Kirtan & Kitchari
3:30-5:30 PM
Low production. Low key. High
Bhakti vibes. All are Welcome!
This event is donation-based ($10 suggested) and 100%
of proceeds will
go to The People’s Kitchen, a Philadelphia nonprofit using
food to empower, transform, and heal through free nutritious meals,
gardening, and education. You can learn more about them here >
https://www.peopleskitchenphilly.com/
We’ll start the evening droping into a Kirtan, led by Ellis Kantrowitz and friends. Kirtan is a call-and-response style chanting practice — simple melodies, sacred mantras, and communal singing. You don’t need to be a “singer.” You can chant, hum, sway, dance, play along, or just lie down and listen. It’s about participation, presence, and shared energy — not performance.
Afterwards we'll gather around for a warm bowl of Kitchari, lovingly prepared by Chef Matt Buddha. Kitchari is a simple, nourishing Ayurvedic dish made from rice, lentils, and gentle spices — easy to digest, grounding, and deeply comforting. We’ll eat, connect, and settle in together until about 5:30pm. Not hungry? No worries...just hang
We want these Kirtans to be community-led and community-powered — a space where we gather, uplift each other, and give back.
If you can’t donate $10, no stress. Come anyway.
Feel free to bring instruments and join in.
Please pre-register ASAP so Chef knows how much food to prepare for us :)
Come for a little. Stay for the whole
journey.
Let’s sing. Let’s nourish. Let’s give back together.
Biodanza: The Dance of Life + The Poetry of Human Encounter
Join us for an evening of movement, music, community, and heartfelt, intentional connection! Our “vivencia” (from the Spanish word “vivir,” meaning “to live”) will include a series of artfully guided dances and encounters designed to evoke core emotion and authentic expression. Together we will move, play, explore, and celebrate our collective aliveness. Come cast off the shackles of inhibition and swirl into the embrace of pure, unfiltered existence!
What is Biodanza?
The word “Biodanza” literally translates, from Spanish, to mean “The Dance of Life.” Founded in the 1960s by Chilean anthropologist and psychologist Rolando Toro, it is an elegant system of somatic and relational self-development that combines dance, music, archetypal gestures, and intentional connection to stimulate five lines of life force: vitality, sexuality, creativity, affectivity, and transcendence. It fosters reconnection with our vital instincts, our emotions, our bodies, and our in-the-flesh relationship with each other as dynamic, feeling human beings. Sometimes referred to as “The Poetry of Human Encounter,” it is truly a Masterclass in embodied Love!
About the facilitator:
Ashley King, M.S.Ed., Ed.M., LPC is a somatic psychotherapist who has worked with individuals, couples, families, and groups in private practice for the last 16 years. She is trained in the Hakomi Method (a method of mindful, somatic therapy) and AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy). In addition, she is a Circling facilitator (an interpersonal meditation practice), a sex and relationship coach, a meditation instructor, an intuitive energy healer and Reiki Master, a yoga teacher, and a Biodanza facilitator. Once hailed, “A catalytic invitation into vulnerability and connection,” Ashley is deeply passionate about the poetics of embodied relationship. You can find out more about her at her website: www.psychoalchemy.com
These events SELL OUT make sure to save your spot! Early Bird Ends Soon
circle of hearts // The Assembly of Lovers — A Sufi Song Circle
towards the One. the Perfection of Love , Harmony and Beauty
join us for a circle of chanting and attuning in rhythmic prayer !
hosted by emelyn magritte gratefully in collaboration with Bab Al Ilm welcoming Osama Janakat & Antwan Penn and the pillars of Light they are !
circle of hearts is a devotion oriented community prayer chant rhythm song circle inspired by Sufi wisdom — a gathering to be in connection with heart oriented remembrance + returning + tuning through prayer music co-creation , drum rhythm , community belonging and orientation to our Beloved. we come together to sing , listen and connect in our heartfelt way as a circle of hearts. rooted in community tending and praising the Beauty that uplifts the heart through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
this circle is open to everyone , you as you are is welcome. you dont need to be sufi ! this is an interfaith space that welcomes all faith streams and names of addressing Divinity — and all experience levels are welcome !
come as your heart ! we honor this willingness and value the strength of togetherness
bring your voice and instrument and harmonize with friends , fellow beloveds on the path !
if you have a drum , bring it ! medicine drums , frame drums and ceremony drums are all welcome
we are all singers , artists and muscians ! your voice as is ~ is perfect , truly your voice and presence is a blessing to the space !
attunement here is to and through ancient sacred languages and the codes of remembrance that live within the field of vocal and rhythmic expression
this is not a performance , it’s something we create together , a living pulse , in conversation with our times , this is offered as a prayer in Peace
Framework for Circle
• Opening : intention affirming , prayer to align hearts toward the Real , land & lineage acknowledgment + traditional sufi invocation
• Elemental breath practice ~ somatic arrival
• Guided zikr (chanting) with drum
• Silent resting in what we created together through the chanting
• Rose tea shared in silence , herbal ally for integration and tuning
• Closing prayers for Peace and Unity + communal prayer
• Open space to exchange contact details + mingle & carrying on
(( what is Zikr? ))
Zikr ( sometimes spelled Dhikr ) translates to remembrance , recollection , invocation . . .
in its widest sense this refers to any act through which one remembers God through direct presence of God.
Here we use the word Zikr to name a traditional Sufi practice, a form of meditation + music that involves repeating sacred phrases and names of the Divine , often with rhythm in melody and in body movement. this is about deepening and feeling into the sound of the heart singing with an awareness oriented to the Beloved noticing and being in what this creates. this is remembrance on the tongue as the soul and heart are attentive and indwelling.
We share this as a communal practice and personal practice where the group field and inner heart collaborate in the medicine of chant praying together.
Who This Circle Is For
hearts in human form caring to be in shared prayer music space together ,
for those who seek communal devotional practice , for lovers of music , for lovers of the drum , for those who value direct experience of Divine Presence in community space , for those who care to weave a prayer of Peace together for the collective , for those who are curious and long for the sacredness of music , for those curious for sufism , for those who care for interfaith space that honors the difference and unity of how we touch in with the Divine , for those who care to dwell lin the embodied experience of the Real , of Love , of Peace of Unity . . .
in Collaboration with Bab Al Ilm :: The Assembly of Lovers
Through Bab Al Ilm comes The Assembly of Lovers: a community interspiritual devotional gathering centered on sacred chant and rhythm within a Sufi remembrance circle. The Assembly of Lovers is a participatory rhythm and remembrance circle leaving behind performance as participants are welcome to join with their voice , drums , breath or silent attention. No musical experience is needed. Through shared voice in repetition + attentive listening , the circle opens a space of collective prayer , presence and inward reflection. Bab Al Ilm is a space for modern mystics to study , reflect and gather. The Assembly of Lovers is held regularly in North Jersey and is now being shared in collaboration.
Gathering Details
Sunday • May 17 • 2–4 PM
heart centered dontation : $11 ~ $22 ~ $33
no one turned away , come , come . . .
the vision is for this to be a recurrent expereince and give tending to our community
we will meet bi-weekly or monthly