“Staff in hand”: selected poems of ‘Attar

Saturday 4th June, 2022
19:00 – 20:30 AEST / 10:00 – 11:30 BST

An exploration of a selection of poems by Farid al-Din ‘Attar translated by Ken Avery from the Farsi (Persian).

Contact: markvtemple@gmail.com

Event Description

“The great 13th century Sufi poet Farid al-Din ‘Attar is renowned as an author of superb short lyrics written in the Persian language. Dealing with themes of love, passion and mysticism, the versions presented in this book – Fifty poems of ‘Attar – are the first sustained offerings of ‘Attar’s lyric poetry in English. Award-winning Iranian-born poet, Ali Alizadeh, and Persian specialist, Kenneth Avery, have collaborated on this project which aims to bring this remarkably vigorous yet subtle poetry to an English reading audience.”

The session will last 90 minutes. Ken Avery will be present to participate in the conversation. Reading materials will be provided.

Booking

Cost: FREE via Zoom

Contact: markvtemple@gmail.com

A pdf of the selected poems translated by Ken Avery will be sent to participants on confirmation of attendance along with a Zoom link to join.

Hakim Omar Khayya’m and Edward FitzGerald

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

Kabbalah: The Mystic in the Marketplace

30th January, 2022
15:00 – 16:30 GMT

An online seminar via Zoom

Kabbalah, meaning ‘receive’, is a living tradition concerning life – its Source, purpose and its Divine plan. In its classical and contemporary form, the Tradition is relevant to all humanity, providing a path to Self-realisation. This online seminar will give a brief introduction to the Tradition and aim to show how the teaching is made real in the marketplace of life; providing perspective and hope for ourselves and our world.

Registration via Eventbrite

“Differing Voices Make Sweet Music”: Unity in Diversity in Dante’s Divine Comedy

27th June, 2021
15:00 – 16:30 BST

An online seminar with Robert-Louis Abrahamson

Running throughout the three canticles of Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) is the importance of community, that is bringing together the diversity of individuals into one unified society, all the varieties of humanity conjoined in the Divine Unity. The talk will trace the journey through these three regions, focusing on Dante’s poetic (even mythic) rendition of the soul’s relation to these three aspects of Unity in Diversity.

Registration via Eventbrite

The Chisholme Institute

40 Day Intensive Summer Retreat

May 6 – June 16, 2017

A retreat for anyone who wishes to look deeply or further into their complete human potential and find a means and orientation to help on the road to realising it. Held at the Chisholme Institute.

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

Ibn ‘Arabi Study Afternoon

December 1, 2018 (2–5pm)
The October Gallery, London

An afternoon seminar studying the chapter on ‘The Wisdom of Being in the Word of David’ from Ibn ‘Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom).

Revisiting the Kernel of the Kernel II

16th–19th February 2023

An immersive three days at Chisholme, in conjunction with the Beshara Trust.

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.

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 Ways of the Heart I

25th February – 19th May 2022

The One Calling the Many: the first Ways of the Heart course exploring a spiritual life and unified perspective in the contemporary world.

NB. This course will be held at GMT.

Contact: besharacourses@beshara.org

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

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