The Mysterion School Year 3: The Knowing Heart

An 8-month study of The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation with Kabir Helminski

We are very grateful that the Mysterion School continues to enable an international community of seekers to study and practice in a systematic way. In the forthcoming 3rd year of this endeavor (beginning in March, 2025, with the opening of Ramadan) we will explore The Knowing Heart and engage in a deeper exploration of some of the 99 names of God. There will be 8 live sessions taught by Kabir (up to 2 hours each) and 2 discussion groups again hosted by senior dervishes each month.

As human beings, we stand on the threshold between two realities: the world of material existence, and the world of spiritual being. The “knowing heart” is the sacred place where the two dimensions meet and are integrated.

In Sufi teaching the human heart is not treated as a fanciful metaphor, but understood as an objective organ of intuition and perception. The heart is able to perceive all that is beautiful and meaningful in life —to reflect the spiritual qualities in the world, for the benefit of all. Every human heart has the capacity and the destiny to manifest that world of Divine Reality, within the world of material existence.

Sufis have been educators of the heart for nearly fourteen centuries. The teachings and methods of Sufism are designed to help us awaken and purify the heart, to listen to our deepest knowing. The human heart is an exquisite instrument of perception, an intelligence beyond intellect. The intellect can take us only so far.

The Mysterion School is an opportunity to experience the living tradition of Sufism, to refine our knowledge, and to discover a structure to support our spiritual practice.

  • The Mysterion School is the realization of a longstanding dream to join with spiritual seekers and systematically explore the nature of our souls and the lifelong journey we’re on -- to join the practical with the metaphysical, to train our attention to remember what is truly essential, to awaken the essential self which is spontaneously in communion with the Divine.

  • The path to this Reality is through the discipline of Tassawuf, or Mysticism, defined in our glossary as “a faculty peculiar to the human being, that is neither obvious to the intellect nor to the senses, but depends on the refinement and receptivity of faculties within the supra-conscious mind.”

  • In Year 1 we dived into The Mysterion and discovered a panoramic view of human possibilities. Year 2 with Living Presence took us back to first principles, with a concentrated, crystalline language that reflected the subtleties of the soul’s experience. Join us for Year 3 in The Knowing Heart.

The Knowing Heart

A Sufi Path of Transformation

Kabir Helminski presents the Sufi way as a practical spirituality suitable for all cultures and times—and offers insights that are especially valuable for our life in today's world. In cultivating a knowing heart, we learn to experience a new sense of self, transform our relationships, and enhance our creative capacities. Most important, we learn how to meet the spiritual challenge of our time: to realize our sacred humanness. 

Available as paperback, kindle, and audiobook.

See more here.

Selected Themes from The Knowing Heart

Some of the subjects we are planning to explore include:

The Esoteric Psychology of Sufism
The Education of the Heart
The Hu of the Human & The Path of “Blame”
Training the Soul: Adab, Sohbet, Dervishood
The Seven Stages of Knowing
Spiritual Intoxication and Spiritual Sobriety
The Imaginal Power of the Soul
Building the Culture of Love

Course Summary

  • Video Recordings of Class Sessions

    On demand to watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience..

  • Audio Recordings of Class Sessions

    On demand to listen to anytime and anywhere at your convenience.

  • Chat Forum
    Share progress and reflections with other participants.

Pricing Options

This interactive online course is offered at different pricing levels, please select one that is suitable for you. We also have a small number of scholarships available. To apply please email us at [email protected]

While we use the PayPal platform to take payments, you do not need to have a PayPal account to register for this course. Once you click through to checkout, select the 'Pay with PayPal' button, and you will then be given an option to pay using a credit/debit card instead of using a PayPal account.

The Mysterion School: Living Presence Testimonials

  • It gave me a real sense of spiritual community. I have learned more about spiritual growth, and about my own path. Doing the course deepened my understanding of the Sufi path, and has given me practices that have helped me to grow and be more fully alive and awake.

  • The course engaged me at an intellectual level as I read the selections, and helped me at a personal level as I was able to reflect on other students’ questions and participate in the small groups. These courses have been so important for me in considering vital spiritual questions and realizing that others are on the path with me. As one who lives far from any Sufi practitioner, these course are essential to my spiritual growth.

  • The Laws of the Khwajagan helped providing specific practices. Reflecting on the chapters and Dede's sharing helped me keep focused. There is a subtle shift for me, I am a little less reactive, less emotional, more focused on meaningful things, can decide a little easier, less internal rush. I am planning to go back to the practices and focus on them weekly.

Class & Group Discussion Schedule

The main class is with Kabir Helminski.

The group discussion is held one week later and moderated by senior dervishes.

CLASS
GROUP
GROUP
Mar 16 @ 11am
Mar 23 @ 5am PT
Mar 23 @ 11am PT
Apr 20 @ 10am
Apr 27 @ 4am PT
Apr 27 @ 10am PT
May 18 @ 10am
May 25 @ 4am PT
May 25 @ 10am PT
Jun 15 @ 10am
Jun 22 @ 4am PT
Jun 22 @ 10am PT
Jul 20 @ 10am
Jul 27 @ 4am PT
Jul 27 @ 10am PT
Aug 17 @ 10am
Aug 24 @ 4am PT
Aug 24 @ 10am PT
Sep 21 @ 10am
Sep 28 @ 4am PT
Sep 28 @ 10am PT
Oct 19 @ 10am
Oct 26 @ 4am PT
Oct 26 @ 10am PT

All times are in Pacific Time
Summer time changes:
Sun 9 Mar - PST to PDT
Sun 30 Mar - GMT to BST
Sun 26 Oct - BST to GMT
Sun 2 Nov - PDT to PST

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

Rumi invites us to the joy of being in relationship with the ultimate Beloved, the Source of our being – a relationship that can be profoundly transformative if we welcome it. In the Islamic world he has been held in the highest esteem not only as a poet but as a saint whose personal example inspired the founding of the Mevlevi Order, and as a mystic whose elaboration of this cosmic sense of Love has had a significant cultural impact. Rumi's influence has been felt by Chaucer, Goethe, and Emerson, to name a few, and via translation he is now one of the most widely read poets in the English language. He lived in the thirteenth century and spent most of his life in Konya, a city in modern-day Turkey. His resting place is visited every year by thousands of people from all around the world, from all backgrounds and traditions.

Kabir Helminski

Kabir is the co-director of The Threshold Society, a non-profit educational foundation rooted within the traditions of Sufism and inspired by the life and work of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. He is an author, a translator of the works of Rumi and others, and a shaikh of the Mevlevi Order which traces back to Rumi. His books on spirituality, Living Presence and The Knowing Heart, have been published in at least twelve languages. His most recent books are In the House of Remembering and The Mysterion. Kabir is especially interested in finding a contemporary, creative approach to Sufism without compromising the authenticity of tradition. He has toured as shaikh with the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey bringing Sufi culture to more than 100,000 people. He speaks widely on Sufism, often in an inter-spiritual context, and teaches globally through retreats and online conferences.

The Knowing Heart Reviews

Sufism, which has been described as the mystic heart of Islam, is little known and little understood in this country despite the advocacy of popularizers such as Idries Shah. Helminski, a Mevlevi Shaikh and translator of the great Sufi poet Rumi, offers a clear and well-grounded introduction to Sufism, liberally seasoned with insights from the Koran and the writings of Rumi; his is perhaps the best beginners guide now available.

~Library Journal

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • How long do I have to complete the course?

    This is a on demand course so you can work at your own pace. You will have unlimited access to the material on this platform.

  • When will the live Zoom calls be held?

    The 90-minute class sessions will be held on the 3rd Sunday of every month (unless otherwise stated) at 10am Pacific Time. Check the class schedule above.

    The 90-minute group discussion sessions will be held at two different times. See the group discussion schedule above.

  • Do I need prior knowledge of Rumi or Sufism to do this course?

    You do not need any particular knowledge to participate in, and benefit from, this course. Just an interest in Rumi and the spiritual path, along with an open heart!

  • Do I need to have a PayPal account to pay for this course?

    No. While we use the PayPal platform to take payments, you do not need to have a PayPal account. Once you click through to checkout, apply coupon codes (if relevant) and select the 'Pay with PayPal' button: you will then be given an option to pay using a credit/debit card instead of using a PayPal account.

    If you do not have access to PayPal in your country, or you cannot see the alternative payment method at the bottom of the PayPal page then please contact us at [email protected] to arrange an alternative payment method.

  • Another question?

    Contact us at [email protected]

The Mysterion School Testimonials

  • I greatly enjoyed and benefitted from Shaikh Kabir's thoughtful presentation of the concepts contained in The Mysterion; his presence and patience during the course sessions; the follow-up emails that provoked more honest inner observation and deepening of practice. The sessions, while quite full of information, never seemed rushed, and I appreciated our teacher's generosity with his time, staying seemingly until the last question or comment was addressed.

  • My gratitude to Kabir Dede and the team. The course has changed, and continues to change, the way I am in the world. Understanding continues to deepen and, I suspect, will continue to do so as long as one gives one's attention to Being and employs the mind as a tool for enquiry. The book contains such wisdom that is revealed as and when one is ready to hear it, as one's inner being continues in the process of transformation and refinement through daily worship and implementation of the principles in one's daily life.

  • What I enjoyed most has been meeting many other Lovers of God from across the world. Sometimes the walk with God is difficult as we clean out all that separates us from fully living in our true Divine Nature. Hearing the difficulties shared by many students helped me to understand some of my own inner processes.