Daily Life in Sufism Reoriented
The principles of Sufism are most quickly learned and most fully expressed in the context of shared activities with spiritual companions. The work of a spiritual community dedicated to God becomes an incubator for spiritual growth.
The murshid of Sufism Reoriented currently maintains three centers – one in the San Francisco Bay Area, one in Washington, DC, and a third in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The three centers follow different yet complementary patterns for Sufi work and life.
Sufism's Sanctuary in Walnut Creek, California was envisioned by Murshida Conner and designed in collaboration with the Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie architectural firm. The Sanctuary provides spaces for classes and devotional gatherings; kitchen and dining facilities; flexible office areas for volunteer staff; and studios for Sufi artists, musicians, dancers, and writers.
Video is silent
Patterns of life at Sufism’s campus in Washington, DC differ from those in Walnut Creek and Myrtle Beach. The central theme in Washington, DC, is shared residential living. The Washington Center serves about 115 people, two-thirds of whom live at the Center complex in a unique atmosphere dedicated to Meher Baba. They, like their Sufi companions in California, are actively involved in their occupations and fully engaged in one or more of the murshid’s service projects.
Video is silent
Youpon Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, serves as an intimate retreat setting where groups of up to 30 Sufis and guests at a time gather for meals, discussions, and recreation with their Teacher. A small number of companions live in nearby homes and carry forward the murshid’s service projects in the broader community.
Video is silent
In 1952, during the fourth of his six visits to America, Meher Baba’s party was involved in a major automobile accident in Prague, Oklahoma, the heartland of the continent. To recuperate from his injuries, Baba returned to Youpon Dunes, the Myrtle Beach home of his close disciple Elizabeth Patterson, where he ended up spending more continuous time than anywhere else on this continent.
Six decades after Elizabeth sold Youpon Dunes, Murshida Conner learned that it was available as a summer rental and began hosting retreats there for her students. Three years later, she received a call from the owners saying they had decided to sell the property and, having seen how devotedly she and her students had cared for the home, offered to sell it to Sufism.
Youpon Dunes – An Architectural and Spiritual History
