More and more, people are choosing to describe themselves as spiritual. Spirituality is often considered as at odds with the material world, but a more unified perspective is needed now. For we are at a critical juncture, where the health of the living Earth can no longer be taken for granted. At such a time we must ask, what does our spirituality say about our relationship to the Earth, to our fellow creatures, and to our own bodies?

Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, founder of Seven Pillars House of Wisdom, is the spiritual leader of the Sufi Order International, a mystical and ecumenical fellowship rooted in the visionary legacy of his grandfather, Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is also President of the Suluk Academy for esoteric studies. He holds a doctoral degree in religion from Duke University, is a recipient of the U Thant Peace Award, and is a Lindisfarne Fellow.

This talk is co-sponsored by Rising Tide and by Seven Pillars House of Wisdom, and precedes a two-day public Sufi retreat with Pir Zia. For information on the retreat please visit www.risingtideinternational.org.

Date: Friday, February 19, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

Location: Rising Tide International, 5102 Swift Road, Sarasota, Florida 34231

Cost: $15 General Admission; $10 Students.

Contact: Tara Muir, rtiseminars@comcast.net, 941-926-3398