Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
Follow the path of the life force As she flashes upward like lightning Through your body.
Attend simultaneously To the perineum, that bright place Between the legs, To the crown of the skull, And to that shining star place Above the head.
Notice this living current Becoming ever more subtle as she rises, Radiant as the morning sun, Until she streams outward from the top of the head Into all embracing gratitude.
Thus become intimate with the life of all beings. (Radiance Sutras No.5, Lorin Roche)
Consider your essence as light rays rising from centre to centre up the vertebrae, and so rises livingness in you. (Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Paul Reps)
Trace the river of life that flows through you, The luxuriously rising energies, Gradually touching each of the centres Along the spine. Savour every shimmer of colour along the way.
Enter each area tenderly, Loving as you go, Finally, gently, Dissolving in the crown of the head.
Then above, In the space above the head, The great dawn.
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
There is a current of love-energy that flows Between Earth below and Sun above.
The central channel of your spine is the riverbed. The streaming is as delicate and powerful As the tingling touch of lovers.
Entering here, Radiance arches between above and below.
Your whole attention resting in the subtle, Vibrating in the centre of the spinal column, Tracing this current between Earth and Sun, Become magnetism relating all the worlds. (Radiance Sutras 12 p. 47, Lorin Roche)
Place your whole attention in the nerve, delicate as the Lotus thread, in the centre of your spinal column. In such be transformed. (Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, No.11)
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
In 2022 Passover, Ramadan, and Easter all fall in April, a coincidence that happens only about every 33 years. Often we hear about the conflicts and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And yet at their heart, these traditions have so much in common. As humans we are very good at focussing on complexity and difference. Yet peace and unity are more present when we concentrate instead on similarity and connection, on finding the commonalities: what we share, and where we can meet.
In Songs of One Breath this week we will pray for peace and unity using chants and phrases drawn from Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Welcome to the Prophet La illaha il’llah Hu La illaha il’llah La illaha il’llah Hu Mohammed Rasulillah
Oh the white moon rose over us, From the valley of Wada, And we owe it to show gratefulness Where the call is to Allah.
Oh you who were raised among us, Coming with the call to be obeyed, You have brought to the city nobleness: Welcome best caller to God’s way.
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
Only Love is Flowing Here – Leila Be
The Algonquin Water Song expresses loving gratitude for the water and raises the consciousness and connection of women with Mother Nature’s greatest gift. The song is easy to learn, and our hope is that millions of women will sing it, raising their own connection and awareness of the water they interact with daily even in the shower or at the sink. Sing it 4 times, facing each of the 4 Directions. We believe this is a powerful step to change, leading to both a spiritual as well as environmental shift on our planet. This song was written by Irene Wawatie Jerome for Grandfather William Commanda’s 2002 Circle of All Nations gathering. It is recorded with permission from the Wawatie and Commanda families and the Circle of All Nations Foundation and the Elders in Canada.
Ganga ki Jai Jai, Jumna ki Jai Jai, Sarasvati Trivani ki Jai
“We can learn a lot from water on how to become one human family. We just need to gather like the drops. We need to come together and move and flow as one.” ~ Grandmother Carole
“The water of life, the first medicine of the world, is so precious to every living thing that grows, breathes and lives. The water is the female blood of Mother Earth that brings life. A woman brings children in this world through water of the womb, she then cleans her children with water, cooks and feeds them with water. She plants and waters her gardens. The trees that grow and provide air need water. Water is life and as we say Mni Wiconi — Water of Life! We will continue to stand for the water so that we may live.” — Ta Mak’a Wast’e Win, Her Good Earth Woman, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard
Water is the most life sustaining gift on Mother Earth and is the interconnection among all living beings. Water sustains us, flows between us, within us, and replenishes us. Water is the blood of Mother Earth and, as such, cleanses not only herself, but all living things. Water comes in many forms and all are needed for the health of Mother Earth and for our health. The sacred water element teaches us that we can have great strength to transform even the tallest mountain while being soft, pliable, and flexible. Water gives us the spiritual teaching that we too flow into the Great Ocean at the end of our life journey. Water shapes the land and gives us the great gifts of the rivers, lakes, ice, and oceans. Water is the home of many living things that contribute to the health and well-being of everything not in the water. (Assembly of First Nations)
Coming together as women do… Women’s Retreat 1-3 July
The non-residential price, including all meals, is £210
You can bring your own bedding and sleep on comfortable bunk beds on a mezzanine above the Dance hall for £230. There are 10 bunks. Some camping is also possible for the same price.
Other accommodation is in very comfortable flats, with kitchens so you can make tea and snacks for yourselves whenever you want. The flats each sleep around 3-6 people. One flat is situated on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible, as is the hall where we will dance and eat.
In a shared room with 2-3 people in each room the price is £270 (or £250 per person if two of you are happy to share a double bed!).
If you are blessed with abundance and would like to support a woman who would find it hard to afford to come, you can pay a Generosity ‘Paying it Forward’ Price with an additional donation of your choice. Please let me know if you would be willing and able to do this without negative impact on your circumstances, so I can offer this support to someone in need.
If you need financial support to attend, please ask. There may be support from the ‘Paying it Forward’ scheme. Additionally, although the costs of hiring the Westwood Centre are fairly high, once they are covered by the requisite number of bookings I am happy to discuss bursaries.
I am very grateful to my dear friend Hannah Flint for cooking for us all weekend, and providing us with delicious, comforting and nourishing vegetarian meals and snacks. All food and teas etc is included in the price, although you are free to bring any special teas, snacks or food items you might need or want. There are small kitchens with fridges, kettles, cookers and microwaves in the flats, as well as the main kitchen where Hannah will be preparing our food. Please let me know your dietary requirements and we will do our best to accommodate them. Certainly we can provide for gluten free and vegan diets.
Please drop me an email or a message to say you’ve paid! The balance is due in full by 21 June. If you need to cancel after the end of May, any refund will be discretionary – I will do my best to help. I will need to retain a minimum of £50 to cover administrative costs, and further refunds may depend on managing to fill your place. But please talk to me!
The Westwood Centre is in a beautiful location, and there are big windows looking out over the valley which the sun streams through into the spacious and airy dance space. There is a very well-equipped kitchen, and there is disabled access. It’s rural, but on a bus route from Huddersfield. It is also walkable from Slaithwaite train station (1 mile uphill, or a £5 taxi). There are direct trains from Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly. If you need to come by car, we encourage you to share lifts, and we can help facilitate that.
Please do get back to me if you have any questions or concerns. I hope you will be able to be part of this warm and loving group!
Feel free to pass this information on to other likeminded women who might be interested.
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
Let me tell you of the luminous path.
I am beyond measure. I cannot be calculated. I am beyond space and time. I am beyond ancient and beyond the future. There are no directions to me.
I am always here. I am the embrace Of your most intimate experience.
Though I am beyond the intellect, I am not beyond your daring.
I am the nourishing state of fullness That is the essence of soul. You belong to me, and I am yours. (Lorin Roche: The Radiance Sutras)
There is a sun-star rising outside form. I am lost in that other. It’s sweet not
to look at two worlds, to melt in meaning as Honey melts in milk. No one tires of
following the soul. I don’t recall now what happens on the manifest plane. I stroll
with those I have always wanted to know, fresh and graceful as the waterlily, or a rose. (Rumi: Coleman Barks)
The clear bead at the centre changes everything. There are
no edges to my loving now. You’ve heard it said there’s
a window that opens from one mind to another, but if there’s
no wall, there’s no need for fitting the window, or the latch. (Rumi: Coleman Barks)
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
Songs of One Breath is a weekly online space with Jilani Cordelia Prescott to explore the direct, joyful experience of mysticism through practice. Each Friday she shares chants, mantra, breath practices and body prayer drawn from a range of traditions, offered as grounding, comfort, and a pathway of the heart toward deeper connection and spiritual freedom. You are warmly invited to join live on Zoom (or via Facebook Live) at 2.30pm London time, and it is free. If you enjoy the class or the podcast, and would like to support Jilani’s work, donations are welcome via PayPal.
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. Wendell Berry, from New Collected Poems
‘I believe the very fact that we see what’s happening, that we bear witness together even though we can’t do anything to affect the situation outwardly, is a radical form of activism. We are connecting with and deepening the evolving soul of the world. We are sensitizing the conscience of humanity. Though it may seem insignificant, our dismay with bombs dropping on Ukrainian cities is a powerful action. Without it, without our caring, the human spirit would be diminished. Even though it hurts to bear witness like this, even though we want to turn away, our anonymous solidarity with those who are suffering, wherever they are and whoever they may be, ennobles the vast soul of the world and makes possible the coming of peace.’ Pir Elias Amidon
‘The renowned Czech humanist Vaclav Havel once said that morality means taking responsibility, not only of your life, but for the life of the world. From a Buddhist perspective, it means seeing the roots of violence in our country and in ourselves, and finally understanding that we are not separate from all beings and things and must act accordingly or further violence will spread as the Coronavirus has spread. Buddhism has since its very beginning guided its practitioners to realize the most radical form of inclusivity, the realization that all beings in all realms, no matter how depraved and deluded, can be free of suffering and delusion, and to also see that we are not separate from any other being, whether Putin or Hitler, or His Holiness the Dalai Lama or Malala. It is not necessarily so easy to realize this. Many of us have not allowed ourselves to look deeper than our personality and our opinions to see and touch who we really are. Yet, Buddhists and contemplatives of many traditions have long been guided to go within to discover not only the interconnectedness of all things, including the natural world, but also the peace that surpasses understanding, knowing, ideas, conceptions, and opinions, the peace that is basic to all beings when they have come home to a state of non-alienation, and also the peace that nourishes courageous and liberating action in the world, knowing that this peace is not complacent, nor is it restless.’ By Roshi Joan Halifax (read the rest of her article here: https://www.upaya.org/2022/02/ukraine-in-the-heart/)
I’m taking bookings now for this day event which Salik and I are offering on 14 May. It’s in a stunning new (to us) venue, which we are very excited to share with you. The Westwood Centre is in a beautiful location, and there are big windows looking out over the valley which the sun streams through into the spacious and airy dance space. There is a very well-equipped kitchen, and there is disabled access. It’s rural, but on a bus route from Huddersfield. It is also walkable from Slaithwaite train station (1 mile uphill, or a £5 taxi). There are direct trains from Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly. If you need to come by car, we encourage you to share lifts, and we can help facilitate that.
