Two New England College Events Explore Sufi Traditions

Two New England College General Education events will explore traditional Sufi mystical practices on Friday, February 15, 2008. Introduction to the Sufi Path with Aqil Brown will be held at 4:00 p.m. and Collective Meditation in Movement, Sound, and Presence: Sama with Aqil and Khabira Brown will be at 7:00 p.m.  Both presentations will be held in the Simon Center Great Room and are free and open to the public.

Introduction to the Sufi Path explores the major mystical traditions of the Eastern-based spiritual path of Sufi.  The presentation will touch on themes of the Sufi way and provide a context for their understanding, with emphasis on its living, progressive expression.  Simple practices will be shared that will illuminate and complement the presentation, serving as an introduction for the evening’s second event, Collective Meditation in Movement, Sound, and Presence: Sama.  Sama is a collective, shared meditation practiced by the Sufis that prepares its participants through movement, sound, and concentration, to remember their connection to the sacred.  For that event, seating will be provided, but participants may bring their own cushion or meditation pillow if they wish.

Aqil and Khabira Brown are instructors at the Sufi Order International, an interfaith school of spiritual training established in London, England by Hazrat Inayat Khan in 1917.

This event is sponsored by the General Education Program and The Forum for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at NEC.  For more information, contact Aaron Daniels, Assistant Professor of Psychology at (603) 428-2395.