Teaching Staff & Class Descriptions
Diana Lyon – Tender, Tender, Ever Tender: Allowing Life and Grief to Soften the Heart
Rather than offering a formal class, Diana will focus on offerings arising from this perspective during our All Camp Class period, as well as holding Heart-Space throughout the week, with special care for those new to camp, those who may be grieving, youth, and those in attendance with their young children. Being fully present to our spiritual practices, to the preciousness of life and the delight of love means also that we open ourselves to being pierced by grief. Death, separation, illness, and change are all integral to our experience of being human, and they have a seismic impact on our body, heart and soul. How do we maintain our balance without avoiding what is painful, or clinging to what is pleasant?
Muiz Brinkerhoff – Hidden Treasures: Revisiting our Fundamental Teachings & Core Practices
We’ll work together to open to deeper experiences with some of the core practices and fundamental teachings of our Ruhaniat Lineage … Watching the Breath with Loving Awareness, Darood, Wazifa, Meditations & Contemplations, Walking Practice (Centers, Planets, Wazifa, Saints Prophets Masters), Satsang & Sohbet.
Pir Shabda Kahn – Nurturing the Inner Life, Caring for the Planet, Cultivating Strength, Courage, Compassion and Forgiveness
Each day we will begin with some Zikr Dances and then cultivate Strength, Courage, Compassion and Forgiveness as a means to change ourselves and serve our worldwide problems. All of our worldwide problems, environmental, political, racial, gender, and prosperity inequality have been the result of human ignorance, greed, pride, jealousy and lack of self-worth. It is natural therefore that the solutions at their core rely on human beings practicing Loving Kindness and Compassion, which is at the root of all our lineage teachings.
Tamam Kahn – Finding Words to Tell It Like It Is
A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language. — W.H. Auden
The class will look at all kinds of poetry, talk about it and do some writing. Even if you are a songwriter or you love mystery or travel writing, this class will make your language choices more precise, and besides it’s fun.
Kira Gayatri Kull – Sacred Play: Creative Practices to Engage the Myths Within Us
What if our creativity could serve as a mystical practice? What if play is just as powerful as prayer? Sufi mystic, philosopher, and poet Ibn al-Arabi coined the term alam al-mithal meaning “realm of images” in the last 12th century. Psychologist Carl Jung drew great inspiration from Arabi’s writings in the formation of his theories of archetypal image and the “collective unconscious” centuries later. With theatrical play as a guide, this class will dive into an exploration of these inner landscapes. Participants will have the opportunity to deeply meet themselves through symbol, image, and archetype, giving voice to these imaginal players through varying forms such as song, poetry, and movement. In the realm of imagination, anything is possible. Come, come whoever you are!
Sadaya Zimmerle – Deeper into the Heart of Love: Dances of Universal Peace
We are so lucky to have been given this amazing way to sing, dance, pray and commune together. This is something we get to give ourselves and also offer the world. Let us immerse ourselves in our cannon with its abundant elixirs of melody, movement, and ways of being together and blessing one another. We will seek to balance quality and depth of experience with openness and sharing so there is room for different hearts to lead dances, as we ever ripen in this practice together. Feel free to find me ahead if preparation with someone or my musical/dance mentoring support would be helpful.
Yoga: the Journey of the Self, Through the Self, To the Self
We will focus our energies, cultivate liberation in our bodies, hearts and minds as we increase our strength, flexibility, and resilience to enter this journey together. All bodies and states of being welcome.