Living Water: Celebration and Restoration

Second Fridays, February, March, and May, 2026
3:00 - 4:30 pm ET (New York) / 9:00 - 10:30 pm CET (Paris)

Overview

Ziraat Council Members around the world collaborate to offer a variety of presentations and practices as we explore the Living Water. Themes include water as source and an attunement to different bodies of water and our relationships with them; a celebration of water as an expression of beauty through the creative arts—photography, dance, poetry, music; permaculture and restoration of water; and Murshid’s teachings on water as the living essence and sacred symbolism for the evolution of the soul.

Dates & Themes

Friday, February 13: Celebrating Water as the Source of our Physical and Spiritual Lives
Presenters: Zebunissa Pamela Overeynder, Sharifa Oppenheimer, and Tasnim Stupac
- “The soul is a current which can only run rightly when it is in the stream of love.” - Hazrat Inayat Khan
- We will explore the theme of water as it flows through our lives and our bodies as glaciers, wells, springs, rivers, and oceans. The session will include a singing zikr, a short discussion of the origins of water, personal stories, poetry, practices, readings, photographs, and a short, guided meditation. We offer witness to the ways in which the waters are threatened by climate change. Following the presentation, each participant will have the opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation for water, especially those bodies of water that are nearby.

Friday, March 13: Managing Water with Permaculture Design
Presenters: Ata'allah Bill Meacham and Alia Patricia Michael
- Nothing defines the nature of a place more than water. Without water, we have deserts that are almost devoid of life, but with an abundance of water, we have rainforests that are hubs of Earth’s biodiversity.
  Permaculture is a holistic design system for creating sustainable human habitats and food production systems by mimicking the patterns and relationships found in natural ecosystems. The term combines "permanent agriculture" and "permanent culture," reflecting its goal of creating resilient, self-sufficient, and waste-free environments. It applies principles derived from observing nature to a variety of fields, including agriculture, community planning, and home design.
  Water is always the number one priority for any permaculture system. No matter where you go and what mineral deficiencies you have, there are plants that can adapt to these conditions, but no plant can live without water! That's why Permaculture design tries to harvest, retain, and rescue as much water as possible before it is lost from the system.
  This session will present various permaculture design techniques for managing water.

Friday, May 8th: Holy Mysteries of Water
Presenters: Raqib Gerhard Kittel and Friends
- "In the old scriptures such as the Vedanta and the Old Testament, spirit is symbolized as water. One wonders why something which is near to the earth, as water is, should be considered symbolically as spirit. The nature of water is to give life to the earth, and so the nature of spirit is to give life to the body.” - Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Vol XIII, Sufi Teachings
- This session will look at water from a sacred and mystical perspective, including Murshid’s teachings on water as the living essence and sacred symbolism for the evolution of the soul.

Details

Sessions are from 3-4:30 pm ET (New York Time). Times will vary by month in Europe and Oceania. Please use the Time and Date Converter to confirm your local time.

All are welcome to attend. This program has a sliding scale for payment—no payment is required to participate, but if you’re able to contribute, $49 ($7 per class) helps cover the cost of creating and offering it. Any amount is welcome.

Video recordings of each class will also be made available on the Ziraat website’s Recordings of Past Programs page.

If you have questions about Ziraat or this series, please email us at ziraat@inayatiyya.org. For registration and scholarship information, please email astana@inayatiyya.org.

Contact the host of Living Water: Celebration and Restoration

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