Towards Sacred Union – The Mystical Journey of the Soul

A talk by Julienne McLean

Saturday 28th November 2026
14:00 – 17:00 UK GMT
The October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AL

How to Book

Cost: £10 + £1.63 registration fee

Entry by ticket: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/towards-sacred-union-the-mystical-journey-of-the-soul-tickets-2003876541679?aff=oddtdtcreator

Event Description

This talk explores striking similarities between Christian and Sufi understandings of the soul’s spiritual journey towards closeness to the Divine. Traditionally symbolised as an interior journey through mansions, castles, stations or valleys of the Way, this path involves qualities such as awakening, repentance, humility, patience, trust, detachment and unity. These are not fixed states, but evolving conditions of the heart through which we move from ego-centredness towards God-centredness.

The talk focuses on two key texts: St Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle, which describes seven mansions of the soul, and Farid Ud-Din Attar’s The Conference of the Birds, a classic of Sufi devotional poetry that explores the spiritual journey through symbolic stages of the Way.

Refreshments will be provided.

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