Turning Your Heart to Love: Sufism, Whirling, and the Teachings of Rumi

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. — Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi 

Partners Ihab and Ora Balha, a Muslim man and a Jewish woman, are trained in the Mevlevi tradition of Jelaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest mystics and poets the world has ever known. Together, they will share the wisdom of the whirling dervishes, which has been passed down for 750 years. 

Each day will include: 

• A taste of the sweetness of the mystical philosophy and heart-centered mindfulness techniques of Sufism. 
• Daily instruction on traditional whirling and chanting.
• Nightly Dhikr, one of the major rituals of Sufi spiritual practice, where attendees can sing and dance with live musicians in ecstatic union with the Divine. 

The whirling dervishes, mystics who believe one’s path is to God, are devoted to developing one’s abilities and capacity through emotional, intellectual, and physical practices. This workshop will deepen your connection to love, creating an internal peace that brings harmony and healing to the world.

“When you plant a tree every leaf that grows will tell you, what you sow will bear fruit. So if you have any sense, my friend, don’t plant anything but love, you show your worth by what you seek.” — Rumi

Recommended Reading: The Last Barrier: A Journey into the Essence of Sufi Teachings by Reshad Feild, Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks, Rumi Comes to America: How the Poet of Mystical Love Arrived on Our Shores by Bruce Miller