seminarstechniques

During the seminars Burhanuddin offers moments of sohbet. This Arabic word means ‘being connected’ and it is the traditional way the Sufi masters use to sit and transmit the teachings and the secrets of the Way in a relaxed and open manner. Sohbet means 'being together', 'sharing'. It does not refer only to the external circumstances where the disciples sit in a circle, to listen to the Sheikh. It indicates also a particular inner event, which can occur only when the disciple is listening to the teacher and grant him the permission to work on him. It means being present, being one, to swim in the same waters. Only if the intention is the same, it becomes possible to visit the same regions.

Burhanuddin likes to guide the participants through few Sufi ancient methods, like “the mirror”. A simple and very powerful exercise that through the mirroring with a partner, brings the participants to look closer at themselves and to recognize the partner is not different from himself, but just another of the numberless aspects of the Oneness of Being.

Burhanuddin introduces as well the “red carpet”, a guided strong experience of death that the great master of the past Ibn‘ Arabi, the Pole of Knowledge, used to practised daily, lying on a red carpet.

Among the others, also an ancient meditation called “Huwa”, designed to experience, through a guided journey, the different aspects of the Light of God. Huwa means “And He is”.

Dhikr
Literally means "remembrance of God", and it is the most known traditional Sufi practice, performed individually or in community, consisting in repeating some of the Most Beautiful Names of God, His 99 Attributes, with a loving and passionate heart. It is said the dhikr is the door to the Divine.
The more we remember God, the more we forget about ourselves, our ego (nafs, in the Sufi language), the troubles maker. If the ego is abandoned even if for only one single moment, then for that moment we become divine action. Because only God exists.
A Sufi tries to have constantly, whatever he is doing, working, sitting, walking, or lying down, the Names of God on his lips and in his heart. The constant repetition bring to a chemical transformation in our system and will pull us closer to the Source.
Burhanuddin, coming from the Naqshbandi tradition which is known to have great mastery into the secrets of the practice of the dhikr, is familiar with its science and applications. He is able to assign personally the most proper dhikr and the right amount of repetitions to each one of the participants, according to their dispositions and individual needs.

The most used dhikr is: La ilaha illa ‘Llah (there is no divinity, but God).
By divinity is meant all our ideas, judgements, wishes, fears. The Sufis approach God through many divine Names that express His various attributes, but the Name Allah‚ combines and transcends them all. Allah is the Supreme Reality. The word expresses the Oneness of Being and the Nothingness. God embraces all opposites.

Wherever you find yourself,
whether in worship
or in ordinary life, contemplate God
– in what you eat,
what you drink, whom you marry,
always aware that
he is both the Contemplated
and the Contemplator.

Abd Al-Kader

No one anywhere can keep us
from carrying the Beloved
wherever we go;
No one can rob His precious Name
from the rhythm of my heart -
steps and breath.

SUFI-METHODS

Sufis stay in the centre, because in meditation they become mirrors. The King can look at their faces and see His original state. Give the beautiful ones mirrors, and let them fall in love with themselves. That way they polish their souls and kindle remembering in others. What is the mirror of being? Non-being. Always bring a mirror of non-existence as a gift. Any other present is foolish. An empty mirror and your worst destructive habits, when they are held up to each other, that's when the real making begins. That's what art and crafting are. Your defects are the ways that glory gets manifested. Whoever sees clearly what's diseased in himself begins to gallop on the way. There is nothing worse than thinking you are well enough. More than anything, self-complacency blocks the workmanship. Put your vileness up to the mirror and get that self-satisfaction flowing warp out of you! Your stream water may look clean but there's unstirred matter on the bottom. Your shaykh can dig a side channel that will drain that waste off. Trust your wounds to a teacher's surgery. Flies collect on a wound. They cover it, these flies of your self-protecting feelings, your love for what you think is yours; let a teacher wave away the flies and put plaster on the wound. Don't turn your head. Keep looking at the bandage place. That's where the light enters you. And don't believe for a moment that you're healing yourself. There are guides who can show you the way. Use them. But they will not satisfy your longing. Keep wanting that connection with all your pulsating energy. The throbbing vein will take you further than any thinking. Muhammad said: "Don't theorize about the essence"; all speculations are just more layers of covering. Human beings love coverings! They think the designs on the curtains are what's being concealed. Observe the wonders as they occurs around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through, and be silent. Look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. Sit besides those who draw you to that. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi When you realise the mystery of Oneness with the Divine, you will know that you are no other than God, and that you have always been and will always be beyond every time and place. Then you will understand that all your actions are His actions, and your essence is His essence, and all your attributes belongs to Him. The soul that understands that it does not see God through itself but through God, so that it is not the soul which loves God but God who loves Himself. The soul sees God in all beings, But only because it is God who is looking. He is loved and beloved, seeker and sought. Ibn‘ Arabi	During the seminars Burhanuddin offers moments of *sohbet. This Arabic word means ‘being connected’ and it is the traditional way the Sufi masters use to sit and transmit the teachings and the secrets of the Way in a relaxed and open manner. Sohbet* means 'being together', 'sharing'. It does not refer only to the external circumstances where the disciples sit in a circle, to listen to the Sheikh. It indicates also a particular inner event, which can occur only when the disciple is listening to the teacher and grant him the permission to work on him. It means being present, being one, to swim in the same waters. Only if the intention is the same, it becomes possible to visit the same regions. Burhanuddin likes to guide the participants through few Sufi ancient methods, like “the mirror”. A simple and very powerful exercise that through the mirroring with a partner, brings the participants to look closer at themselves and to recognize the partner is not different from himself, but just another of the numberless aspects of the Oneness of Being. Burhanuddin introduces as well the “red carpet”, a guided strong experience of death that the great master of the past Ibn‘ Arabi, the Pole of Knowledge, used to practised daily, lying on a red carpet. Among the others, also an ancient meditation called *“Huwa”,* designed to experience, through a guided journey, the different aspects of the Light of God. Huwa means “And He is”. Dhikr Literally means "remembrance of God", and it is the most known traditional Sufi practice, performed individually or in community, consisting in repeating some of the Most Beautiful Names of God, His 99 Attributes, with a loving and passionate heart. It is said the dhikr is the door to the Divine. The more we remember God, the more we forget about ourselves, our ego (nafs, in the Sufi language), the troubles maker. If the ego is abandoned even if for only one single moment, then for that moment we become divine action. Because only God exists. A Sufi tries to have constantly, whatever he is doing, working, sitting, walking, or lying down, the Names of God on his lips and in his heart. The constant repetition bring to a chemical transformation in our system and will pull us closer to the Source. Burhanuddin, coming from the Naqshbandi tradition which is known to have great mastery into the secrets of the practice of the dhikr, is familiar with its science and applications. He is able to assign personally the most proper dhikr and the right amount of repetitions to each one of the participants, according to their dispositions and individual needs. The most used dhikr is: La ilaha illa ‘Llah (there is no divinity, but God). By divinity is meant all our ideas, judgements, wishes, fears. The Sufis approach God through many divine Names that express His various attributes, but the Name Allah‚ combines and transcends them all. Allah is the Supreme Reality. The word expresses the Oneness of Being and the Nothingness. God embraces all opposites. Wherever you find yourself, whether in worship or in ordinary life, contemplate God – in what you eat, what you drink, whom you marry, always aware that he is both the Contemplated and the Contemplator. Abd Al-Kader No one anywhere can keep us from carrying the Beloved wherever we go; No one can rob His precious Name from the rhythm of my heart - steps and breath. Hafiz

Getting doors open one after the other is the essence of prayer. Every door is a passage, another boundary we have to go beyond. We squeeze ourselves through, and then go. Farther. After all, the purpose of the Prayer is not to stand and bow all day long. The purpose is to possess continuously that fragrant state which appears to you in prayer. Asleep or awake, writing or reading, in every state never be empty of Remembrance. Be rather one of those moving constantly within prayer. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi Praying sincerely is a high risk venture. You must wager your self and hope to lose. When you strip off your self-image, there is no devotion or devotee. Lover and beloved are united, in the light of your eyes. Mahmud Shabistari	Prayer It is the easiest and straightest way to connect with the Absolute. When you are in prostration your heart is higher than your head, so the heart energy can finally drown the mind. Burhanuddin, during the seminars, explains the inner meanings, the beauty and the depth of the prayer, step after step according to the tradition of Islam, which means ‘to entrust the divine will’. I have prayed so much thats I myself turned into prayer. Everyone who sees me begs a prayers from me. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

	Breathing One of the basic method taught by Burhanuddin during the seminars, is the Sufi breathing. He combines the breath with the absorption of the Light and the repetition of the Sacred Names. A very effective way to balance the whole being, in just few breaths. There is a way of breathing that‘s a shame and a suffocation and there‘s another way of expiring, a Love breath, that lets you open infinitely. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi
A man in the upstairs apartment yelled to Mulla Nasrudin downstairs, "If you don't stop playing that clarinet, I will go crazy." "Too late now," said Nasrudin. "I stopped an hour ago, Sir." Mulla Nasrudin's young wife, recently returned from her honeymoon, was complaining to her friend about her husband's drinking habits. "If you knew he drank, why did you marry him?" her friend asked. "I did not know he drank," said Nasrudin's wife, "Until one night he came home sober." Mulla Nasrudin sat fishing in a bucket of water. A visitor, wishing to be friendly, asked, "How many have you caught? "You are the ninth," said Nasrudin.	Sufi Stories The Sufis love to convey their message also through traditional and modern stories. They often gather together and share their love for God also in this way, sitting relaxed in an open circle in front of a cup of tea. A Sufi story, when used for teaching purpose, has different levels, they say at least seven levels of understanding, and every time you listen to it, it is never the same story and offers you a deeper teaching. One morning the Sheikh of Istanbul, looking for a successor, sent his disciples forth to get flowers to adorn the lodge. By late morning all of them returned, holding in their arms big bunches of the most beautiful and exotic flowers, spending all their little fortune over it. But only one disciple was missing. The sun was setting but yet he was not showing up. Finally, late in the night, he returned, holding in his hands a small, withered flower. When asked why he didn‘t bring anything worthy of his master, he answered, “Well, I was looking and looking, but all the flowers I saw around were busy in recollecting God, singing “La ilaha illa ‘Llah, La ilaha illa ‘Llah….”. How could I interrupt this constant prayer of theirs? So finally at the end of the day I saw a little withered flower. That flower had finished its prayer. That one I brought”. It was he who became the next Sheikh.