MYSTICAL PRAYER ACROSS TRADITIONS, WITH LLEWELLYN VAUGHN-LEE

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D. is an author and teacher in the Naqshbandi Order of Sufism. He has specialized in the area of dream work, integrating the ancient Sufi approach to dreams with the insights of modern psychology. In recent years the focus of his writing and teaching has been on spiritual responsibility in our present time of transition, and the emerging global consciousness of oneness. His latest book is Prayer of the Heart in Christian and Sufi Mysticism, which explores the inner listening of the heart, and the secret of ‘prayer without ceasing’ in which we discover how prayer becomes alive within the heart. This book brings together the Christian and Sufi mystical traditions in the oneness of love to which they both belong. It will benefit any practitioner of prayer, anyone who is drawn to discover a relationship with God within their heart. Topics in this engaging hour include: Prayer of the Heart in Christian and Sufi Mysticism; what inspired this book; what defines “mystical prayer”;  Llewellyn’s Christian background, discovery of Sufism, and the common ground between the two through mysticism; St. Teresa of Avila, Attar, St. John of the Cross, Rumi; the necessity of prayer; the stages of prayer; the silence within the heart; the mystery of divine presence; oneness; the need to pray for the Earth; devastation from the illusion of separation; the Jesus Prayer and the dhikr; the power of name; the breath as bridge; Divine unity – a merging and melting that transcends the mind and its notions of duality; and much more. For more information, visit www.godspeedinstitute.com