"Full moon, where you be going from here?
Into a retreat.
Why do take a retreat after fullness?
To make myself an empty vessel in order to be filled again."
- Hazrat Inayat Khan
"Know thyself."
- Jesus of Nazareth
We encourage retreat, both solitary and in groups. Our purpose is to provide safe, supportive and appropriate guidance to those on the path of opening and self discovery.
Quieting the mind, learning concentration, finding deep inner stillness and learning to love the fact of life and its mystery are among the many delights of a retreat. One has the opportunity to observe how one "does" one's self with a minimum of stimulus from the outer reality. The inner reality becomes a subject of observation and transformation.
The experience is sometimes joyful, sometimes painful, often neutral and always illuminating. Without an "other" to reflect us we become our own reflection. It demands commitment to awakening.
The retreats offered through the Ruhaniat vary. A retreat may have focus on special practices to tame the ego, to become aware of breath, to increase awareness, to improve concentration, to develop one's capacity for meditation, to develop devotion, to increase a capacity for dinve love, to open to vision and inspiration.
There are also practices aimed at providing a field in which unitive consciousness is not simply an idea or ideal but can become a reality.
There are a number of trained retreat guides available as well as several locations.
The Khilvat Council
The council ushers in a new chapter in the discipline of khilvat or retreat. Historically the Ruhaniat khilvat concentration was held primarily by a single individual. Sheikha Najat Roberts was one of the first people to focus this path; she was given this responsibility by Pir Moineddin Jablonski. Najat held the concentration for several years and in the early 2000’s Murshida Asha Greer stepped into the post. After a period of time, Asha wished to put more of her efforts into nurturing the growth and use of meditation and the khilvat post was handed over to Khalif Saladin Pelfrey. Last year Pir Shabda Kahn and Saladin discussed the idea of establishing a Khilvat Council, much in the same way the Ruhaniat has done with other concentrations of our esoteric school such as the Ziraat, Siraj, and Living Wisdom councils, and others.
The Khilvat Council members are Khalif Saladin Pelfrey (chair), Pir Shabda Kahn, Murshida Rahimah Sweeney, Murshid Rahmat Moore, Murshid Jelaluddin Sturm, and Nur Mariam Simmons. Sheikha Najat serves as an emeritus to our council, gifting us with her depth of experience. It is our intention to help promote khilvat as a useful tool in our spiritual awakening, to refine guidelines for those who are called to guide retreats, and to develop resources for people to have available for retreat. For more information on khilvat, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Top left: Nur Mariam Simmons Rahimah Sweeney Rahmat Moore Jelaluddin Sturm Bottom left: Saladin Pelfrey Pir Shabda Kahn Najat Roberts |
The Four Pillars of Khilvat (Retreat)
by Sheikha Najat Roberts
SILENCE
Silence frees us from the engagement of the mind
SOLITUDE
Solitude frees us from the engagement of the world
FASTING/ABSTINENCE
Abstinence frees us from the engagement of addictions
WAKEFULNESS
Wakefulness frees us from the engagement of sleep
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"Khilvat is the Sufi practice of seclusion. Although Sufis are not monastics, instead practicing their spirituality amidst life’s everyday challenges, mureeds/initiates periodically seek the solitude of the inner life to review, renew and refresh their sacred connection to life’s Divine Source.” |
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- Murshida Khadija Goforth, excerpt from Some Khilvat Considerations |
"Silence Opens the Door to Everything"
- Khalif Saladin Pelfrey