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Greet Life with a Welcoming Heart A weekend of Sufi Dance and Chant With Philip O’Donohoe
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th January 2010 Kendal Fellside Alexander Centre
Essentially Sufi Dance is an instrument for the transmission of blessing. Mystics speak of universal peace, of cosmic consciousness, the peace which is beyond understanding. This kind of spiritual experience however is not the preserve of a few. Samuel Lewis the originator of this form of the dances offered them as a means for all people to experience such states in a relatively accessible way. In their outer form they are simple circle dances. The integration of these movements which accompany the chanting of a divine name or a sacred phrase can attract a very high and noble form of magnetism from the space and at the same time can impregnate the immediate and not so immediate atmosphere with these magnetic qualities. As we sing and move with others in a circle there is an uplifting feeling and we can experience for ourselves such states as joy, peace, connectedness and unity. Watching people do these dances is like watching someone read a book. One cannot know what is going on inside the hearts and minds of the dancers, the depth of their experience. They are based on experience and to get it, so to speak one has to dance oneself. What is in it for me you might ask? Those who have experienced the Sufi Dance especially on these Kendal gatherings know how wonderful they feel when they sing and dance and move together in the circle. There is clearly fullness and openness of heart in ways that are simply not so easily accessible in other group practices or social gatherings; the harmony is tangible; the peace can be deeply felt; most of all perhaps there is the strength of connectedness and the feeling of being part of something greater than oneself; the limited self is transcended. Philip is a master of spiritual dance and has trained in various forms of meditation over the last 30 years. He is a leading international exponent of the Dance of Universal Peace and has devoted the last twenty years to spreading the dances around the world. He is a senior mentor for the Dances and trains others to lead. He has studied Sufism since 1989 and is a teacher of this form of Middle Eastern mysticism. Philip also trained in yoga and the use of sound in healing and spiritual development. A significant focus of his work is using dance as a spiritual tool to increase people’s capacity for living life heartfully and successfully. The sincere dancer is one of the best workers for universal harmony and so for universal peace. Samuel Lewis Venue
Bookings: Cheques payable to P. O’Donohoe to Mary Dowson, 1 Hindburn Cottage, Wray, Lancaster, LA2 8QB.
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