Building Peace – how can we be useful?

May 27 – 29, 2017

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

Course Description

WHAT CAUSES THE CRISES WE’RE FACING?
HOW PEACE CAN BE BUILT.
WHO CAN DO IT?

Many people feel powerless in the face of what they see on TV or read in the news – a world in crisis, with wars and violence erupting across the globe. This workshop is for all those who want to step out of helplessness and apply their own personal skills to do something about the challenges now facing us.

We shall investigate the forces that drive armed conflict – global warming, migration, the rich-poor gap, and terrorism. Then, by contrast, show what is already effective in building peace at both local and international levels.

We’ll spend the major part of the afternoon responding to the question “what can I do about all this?”
We’ll investigate not only the myriad opportunities for service opening up, but also look into the skills we all need if we are to be effective in our chosen actions.

Timetable

Saturday 27th May: Supper at 7pm, followed by listening to Scilla’s TED Talk.
Sunday 28th May: Seminar and a workshop.
Monday 29th May: Informal conversation, concluding with lunch.

NB. This is a Bank Holiday Weekend.

Location

The location is in the grounds of Chisholme House, a beautiful estate in the moors of the Scottish Borders, an hour and a half from Edinburgh, Newcastle and Carlisle.

The Chisholme Institute is a school dedicated to exploring the essential unity of all existence, the true nature of the self, and how our understanding of this informs how we are in the world.

Scilla Elworthy

Scilla Elworthy, PhD has been three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Oxford Research Group, which she founded in 1982 to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers and their critics. She founded Peace Direct in 2003 to fund, promote and learn from local peace-builders in conflict areas, and was adviser to Peter Gabriel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in setting up ‘The Elders’. She co-founded ‘Rising Women Rising World’ in 2014, and teaches self knowledge to young social entrepreneurs.

“We need individuals like Dr Elworthy to start the work of preventing war…
This has been my personal dream for many years.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Her latest publication is ‘Pioneering the Possible: awakened leadership for a world that works’.
Scilla’s TED talk on non-violence has been viewed by over 1,100,000 people.

Booking & Fees

Cost:

Non-residential (Sunday only): £50 / £30* includes lunch

Residential (shared accommodation): £120 / £90*
Residential (single room if available): £140

Additional night (eg. arrive Friday):
Single – add £45
Shared – add £35 / £30*

*Concession for 25 and under

Enquiries & Booking:
info@chisholme.org
Tel: +44 (0)1450 880215
Booking website

Course / Event location

The Chisholme Institute, Chisholme House, Hawick TD9 7PH, UK

Daily Meditation

From 6th January 2025
07:30–08:00 GMT

Daily 30-minute silent meditation. All welcome.

Contact: John Brown at besharacourses@beshara.org for a Zoom invite

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 and Knowledge in the Light of Unity | the Direct Path

Beshara Foundation Course

Autumn 2025 (dates to be confirmed)

Introductory weekend at Sutton Courtenay Abbey, Oxfordshire
(Zoom attendance also available)

10 x bi-weekly evening online sessions

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.

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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