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Previous Spiritual Development
Courses
These courses focus on specific areas of study, including
Sufi teaching and experiential learning.
Clearing
an Inner Space for Remembrance of God (Zikr)
Spiritual
Unfoldment through the Path of Sufism
(Using
The Spiritual Teachings of Moulana Rumi)
The
Spiritual Aspect
of The Enneagram
Moulana
Rumi & His Poetry - Masnavi (Mathnawi)
Sufism
and Psychology
To
Register Interest
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Clearing
an Inner Space for
Remembrance of God (Zikr)
Over the years, Sufis have developed certain
practices to intensify the remembrance of God. The goal of
Zikr is to be in a state of total remembrance of God which
equates with total forgetting of self. Zikr has different
levels including the Zikr of the tongue, the Zikr of the heart
and the Zikr of the soul. While we are repeating the calling
on God's Names, we try to keep ourselves in alignment with
the moment to moment renewal of the Grace of that Name.
This experiential psycho-spiritual workshop includes Focusing
to quieten the constant interruptions of the thoughts and
clear an inner space so that we can practise remembrance of
God. One can then use this learning every day towards one's
spiritual development and benefit from its Grace.
This is a rare opportunity to be led through this experiential
process developed by Fleur Nassery Bonnin, Sufi teacher, clinical
psychologist and the Founder and Director of the Australian
Centre for Sufism and Irfanic Studies.
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Spiritual Unfoldment
Through
The Path of Sufism
- Using The Spiritual Teachings of Moulana Rumi
Most likely you are reading this information because you
are interested in or being drawn towards spiritual unfoldment.
If so, this is a good time to pause and ask yourself some
important questions such as: Who am I? Why am I here?
What is the purpose of life? Once you have pondered on
such questions and taken steps towards getting some answers,
then you can start the inner journey, and with perseverance
you can become a “salek”, a traveller on the spiritual
path.
Generally man is unaware and forgetful of the purpose of
this life’s journey. The longing for deeper meaning
in life and for something real is the beginning of the path
of spiritual unfoldment. The following is helpful in understanding
the dilemma of human beings:
Imagine that you get into your car and drive to a supermarket
or department store to buy something that you need. But
as soon as you enter the store, you forget what you came
for. You become busy, mesmerised and occupied with all the
things that you see around you. You follow the crowd and
do what they do but, once in a while when you have a moment
of quietness, you get this nagging feeling that there was
something you came here for. “What was it?”
The crowd around you are engrossed in joining in the games
that are being played and do not even pause and ask themselves:
“Was there something else that brought me here?"
This question is asked by only a few who have a vague memory
(by the Grace of God) of something else.
Man is made multidimensional with different levels and depths,
therefore the religions which are vehicles for the transformation
of man are also multidimensional, with an outer, middle and
inner reality. The fact that the majority are not aware of
their true reality does not negate this reality, it just stops
them from experiencing it. However there is always a minority
who uphold the light for the travellers on the spiritual path,
and Sufis are within this group.
The Sufi tradition has a 1400 year history rich in teachings
through various methods such as the oral tradition, discourses,
writings and poetry by spiritual masters and guides. One important
source of Sufi teaching which we will explore is the book
of Mathnawi by Moulana Rumi. Moulana Rumi starts this celebrated
book, by saying:
“Listen to this
reed how it laments
it tells the story of separation”
In one sense, the core of Sufi teaching is hidden in
this one verse. If one knows that there is a separation and
man has been separated from something or someone, then one
also realises that there could be a reunion. This reality
is not available to most people because they are busy with
their subjectivity and preoccupation with the world. It is
only after the inner eyes open that one can see that Reality
is different from what they had experienced.
"Oh you who are
hiding in everything
like the meaning inside the words"
Suddenly there is real meaning and purpose in day to day
life. This unfoldment takes place when we become conscious
of the Beloved - God Conscious.
Man is compartmentalised and lost in the never ending play
of mental images, concepts and psychic and emotional tensions
of the personality. This is the root of all our unhappiness.
Inner happiness is only achieved by being out of the state
of fragmentation and being in the state of wholeness. Man
therefore needs to become whole. It is in this state of wholeness
that we can experience the oneness and unity with God. This
is the inner meaning of 'Tawhid' which is the unity of existence
and the goal of the Sufi path.
This course is led by Fleur Nassery Bonnin, an initiated
Sufi murshid, a clinical psychologist and the Founder and
Director of the Australian Centre for Sufism and Irfanic Studies.
She believes that psychological and spiritual development
are inseparable, both are necessary components in the pursuit
of spiritual awareness. Fleur has developed this introductory
one day course which focuses on aspects of Sufi teaching.
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The Spiritual Aspect
of the Enneagram
"I was a hidden treasure and I loved
that I be known,
so I created the creation so that I can be known."
Hadith Qudsi
Sufism is a spiritual journey to God in which the purpose
of life and its inner meanings are uncovered and experienced
in daily life.
Man is compartmentalised and lost in the never-ending play
of mental images, concepts and psychic and emotional tensions
of the personality. It is the root of all our unhappiness.
We are composed of body, mind and spirit, and each part needs
to be integrated at its own level. Since inner happiness
(sakina) is only achieved by being out of the
state of fragmentation and being in the state of wholeness,
man therefore needs to become whole. It is in this state of
wholeness that he can experience the oneness and unity with
God. This is the inner meaning of 'Tawhid', which is unity
of existence. This is the Sufi path.
This introductory course uses a combination of direct teaching,
guidance and study of ancient Sufi teachings with emphasis
on exploring the Enneagram of personalities and the spiritual
aspects of the Enneagram.
The course is led by initiated Sufi teacher, clinical psychologist
and the Founder and Director of the Australian Centre for
Sufism and Irfanic Studies, Fleur Nassery Bonnin.
The Enneagram
"God made the creatures as veils.
He who knows them as such is led back to Him, but he who takes
them as real is barred from His presence"
Ibn al-Arabi
The Enneagram is an ancient Sufi system, which has recently
been used as a psychological map of personality types. The
Enneagram offers two levels for understanding the personality.
The first level focuses on the recognition of the personality
and its fixations. This Enneagram of the personality exemplifies
psychological aspects and traits of the ego personality. The
second and more profound level of the Enneagram is going beyond
the personality to the realm of the essential Being. Here,
the Enneagram is a model of consciousness that reveals the
self as a veil to itSelf.
The ego fixations, habitual patterns and emotions of the
nine personality types function as a tool for the ego and
as a veil to the Reality, obstructing us from our essential
being. By observing and purifying the ego personality, we
can free ourselves from these entrapments and move towards
consciousness.
This course uses the Enneagram as a vehicle for spiritual
unfoldment within the Sufi traditions.
The Teacher
Fleur Nassery Bonnin is a clinical psychologist,
an initiated Sufi teacher and the Founder and Director of
the Australian Centre for Sufism and Irfanic Studies. Originally
from Persia, she has practised in the United States for many
years and now lives and works in Australia, focusing on Sufi
psychology and spiritual teaching. She believes that psychological
and spiritual development are inseparable; both are necessary
components in the pursuit of the path to enlightenment.
In Sufism, self-knowledge is the path that leads to the knowledge
of God. Self-realisation as a vehicle for spiritual unfoldment
is at the centre of her teaching. Her emphasis is for the
seeker to be able to apply the gained knowledge into every
day life experience, in order to develop Divine Consciousness.
Suggested Reading:
The Enneagram by Helen Palmer
Facets of Unity by A.H. Almaas
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The Spiritual Teachings
of Moulana Rumi
- The Masnavi (Mathnawi) & His Poetry -
The poetic work of Moulana Rumi, the 13th Century Persian
mystic is timeless and needs little introduction. After over
700 years he is the most widely read poet in the West today.
Moulana Rumi, the messenger of love, is calling mankind to
taste the spiritual wine and experience the intoxication that
ensues from witnessing the Beloved. He has thrown light on
the various aspects of unity, the deathlessness of the loving
soul, the joy of passion and true faith. He expresses the
poetic euphoria of the belief in God's beauty and the human
being as a reflection of that reality.
Moulana Rumi's Work
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Moulana Rumi's literary output is as stupendous in magnitude
as it is sublime in content. It includes the 25,685 verses
of Masnavi, 36,360 verses of mystical love poetry in Divani
Shams-i Tabrizi and 1,983 verses or quatrains of 'Rubaiyat'.
In Part Two of this series we will explore the inner meanings
and depths of his love poetry and 'Rubaiyat'. However, to
begin to appreciate the depth of his poetry one needs to develop
the ear for mystical knowledge and to begin to realise the
unity of existence and therefore of God. In Part One, the
course will focus on the spiritual teachings of Moulana Rumi's
most celebrated book "Masnavi". Here Moulana Rumi
becomes the spiritual guide in the role of storyteller, which
is an integral part of Sufi teaching.
The Masnavi
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The six volumes of Masnavi resemble a trackless ocean with
no boundaries and no lines of demarcation between the literal
'husk' and the 'kernel' of the teaching. His bold use of language
creates a tapestry of every day life stories, old and ancient
tales, the familiar and the unfamiliar are interwoven as he
passes on his mystical experiences, sometimes with the voice
of a friend and sometimes with the voice of a teacher. Ranging
over the battlefield of existence, he finds all its conflicts
and discords playing the parts assigned to them in the universal
harmony, which only mystics can realise.
In the Masnavi Moulana Rumi says:
"Our book of Masnavi is the shop for Unity (Wahdat);
anything that you see
there except the One (God) is an idol "
A.J. Arberry says:
"
In Rumi the Persian mystical genius found its
supreme expression.
Viewing the vast landscape of Sufi poetry, we see him standing
out as a sublime
mountain peak; many other poets before and after him are like
hills in comparison."
In the West, we are now slowly realising the magnitude of
Moulana Rumi's genius.
The Course
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To understand Moulana Rumi's impact on the human psyche and
to explore his message and teachings, Fleur Nassery Bonnin,
Founder and Director of the Australian Centre for Sufism and
Irfanic Studies, is bringing together this two-part course.
In Part One she will guide us through the spiritual teachings
of the stories in the Masnavi. Combining her native language
of Persian and her deep knowledge of Moulana Rumi and Sufi
teachings she will take us on a journey from the outer to
the inner of Moulana Rumi's message, using his beautiful language
as our vessel.
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Sufism and Psychology
Sufism offers one of the most advanced systems of sacred
psychology. Its ultimate aim is that of self-knowledge, which
is the doorway to God-Consciousness. The systematic experience
of Sufi practice moves one from the fixation of the ego, and
delivers one into the realm of wholeness and unity.
Sufism and psychology can be two interdependent means of discovering
who we are, where we are going, and what the purpose is of
our life's journey. Sufi psychology is an unfolding process
of psycho-spiritual integration and transformation, based
on inner reality and inner balance. The psychological work
provides tools to cut through the defences of the ego, and
with the work of Sufism the blocks and obstacles of the ego
can be recognised and dissolved allowing the experience of
the essential self and God Consciousness.
"You search for the one who is with you.
You look for the looker
- closer to you than you."
"Don't rush outside.
Thaw like melting
ice, and wash your self away."
Moulana Rumi
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For further information contact the
Australian Centre for Sufism and Irfanic Studies (ACSIS)
Phone: (02) 9955 SUFI (7834)
or
email:
acs@australiansuficentre.org
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