Inayatiyya Labor Day Retreat
Fri Sep 2, 2:00 PM - Mon Sep 5, 1:00 PM

After two years away, we are happy to announce the return of the Inayatiyya’s Labor Day Retreat w/ Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Friday, September 2nd through Monday, September 5th, 2022. Amida Cary and Jacob Miraj Ellenberg will be assisting Pir Zia as co-faculty.

This year we will gather at the Claymont Retreat Center in beautiful Charles Town, West Virginia. Claymont has a close affinity with the Inayatiyya, founded in 1974 by J.G. Bennett, a successor of Gurdjieff, and as a long-time retreat home of the Mevlevi Order of Sufis. We will be housed, fed, and retreating in Claymont’s Great Barn, which offers two large meeting spaces, smaller break-out rooms, wings of bedrooms, and a centralized kitchen w/ a dining room.

Having been apart for so long, we are approaching this annual event a bit differently. Pir Zia will guide us each morning and late afternoon as always; there will be silence from waking until lunchtime. The afternoons through the evenings will provide time for community interaction, teachings, friendship, music, and zikr. We will be together both inwardly and outwardly.

Check-in begins on Friday from 2:00 - 6:00 pm, with dinner at 6 pm and an evening program at 7:30 pm. We will end on Monday at noon with an optional lunch at 12:00 pm.

Being at a smaller retreat center this year, our gathering will be limited to 90 people including staff. Also, due to the limited technology at the retreat center, this event will not be live-streamed—it will be an in-person event only. We expect this event to sell out quickly, so please register soon! Please note that registration for this event closes on August 19th.

We very much look forward to being together again!

PRICING

Pricing includes tuition, room, and board with three vegetarian meals a day, beginning with dinner on Friday and going through to lunch on Monday.

Please note there are no single rooms available, only shared rooms. Couples should each select “Shared Room (Two Twin Beds)” when signing up

Double Room (Two Twin Beds) $890 per person
Triple Room (Three Twin Beds) $740 per person
Quad Room (Four Twin Beds) $590 per person
Commuter (5 places available) $490 per person (Commuter pricing includes three meals a day beginning with dinner on Friday through lunch on Monday). Please register early if this is your preference.
Please note the State of West Virginia collects a 7% event tax which will be added at the end during checkout.

GETTING THERE

Claymont Retreat Center is conveniently located near three major airports, Dulles International Airport (42 miles, approx 50 minutes), Reagan Airport (68 miles, approx 1 hour, 15 minutes) and Baltimore/Washington International (82 miles, approx 1 hour, 20 minutes). It is a 20 minute drive from Harper Ferry, West Virginia which is serviced by Amtrak (12 miles).

There will be no shuttle service to and from public transportation provided by the organizers. It is each of our responsibility to get to and from Claymont using any means necessary!

For GPS purposes, Claymont’s address is 667 Huyett Road, Charles Town, West Virginia, 25414.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions about the Inayatiyya Labor Day Retreat, please email us at astana@inayatiyya.org. When you register, an initial registration confirmation email will be sent immediately, with additional details sent in August.

Please note that we will not be able to accommodate scholarship requests this year, due to limited space and already reducing the price per person as much as possible. We apologize—our preference is always to offer scholarships.

Also, please see below for Covid and Cancellation Policies.

SCHEDULE

Please note this schedule is a sample only, and will likely change as we come closer to our gathering. Arrival, departure, and meal times will remain the same.

Friday, September 2nd

2-6 pm Arrivals
6-7 pm Dinner
7:30-9 pm Evening Program
Saturday, September 3rd & Sunday, September 4th

7-8 am Morning Attunement (Amida & Miraj)
8-9 am Breakfast
9-10:15 am Pir Zia
10:15-10:45 am Tea Break
10:45-12 pm Pir Zia
12-1 pm Lunch
1-2 pm Free Time
2-3:30 pm Break Out Sessions (Amida & Miraj)
4-5 pm Pir Zia
6-7 pm Dinner
7:30-9 pm Evening Program
Monday, September 5th

9-10:15 am Pir Zia
10:15-10:45 am Tea Break
10:45-12 pm Pir Zia
12-1 pm Lunch
BIOGRAPHIES

Pir Zia Inayat Khan carries the Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He received his Ph.D. in Religion from Duke University. His books include Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity, and the Mystical Quest, Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions, and Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Suluk Academy. Pir Zia and his family live between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France.

Amida Cary is Director of the Inayatiyya’s Retreat Concentration and its Retreat Guide Training Program, working in concert with an international network of experienced retreat guides and trainee mentors. Her primary focus is encouraging all involved to enter the transformative depths of the retreat process. Amida is an experienced retreat guide herself and has worked closely with Pir Vilayat, Aziza Scott, and Pir Zia. She collaborated with Pir Vilayat for many years editing his curriculum and establishing the website universel.net. She is also a founder of Suluk Academy and has served as Suluk faculty.

Jacob Miraj Ellenberg (Z.E. Dominicus) is the founder of The Curious Self where he leads meditation courses, and the The Curious Team where he helps organizations and teams reduce burnout, increase performance, and improve relationships. He has been a student of the Inayatiyya since 1995, and a teacher since 2003. Jacob holds an interdisciplinary B.A. in organizational behavior, narrative theory, and comparative mysticism from NYU. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

COVID POLICY

The Inayatiyya will follow