Note – During the coronavirus pandemic all our events are held online only.
Monthly Community Gathering
Community Gatherings are held on the second Friday of each month. Various leaders take turns leading each month, and the gathering may include readings from Hazrat Inayat Khan, teachings, meditation practices and zikr. Zikr (the word means Remembrance) is a ceremony of chanting sacred phrases, many in Arabic, for the purpose of elevating our state of mind and being in community with each other. This gathering is open to all; please come even if you have never been to one before but would like to experience what goes on.
Meeting details will be posted on the TTO email list. If you don’t receive the email, please contact us.
Meditation Classes
These classes provide instruction in Sufi practices of meditation and in the philosophy and teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Please contact the teacher, Paméla Overeynder at pamelaovereynder@gmail.com or 512-826-7563 for permission to attend. There’s no cost for any of the classes.
Weekly Attunement and Healing Meditations
We heartily invite you to join us for the weekly Attunement and Healing Meditation every Wednesday from 11:00 to 11:30 am. We are working deeply with the Purification Breaths of Hazrat Inayat Khan as guided meditation.
These meditations connect us with the living elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether, strengthening our connection to Mother Earth as a divine manifestation. We also include the Buddhist practice of Metta–sending well-being to all beings. These sessions are deeply healing for self and world. All are welcome. These meditations are free.
Please contact Paméla for the meeting link.
“The universe is a phenomenon of love and its ripest fruit is the awakened heart.”
Pir Zia Inayat Khan
Introductory class – A Sufi Path of Spiritual Liberation
The class is open to everyone and is intended as an introduction to the Sufi path in the tradition of the Inayati Order of Hazrat Inayat Khan. The class is free. Please contact Paméla directly to sign up.
The Inayati Order is interspiritual, so the class incorporates readings from the world’s religions, discussions, and simple practices. Since Sufism is a mystical path, connecting us with the One Being which is our True Nature, we will aim to have direct experiences. We’ll use poetry, art, nature, movement and practices to experience this Life and cultivate greater insight into the nature of Being.
In the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan,
“There’s a light within every soul. It only needs the clouds, which hide it, to dissolve for it to beam forth. This is the light of revelation. It is like a lantern to us. It lights up every dark corner we wish to examine and gives an answer to every question we would ask. This light wil only shine where the heart is pure; and in order to purify the heart, the Sufi has a…process suited to the evolution of every individual.”
Inayat Khan, Volume V – Spiritual Liberty, Part V: Pearls From The Ocean Unseen, Cause
Please join us as we explore, experience and enjoy the fragrant path of the heart.
Gathas: Introduction to Sufism
This ongoing class consists of reading the Inayat Khan’s Gatha papers and doing practices, in class and on your own, prescribed by Murshid Inayat Khan. This class is primarily for initiates—both new and long-time practitioners. Check in with Paméla if interested. We have a wonderful opportunity to share the spiritual nectar with each other and support each other on the path. We are currently not offering the Gatha classes but could start a new class if there is enough interest.
Githas: Practices and Teachings for Initiates
If you are a long-time mureed you may be interested in the Githa class.
The Githa class include practices and readings of Murshid’s Githa papers. What richness! Many of us have read the Githa papers and many of us have only read parts. This is a wonderful opportunity to come together in spiritual community and be nourished, as Rumi said, by the milk of millennia.
The Githa classes are open to advanced mureeds. If you are interested, please contact Paméla for permission to join.
We are currently studying the Githa III papers. A new series is possible, beginning with Githa I when this series completes, if there is enough interest.
The Githa class meets online. Contact Paméla for details.
Heart Rhythm Meditation
Heart Rhythm Meditation is a simple but quite effective way to connect more deeply with our hearts (and other hearts). It has been developed by Puran and Susanna Bair directly from the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. A lot of background and descriptive information about this meditation practice is available at iamheart.org.
Contact: Mabud John Bassett, (512) 925-1347.
The Austin Heart Rhythm Meditation meetups are ongoing ,and the most current information can be found on our meetup page, https://www.meetup.com/atxmeditation/.
Sufi Dancing (Dances of Universal Peace)
From the beginning of time, sacred movement and song have brought people together as part of everyday life and life passages and in daily renewal and meditation. Sufi Dances of Universal Peace are part of this timeless tradition. They are simple, joyous circle dances, moving meditations that use sacred phrases and movements from all of the world’s wisdom traditions.
No experience is necessary, and all are welcome! Dress is casual. You don’t need a partner, but bring friends.
Note – This gathering is suspended. See our Dance page for details.
Solstice and Equinox Celebrations
Four times a year, at the Solstices and Equinoxes, The Inayati Order of Austin hosts a pot-luck dinner and celebration in conjunction with the Church of the Golden Rule, an earth-bonded church that honors the sacred in nature. To find the exact date, look on Archeoastronomy.com. (Note: times there are in Greenwich Mean Time; subtract six hours to get the time in Austin.) The celebration is usually held at 603 Kingfisher Creek Drive in Austin, but call beforehand, as the location might change.
Note – This gathering is temporarily suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.
For more information, please contact Alia Patricia Michael at Patricia@PatriciaMichaelDesign, (512) 291-4300, or Ata’allah Bill Meacham at ata@towardtheone.com, (512) 470-4606.