THE ALCHEMY OF NOW

As we move through this worldwide crisis, we are confronted with the darkness known in alchemy as nigredo, in the Sufi path, as fana, for St John of the Cross, as ‘the dark night of the soul’. We feel we are facing death on many levels: disintegration of what we had come to feel was ‘normal’, loss, fear and grief, as well as, for many, physical disease and death.

When we live through the darkness consciously, doors open for transformation: Jesus’ crucifixion prepares the way for the resurrection, nigredo is the precondition for albedo, whitening, and stages beyond, and in the Sufi path through fana comes the awakening of baqa, the unveiling in life of soul and spirit.

In our retreat we were explored together: What is dying in us individually, and in our human family? What do we need to let go of, to surrender? What new consciousness is waking up in ourselves and in our human family? How do we engage with creative power to incarnate our evolving vision in our world? How may we support each other in this time of transformation?

Saturday 2 May 2020

Sunday 3 May 2020