Tending the Flame – Dances in Wales! 12-13th March 2022

Dear Friends,

Greetings of Peace to you all! I want to share with you some of the projects I am working on at the moment, in the hope that you may be interested, and maybe even join me.

I am very excited to be travelling to Wales in March with Salik, to lead dances in three different venues. We do hope that if you live near enough you might be able to join us for one or more of these events. It’s the first time we’ve been able to travel to share dances in a live public circle since before the pandemic.

On Friday 11 March I will lead an evening of Zikr in the village of St Dogmaels, followed by a day of Dances in Cilgerran, both in West Wales. Details, including how to book are on the flyer below. I’m grateful to my friends Jane and Dilwara for their support with making this happen in these uncertain times. I have often been to West Wales over the years, and led many Dance events in the area. The local community of friends and dancers, as well as the beautiful land there, are very important and precious to me. I would so love for you to meet me there if you can!

We will also be leading a short session on Sunday afternoon in Bangor, at the Friends Meeting House from 3.30-6.30 pm. This is specifically in support of my mentee, Dance Leader in Training Ruth Christine, who is establishing a Dance circle in Bangor. We hope that we can encourage a vibrant circle to develop! Do come and support us in that venture if you are able to.

As the possibility of travel seems to open up, I am hoping to be in the Czech Republic in July, and in Spain in August, teaching at camps. I am hoping to offer a Women’s Retreat in early summer, and I am beginning to dream a trip to the USA in the autumn (or fall!). Please get in touch with me if you’d like to know more, or to support me in making these trips happen, perhaps with a dance or Sufi retreat in your area. And watch this space for more information as things unfold over the next few months.

Under construction!

Musician, mother, mystic; leader and mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace; guide and companion on the path of Universal Sufism or spiritual freedom.

Jilani is a classically trained musician, a Certified Leader and Mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace International, and a teacher in the Sufi Ruhaniat International (a Universal Western Sufi Order). She leads retreats and workshops all over the world and in her UK home. Through this work she helps people find connection, joy and peace through being more fully themselves, as grounded, open and loving individuals in strong, deeply connected communities.

Aramaic Lord’s Prayer Playlist

Jilani trained for many years with Neil Douglas-Klotz, the originator of this body of work, the embodied experience of the Aramaic words of Jesus through chant and body prayer. If you are inspired by his work, please explore his website here: https://abwoon.org, where you can make a donation to him in gratitude. You can also donate to support Jilani’s work here.

The Aramaic Prayer of Yeshua – the Lord’s Prayer in the language Jesus spoke. Jilani presents the prayer as a ceremony, using the inspired translations, chants and body prayers of Neil Douglas-Klotz, with whom she has studied for many years. You can find out more about his work on his website https://abwoon.org.

Deep Adaptation Q+A with Jem Bendell


Q&A with Jilani Cordelia Prescott, Sufi Elder, discussing active compassion in the climate emergency.

Throughout human history life has been a fragile, precious gift, and death a constant companion. Modern medicine and affluent societies have helped us to imagine that we are or could be immune from sickness, suffering and death. This illusion of (and search for) immortality has influenced much of our behaviour, endowing us with a reckless and yet ultimately unsatisfying lack of regard for the natural limits of life on a physical planet, while insulating us from the vibrant experience of a life lived in real appreciation of its fragility and finite nature. The Sufis tell us to ‘Die before Death’ – to live our daily lives in the understanding that death is always near. How might this influence our choices and priorities? 

If we are to apply the 4 Rs of Jem Bendell’s Deep Adaptation to the Restoration of Ancient Wisdom, we can consider the Resilience with which spiritual traditions and their practices have supported humanity through the hard times over millennia, helping us to make sense of both suffering and joy. I would choose to Relinquish the rigid structures and abuses of power of organised religion, but to Restore and bring back the practices which actually can serve and support us. At the same time, Reconciliation is vital, and healing of the wounds of our history, in order that we can appreciate the precious gifts of these traditions, without rejecting everything in a reaction against the terrible abuses we have seen.

Sufi Group – Tuesdays

Join Jilani and Salik on Tuesdays at 7:30pm UK time for around 90 minutes on zoom as we share sacred chants and body prayers accompanied by beautiful live music on guitar and viola. These meditations involve our whole being, inviting us to experience connection with each other and with the divine.

We teach all the words, chants and movements carefully each time, so beginners can easily join. The depth of peace and devotion that can be experienced, even on Zoom, often takes us all by surprise.

How to join:
The Zoom link will be posted in our regular mail-outs, so do sign up to our email list to receive it, or if you prefer you can join our Messenger or WhatsApp groups by messaging us your details. We send regular reminders on these. The link for Jilani’s email list can be found here: https://mailchi.mp/23e2d0b4c247/jilanidancing.

Donations:
We offer these gatherings freely; however, it supports our work and our ability to provide for our family and home if you are able to offer us a donation. But no-one will be turned away for lack of funds. To donate, you can send a BACS transfer to 089286 02297358 or via Paypal – paypal.me/theheartcentre (please leave the ‘Goods and Services’ button unchecked to avoid a charge being levied).

YouTube:
If you aren’t able to join us for this event, or wish to experience some of our other online offerings, we have a YouTube channel where you can watch and listen to us: https://www.youtube.com/c/JilaniandSalik
We add to the recordings regularly, so do subscribe and you will be notified when we upload new videos.

Songs of One Breath – Fridays

Explore the pure, joyful, direct experience of mysticism rooted in practice, song, body prayer and mantra.

Every Friday Jilani will be online, sharing chants, body prayers and breath practices from different traditions. Join on Zoom (see link below), or on Facebook Live.

These are the practices which have brought comfort, grounding and even bliss over the millennia to humans just like us, aware of our limited physical nature and our fragility, but also aware of our infinite nature, and the awe-inspiring, loving vastness of all-that-is, in which we live and move and have our being.

I encourage you to join this journey, the path of the heart, of spiritual freedom, leading to more vibrant life and awakening, and dedicated to the alleviation of suffering. Seek out opportunities to explore and encounter the bliss and ecstasy of deep connection and mystical experience.

2.30pm London, 6.30am San Francisco, 9.30pm Singapore, 11.30pm Melbourne.

Jilani Cordelia Prescott is a Musician, a Mother, a Mystic; A Leader and Mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace; a Guide and Companion on the path of Universal Sufism or spiritual freedom.

The link to join:
https://us02web.zoom.us
Meeting ID: 829 5534 9265
Password: 011140

This is free to join. If you would like to donate to Jilani and support her in her work, you can do so via Paypal – http://paypal.me/theheartcentre (choose ‘Friends and Family’ or leave the ‘Goods and Services’ button unchecked to avoid a charge being levied)

Zikr at the Heart Centre – Monthly

Monthly Zikr at the Heart Centre, near Hebden Bridge – in person! Usually the second Thursday of the month, at 7.30 pm. Check the calendar for the next time we meet.

Contact Jilani if you would like to attend. All open-hearted spiritual seekers and lovers of the One are welcome. Please arrive ready for a prompt start at 7.30 pm, and enter the room in silence. There is no charge to attend, but there will be a plate for donations.