The Alchemical Retreat

We live in turbulent times, often filled with confusion, fear, and the tensions of uncertainty, complexity, suffering, and self-image. There is an inherent need within the human soul to return to simplicity, the changless and timeless realm of the

sacred. In the shelter of the alchemical retreat, we allow the world to take care of itself for awhile as we turn within and immerse ourselves in the silence of the heart.

Silence is a great friend of our soul, and unveils the immense richness of the inner life. Luminous solitude opens the doorway to recovering the freedom, innocense, joy and empowerment of our soul's nature. When we give ourselves the gift of silence and solitude, we will naturally spiral back blessings and beauty into the world.

Gandhi said, "We must be the changes we wish to see in the world." So we go on retreat in order to emerge with renewed inspiration and a sense of the purpose that had been seeded within us, and which yearns for expression.  Retreat is not a way to cop out of our responsibilities to ourselves and the world, but to re-discover the passion and creativity that transforms and heals.

Retreat As Pilgrimage and Spiritual Training

Many people consider the alchemical retreat to be an integral part of their spiritual training. Individual and group retreats are offered regularly throughout the year, in settings that are conducive to solitude and contemplation. A retreat guide has undergone extensive training in the alchemical retreat process him or herself before being certified and authorized to guide retreats in the Sufi Order International. In addition, Sufi retreat guides continue to go on regular retreats themselves, regarding this as an essential part of their own inner work. Alchemical retreat work is a deep process of inner transformation, involving both spiritual and psychological dimensions. It is based on the principles of alchemy: the transformation of consciousness from the denser elements to the sublime and radiant nature of one's true soul nature. During retreat, one works through the elements and planes of consciousness with the aid of spiritual practices.

Retreats are modified to enable those who are not familiar with Sufi practices to benefit from individual retreat. It is important to have a personal interview with a retreat guide in order to discuss your personal needs and wishes prior to undertaking such a retreat.

Spiritual Practices

During individual retreats, the guide sits with you each day, attuning to what is needed, listening to your dreams, and then prescribing the appropriate kinds of spiritual practices for that day. There are many different kinds of possible practices:  breath, light, magnetism, sound, movement, and specific Sufi practices with wazaif and dhikr (sacred mantric phrases)

In addition, practices in concentration, contemplation, meditation and self realization are often given, as well meditative walking practices in nature .  All practices aim to help us awaken to a higher dimension of awareness, but we begin by arriving at wherever we are. This is the most important part of our inner work - learning to be present without judgment, rejection or unnecessary struggle.

Befriending the shadow and the deep mystery

“Our being is silent, but our existence is noisy.” - Christian mysticThomas Merton

Working in a focused way with spiritual practices can put us in touch with the ground of our being, as well as open us to very sublime and wonderful states of consciousness.  And the repeated exposure to these experiences can strengthen our trust in the reality of the expansive and boundless dimensions of being, freeing us from our limited concepts of who we think we are.

However, spiritual practices may also reveal our own ego barriers, and bring up quite opposite qualities than what we might wish for! For example, in doing practices with light, we might notice the dark thoughts and feelings instead. We need to contact and become conscious of all of those parts of us that might be contracted, blocked, and closed off. Everything is a part of the transformative process and asks that we bring an openness and kind attentiveness to whatever arises in us, without either identifying and clinging to it or wishing to reject and get rid of it.

In this way, those very barriers which inhibit our awareness of unity can serve as guidance at work, if we are willing to listen to them in an open and objective way. All of the issues and problems which arise into full consciousness during our retreat are not without meaning. By staying with our moment to moment experiences without either rejection or clinging, we can begin to recognize the thread of guidance that weaves through our human and divine nature, and we can rest in the arms of the Beloved, at ease with ourselves and the universe. Whenever there is less struggle against our own thoughts anhd feelings, a sense of the vastness and boundlessness of Spirit can more easily come through.

 During retreat, we experience letting go and release of our excess baggage. Whenever there is a softening of the rigidity and contraction of our I-ness, a deep relaxation follows on all levels of our being. This relaxation of our self image and historical identity is one of the deepest forms of repose and rest! Our attitude of openness will enable us to slowly let go of the fixations, judgments, and attachments which block us from naturally aligning with God consciousness.

The Three Journeys

The Sufis say that there are three journeys: we journey from, to and in The Nameless One - or the Beloved.   These three journeys are part of our maqam (developmental stages) and can extend over years and years of time. But during retreat, we may also experience an accelerated movement through the different stations that are connected with these.  This is what Sufis refer to as "hal"- those momentary experiences of grace and awakening that are not yet not yet affixed as an ongoing stage but which givetremendous inspiration, courage, and help on our on-going spiritual journey.  One can expect to move through the different stages in a completely non-linear way.

However, in the earlier stages of your retreat, you might realize that you have forgotten your connection with Source. This is a painful awakening: you suddenly become aware of the disconnection and separation with your own self, with others, nature, and the Nameless One. But the experience of separation is often the spark that triggers off a longing for some sweet remembrance of love's unity that has always been hidden as a seed in our hearts. So, this first part of the journey ignites an intense fire of longing in our hearts to return home. As the woman mystic Rabia said: "The source of my grief and loneliness is deep in my breast. This is a disease no doctor can cure. Only union with the Friend can cure it." 

Gradually, awareness begins to awaken you to what it is that is standing in the way of connectedness: none other than your own self! With this awareness, the second journey begins. This is the work of purification to clear impressions and heal pain and the suffering that comes with identifying with the wounds of the past. To consciously begin the long journey home involves the process of fana, a dying to what is false and illusory which the ego has identified and taken to be real. This dying to the self is the corner-stone of deep innerwork. But it is much more than psychological work. It is also the work that connects us with the greater wholeness of love, which transcends duality and separation. By confronting the many layers of falsehood within us, we allow the transformative fire of love to purify and heal us. Then, we may discover that the shadows and distortions actually contain the very secret of our true nature. As my teacher Pir Vilayat has often said, "If you want to know what your qualities are, you only need to look at your defects and problems to discover them!"

So then the third journey begins - the journey IN the Beloved, the Nameless One. Now the contracted ego self finally steps aside, and agrees to come down from center stage and surrender to that which cannot be known or named with the mind. To become nothing, to "die before death" set the stage for discovering "the hidden Treasure that longed to be known." Preparing an inner shrine in our hearts for the Universe to express its evolutionary creativity and intelligence was the way in which intention, self-discipline, and will could bring one to the threshold of what mystics call union with the Nameless One.  There is ultimately nothing more we can do to arrive at the stage of baqa, the re-instatement of the Real.  The burning question at this stage of retreat is:  how does the Divine Purpose find expression through my own existence now?  what is the deep calling of my soul in answer to the cry of humanity?  Even if we don't discover an easy answer, to live fully with these questions will be an ongoing part of the retreat back into life.

Those who go on retreat will realize that the wonderful experiences of light and union are not the end of the journey, but often signify a new beginning or next step. We will also have to bring our realizations into daily life. As we return from retreat we may be dismayed to find ourselves back in duality and separation again. For some time, the ego was able to step back, and we discovered our true being. But the ongoing spiritual work after experiencing unity is to learn to live in the two worlds, to know of the infinite oneness and also to live a balanced outer life. So, when we return to the world and do our work of serving humanity, we can make real the inner connection of our heart, and we bring our heart's remembrance into our everyday life.

"The true mystic goes in and out amongst the people, and eats and sleeps with them, and buys and sells in the market...and never forgets God for a single moment." --Sufi mystic Abil Khayr--