Mountain Wisdom, Sufism

You will explore your own Game of Life through the teachings of Sufi masters, the experience of some of their practices, and through experiencing the architecture produced by that culture designed to generate specific states of mind.

Each day, we will share reflections on the life of a wise Sufi master, quotes, and stories, and we will have an opportunity to explore, by direct experience and reflection, how this affects your life today. And what it would mean to embody this in your everyday life.
We will experiment with some Sufi practices, which are still used as tools of reflection, inspiration, creativity, intuition, and growth. Mevlana Rumi’s wisdom will guide us also through the inner journey of becoming insan-i kamil (the complete person).

We will take advantage of the unique places of contemplation in Istanbul for our inner journey. Visiting Ottoman mosques, like Süleymaniye, Sultanahmet (”the big mosques”), and also little-known hidden gems. We will have them teach us about the paradox of an outer appearance of extreme solidity, strength, and groundedness while their interior is full of delicate beauty: calligraphy, arcades, and noble materials.

We also plan to visit Sufi communities and participate in their practices of dance and music.

We will use Mountain Wisdom formats for reflection, walk&talk, all in inspiring settings to exchange around your personal journeys, highlights, roadblocks, and new chapters.

To fully immerse ourselves into Rumi and the experience of how he has lived his life we will invite you to join our guide Süleyman for early morning prayers (around 5 am). Like all Mountain Wisdom components this is a “challenge by choice”; here we want to give you a heads-up and invite you to explore this and any other practices with full Learner and Curiosity mindset.