Seattle Inner Guidance Group with Gayan Macher

The goal of Sufism is to live as real, mature human beings. It is to know who we truly are and to express that realization in our relationships, and in how we navigate through life. Uplifting spiritual experiences, even deep insights, are important but most important is living our daily life in alignment with our realization.

Inner guidance groups practice contemplative inquiry. The practice supports stable spiritual maturity through three primary areas of focus:

• Purification of the heart and mind.  There are veils that cover the heart and limit the fullness of life. These can be seen, in large part, as defenses and mental patterns formed through life, including reactions to the pain of life. Contemplative inquiry reveals both the veils and the Real beneath them. The process brings us to a state of intimacy and honesty with our own hearts, where surprisingly we have been strangers.
• Harmonizing with life.  All that occurs in life is material for wisdom. The greater our capacity for contemplation the more fully we understand and assimilate life’s lessons. Then we are not governed by emotional reactivity, and are not at the mercy of ever-changing conditions. Here peace and happiness become independent of circumstances.
• Discovering the voice of guidance. The great art is learning to listen beneath the thinking mind. It is the heart’s fealty to the truth. Connection to guidance brings confidence and self-sufficiency in navigating through life’s puzzling ways.

The 3 day format includes teachings as well as traditional practices of meditation and zikr. The additional unique element is the contemplative inquiry process. In this process we sit in a circle and Gayan works one on one with someone in the silent presence of the group. You take a turn when you are in touch with your “burning question”: a heart-felt desire to explore or understand something more deeply. You may inquire into anything though frequently it is about something stirring or troubling as these often call us most strongly.

Our main purpose is not to solve problems but to treat them as material for exploration. We want to come close to their meaning, and to allow their alchemy to work within us. This requires being honest with ourselves and connecting with knowing that comes directly through presence.

There is special value in doing inquiry in a group setting. First, the shared experience connects us in true spiritual friendship, which is precious and rare. On the surface our situations are unique; but as we look further we recognize an underlying unity in our deepest questions. Secondly, witnesses who are practicing being present provide a powerful “field” of support to the person working. Lastly and most importantly, witnesses benefit by observing how guidance functions. Inquiry is not intellectual. It is a moment-by-moment encounter with the truth that unerringly speaks to us from within as we learn to listen. Thus, an inquiry group is a laboratory for learning something most valuable in our lives: to be in intimate contact with the guiding spirit that reveals the direction and meaning of our existence.