Laughter, Suffering, Growth & Friendship in the Sufi Tradition

WITH JAMAL RAHMAN

“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” - Rumi

In this session, Sufi teacher Jamal Rahman invites us into the heart of a wisdom tradition that doesn't deal in answers, but in presence, paradox, and transformation. 

Join us to explore the path of opening the heart—not just to the 10,000 joys of life, but also the 10,000 sorrows. With stories drawn from Rumi, the Qur’an, and his own interfaith journey, Jamal will help us see suffering not as a detour from the spiritual path, but as one of its most intimate teachers. 

This is a session for anyone who wants to live with more compassion, walk gently through grief, and tap into the well of knowing that lives deep within us.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Jamal Rahman is a popular speaker on Islam, Sufi spirituality, and interfaith relations. Along with his Interfaith Amigos, he has been featured in New York Times, CBS News, BBC, and various NPR programs. Jamal is co-founder and Muslim Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Sanctuary, and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. He is the author and co-author of nine books. His latest book is titled, Fragrance of the Qur'an: Reflections on verses of beauty and wisdom.

Session description coming soon.

What if your deepest spiritual longing could be met by the trees, rivers, and creatures around you? 

In this session, Victoria Loorz—wild church pastor, eco-spiritual director, and co-founder of the Wild Church Network—invites us to rediscover an ancient truth: we belong to a sacred, living community that extends far beyond humanity. 

Explore why our disconnection from the natural world is at the root of both ecological and spiritual crises, and how reweaving that relationship can heal us—and the earth. Together, we’ll delve into practices of wild spirituality that move beyond “using” nature for serenity, into mutual relationship and reverence. Learn how to embrace the mystery, vulnerability, and even the darkness of life as part of the sacred whole. 

If you long for a spirituality that feels alive, rooted, and resilient in the face of chaos, this session is for you.

What if true wealth isn’t what you keep—but what you give away?

Join Megan McKenna as she invites us to rethink wealth, spirituality, and community through a contemplative lens. As she describes it, contemplation is a “long loving look at reality,” especially the hard truths of poverty, injustice, and suffering. 

Discover how being truly seen—and learning to see others as God sees them—breaks down barriers of “us versus them” and calls us into compassionate solidarity with the poor, the earth, and each other. Join us as we challenge individualism and uncover a vision of spirituality rooted in friendship, vulnerability, and prophetic witness.

Amid the constant motion of daily life, a Writing Circle offers a gentle pause—an invitation to listen more deeply to your spirit, your unfolding path, and the presence of God within it all. This live online practice creates a sacred space where writing becomes more than words on a page—it becomes prayer, presence, and transformation.

Through sacred invitations, moments of stillness, and guided journaling, we’ll explore writing as a pathway to the heart and soul. Together, we will chart the movements of God in our lives, uncover the patterns that shape our joys, sorrows, longings, and hopes, and learn to express ourselves with honesty and grace.

No writing experience is needed—just a willing heart and an open page.

In this live gathering, you’ll experience:

•         Sacred invitations to explore your inner landscape through writing
•         Moments of stillness, prayer, and contemplative silence
•         Opportunities to share (optional) and witness others in community
•         A nurturing space to deepen your connection with God, self, and purpose

Whether you keep a journal, scribble on napkins, or are just beginning to explore writing, this space is for you. Come as you are—with your questions, your faith, your doubts, and your desire to listen more deeply.

Bring your pen, your paper, and your presence. Let’s write our way into the sacred.

What if the most sacred moments in your faith happen not in doing, but in waiting?

Join Rev. Laurie Brock as she invites you into the powerful mystery of liminal space—those quiet, uncomfortable in-between times when transformation unfolds beneath the surface. In this session, Laurie explores how stillness and uncertainty are fertile ground for growth and divine presence. 

Discover how holiness is found in everyday objects and ordinary stories, and learn to embrace silence, simplicity, and the full spectrum of human experience—including grief and struggle. Shift from relentless doing to authentic being, and awaken to God’s subtle, life-changing work in the spaces we often overlook.

What if the path to transformation begins not with striving, but with letting go?

In this session, Sarah Bachelard invites us into a profound exploration of kenosis—the self-emptying that opens us to the hiddenness of God—and the ancient vision of theosis, the Eastern Christian teaching on becoming partakers of the divine life. With her characteristic clarity and depth, she will reveal how suffering, mystery, and consent to God’s presence form us in ways beyond our own efforts. 

Drawing on both contemplative practice and her rich theological background, Sarah offers a spacious, compassionate perspective on the journey of faith—one that leads not to escape from the world, but to deeper union with God and greater love for life.

What if the key to transformation isn’t fixing people, but cherishing them?

In this session, Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and beloved author, invites us to reconsider what it means to love well in a fractured world. Drawing on decades of accompanying gang members and those on society’s margins, Greg shares profound insights on kinship, tenderness, and the illusion of separateness. He challenges the urge to rescue or control and offers a radical alternative: walk toward joy, hold the flashlight, and trust others to turn on their own light. 

From stories of laughter on a darkened bus to reflections on health, holiness, and the longing for belonging, this session offers a vision of wholeness that is deeply human and fiercely hopeful. Join us to discover how cherishing—not changing—others can anchor us in joy and help heal our world.

What does love look like in this moment—fierce or tender, active or still? 

In a world gripped by polarization, suffering, and uncertainty, how do we open our hearts wide enough to hold it all without collapsing into despair or blame? 

In this session, author and spiritual teacher Felicia Murrell explores the spacious heart: a heart rooted in wonder, alive to awe, and attuned to the fierce, unrelenting call of Love. Through stories of personal transformation, practices of presence, and wisdom drawn from mystics and nature alike, Felicia invites us to move beyond binaries, release the need for certainty, and live into a radical, hopeful interconnectedness. If you’ve ever wondered how to respond to chaos with compassion—or how to live the question, “What is the most loving thing I can do right now?”—this session offers a hopeful path forward.

What if the Bible wasn’t meant to be mastered—but to master you in love?

In session, contemplative teacher and author Carl McColman invites us to read Scripture not as scholars or theologians, but as mystics. Rather than seeking certainty or control, the mystical path approaches the Bible with reverence, humility, and wonder. Drawing on ancient practices like lectio divina and the apophatic tradition, Carl offers a vision of sacred reading that leads us beyond information into transformation.

Through silence, prayer, and a willingness to “unknow,” we open ourselves to a living encounter with the Divine—one that reshapes our hearts and deepens our capacity for love. Whether you’re new to contemplative practice or a seasoned seeker, this session will help you fall in love with the Word in a whole new way.

What if the most prophetic preaching begins in silence?

In this session, Trey Clark unveils the often-overlooked depth of Black contemplative preaching—a tradition rooted in prayer, mysticism, sacred imagination, and the healing rhythms of embodied faith. Drawing on the wisdom of ancestors and mystics like Howard Thurman, Amanda Gorman, and the Desert Mothers and Fathers, Clark invites us into a preaching that is more than words: it is a habitus of prayer, a spiritual technology of stillness, song, and soul.

What if silence isn’t the destination, but the womb of something greater?

In this session, discover how contemplative practice can transform religion beyond rigid literalism into a living encounter with love. Drawing on his journey with mentors and contemplative communities, Peter Traben Haas explores how silence opens us—not to escape the world, but to return more grounded, creative, and compassionate. 

Together, we’ll reflect on the fine line between spiritual maturity and spiritual arrogance, the temptations of dogma even within mystical circles, and the fruit that proves authentic practice: love for God, self, others, and creation. 

Through story, wisdom, and prayer, Peter invites us to see silence not as an end in itself, but as the space where grace flows, creativity awakens, and our deepest gifts are birthed.

Session description coming soon!

If Christian formation has developed mostly in the West, what does that do to our understanding of God and our spiritual path?

In this session with Dr. Cindy S. Lee, we explore what it means to unlearn and relearn spiritual practices that truly honor our shared humanity. Moving beyond Western frameworks, Cindy invites us into a spirituality rooted in justice, cultural particularity, and communal healing. 

Discover the difference between de-Westernizing and decolonizing spirituality, and why reconnecting with ancestral traditions matters for authentic formation. Learn how practices of contemplation—seeing with the divine gaze—can transform not only our inner lives but also our communities. 

This session offers practical wisdom for spiritual leaders, seekers, and anyone longing for a deeper, collective spirituality. Join us as we shift from individual healing to the flourishing of our collective soul.

Session description coming soon! 

What if the word you choose this year could become a doorway into transformation?

Join Christine Valters Paintner as she explores the ancient desert tradition of receiving a single guiding word—not as a resolution to achieve, but as a contemplative companion to live with and listen to. 

In this session, Christine shares how one word can anchor us in trust, humility, and the slow ripening of mystery amid life’s uncertainties. Drawing from her own journey through illness, movement practices, and deep engagement with nature and the arts, she invites us to release striving, honor our embodied limits, and discover the sacred shimmering in ordinary life. 

Come learn how to welcome your word with patience and delight, allowing it to shape your days with gentleness and grace.

What if the very traits that make you feel “different” are actually gifts for the spiritual path?

In this conversation, contemplation and neuroscience researcher AC Seiple explores the intersection of neurodiversity and spiritual practice. From navigating attention and sensory processing differences to reframing what “focus” and “silence” can look like, Seiple shares stories and insights that expand our vision of belonging. Together we’ll consider how contemplative spaces can welcome the richness of diverse minds and how neurodivergent ways of being can illuminate new dimensions of prayer, presence, and community.

Could your creativity, your grief, and your longing for justice all be forms of prayer?

Mystics have long spoken of the via positiva—the path of wonder—and the via negativa—the path through darkness and letting go. Matthew Fox expands this ancient wisdom with two more: the via creativa, where our creativity becomes prayer, and the via transformativa, where compassion fuels justice and renewal.

Together, these four paths form a map of the spiritual life—guiding us through joy, grief, imagination, and courageous action. In this session, Fox draws on voices like Hildegard, Eckhart, and Julian of Norwich alongside indigenous wisdom and contemporary science, showing how the fourfold way is both deeply rooted and urgently relevant for our time.

Come discover how beauty, loss, creativity, and justice are not separate journeys, but one integrated path into the heart of Divine love.