Jilani and Salik warmly welcome you to join us for our celebration of the return of the Light this year at Om Yoga Works.
Gather together with like-minded friends in a heart warming celebration at the Celtic festival of the Winter Solstice.
Using chant and movement, with the Dances of Universal Peace, we invite you to open your hearts to the light and to each other.
The Winter Solstice can be a time to look back and reflect, but also to look ahead, to dream into the coming year, and to rejoice in the light returning. We will feel into and explore the nourishment and regeneration of this time of fertile darkness, and we will rejoice in the rebirth and returning of the light. We will work with simple sacred chants and movements, beautiful live music, powerful breath practices, and sharing; and the power of ritual and ceremony.
Everything will be clearly guided and held. All are welcome, whether you are new friends or old.
If you’d like to join us for a shared meal afterwards, please bring a contribution of something delicious to share. Read more about the Dances of Universal Peace at www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org
The Khankah of the Heart is a vision of a Sufi community, a Khankah, based not in a building of bricks and mortar, but in the relationships between the deep and loving hearts of its members. All fervent seekers are welcome to join, whether new to this or having been walking the path for many years. The core of this community will be the practices and teachings of Murshid Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti (Samuel Lewis) and the Sufi and Dance lineages that he birthed. Dances of Universal Peace will be central to our group practice. In our experience and understanding, the Dances of Universal Peace are rooted in the whole of S.A.M.’s teachings and practices including the Walks and that they will flourish more fully, firmly attached to their roots from which they can not be separated.
Last year Jilani Cordelia Prescott & Shamsia Sandra Sunfire initiated our gathering together with a shared purpose. The Khankah of the Heart is envisioned to meet in different places at different times with different people guiding us through retreats. We are living in the UK but retreats here will welcome those from other countries and future retreats could also be held in other countries. This particular retreat will be 16th-19th January 2025, from supper on Thursday to after lunch on Sunday, at the Oblate Retreat Centre, Crewe, UK. Further details are on the attached flyer. The retreat will happen just after the Urs of Samuel Lewis, the anniversary of his death, of when he returned to the Source from which he came. There is a hope to expand this to a week long annual retreat, with other online and in person gatherings keeping us in touch in between. The retreats are envisioned to serve and nourish the Sufi community and friends, wherever we may call home, returning to our home in the heart, our Khankah of the Heart, where we can gather to “eat, dance and pray” together.
We are guided by our teachers.
“One who has learned friendship has learned religion; the one who has learned friendship has attained spiritual knowledge. The one who has learned friendship need learn very little else; morals in Persian is friendship” (Hazrat Inayat Khan)
“…real meetings are mergings; they change the parties involved leaving them more fully themselves.” (Murshid SAM)
We follow in their footsteps, walking with them.
As Mentors and Dance Leaders we strongly feel that in order for the transmission of the Dances of Universal Peace to be healthy and complete, we need to provide opportunities for Dance Leaders and potential Dance Leaders, to deeply experience SAM’s Dances & Walks, teachings and practices. This can provide strong roots for DUP to grow and bloom anew, setting new seeds for future growth in our young people.
We are applying for grants to start an ongoing bursary fund to enable us to support those encountering financial difficulties to be able to join us. This will be available to all including those who will in future serve and support our communities, the young people. We recognise that these are challenging times and that financial challenges are becoming more widespread and that a bursary fund will help our community to be more supportive and inclusive. If you are experiencing abundance and feel inspired to support our bursary fund, please contact us.
We are grateful for the grant we received from Dances of Universal Peace International for this retreat. If bursary help would be necessary for you to be able to join us, please get in touch.
We are committed to exploring sustainable ways to continue to gather as a Sufi Community, financially and based on caring for the Earth’s limited resources. This venture has been unfolding in our hearts and our lives each and every time we meet, we nurture and pray for its past, present and future.
at the beautiful eco-lodge retreat centre ‘La Maison Anglaise’ in Taroudant
February 26 – March 5 2025
Plus the option to travel there overland through France, Spain and Morocco in a Caravan of the Dances!
There are still a few places available for the week in Morocco, at La Maison Anglaise in Taroudant, and it can be booked right away, from this website:
My intention is to travel there and back overland through France and Spain, and you are welcome to join me. We will stop in various places en route to meet with local people and share the Dances of Universal Peace together. There will also be opportunities to do a little sight-seeing and to enjoy local food.
Our accommodation will be partly in AirBnBs or hostels, and sometimes may be in local homestays. There will be the option to arrange your own accommodation if you prefer something more luxurious. Some of us will travel together by train, others will drive and car-share. In the south of Spain we will visit places where there are no trains, so we will all share cars for that part of the journey. There should be enough locals with cars to accommodate those of us who arrive by train.
We have stops confirmed in Angers in France, in Barcelona, Alicante, Granada and Malaga in Spain, and in Tangiers in northern Morocco. I am still working on a possible stop in the South of France, but the journey is viable without it. The outward journey will take around 10-14 days, depending on whether we stop again in France or not.
The return journey will be more direct, but we plan an overnight stay in Tangiers and Madrid, and a weekend retreat near Plum Village in southern France. The whole return journey to the UK should be just under a week.
It’s perfectly possible to join for just a part of the caravan, or just for the week in Morocco, or any combination. We can’t book the trains yet as they haven’t been released. I recommend buying an interrail pass which makes it much more affordable. I’ll give clear details when the stops have been finalised. Or of course you can drive yourself, or request a car share place.
Things are still coming into focus but plans are well underway. Do let me know if you have any specific questions, and let’s keep in touch. If you want to be part of the week in Taroudant I recommend that you book that as soon as possible as there are only a few places left.
Annika has become a dear friend since we met at the German Unicorn Voice Camp some years ago. She is the most wonderful storyteller, with such a beautiful voice! This interview is in English. You can listen to it with subtitles on YouTube here:
Oh Thou, the breathing Life of all, Creator of the shimmering Sound that touches us! You create all that moves in Light…
A residential retreat in France (in French/English) to learn and practice the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, with chants and body prayers. This workshop is based on the work of Neil Douglas-Klotz, with whom I trained for three years nearly 20 years ago. Neil has spent over 35 years studying Jesus in the context of Middle Eastern spirituality, seeing him as a Middle Eastern prophet, and looking at his words in the language he actually spoke, Aramaic. Aramaic is a bridge between ancient Hebrew and modern day Hebrew and Arabic, and by studying the words of Jesus in this context we arrive at a very different way of understanding his message. Specifically, there is not one way to translate Aramaic into English, but many layers of meaning, which can be very helpful for us nowadays, especially if we have ever felt alienated or put off by traditional translations of the words of Jesus. I have led this work in many countries, and both practising Christians and people who have felt wounded and alienated by the Christian church have had profound and healing experiences with it.
The Aramaic Prayer is the Lord’s Prayer in as close as we can get to the original words spoken by Jesus. We will explore those words in Aramaic, and discover several possible ways to understand and relate to those words through some English translations.
Above all this work is experiential, and embodied. The emphasis is not so much on study and mental understanding as on gaining an embodied experience of the prayer. To this end we will be chanting each line many times, with simple melodies and movements. This makes it easier for us to learn the words and also to drop into a felt sense of what we are experiencing.
During the weekend we will explore each line of the prayer, with time for questions and learning. The culmination will consist of a full experience of the prayer including a part where we share juice and bread to deepen our understanding and connection with the experience. The emphasis will not be on ‘getting it right’, but on dropping deeply into the prayer as a ceremony and a way to connect with the original message of Jesus, which many people find quite profound and surprising.
An event organized by the Papillons Voyageurs association.
Papillons Voyageurs is a French association whose purpose is to open
spaces for sharing, learning and putting ourselves into action, through the
co-creation of transformative experiences at the service of life.
Based on the 7 petals of the permaculture flower, with a predilection for
agroecology, eco-construction and living together, we participate through
our light and colorful wingbeats in what we perceive as a global evolution of
humanity.
GUIDES OF THE DANCES
J I L A N I C O R D E L I A P R E S C O T T
A dedicated musician and guide, she has been combining music, meditation, and Sufi practices
since 1997 to promote inner peace and healing. She organizes retreats and workshops at the Heart
Centre near Hebden Bridge, where she resides. With an approach that is both accessible and
grounded, she helps young and aspiring leaders realize their potential. Her work focuses on
personal and collective growth, bringing joy, unity, and deep connection to participants through
practices that celebrate life, music, and simplicity of heart.
>> https://www.jilanicordelia.com/ <<
M A L I K A E L E N A S A L A Z A R
Colombian by birth, initiated in the lineage of Sufi Ruhaniat International. With formal studies in
music, literature, transpersonal psychology and anthropology. She is certified in Kundalini Yoga,
Universal Peace Dances (DPU) mentor, flutist, performer and singer of sacred music from various
mystical philosophies. Malika leads meditation sessions with mantras and has explored a path to healing through her voice and transpersonal psychology.
>> Listen on Spotify <<
HOSTING PLACE
Les Damias is a hamlet in Éourres, a village of initiatives… a little remote, at the
end of a green valley, a haven of peace and nature! At an altitude of 1000m, the
winter is harsh, the spring late, the summer full of sun and the autumn is adorned
with a thousand colors. Each season has its charms: spring and autumn ideal for
hiking or relaxing stays, summer for welcoming families and seminars, and winter…
for rest.
Les Damias is a collective farm which cultivates, with minimal mechanization, its
own fruits and vegetables for personal consumption while offering a quality table
d’hôtes. It also practices conscious sourcing of foodstuffs not produced by the farm
and favors local producers (flour, cheese, beer, etc.). Food is one of the pillars of
Damias and we will have the pleasure of tasting the buffets prepared by their
kitchen team every day. The products, served generously, will be local, organic and
mostly from their vegetable garden, served generously!
LOGISTICS
By car
Via Lachau or Barret sur Méouge (Col d’Araud), direction Eourres. Do not go up to the village of
Eourres, follow the direction of Les Peyres/Les Damias. Cross the hamlet of Peyres and
continue the asphalt road to the end.
Public transportation
By Sisteron or Carpentras stations (shuttle from Aix TGV) or Laragne. From Carpentras, Sisteron
or Laragne, from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., a Drôme taxi (Transdrôme
service) can pick you up and drop you off in Lachau where we will pick you up (Let us know in
advance, €5 contribution requested).
Accommodation and equipment list
A list of equipment will be sent to those registered at the beginning of August in order to make
their stay as pleasant as possible and to give them the latest practical information related to
the course.
Any other question ?
Please write us to ensemble@papillons-voyageurs.net and we will be pleased to answer you !
RESERVATION
60 places are available for this camp, taken in order of validated registrations. We have 20
campsite places and 40 lodge places. The food offered includes lunch/dinner and as often in
peace dances, breakfasts are freely managed by the participants.
CAMP PRICE – Package
The balance allowing the sustainability of the
event and the following ones
280,00€
ACCOMMODATION IN GITE- Per night 40,00€
Allow 5 nights on site. Shared rooms
CAMPING OR VEHICLE – Per night 10,00€ Allow 5 nights on site
Prepare your camping/truck equipment
FOOD – Per day 30,00€
Allow 5 days of camp
Organic/local buffet for lunch and dinner
Confirm your reservation
Places are limited to 60 people and will be allocated in order of registration. We ask you to pay
a deposit of €250 to reserve your place, regardless of the option you choose. Please make this
payment by check or bank transfer to the account of the PAPILLONS VOYAGEURS association:
Mail address : Papillons Voyageurs, 62 rue du Coulet, 04240 Annot
Any place confirmed by email will be held for 10 days, if payment of the deposit is not
made within this period, we will release this place again. In the event of cancellation by you
up to 1 month before the course, €200 will be refunded to you, less than 15 days before half
of your deposit, less than a week before we will keep your deposit. In the event of
cancellation due to Papillons Voyageurs, you will be refunded 100%.
There are many ways of living with ‘collapse acceptance’. My own approach doesn’t represent the best one. To acknowledge the diversity, and help us all learn from that, once in a while I ask a colleague or friend to share some thoughts on how they are responding. Katie Carr was a founding member of the Deep Adaptation Forum and teaches the ‘Leading Through Collapse’ course with me (online twice a year and for one time only in the States this October). I asked her to share why a dance camp is one of her most restorative activities of the year. I hope it inspires. Thx, Jem
By Katie Carr
I recently returned from rural Oxfordshire in the UK, where I joined around 300 people from across the country to dance in a circle while chanting songs and mantras from many different spiritual traditions. Sacred Arts Camp is an annual week-long community event, where we camp in small circles, sharing cooking, care, and connection. Every time I attend, I am reminded of the importance of this kind of embodied and joyful ritual, especially as the world and our day-to-day lives seem to become more precarious. I also remember how much my heart longs for the experience of community and belonging that are so difficult to imagine, let alone co-create, in the midst of industrialised consumer societies.
In a world marked by social upheaval, war and environmental crises, and a growing sense of isolation for many people, the Dances of Universal Peace offer a gentle path toward reconnection, rejuvenation and healing. I have learned that the simple, meditative, and joyous circle dances – rooted in the spiritual traditions of humanity – have a profound capacity to foster a sense of community, facilitate collective resilience and respect, and engender a deep connection with humanity, the planet, and the divine. As we navigate the complexities and challenges of a world in turmoil and breakdown, these dances demonstrate the ongoing power of collective movement and shared spiritual experience.
The Dances of Universal Peace were conceived in the late 1960s by Samuel L. Lewis, a Sufi teacher and Zen master who envisioned a form of spiritual practice that would transcend religious boundaries. Lewis sought to create a space where people from all walks of life could come together to experience the unity of all spiritual paths. Drawing on sacred phrases, chants, music, and movements from various world traditions – including Sufi, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American, and others – Lewis crafted dances and embodied prayers that celebrate the universal truths found within each tradition. Since their inception in the United States, these dances have spread across the globe, touching countless lives and communities with their message of peace and unity.
In an era where many feel disconnected from others and from themselves, these dances provide a sacred space where individuals can come together, bringing awareness to how our attachment to judgement and competition keep us separated and entangled in our stories of the ‘Other’. The simple act of joining hands in a circle, moving rhythmically to the sounds of sacred music, creates an immediate and tangible sense of belonging. Participants often report feeling an instant connection with those around them, regardless of their background or beliefs. This sense of community is not superficial; it is rooted in the shared intention of peace and the mutual recognition of our shared humanity.
I have benefited from an instant sense of belonging when joining circles in different locations with different people. That’s why I am looking forward to joining a circle in California later this year, when I visit to co-teach (with Jem Bendell) the Leading Through Collapse course. It’s rare we get our students participating in circle dance, although it has happened upon occasion. We will see what our students are up for in the run up to October – but I’m excited about the prospect of bringing the spirit of these dances to our training in the region where Samuel Lewis first introduced the practice.
So much learning is limited to the intellectual and ignores the emotional and somatic dimensions of engaging in topics as troubling as societal collapse, and as complex as what our future role on that might involve. I have experienced that in the safety of the circle, we can have a direct experience of our fundamental connectedness. We can feel the sense of embodied relief that comes from knowing we’re held in a larger, more resilient, collective nervous system. We can allow the movements and music to guide us towards feeling safe enough to release the burdens that come from trying to hold and process ‘bigger-than-self’ emotions on our own. The repetitive, meditative nature of the dances helps to quiet the mind and open the heart, creating a space where difficult emotions can be acknowledged and released. In a world where many are grappling with anxiety, grief, and stress, the dances offer a gentle yet profound way to process and transform these emotions.
Most significantly for many, the Dances of Universal Peace can facilitate a deep connection with the whole of humanity, the planet, and the divine. That is because the dances are inherently inclusive, celebrating the wisdom and beauty of diverse spiritual traditions while emphasizing the unity underlying them all. Through the dances, participants can experience a sense of oneness with all of creation, feeling connected to the earth beneath their feet, the sky above, and the divine presence within and around them. This holistic sense of connection is deeply nourishing, reminding us of our place within the greater web of life and inspiring us to seek to live in harmony with ourselves, each other, and the natural world, no matter how difficult situations may become. Many dancers I know are activists, their activism grounded in, and nourished by, their spiritual practice.
So much more happens during the week of Sacred Arts Camp, as part of this community gathering. For the last three years, I’ve coordinated the ‘Green Space’, which is a programme of discussions, sharing spaces and workshops that explore ways in which we can contribute to systemic change towards living regeneratively and in harmony with the rest of the natural world. There are also grief rituals, coming-of-age celebrations, practices that cultivate deep listening and conflict transformation, drumming, singing…as well as much laughing, crying, and a slow rhythm of life surrounded by nature.
Our contemporary world is rife with division and conflict, and many people feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problems we face. I am no different. I feel fortunate to have discovered and been welcomed into this way of coming together with others in a spirit of love and unity. The emotional release facilitated through the dances enables us to move through our personal and collective pain, transforming it into compassion and resilience. And the deep connection with humanity, the planet, and the divine that the dances engender reminds us of our interdependence and inspires us to act with greater care and responsibility.
If you know of a group that is gathering in the Bay Area in October, I’d be delighted to hear from you. Alternatively, if you have an appetite for a more (but definitely not solely!) intellectual approach to developing your leadership in these times, please consider joining me for the 4-day course in Oakland.
Come and immerse yourself in the beautiful Welsh countryside and ‘the Sacred Manuscript of Nature, the only book which can enlighten the reader’ (in the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the Sufi mystic). For these days we will live together close to the land and deepen our connection to Mother Earth through many different practices, culminating in a beautiful co-created ceremony to honour and bless the Earth.
In the afternoons there will be training sessions for dance leaders – circles where new or more experienced dancers, dance leaders and musicians can explore the dance leading journey, with guidance and supporting practices held by Jilani, who is a very experienced mentor and trainer of dance leaders.
Rissa and Sky of Yew Tree Camps have this to say about the site:
‘Meadow Ground overlooks the gorgeous Welsh Valleys and enjoys dramatic views and spectacular skies from its position on the hillside. The Stone Circle is a formation of English and Welsh stones, which came together serendipitously to create a deep and mystical place for the dances. We are immersed in nature amongst the hedgehogs, owls, buzzards, bluebells, orchids and new and old trees.
The land has been lovingly tended to and developed to create the beautiful and magical setting for these camps. We are blessed by the full range of weather that Wales provides; beautiful sunny days, misty rainy days and everything in between – it is therefore good to pack for all seasons!
We have various sheltered spaces for workshops, lovely compost loos (including a new accessible compost toilet) and a mains water supply for drinking, hand washing, cooking, and basic off-grid showering and bathing. We will maintain an open fire which marks the centre of our camping circle.
Please ask us about alternative accommodation and any other access needs you may require. Our field may not be suitable for everyone as the ground is uneven in places, but we would love to accommodate you as much as we can. We have options available to help you attend more comfortably if you aren’t able to camp or don’t wish to. If you need to travel light, we can help with some basic supplies like tents or bedding, however these are limited.
We have three cats who love the freedom of the field. Therefore we are not able to accommodate other peoples pets on the field. We also have an older cat and a small dog who live down at the house.’
This exciting new event is designed to be affordable, and please do enquire if you need further help to be able to attend. Conversely, if you find the price is reasonable or cheap for the value which is being offered, please consider offering a donation to subsidise those who are less well off.
Bring your own plate/bowl/mug and cutlery, plus everything you need for a vegetarian breakfast. You might also like to bring teas/coffees and delicious snacks to share. Our main meals will be suitable for vegetarians with vegan and gluten free options, and are included in the price you pay. We will all offer our karma yoga services in turn to chop wood and vegetables, wash up and clear away.
Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment! Contact Jilani with any questions prior to booking.
.JPG)
