• 
• 
• 
• 
• The Abode Center
• Suluk Academy
• Seven Pillars

The Abode Center

The Sufi Order International is organized into local centers, each of which offers classes, programs, and companionship on the spiritual path. Here at the Abode we are blessed with having one of the largest and most active Sufi Order centers in North America. We have an abundance of senior teachers, healers, and retreat guides who provide an unsurpassed richness and variety of programs and learning opportunities.

For more information and to receive an updated listing of weekly center activities (Center News), send a request to WYoung@theabode,net or call 518-794-8090 ext 410.

Center Activities
Universal Worship is an interfaith religious service that honors the unity of religious ideals. Scriptures of the world's major religions and wisdom traditions share space on a common altar that celebrates the golden thread of truth running through each. Universal Worship services are held each Sunday at 10:15 am, at the Abode.  The service is officiated by Cherags (ordained ministers). Services may include participation by the congregation in chants, songs and dances drawn from or inspired by the different faiths.

The Sufi Healing Order is dedicated to nurturing and developing the spiritual healing ministry in our time.  It is open to people from all faiths, races and creeds. The Sufi Healing Order is an international spiritual order that is rooted in the teachings of Sufism, and focuses on the development of healing capacity and the integration of body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit. Our goal is to make available to the wider population meditative tools and practices that promote and support the awakening in humanity that is occurring today, to the power of the Divine Spirit to heal. A ritual of absent healing for those who have requested prayers is held following Universal Worship on Sunday mornings, and in conjunction with a healing class on Wednesday evenings.

The Esoteric School of the Sufi Order is an initiatic school in which a student works with a guide of his or her choosing through a process of inner development and transformation. The guide prescribes specific practices that lead to a spiritual unfoldment. Classes are offered on Thursday evenings, followed by a class or zikr (chanting) offered by guest teachers. All are welcome to attend. There is also a class on Tuesday evenings on the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan. The center at the Abode is blessed with several teachers who are authorized to act as spiritual guides. Inquirers can call the Sufi Order at 518-794-7834, or visit www.sufiorder.org

The Retreat Center offers individual spiritual retreats of varying durations from three to thirty days. Engaged in a process of spiritual transformation, retreatants occupy their own cabins or rooms, and meet daily with a retreat guide who suggests the day's schedule of practices and offers feedback on the retreatant's experience. The retreat process is based upon the transformational model developed by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. Individual retreats may also be tailored to focus on healing, reconnecting with one's self or the planet, inner awakening, even about resting.

Ziraat is one of the branches of teaching given by Hazrat Inayat Khan. It uses the language of agriculture to aid us in cultivating the mind and heart, to discover our essential being. We hold Ziraat ceremonies at the Abode on the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and autumn equinoxes.  Other ceremonies may fall on the full or new moon or be a spontaneous sharing. The ceremony is about 20-30 minutes, outdoors, weather permitting, and uses symbols, invocation of the elements, and lessons.