This opening session will look closely at the concept of awakening in the Sufi tradition starting with the statement attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib “people are sleeping and when they die they wake up.”

We look at the relevant verses and traditions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, as well as quotes from Sufi teachers that speak of the spiritual reality of the human being before this world and the method of awakening to our true nature in the here and now.

This session will illuminate the concept of enlightenment and related topics through the lives of three of the greatest Sufi masters. All were scholars of the outward disciplines of the Islamic tradition who, at a certain point, had an awakening which not only transformed their consciousness but transformed their approach to teaching and guiding seekers on the path.

Through their lives we will consider various aspects of Sufi theory and practice as well as its relationship to the broader Islamic tradition.

The third session will introduce and summarize the vast literature within the Sufi tradition on the levels of human consciousness, with special consideration on the methods used to illuminate consciousness and awaken higher levels of awareness. The levels of the nafs forms the foundation of Quranic psychology and is paradigmatic to the essence of Sufism.

Like other wisdom traditions, Sufism centers on the purification and illumination of the spiritual heart. The heart is the center of one’s consciousness and awareness. It has an eye that can be opened through spiritual practice, removal of egoic traits, and concentration upon the Real.

We will look at Ghazali’s book Marvels of the Heart which serves as the introduction to the 20 volumes of his magnum opus that focus on the inner dimension of the human being. We will also consider the teachings of other Sufi authors on the purification of the heart.

This session looks at the topic of knowledge, focusing on transformative, illuminative or mystical knowledge and the method that this is attained.

What distinguishes the knowledge that the Sufi’s seek? How is this different or similar to the knowledge sought by philosophers, theologians or modern scholars? Is the method of attaining such knowledge straight forward or mysterious?

Sufism is both doctrine and method. It is not simply a teaching about reality but a way of being that leads one to an experience of that reality.

Having set the stage in previous sessions on the doctrinal frameworks of the Sufi path this session focuses on the methods central to Sufi practice; in other words: how to walk the path oneself. We will explore the the means of purifying and perfecting the self-that-knows, and thereby attaining the knowledge of reality focusing on three core components: Dhikr: invocation, acts of worship and asceticism; Fikr: contemplation and critical reflection; and Faqr: virtue cultivation and ethics.

This session focuses on the central importance of virtue and character transformation. Far from simply being moralistic, the central contention of Sufi psychology is that human beings have the potential to reflect the names and attributes of the Divine Reality. The famous tradition “characterize yourself with the characteristics of God,” alludes to the fact that the human being has the potential to realize the divine names and attributes within his soul. Thus virtue is ontological: bad character traits are veils that stand between us and the light of reality; transformation of one’s being to reflect them more fully is the essential journey from ego-consciousness to remembrance of our spiritual awareness which is our true nature.

The final session speaks about the ultimate goal of the spiritual path: the transcendence of ego-self (fana) and the experiential awakening to the divine reality. This culminates not only in ego-death and the experience of non-duality but the return to the realm of multiplicity with the perpetual awareness of Divine Unity (baqa). We will return to the place we began to consider the path of awakening and the practical ways we can walk this path in our day to day lives.