This series will be a deep dive into the Astrological Yoga of Murshid Samuel Lewis (Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti), using each participant’s Astrological Chart. Sufi SAM used the breaths, the walks, and the spins, of each planet to enable his students to develop “attunement”, to ourselves and by extension insight into others. Each participant will receive their “Karma” walk (a primary rhythm of your daily life) and their “Dharma” walk (the energy that will assist you in accomplishing the purpose of your life).
Using breath practice, the walks and spins, we discover the archetypal energies in an embodied way. By extending that awareness from ourselves to others, a deeper understanding and transformation of our relationships can occur.
Over the course of six months, we will explore, practice, and deepen our understanding of ourselves in relationship to others, and discover the practical use of the interplay of our rhythms with those of others.
Join us for this 6-class series at the Mentorgarten in SF - the Second Saturdays of the month. Each class will concentrate on two of the planetary energies, with time to practice and then apply those awarenesses in the intervening month. It is recommended that the course be taken as a whole, but individuals may join for single classes on a case-by-case basis.
Second Saturdays of the Month
January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13
1pm-4pm
Meet Our Teachers!
Yasmin Cogswell Spiegel grew up in the San Fracisco Bay Area. She met Murshid S.A.M. in 1968 when she was 19 years old. Murshid’s emphasis was always on his students developing their heart qualities, on breath, walk and rhythm in one’s daily life – on love, joy and peace. His teachings were always practical, useful and effective, and filled with fun, laughter and warmth.
Yasmin absorbed these teachings and has used them as the foundation for her life’s journey. After Murshid’s passing in January of 1971, Yasmin moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she jjoined the beginning Sufi group and practiced the Sharia with the Muslim community centered around the University of Arizona. Immersing herself in the practices of the world’s great religions was important to her, to actually experience the Heart as one great expression of Divine Love.
From there Yasmin moved to Lama Foundation, near Taos, New Mexico, where Murshid S.A.M. has his Maqbara (burial shrine), and there she studied early childhood education with Murshida Vera Corda. Returning to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1974, Yasmin worked closely with Murshid Wali Ali Meyer to found Khankah S.A.M. – the first urban Sufi land center in the U.S., focused on supporting the Mentorgarden, where it all began. Yasmin and her husband, Musawwir Spiegel moved to Davis, California in 1979, where she lives today. Yasmin became an attorney and a mediator in Family Law for 35 years. Being a lawyer provided a practical platform for her to help children and families through trauma. Continuing her studies of all wisdom religions, she became a student for the last 23 years of Ani Pema Chodron and a Vajrayana student of the Tibetan Kagyu and Nyingma schools. Throughout her life, the power of the Zikr – there is nothing but the ONE reality -has been the steady beat of her heart and rhythm of her walk and her breath. At the Urs of Murshid S.A.M. in 2023, Yasmin reconnected with Pir Shabda Kahn, a dear friend of more than 50 years, and became active again in the Ruhaniat. Yasmin says “Murshid loved to quote Al Ghazali: “Sufism is based on experience NOT premise!” That has been the marching orders for my whole life!”
Amina Meyer is a lifelong student of Sufism, ontology (the study of being), and thought work. She is a teacher of the Walks, a meditation taught by Murshid Samuel Lewis to develop one’s embodied presence and attune to the “all of it” through the rhythm of breath and movement. Amina has maintained a Qadiri zikr circle for more than a decade. She has also served as a life coach within her 25 years of training in the domain of ontology and spirituality. Amina is a second-grade teacher, art teacher, puppeteer, and proud mother of three. She lives in Richmond, California.
“It helped me unfix my ego’s perspective on myself, see what was in plain sight but in my blind spots, and had me develop the spectrum of the human experience as “Self.” All this supports me in connecting and working harmoniously with others. ” Amina Meyer
“I’ve got the secret to changing the world! I’m going to teach the children to WALK!”
“Astrology would be a science if you can keep the ego out of it”
–Murshid Samuel Lewis