A Taste of Sufism is an online seminar exploring different strands of Sufi thought and practice from pre-Islamic times to the present day. There will be eleven monthly presentations covering the origins and history of Sufism, its many schools, teachings, personalities, traditions and changes.
Two weeks after each presentation there will be a follow-up discussion and Q&A session.
Talks will be at 9:00 am U.S. Pacific Time (5:00 pm GMT), with adjustments for Daylight Savings. Both presentations and discussions will run about 60 minutes each. A full list of dates and topics is given below. All sessions may be accessed by telephone or Skype.
Dates & Topics
April 9, 2017 Sufi Origins ... discussion on April 30*
May 21, 2017 Sufi Forms ... discussion on June 4
June 18, 2017 Sufi Content ... discussion on July 2
Aug. 20, 2017 Sufi Practices ... discussion on Sept. 3
Sept. 17, 2017 Sufi “Poles” and Polarities ... discussion on Oct. 1
Oct. 15, 2017 Sufi Memes ... discussion on Oct. 29
Nov. 19, 2017 Sufi Values ... discussion on Dec. 3
Dec. 17, 2017 Sufi Disruptors ... discussion on Jan. 7, 2018*
Jan. 21, 2018 Sufi Radiance ... discussion on Feb. 4
Feb. 18, 2018 Spiritual Liberty ... discussion on March 4
March 18, 2018 Sufism Today and Tomorrow ... discussion on April 8*
The webinar will be held online at MaestroConference. You can access the presentations by phone or Skype.
After you register you will receive a confirmation email with a phone number to call and a PIN that will give you access to the session on Maestro. You will receive reminders from Maestro 24 hours and 2 hours before each session, again with the number to call and your personal PIN. More details for connecting through Skype will be in the registration confirmation.
All sessions will be recorded. Recordings will be available to those who have signed-up and paid for the course or that session.
Who the program is for
• people who are involved with a Sufi fellowship, school or online group
• people who resonate with Sufism as a message of love and kindness
• people who are inspired by Sufi poetry, music and dance
• people who want to reach a personal deepening of prayer, worship and inquiry
Registration & Costs
The full seminar costs $175; individual sessions are $20 each.
To make the program widely accessible, we are offering two discounts if you register by May 15:
1 - Buy all 10 sessions for $125
2 - Buy 4 sessions — May, June, August, and September — for $50.00
<< These have expired, for special discounts contact Kiran Rana by email: kiran@sufiway.org >>
You can also pay for the full program or multiple sessions in 2 or 3 installments. Discussion sessions are included in the cost of the talks.
To register for the FULL program, Click Here
To register for a single session through Meetup, use the Meetup link
For questions about the program, email kiran@sufiway.org
Further information, including a pdf of the complete schedule, is available on the Sufi Way website at this LINK.
About Murshid Kiran Rana...
Kiran Rana was born and raised in India. In 1973 he traveled to the West, where he met the Sufi mystic, Fazal Inayat-Khan, and joined his Khankah (residential Sufi community). He spent the first seven years of his Sufi training living and working in close proximity to his teacher.
In 1981, Kiran moved to California, where for 35 years he worked as a publisher of books on physical and emotional health. He also led workshops on Sufi poetry and music, teaching especially through the Sufi musical form called qawwali. During that time he also became a Murshid (guide) in the Sufi Way, the progressive Sufi order started by Fazal Inayat-Khan.
In 2014, Kiran gave up publishing and devoted himself full-time to the practice and teaching of Sufism. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, Jeanne, who is a poet and long-term member of the Sufi Way and the Unitarian church. At the Bay Dervish center in Alameda they hold monthly Sufi conversations and gatherings for zikr, qawwali and worship and share approaches to the inner life, creativity and awakening.