Sunday Worship
4th Sunday Inter-Spiritual Worship ~ Making a Home for the Mystic Heart
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2024
Time: 10:00 am — 11:30 am
With George Ramirez
This event is In Person, Live Streaming
Watch Live Streaming
Fourth Sunday with George Ramirez
Life gets more exciting with each passing day
And love is either in your heart, or on its way
From the song Young at Heart by Carolyn Leigh & Johnny Richards
Gratitude
Special Events
Chant and Drum Circle for World Peace
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Led by: Isla Ross
This event is In Person
All are warmly invited to bring hand drums and percussion ,songs, chants and prayers to share ! Together we will make a difference. 
The songs and chants will be participatory, simple and easy to follow, from various cultures. Sound carries intention out into the world.
Everyone is welcome to bring a hand drum, shakers, and other hand percussion to play along. Also bring Prayers of Peace to share with the Circle at the end.
About Isla Ross:
Isla Ross is a Devotional Artist and Composer who offers Healing Songs, Interfaith Chants, and Meditative Music, accompanied by an array of exotic instruments. Even as a child , she was fascinated by the spiritual practices and music of many cultures.
In 2002, Isla experienced a transformative year in Europe, including a Sacred Clowning retreat in a Tibetan monastery. The lessons included Sacred chants of India. She continued studying with several sound healers in England and back in the US. In 2005, Isla found her way to the Interfaith Community Sanctuary in Seattle, where she shares music for services and events.
Buddhist Meditation Retreat with Greg Patenaude
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Led by: Greg Patenaude
This event is In Person
Join us for a half-day retreat exploring the foundational practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen.
Saturday, May 4th, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Seattle Interfaith Community Sanctuary.
During this retreat, participants will have the opportunity to delve into the core practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, with an emphasis on bringing the mind to rest, exploring the nature of the mind, and learning to rest in the natural primordial state. Whether you are new to meditation or looking to deepen your practice, this session offers a supportive environment to explore these transformative techniques. The practice instructions for this retreat come from Younge Khachab Rinpoche’s latest book, the Secret Path of the Siddhas.
The retreat will include guided meditations, teachings on the foundational practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, and discussions that allow for questions and shared insights. It’s a perfect setting to connect with fellow travelers on the path who are on a journey of self-discovery and awakening.
This event is open to everyone. No prior experience is required, and all are welcome to join us in this immersive experience. Please visit Interfaith Community Sanctuary for more details and to plan your visit. Parking is available onsite via a driveway in the alley behind the church.
For questions please contact Greg Patenaude at siddhearta@gmail.com or call 425-830-1117.
About Greg Patenaude
Greg Patenaude is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and the director of Younge Drodul Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist non-profit located in Seattle. For over a decade he has been sharing his wisdom and guidance through leading meditation groups, retreats, and online and in-person classes. His dedication to helping others is evident in his commitment to supporting and inspiring fellow practitioners in their own spiritual journey, as well as his ability to present the ancient tradition in a way that is accessible and relevant to modern life. You can follow Greg’s writing on his website lifes.work .
Ongoing Gatherings
Remembrance in the Heart of Rumi
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024
Time: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Led by: The Seattle Circle of the Mevelvi Order of America
This event is In Person, Zoom
Join Virtual Gathering
ID: 895 9461 0201
Passcode: mevlevi
In-Person zikr every Monday evening!
All are welcome. Come, come, whoever you are!
The first Monday gathering each month features “Estağfurullah Zikr.”
Questions? Contact Seattle MOA teaching circle: seattlemoa@gmail.com
“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”
~ Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi
Join lovers of Mevlana in this weekly gathering with
the Mevlevi Order of America Seattle Circle
~ a musical and prayerful evening.
Please do not attend in person if experiencing any symptoms(ie. fever, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, respiratory illness, etc), or if you have had contact with anyone you believe could be infected. Masking at our indoor Mevlevi Monday gatherings is not required, and up to the individual’s preference. Let’s be mindful and protect each other.
OUR LINEAGE
Our transmission and tradition comes to us in an unbroken chain from the Sufi mystic and poet Mevlåna Jelaleddin Rumi. Rumi lived in 13th century Konya, Turkey, which was the capital of the Seljuk Empire. He was recognized as a scholar and a major religious and spiritual leader. He was already a renowned scholar and teacher when his encounters with the mystic, Shems-i-Tabriz, led to the blossoming of his full spiritual light. It was because of Shems that he started writing poetry.
His written legacy is contained in six texts. Three are poetry: the Divan-i Shams-i-Tabrizi – a collection of lyric poems, the Mathnawi Ma’nawi “Spiritual couplets”, and the Rubaliyyat. Three are prose: Fihi ma Fihi “It is what it is” his discourses, Makatib collected letters, and Maialis-i sablah seven sermons or lectures.
*Suleyman Hayati Dede
Sheikh of Konya, Suleyman Hayati DedeOur Dede was appointed Sheikh of Konya by Celaleddin Bakir Celebi, head of the Order and the 21st lineal descendant of Rumi. Dede visited Europe and America many times, planting the seeds of Mevlana wherever he went. He brought inspiration, compassion, and love to those who met him. In 1978 he sent his son, Jelaleddin Loras, to America to continue the Mevlevi Tradition in the west.
Jelaleddin Loras
Maqam Postneshin Jelaleddin Loras Effendi was raised and trained in the Mevlevi community of Konya. Under his father’s instruction he came to America with the tasks of creating centers and training western students. He has spent more than thirty years in this service, exploring and refining how to present the Mevlevi path to the western heart. Today there are Mevlevi Order of America centers across the United States and in Europe.
We are sincere seekers on a perennially modern, and centuries old path into the Divine Mystery. We are concerned with developing ourselves through emotional, intellectual, and physical practices. We respect all traditions which seek to accept the responsibility of humanity to care for each other and our world. We do not condone the use of sacred teachings to justify violence or to further political ends.
OUR PRACTICES
“For more than seven centuries, the Mevlevi Order has represented Spiritual Civilization on the vast and bountiful earth. Its aesthetic and intellectual achievements have been of enduring importance; it has produced magnificent works of music, poetry, and art.
Wherever Mevlevis have established themselves they have made profound contributions and have nurtured and developed the most human sentiments. As much as the Mevlevi Order has cultivated the mystical appreciation of life, it has also added to the fully human pleasure of living. Mevlevihood is like a the raw material thrown transformed according to its crucible: into it is potential.” — Abdülbåki Gölpınarlı (1900-1982) Mevlevi scholar
Ripening
Maturing physically is automatic. Maturing emotionally, intellectually and spiritually requires commitment, guidance, culture, a spiritual community and Grace. The Mevlevi path is a journey toward maturity.
Study
Study is the first, primary and lasting practice. We study:
• Rumi’s writings, his poetry and discourses – ultimately his magnum opus and most mature teaching – The Mesnevi.
• Sacred and instructive texts
• Those with more experience – their manners, attitudes, behavior and what they attend to.
• Nature, the world around us and the miracles in the creation
• Ourselves – our attitudes, reactions, behavior, states, our real needs and our deeper nature.
Service
Everything we do aims toward service. There is always a way to serve, from making a small gesture of consideration to traveling across the globe helping those in need. The commitment to serve teaches us freedom through humility and honors the connection between us all.
Sema
The whirling ceremony is a formal ritual. Every part has meaning. It is a teaching linking to the infinite and transmitting a blessing to the world. A semazen is one who whirls.
Zikr
Zikr is Remembrance through repetition. It raises one to a deeper contact with our True Nature. A zikr can be a beautiful ceremony with music and gestures, or an invisible prayer of the heart.
Sohbet
In sohbet we open our hearts to each other in discussion and deep listening. The oral tradition is passed through stories and teachings. We share our experiences and explore questions.
Refinement
Subtlety and discrimination are cultivated through music, calligraphy, poetry, cooking and all the arts and civilized forms. We appreciate and contribute to the richness of both the spiritual and the cultural.
Adab
The Mevlevi path embodies respect for the whole of creation and for every individual, including ourselves.
Grace and consideration polish the heart and clear a space in us where something extraordinary can enter...
