Sh. Bapak Waleed "Leonardo Stoute" conducted a special session of Sufi Zikr on Saturday evening. People of all ages and backgrounds attended, some of whom had never attended a session like this before. The guests sat in a circle of quiet meditation while traditional whirling music from Konya, Turkey was playing in the background. Bapak Waleed then entered and greeted everyone, thanking them for coming. He offered a brief intro and then the session began.

The traditional sufi chanting began, and everyone chimed in as they felt inspired. After a short while, Bapak rose and began the traditional whirling dance. This spiritual, healing dance was popularized by the poet Rumi and the school that built up around him. It has been performed as meditative and therapeutic expression for centuries. Bapak Waleed then concluded the dance and resumed leading the chanting for the group. At the conclusion, everyone joined in a general supplication, asking for peace, love, and health for all.

Afterward, the guests shared their experience of the evening, and expressed gratitude to Bapak Waleed for his invitation and hospitality. Bapak explained that not only did they all receive blessings for their presence in the evening, but all those who had an intention to attend - even those who could not or did not make it - would receive the same blessings as well. He further shared a story of traveling with his teacher, renowned sufi master Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, to visit the Maharishi Yogi who had invited them to come share with his students the secrets of sufi healing. Bapak said the Maharishi stated that, "the difference between your way and our way is only a thread".

Please enjoy our photo gallery below, and keep your eyes out for events like this in the future. Everyone is welcome to come and give it a whirl!

Pictures from the Event