If you come to a conclusion, the journey ends - Pir Elias Amidon
C A R A V A N
A Journey Home
One way to describe Sufism is to say that it’s a mystic journey from where you, the seeker, are to where you ought to be. But in this Living Sufism program we will be traveling home… from home. As in T.S. Eliot's line, “... the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time”. Like its ancestral fable, The Conference of the Birds, Caravan will not be a journey through space but a journey through hal, the Sufi term for states of being.
And, as with the Birds, we will encounter unexpected joys and invaluable learnings as well as confront our inner barriers: indolence, rationalization and postponed spiritual discipline. To accomplish this we will tap our deeper capacities and draw on collective resources; realizing that together we can be a source of boundless support and guidance beyond our limited watchtowers.
The journey will also invite some "magic". For each of us, Caravan will unfold as a personal saga revealed in and through our Creative Imaginations. It is in that fluid, liminal dimension—the Sufi’s barzak—that the ineffable alchemy of transformation can be brought to life. And yet, without the grounded, in-our-bodies practicality of doing the work, our travels will be no more yielding than a dream.
The program will consist of five 90 min. Living Sufism sessions and three "caravanserai”—intimate gatherings to freely share stories and support—from November 2025 to June 2026. In addition to these meetings, we will encourage ongoing one to one conversation among fellow travelers and with the facilitators.
While this Caravan is an ever-evolving story, we plan to stop at five waystations:
1. Eternal Stories — Nov 23
On Zoom - 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU
We have always been on journeys—through progressive realms of experience from childhood onward, from Eden to this place. Each of our journeys can be told as a tale with dramatic turning points, significant companions, and sometimes inexplicable guidance showing us the way. Can we find, in that story, a polestar we have always followed, a particular longing always driving us, the hand of grace that has held us, nudged us and at times caught us before we hit bottom?
Caravanserai (on Zoom- 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU) are optional gatherings,
like stopping places on a journey, to provide opportunities for communal reflections and intimate sharing.
2. Bright Darkness — Jan 11, 2026
On Zoom - 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU
Our journey always heads into the unknown; try as we might, we cannot with any certainty predict where (or even who) we will be tomorrow. We light our way in this darkness through courage and commitment. On this caravan we can do this by unequivocally resolving to face up to our excuses, hesitations, and other self-immobilizing patterns. And by helping each other to continue when the going gets tough, as we would a companion who’s gotten lost or confused.
3. The Adab of the Journey— Feb 8
On Zoom - 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU
We never travel alone. Even on our “solo” quests we are accompanied by those who made the journey before us and who will continue after us. Are we ever without the presence of our loved ones, our teachers and, if we’re fortunate, the living embrace of our dearest friends? We travel in a field of relationships. The adab of this field is a current of loving awareness. Everyone has their own journey; my respect and support for theirs will be reflected in theirs for mine.
4. Magic Carpets — Apr 12
On Zoom - 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU
There’s power in numbers, they say. That power is amplified in unimaginable ways when those numbers are joined in spirit and fueled by love. There’s no telling how the collective alchemy we generate on this caravan will support us and allow us to go much farther than we might on our own. Like the magic carpets of Sufi lore, we may find ourselves traversing distances and overtaking obstacles that were previously unbreachable.
5. Home — May 10
On Zoom - 9 AM PST; 10 AM MST; 11 AM CEN; 12 PM EST; 5 PM UK; 6 PM EU
It would be foolish to describe the culmination of our caravan since “home” is a truly unique place for each of us. But, borrowing from the Conference of the Birds, we could say that it will have something to do with the discovery that we already are what we’re searching for. And with the heart and soul realization, resonating like music in our bodies: “I am here. I am always here. I can be nowhere else.”
In addition to these meetings we will be encouraging impromptu sharing through email and other means among travelers. The facilitators will also be available for one to one conversations.
Caravan — a Journey Home will be facilitated by senior Sufi Way teachers:
Puran Lucas Perez
Puran is a founding member of the Sufi Way. As a senior guide/teacher he has conducted courses and workshops in Europe and North America for over 50 years. Along with other Sufi Way members he has had major responsibility for developing Living Sufism over the last decade.
Isha Francis
Isha now lives in Portland, Oregon near his grandchildren and family. His involvement over the last several years with Living Sufism is the latest iteration of his 50+ years within the Sufi Way.
Angelika MacArthur
The newest member of the Living Sufism creative team, Angelika comes from decades of work in consciousness, movement and psychology disciplines. A professional ballet dancer and then, for over 40 years, a clinical psychologist and conscious dance explorer, she offers a weave of self awareness, relational and conscious embodiment approaches to Sufi work.
Questions? - livingsufism@sufiway.org
In addition to the standard fee, there are two additional pricing tiers for CARAVAN: The Pay it Forward price is for those who wish to lend their support to all of our Sufi Way activities and programs. Because we prefer not to turn anyone away due to their inability to pay, we also offer a "scholarship" price. Please select the one which works best for you.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Mary Oliver
Wild Geese
