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March 15: Edinburgh, Scotland: A Beginner's Guide to Beginner's Mind and Heart

Interspiritual Meditation in the Sufi, Christian and Buddhist Traditions with Neil Douglas-Klotz

This event is offered as part of the 2010 Edinburgh Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace.

Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh.

15 Mar, 2010

This day long workshop will introduce various approaches to meditation in the Sufi, Christian and Zen Buddhist traditions. In addition to sharing various shorter or longer meditations, we will explore approaches to silence in the "empty" and "full" ways, the use of paradox (in the form of Sufi stories and Zen koans), and the roles of music, chant, breathing and body awareness, compassion, devotion, releasing and forgiveness. Knowing which "flavor" of entering silence suits our temperament can help us to establish a regular practice. At the same time, because we human beings share certain essential characteristics (like breathing, body awareness and capacities for love and wonder), approaches to silence also share key features. Knowing how to extract these keys and benefit from the meditations of other traditions can help us to either begin a practice or deepen and enrich the one we're pursuing. It can also help us share a deeper sense of silence and heart in interspiritual gatherings, including those with no overt spiritual content. Ultimately, being able to find our way more easily into a compassionate, inner silence can help us to attain more understanding and empowerment in daily life. This event is offered as part of the 2010 Edinburgh Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace. Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh. Time: 9.30am for 10am-4.30pm. Cost: £20/£15 (Concessions).

Contact: Neill Walker, email: (Email link is encrypted. Click the event title above to view it.)