Announcements

Caravan to the Mother Roots of Devotion in India

and 100th Urs Celebration of Sufi Inayat Khan

with Jilani Prescott, Jahanara Mangus and Waduda Welsh

Bookings Now Open!

To register:  https://form.jotform.com/WadudaWelsh/MotherRootsIndia2027

Welcome to our Caravan to the Mother Roots of Devotion in India, including the 100th Urs of Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan, on 5 February 2027.

An Indian Caravan Dream…

For more than twenty years, Jilani has been dreaming of a pilgrimage to drink at the wells of the different Indian traditions that inspire our Sufi and Dance lineage.  We are so excited to invite you to join the three of us as this dream unfolds into reality.

A true caravan or pilgrimage takes as much pleasure in the journey as in the destination. We will travel through different landscapes and visit vastly different communities, savoring their individuality, while at the same time rejoicing in the shared humanity we know we will discover everywhere. A few of our days will be spent mostly in travel, which gives us these unique opportunities to visit such a wide variety of destinations. Spending at least two or three nights in most places gives us time to land and expand into each stop along the way. The journeys themselves, in a comfortable coach, are opportunities for us to spend time in practice, contemplation, sharing conversation and song, or allowing ourselves to rest. 

The intention is that every step of the journey is part of our retreat, and we encourage you to bring your full consciousness and appreciation to every experience and every meeting along the way, whether it is a shopping trip or a visit to a sacred site. No doubt some things will be surprising to us, even disturbing. Let’s open our minds and allow ourselves to learn from the ancient wisdom of a country whose cultures are infused with devotion, and with customs that may be unfamiliar to us. Recognizing our prejudices and biases is an opportunity to cultivate deeper humility, to watch, listen and learn before imposing our own views upon others.

We will be dazzled by the arts and crafts and the history of this extraordinary country. We may be charmed by some people and shocked by others. Our hearts and minds will be inspired and opened by the sacredness, which is everywhere, infusing every Temple, Ashram, Dargah and Gurdwara with yet another invitation – Towards the One! And all of this in the company of sisters and brothers on the path. It’s truly a unique opportunity. 

We welcome you with open arms! 

Jilani, Jahanara and Waduda

FULL PROGRAM:

Northern Caravan Retreat (Delhi, Amritsar, Dharmsala, Shimla, Rishikesh, Delhi): 19-31 January

Urs Caravan (Delhi): 1-5 February 

Golden Triangle Caravan 6-8 February (Agra/Taj Mahal and Jaipur)

Anandashram (Kerala): 9-15 February

PROGRAM DETAILS: 

Northern Caravan Retreat:19 January is the first night that your lodging is paid for by the program. Plan to arrive at our hotel in Delhi sometime on the 19th during the day, evening or during the night of the 19/20th January. We begin on Wednesday morning, 20 January with the enormous privilege of a two-day retreat on our own in the peace of the Dargah of Sufi Inayat Khan. It’s a chance to really tune in to his energies and teachings before the hustle and bustle and excitement of the Urs Celebrations at the beginning of February.

On 22nd January, we will travel by bus to Amritsar for two nights, immersing in the Sikh tradition at its holiest site, the famous Golden Temple. From there we head to Dharamshala for four nights, where we will connect with our Tibetan Buddhist roots. Next, we head for the Hindu temples of Rishikesh, by the sacred River Ganges, pausing on the way for a night in Shimla, with its beautiful mountain setting. We will leave Rishikesh after breakfast on Monday, February 1, arriving in Delhi in time to join the Urs Celebrations. The first two weeks of the caravan ends on our return to Delhi. This section of our Caravan includes travel and accommodations with breakfast for 13 nights.

Urs Caravan: Our Caravan registration for the 1-5 February days includes guest house accommodations with breakfast at a discounted group rate. Other meals will be served at the Dargah or are on your own. We will join the Urs programme at the Dargah each day, joining friends and beloveds for Indian Classical Music performances, Qawwali music and Sufi gatherings including Dances of Universal Peace. There will also be presentations by Sufi leaders and the Hope project. On the day of the Urs (5 February) we will join the procession from Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah to the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan. We will also spend time as a group, sharing practices, during these days.

Golden Triangle Caravan: on the morning of6 February, we will travel by coach to Agra for one night, to visit the Taj Mahal, and then on to Jaipur for 2 nights, visiting Fatehpur Sikri along the way. This is a chance to visit some of the most spectacular and iconic sites in India, as well as visiting Emperor Akbar’s capital city, built on a vision of Sufi unity and including the Dargah of Salim Chishti, which has a special resonance in our lineage. Our ‘Golden Triangle’ Caravan ends with the night of 8 February in Jaipur, allowing our group to choose their onward destination (returning to Delhi, or continuing on to Anandashram in Kerala) on the morning of 9 February.

Anandashram: 9-16 February brings us to another formative root of our lineage, the wonderful ashram established by Papa Ram Das and Mother Krishnabai in Kerala, where Murshid SAM spent time on two occasions. We will fly from Jaipur to Mangalore, then make our way to the ashram for a week on retreat, immersing ourselves in their program and enjoying their rhythms. Flights and accommodations at the Ashram are individually paid. The Ashram asks only for a donation to cover food and lodging. We suggest 1000-2000 INR per day ($10-$20 per day) but you could of course offer more to support their work.

Gokarna Dance Camp: 19-26 February Jilani heads to Gokarna for some days on the beach, followed by a dance camp with Vasudeva, Dakini, Yelena and Jilani. Separate registration is available for the camp.

PROGRAM COST* and NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT: Airfare is not included.

Northern Caravan Retreat cost is $1,900/£1,400 and includes activities and group travel in India during our program, double occupancy room.  Private rooms have a limited availability for an additional $700/£500 total cost.

Deposit of $500/£400 is due to reserve your place in our pilgrimage and is non-refundable.  The $1,400/£1000 payment for your balance due must be received by December 17, 2026. There is no refund available after December 17, 2026, due to reservation restrictions.

URS Caravan cost is $500/£370. Private rooms have a limited availability for an additional cost.

Golden Triangle Caravan cost is $450/£333Private rooms have a limited availability for an additional cost.

Anandashram is by donation. Airfare in India is not included.

*Limited financial assistance is available. Please reach out for details. We want to help you attend if you are feeling the call.

 To register:  

https://form.jotform.com/WadudaWelsh/MotherRootsIndia2027

REGISTRAR SUPPORT and CONTACT INFORMATION

Please feel free to reach out with any questions and concerns. 

Jilani Prescott jilanicordelia@gmail.com

Waduda Welsh wendywelsh@earthlink.net

Jahanara Mangus 13jahanara@gmail.com

Gokarna, India

February 19–26, 2027 

f5b078e6-0f48-0658-1262-7f22d2e987de.jpeg

We are delighted to invite you to the 8th Dances of Universal Peace Camp in Gokarna – on the shores of the Arabian Sea, in the sacred land of Shiva and Ganesha.

Join us for a week of live music, sacred dances, mantras, prayers from different spiritual traditions, heartfelt connection, inspiration, and deep human togetherness. Each day will be filled with Dances of Universal Peace circles, bhajans, music, community gatherings, and immersion in the unique atmosphere of this extraordinary place.

✨ This year, we are especially blessed to be joined by four wonderful mentors and leaders:

🪷 Vasudeva (Russia)

🪷 Jilani (United Kingdom)

🪷 Dakini (United Kingdom)

🪷 Yelena (Latvia) 

– each bringing their unique gifts, wisdom, music, and experience to our circle.

✨ Full program details and registration will be announced later.

For now, simply mark these dates in your calendar and join our circle in Gokarna, it’s calling us together once again 🤍

The Genesis Meditations – A Celebration of Hope

9-11 October 2026

A residential retreat in the Drome region of France, taught in French and English

Email Manoelle manomiccia@yahoo.fr to reserve your place. More information here

‘By experiencing the creation story as our own personal story, we have the same opportunity to re-create and renew ourselves, as our ancestors did, and to find a deeper connection with the divine in our everyday lives.’ p.1

The retreat will focus on chants, body prayers, meditations and breath practices inspired by the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew bible, and also explores the relationship between those texts and some of the teachings of Jesus and the early Christians. The quotations here are drawn from the book ‘The Genesis Meditations’ by Neil Douglas-Klotz, which provides the inspiration for this retreat.

Neil Douglas-Klotz ‘proposes that the original meditation of many early Christians, and possibly Jesus himself, was not primarily on an apocalyptic or cataclysmic ending. Instead it focused on the life-affirming, love-filled, creative beginning described in Genesis and the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus was not looking for the proverbial “Apocalypse Now!” to bring history crashing to a close. Instead he tried to reorient his listeners to the power of divine creation through the experience of “Genesis Now!” p.1-2

‘I believe that the actual practice of this meditation can prove just as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago, when people started to write it down in Jesus’s time. It shows us an immanent rather than a detached divinity. It cultivates a sense of wholeness as opposed to separation. It can build a bridge of peace between the three religions of the Middle East. It can affirm a radically different view of life in a world that looks to save its ecosystem and rediscover an authentic connection to the sacred.’ p.2

‘…the original story… brought people together and taught them, not historical fact, but something even more important: how to live with compassion for themselves, each other, and the world around them. When we look at life as an unfolding, ever renewing beginning, rather than a fixed, ideal end result, we can also begin to feel respect toward those who went before us and feel responsibility toward those who come after us. We can feel that while the Earth cannot provide everything that our desires demand, it can provide enough to go around. In other words, we shift our sense of freedom from the freedom to have to the freedom to become.’ p.6

‘the Original Meditation… involved practitioners in a kinaesthetic experience that in various ways used the awareness of breathing, sound, and movement as a way to reconnect with the power and authority of the Holy One. It allowed practitioners of the Original Meditation in its various forms to “return” (the Hebrew-Aramaic notion of the word repent) to right timing and rhythm with the sacred realm. This return would empower the reign of the divine (the “king/queendom,” in Jesus’ words) to break through from past to present and affect everything now.’ p. 107

Jilani is a Ruhaniat Sufi Guide and a mentor with the Dances of Universal Peace. Neil Douglas-Klotz (Saadi) has published many books and created cycles of dance-music-meditations based on his work with translating fundamental texts  Jilani trained with from 2007-2010 and since then has travelled widely, bringing his inspirational work to an international audience, with his support.

Sufi Camp 25-31 August 2026, New Venue! Now at Unstone Grange, Derbyshire!

The Sacred Manuscript of Nature

Come and immerse yourself in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside and ‘the Sacred Manuscript of Nature, the only book which can enlighten the reader’ (in the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the Sufi mystic). For these days we will live together close to the land and deepen our connection to Mother Earth through many different heart-opening practices. There will be beautiful live music, times of sharing, and simple practices to develop our understanding of ourselves and our connection with each other and with Sacred Unity. There will also be space to sit by the camp fire and chat, or walk in the local countryside. You can find your own balance between safe, friendly connection and peaceful solitude.

There will also be opportunities for training for dance leaders, including circles where new or more experienced dancers, dance leaders and musicians can explore the dance leading journey, with guidance and supporting practices held by Jilani, who is a very experienced mentor and trainer of dance leaders.

This event is offered in association with Khankah of the Heart, a UK Sufi community based not in bricks and mortar, but in the loving hearts of everyone who feels part of it. Through Khankah of the Heart we may be able to offer some bursaries for those who would otherwise be prevented from attending this camp by the cost. Please ask!

New Site: Unstone Grange

 Unfortunately at very short notice and for reasons beyond Rissa’s control we are no longer able to use her field this year, which I know will be a great disappointment to us all. However, miraculously another amazing site has become available, well known to me and much loved. It is Unstone Grange in Derbyshire, which is usually fully booked, but in an extraordinary turn of events it is available to us for Sufi Camp in August this year!

It is a beautiful piece of land which has been held in trust for a generation and used for spiritual and sacred events of various kinds. There is a camping field, and productive organic gardens, plus we have use of the house with 35 beds and excellent catering facilities. It is 2 miles from Dronfield railway station, and is served by a regular bus service from Sheffield and Chesterfield, so it is easily accessible by public transport (and we can help with lifts if necessary). Here is a link to their website so you can have a look at it: https://unstonegrange.co.uk/

We really hope that you will feel inspired to join us at Unstone Grange. This change of venue might actually be more accessible to you, depending on where you live!  If you have any queries about the venue or accommodation please let us know. And if you can confirm your booking as soon as possible, that will help us greatly in finalising our new arrangements. At this point, there are only shared rooms available in the house.

More Details

This exciting event is designed to be affordable, and although our costs are higher with the change of site, please do enquire if you really would need further help to be able to attend. Conversely, if you find the price is reasonable or cheap for the value which is being offered, please consider offering a donation to subsidise those who are less well off, and to uphold the financial sustainability of the camp going forward. £350 (generous) or £320 (reduced) for camping plus £170 (generous) or £130 (reduced) for shared rooms in the house.

Bring anything you need to be comfortable, including special food. You might also like to bring teas/coffees and delicious snacks to share. Our meals will be suitable for vegetarians, with vegan and gluten free options, and are included in the price you pay. We will all offer our karma yoga or Seva services in turn to chop vegetables, wash up and clear away.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment! Last year the camp sold out. Contact Jilani with any questions prior to booking, and feel free to ask for my bank details if you prefer to pay by BACS.

Accommodation Options

The cost of the camp includes three meals a day and the charge for a camping space. There are a few spaces for camping vehicles too. For an additional fee, you can sleep in the house (shared rooms), if you can’t, or don’t want to, bring your own tent or camper van. Please enquire if you would like to book accommodation. There is also the possibility of nearby AirBnBs if you prefer more luxurious lodging.

Click HERE for the booking form

Sweeping Out the Chambers of the Heart

A non-residential retreat with Sheikh Muiz Brinkerhoff and Jilani Cordelia Prescott

12-13 September 2026

Calderdale Yoga Centre, Hebden Bridge

Saturday 12 September 10 – 5

Saturday evening Rumi Night 7 – 9.30 pm (entry is £15 – included in the full retreat price)

Sunday 10 – 4

Please bring food to share for lunch each day, and for Saturday evening.

£150 / £130 / £110 self-selecting sliding scale. We have deliberately set the pricing low to help include those whose resources are limited. Please be generous, and you could even consider making an additional donation if you find you are in abundant circumstances. If you can only attend for part of the weekend, or if you are in financial hardship, please contact us. Money should not be an obstacle.

See here for tickets and information

https://calderdaleyoga.co.uk (The yoga centre ask us to remove our shoes, so you might want to bring indoor slippers or thick socks.)

Join us at the Calderdale Yoga Centre after the session on Saturday 12th September for another popular Rumi Night – a beautiful evening of live music, Rumi poetry, sohbet and zikr, led by Muiz and Jilani!

£15 stand-alone price (£10 if booked in advance), included free in the weekend retreat price

Muiz Brinkerhoff, from northern California, USA, has been walking the Sufi Path since 1975, guiding his initiated students since 1987, and offering the Dances and Sufi spiritual practices internationally from 2003. 

He and Jilani have been co-leading evenings, weekend, and week-long retreats since 2016, deeply enjoying and looking forward to each collaboration.

Muiz also offers individual and class-based, formal Sufi training to his and other initiated students, and informal guidance and perspective to those who resonate with his methods for cultivating Waking Up into greater Awareness.

His approach to his own growth and development includes equal measures of common sense practicality, a keen sense of humour, taking his human ego-self very lightly, and ongoing cultivation of gratitude and kindness — which all carry over into his work with individuals and groups. 

The combination and balancing of these tools and perspectives seem to be a powerful protection against getting caught up in two common pitfalls on the Spiritual Path: spiritual bypass or a joyless, dour “sober” spirituality.

As an openly-identified gay man since 1975, he has been acknowledged as a trail-blazer and role model by both younger and older LGBTQIA+ and gender non-conforming members of the Ruhaniat and Inayatiyya communities, demonstrating that there is a respected place and spiritual home for them, and helping them feel safer to come out themselves. 

Jilani Cordelia Prescott has been a mureed (Sufi student) of Muiz since 2005, taking formal initiation with him in 2007. In 2016 she was empowered to guide her own initiated students, and she has travelled widely since then, working with mureeds and leading retreats based around Sufi practices and the Dances of Universal Peace. It is always a great pleasure and privilege for her to work alongside her beloved guide and teacher Muiz.

Khankah of the Heart Retreat, Crewe, January 2027: The Illuminated Souls

KHANKAH OF THE HEART
THE WINGED HEART

A residential retreat at Wistaston Hall Oblate Retreat Centre, Crewe

14th – 17th January 2027 From supper on Thursday to after lunch on Sunday.


Even the darkness shines when we remember!” (Neil Douglas-Klotz)
In this retreat we are inspired by the Illuminated Souls mentioned in the Sufi Invocation of Hazrat Inayat Khan. These radiant beings of all time and no time, the shining ones, open the door and point the way as we polish the lamps of our own souls to reveal the illuminated breath here and now. Even the darkness shines when we remember!” (Neil Douglas-Klotz)

Jilani and Shamsia have a vision of a Sufi community, a Khankah, based not in a building of bricks and mortar, but in the relationships between the deep and loving hearts of its members. All fervent seekers are welcome to join, whether you are new to this or have been walking the path for many years.

Shamsia Sandra Sunfire lives, Dances and Walks in Wales and has done for nearly 30 years. She follows the Path of the Heart, the Path of Love. Shamsia is a leader and mentor of Dances of Universal Peace. She loves the retreat process that draws on the rich tapestry of wisdom teachings and practices, the rhythms of nature which empower us to be more of who we truly are. She both leads and attends retreats. Shamsia is a conductor in the Dervish Healing Order and is dedicated to service on the healing path.

Jilani Cordelia Prescott is a guide in the Sufi Ruhaniat International, Cherag, SoulWork practitioner and leader of the Dances of Universal Peace as well as a mentor of other dance leaders. She has over thirty years’ professional experience as a teacher and musician. Her relaxed and patient teaching style means people easily learn the practices, and can be free to enter the powerful and healing depths of the experience. Jilani lives in the misty Pennine hills of northern England, and brings her love for the Earth to everything she does.

Cost: £545 – £500 – £460 including all meals (generous/standard/cost prices: self selecting sliding scale based on need). £80 deposit (non-refundable) reserves your place. Please get in touch with us if these prices are beyond your means. We want to be inclusive and we hope to have bursaries. Single/shared accommodation available.

Shamsia and Jilani will have musical support from Halim Geoff Carter and Robert Salik Orange

We are very grateful to have received a grant from the Oneness Project to support an ongoing bursary fund to enable us in turn to support those encountering financial difficulties so that they can join us.  We have previously been supported by Dances of Universal Peace International. This bursary fund will be available to all including those who will in future serve and support our communities, the young people.  We recognise that these are challenging times and that financial challenges are becoming more widespread and that a bursary fund will help our community to be more supportive and inclusive. If you are experiencing abundance and feel inspired to support our bursary fund, please contact us.

We are committed to exploring sustainable ways to continue to gather as a Sufi Community, financially and based on caring for the Earth’s limited resources.  This venture has been unfolding in our hearts and our lives each and every time we meet, we nurture and pray for its past, present and future.

Please don’t be shy about approaching us to discuss bursaries or paying by instalments, which can make it very affordable.

Contact us now for more information or to book: email  Jilani on jilanicordelia@gmail.com, or Shamsia on sandrasunfire@gmail.com.

Poetry, Presence and Remembrance

Join Jilani and Friends for another Rumi Cafe Night at the Soul Cafe, the Soul Wellness Hub, Burnley Road, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire HX6 2TL

Saturday 6 June 2026, 7-9.30 pm

Poetry, Music, Sohbet, Chanting and Zikr

The Soul Cafe will be open serving deliciously healthy drinks and cakes

£10 in advance or £15 on the door. Book Here!

Advance tickets can be purchased here.

Contact Jilani with any questions.

Jilani Cordelia and friends are back for another Rumi Cafe Night!

Jilani will share readings of Rumi’s mystical poetry, accompanied by beautiful live music, on guitar, viola and percussion. There will be times of Sohbet, or Sufi teaching through soulful conversation. Jilani will also lead the group in chanting Zikr and other sacred phrases in Arabic from the Sufi tradition. 

Zikr means ‘remembrance’ and refers to the Arabic phrase La illaha il’llah, which could be translated as “no God but God”, “no reality except Unity”, “all separation is illusion”. In practicing Zikr, we practice remembrance of our inherent unity with the Divine, recognising our human tendency to forget. Chanting Zikr can be a powerful and heart-opening experience, unifying a group and harmonising the atmosphere in a vibration of grounded, sacred, loving connection.

The chants are simple and easily learned, not unlike kirtan or bhajan, but rooted in the Sufi tradition. Even if you don’t understand all of the words, you will have an embodied experience, which many describe as inducing feelings of joy, inner peace and a deep sense of connection to the Beloved. 

The Zikr journey can pass through times of high energy and ecstasy, usually ending in a space of stillness and silence, resting in awe-filled experience of Unity with All-That-Is.

The gorgeous Kindness Cafe will be open, serving hot and cold drinks and delicious cakes, and providing a friendly and welcoming cafe atmosphere for this sacred time of sharing together.

Jilani is a member of the teaching circle of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a Universal Western Sufi Order in the Chisti lineage. She travels widely, teaching in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, India and the USA as well as across Europe. Resident in the Calder Valley for nearly 30 years, she is happy to be able to share her work near home as well. Jilani will be supported by a group of talented musicians.

Celebrate the Celtic Festivals

DANCES OF UNIVERSAL PEACE SEASONAL GATHERINGS: DANCE THE PRAYERS OF YOUR BODY, HEART AND SOUL!

Saturday 14th March: Ostara
Sunday 21 June: Litha
Saturday 26 September: Mabon
Saturday 19 December: Yule
4pm – 7pm £25
Om Yoga Works, Farsley, Leeds, LS28 5LY


We gather with the turning of the year to honour the natural rhythms that move through our bodies, our lives, and the world around us. You are warmly invited to join u s for these seasonal gatherings rooted in connection, presence and shared humanity. Discover the simple power of moving in a circle, chanting and praying together with live music.
Each gathering is an invitation – come as you are. Bring curiosity, an open heart, and a willingness to step into the circle. If you’d like to join us for a shared meal afterwards, please bring a contribution of something delicious to share.

You are welcome to join us for one gathering or all four!
More information and Bookings

The Wisdom of Yeshua – Online Zoom Workshop

The Wisdom of Yeshua

Even the Darkness Shines when we Remember…

Sunday 19th April 2026, 18:00 – 20:00 BST

Discover the Wisdom of Yeshua as it shines through the lens of many cultures and traditions

Chants and dances drawing on the Aramaic and Greek Christian, Sufi, Celtic and Gospel traditions, bringing to life the timeless, profound and loving teachings of Jesus

Online zoom – A Centrepiece Special with Jilani, hosted by Brant Bambery

Click here to book

£25 / £15 / £10