Rumi’s Ecstatic Poetry, Sufism, and Yoga

Andrew Vidich & TAMIR

Jun 1-3, 2007

Each of us is divine in nature and part of the very essence of God. Through the sacred technology of meditation, we can experience the true wealth of the spirit within. Become comfortable with meditative silence and deep reflection. Through shared communion, we can feel the abiding presence of the spirit. Rediscover the higher purpose of life and learn a simple yet profound meditation technique: a method that helps still our restless minds and achieve a state of inner equipoise. Through the use of inner remembrance, or mantra, we enter our own private retreat.

Rumi says, “Remembrance is a form of meeting.” We will learn the art of letting go of hurry and worry in order to reduce stress, improve concentration, enhance clarity of thought, and live joyously. The art of remaining centered in a hectic world enables us to experience a practical wisdom in the workplace.

Join us for a weekend of interactive workshops, facilitated meditation sittings, sacred performance, and Iyengar yoga. We will do interactive exercises that teach us how to overcome our reactive, conditioned habitual thinking patterns. We will explore the relationship between thought, word, and deed. (Re)discover the many ways you can live more soulfully in the here and now. “Come, come whoever you are…come, yet again come.”

Saturday night we will experience The Way of the Heart, a performance of ecstatic Rumi poetry and colorful Sufi teaching stories, culminating with TAMIR whirling in traditional Turkish costume. This is an inner journey through the quest of the soul. “Allow TAMIR to awaken the soul of Rumi within you. She is Stunning! —Dr.Wayne Dyer

Andrew Vidich has a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion with a specialization in Sufi Studies, teaches at Manhattan College, and is an international speaker and a founding member of the Interfaith Council of New York. He is author of Love is a Secret: the Mystic Quest for Divine Love and The Spiritual Path: Anthology of Writing of Sant Kirpal Singh. He teaches meditation and gets up every morning at 3 a.m. and meditates for several hours.

TAMIR, an actress with a background in classical theatre, is a poet, playwright, and performer of three one-woman shows, including In the Land of Israel and I Belong Elsewhere. Her CD of devotional readings, “Poetry on Prayer,” is an interfaith celebration of the human spirit. She wrote The Embrace about dying consciously and the struggle of letting go. Her new play Next! is a about the audition process. A vibrant presence, she has always been seeking higher truths and was drawn to Rumi’s surrender to the inner transformation that set his heart ablaze. She is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher who has taught at Columbia University for 14 years.