes to go further.

Learning Platform

The materials will be available on Google Classroom, a learning platform used to store videos and files, keep in touch with the students, submit any assignments and provide the link to the live zoom sessions. It also offers a streaming facility for students to share questions and understandings linked to each theme.

Reflective assignment

At the end of the course, students will be invited to complete one piece of work (essay, reflective diary or video presentation) of approximately 1000 words/10 mins on a topic to be agreed.

Certificate

Students may, if they wish, request a Certificate of Attendance, listing all topics studied, hours spent and assignments.

The presenters will offer pre-recorded video introductions related to the different themes, created especially for this course. These are:

• Avi Abadi has been studying the teachings of Ibn Arabi, and the Fusus al-Hikam (Ringstones of Wisdom) in particular, at the Beshara School for over forty years.
• Jane Carroll is an architect practising in Southern California. She studied under Keith Critchlow at the Architectural Association with an emphasis on geometric systems used in traditional and sacred architecture. She was a student at the Beshara School, a former trustee of the Beshara Trust and a founding member and former secretary of the Ibn Arabi Society in America.
• Jane Clark MA is a Senior Research Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society. She is a student of the Beshara School, has a Masters’ degree in Medieval Arabic Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and has been studying, teaching and lecturing on the ideas of Ibn Arabi for more than forty years. She is the Editor of the Beshara Magazine which aims to bring together traditional wisdom with contemporary thought.
• Dr Rim Feriani is Educational Director at the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, UK where she has developed a series of courses inspired by the concept of the journey, which occupies a central position in Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings. She has previously lectured in Arabic language at King’s College, London and taught Arabic language and cultural studies at the University of Westminster, London.
• Stephen Hirtenstein is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society (MIAS), a MIAS senior research fellow’ and director of Anqa Publishing. He is an editor for Encyclopaedia Islamica (Brill), and teaches Sufism and Sufi poetry at the University of Oxford. Since 2001 he has been working on the MIAS archiving project cataloguing the historic manuscripts of Ibn Arabi. He lectures internationally on Ibn ‘Arabi, and his publications include Patterns of Contemplation (2021) and Prayers for the Week (2021), both with Pablo Beneito, The Alchemy of Human Happiness (2018), and The Unlimited Mercifier (1999).
• Cecilia Twinch is a Senior Research Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford. She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University and has also spent several periods of study at the Beshara Schools. Besides working as a teacher, translator and editor, she has lectured on Ibn ‘Arabi and mysticism worldwide since 1990. Her publications include an English translation, with Pablo Beneito, of Ibn ‘Arabi’s Contemplation of the Holy Mysteriesand a translation of Know yourself: An explanation of the oneness of being (Ibn ‘Arabi/Balyani).

Three facilitators will support the students throughout the course, encouraging questioning of texts and correlating the group discussions. These are:

• John Brass studied Fine Art at Canterbury College of Art and then taught painting. In his early twenties he came upon Beshara where he began studying the works of Ibn ‘Arabi. He attended both the preliminary and the advanced six-month Residential Retreat Courses at the Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education, under the direction of Bulent Rauf, and has continued to facilitate students who are interested in the spiritual vision of Ibn ‘Arabi. John works as a conservator in gilding and carving for the colleges of Oxford University.
• Martha Cass studied Music at Yale in the late 1970s, and later obtained a Masters degree in Education at the University of Birmingham UK. After moving to the UK in the 1980s, she studied at the Chisholme Institute from 1983-2000. She is a Trustee of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and of The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay. She works in Development at University College, Oxford.
• Alison Yiangou studied Psychology at Oxford University and has been a student of the Beshara School and the Chisholme Institute since the early 70s. In addition to attending many courses and retreats, she has facilitated a number of their six-month courses. After working for many years with her husband managing their architectural practice, she trained to teach secular mindfulness programmes and is now Curriculum Director for the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation, where her role is curriculum implementation and development.

The introductory weekend will be held in person at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay, near Oxford. If you are unable to attend in person, it will be possible to join the study sessions via Zoom.

• Full Abbey weekend accommodation and food + zoom course – £575 single room. Ensuite £595
• Full Abbey weekend accommodation and food + zoom course – £515 shared room. Ensuite £525pp
• Weekend attendance including food but no accommodation at Abbey + zoom course – £415
• Zoom attendance at Abbey + full zoom course – £245

A non-refundable deposit of £125 is required on acceptance onto the course in order to secure your place. The remainder of the fee payable by 25th January 2025. Spaces on the course are limited so early booking is recommended.

Discretionary concessions for students are available on application to The Beshara Trust.

The course is open to students 16 years of age and over.

To request an application form please contact the Administrator. Email: besharacourses3@beshara.org