Join Jilani Cordelia and friends for a Rumi Cafe Night, to celebrate the Urs of the mystic Sufi poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi.
In the Sufi tradition, the Urs, or ‘Wedding Day’, marks the moment when the Lover dissolves into the Beloved, the Soul’s return to Bliss and Divine Union.
Jilani will share readings of Rumi’s mystical poetry, accompanied by beautiful live music, on guitar, viola and percussion. There will be times of Sohbet, or Sufi teaching through soulful conversation. Jilani will also lead the group in chanting Zikr and other sacred phrases in Arabic from the Sufi tradition.
Zikr means ‘remembrance’ and refers to the Arabic phrase La illaha il’llah, which could be translated as “no God but God”, “no reality except Unity”, “all separation is illusion”. In practicing Zikr, we practice remembrance of our inherent unity with the Divine, recognising our human tendency to forget. Chanting Zikr can be a powerful and heart-opening experience, unifying a group and harmonising the atmosphere in a vibration of grounded, sacred, loving connection.
The chants are simple and easily learned, not unlike kirtan or bhajan, but rooted in the Sufi tradition. Even if you don’t understand all of the words, you will have an embodied experience, which many describe as inducing feelings of joy, inner peace and a deep sense of connection to the Beloved.
The Zikr journey can pass through times of high energy and ecstasy, usually ending in a space of stillness and silence, resting in awe-filled experience of Unity with All-That-Is.
The gorgeous Soul Cafe will be open, serving hot and cold drinks and delicious, healthy cakes, and providing a friendly and welcoming cafe atmosphere for this sacred time of sharing together.
Jilani is a member of the teaching circle of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a Universal Western Sufi Order in the Chisti lineage. She travels widely, teaching in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, India and the USA as well as across Europe. Resident in the Calder Valley for nearly 30 years, she is happy to be able to share her work near home as well. Jilani will be supported by a group of talented musicians.
Jilani and Salik invite you to join us for our heart-warming celebration of the returning of the Light, at the Celtic festival of the Winter Solstice. Come together with like-minded friends in the beautiful, welcoming space of Om Yoga Works, from 5-8 pm to include time for a Solstice Feast. (Please bring a contribution of something delicious to share!)
Using chant and movement, ritual and feasting, 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. We offer the opportunity to meet one other, fully embodied, in the heart-space of deep meditation and devotion.
Everything will be clearly guided and held. All are welcome, whether you are new friends or old.
Dancing with Balance and Harmony at the Autumn Equinox.
Dance the Prayers of your Body, Heart and Soul!
Simple sacred chants and movements. Beautiful Live Music. Powerful breath practices, and sharing. Ritual and ceremony. The opportunity to meet ourselves and each other, fully embodied, in the heart-space of deep meditation and devotion.
Everything clearly guided and held. All are welcome, whether you are new friends or old.
These dances could be called body prayers: simple, gentle yet powerful movements with chants drawn from many world traditions, all celebrating Unity. Moving, chanting and breathing in rhythm together we begin to harmonise ourselves as individuals and as a group. Our bodies and hearts can realign with the rhythm of our souls. The results can be wonderful: we may experience sensations of peace and joy, heart-opening connections with others and a sense of oneness with all-that-is.
Everything is taught as we go along, so anyone can join.
If you’d like to join us for a shared meal afterwards, please bring a contribution of something delicious to share.
Time
5.00pm – 8.00pm including a shared feast (please bring a contribution of something delicious to share)
Investment:
£25 (£22 if paid by 14th August)
Contact:
Please use the contact form below to book and for payment details
A residential retreat atWistaston Hall Oblate Retreat Centre, Crewe
22th – 25th January 2026 From supper on Thursday to after lunch on Sunday.
“Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birdwings” – Rumi
Jilani and Shamsia have 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 you are new to this or have been walking the path for many years.
In this retreat we are inspired by the Sufi winged heart: the symbol of spiritual liberty, expressing that the heart reaches upward towards heaven. In those paired wings we see the balance of known and unknown, impermanence and what survives, dancing on the threshold, the edge between the worlds, where we fly free, with the breath of God beneath our wings.
Shamsia Sandra Sunfire lives, Dances and Walks in Wales and has done for nearly 30 years. She follows the Path of the Heart, the Path of Love. Shamsia is a leader and mentor of Dances of Universal Peace. She loves the retreat process that draws on the rich tapestry of wisdom teachings and practices, the rhythms of nature which empower us to be more of who we truly are. She both leads and attends retreats. Shamsia is a conductor in the Dervish Healing Order and is dedicated to service on the healing path.
Jilani Cordelia Prescott is a guide in the Sufi Ruhaniat International, Cherag, SoulWork practitioner and leader of the Dances of Universal Peace as well as a mentor of other dance leaders. She has over thirty years’ professional experience as a teacher and musician. Her relaxed and patient teaching style means people easily learn the practices, and can be free to enter the powerful and healing depths of the experience. Jilani lives in the misty Pennine hills of northern England, and brings her love for the Earth to everything she does.
Cost: £520 – £475 – £435 including all meals (generous/standard/cost prices: self selecting sliding scale based on need). £80 deposit (non-refundable) reserves your place. Please get in touch with us if these prices are beyond your means. We want to be inclusive and we hope to have bursaries. Single/shared accommodation available.
Shamsia and Jilani will have musical support from Halim Geoff Carter and Robert Salik Orange
We are very grateful to have received a grant from the Oneness Project to support an ongoing bursary fund to enable us in turn to support those encountering financial difficulties so that they can join us. We have previously been supported by Dances of Universal Peace International. This bursary fund 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 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.
Please don’t be shy about approaching us to discuss bursaries or paying by instalments, which can make it very affordable.
