Living from the Heart: Universalist Sufism In America (2018)

2018-09-0340m

Living from the Heart: Universalist Sufism in America, directed by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez, offers an introduction to the mystical path of Sufism as expressed in the universalist Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan by contemporary Sufi teachers in America. The film contextualizes Sufism as a spiritual path of the heart, addressing the distinction between Islamic Sufism and Universalist Sufism, and introduces viewers to Sufi teachings on Love, Beauty, Music, God, and the Sufi practices of Zikr (remembrance) and Pilgrimage.

Related Movies

271360-thumbnail

Merton: A Film Biography (1984)

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

1428853-thumbnail

Power of Chi (2022)

The mysterious chi is presented as a force that can be produced by the master and defies all explanation.

1058646-thumbnail

The Circles of Remembrance (2008)

The Circles of Remembrance is an 82 minute journey into what is usually a hidden world of Sufism. This documentary explores "zikr" ceremonies in Cairo, Istanbul, Morocco, and the U.S., along with interviews with some of the most prominent Sufi scholars and musicians, on the outer and secret meaning of the remembrance of God. Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Gai Eaton, Sheikh Ali Gomma, T.J. Winter,and Tosun Bayrak are among those interviewed.

39343-thumbnail

Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy (1998)

This documentary examines how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime made use of ancient mysticism, occultism, and mind-control techniques in their efforts to win the war.

1228070-thumbnail

Monkey on a Stick (2024)

The story of the Hare Krishna movement in the West, contrasting the spiritual exploration of its devotees with the leadership's systemic, long-term cover-up of criminality, moral decay and abuse of power.

850330-thumbnail

The Hermetic Jung (2016)

Acclaimed author Gary Lachman looks at renowned psychoanalyst C.G. Jung's work from an esoteric viewpoint, drawing parallells to the disciplines of mysticism and occultism.

290504-thumbnail

Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014)

An unconventional biography by Oscar nominee Paola di Florio and Sundance winner Lisa Leeman about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in 1920 and authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which became the go-to book for seekers from George Harrison to Steve Jobs.

1441449-thumbnail

Mostashregh (2019)

699524-thumbnail

Rumi: Poet of the Heart (1998)

In 1244, Jelaluddin Rumi, a Sufi scholar in Konya, Turkey, met an itinerant dervish, Shams of Tabriz. A powerful friendship ensued. When Shams died, the grieving Rumi gripped a pole in his garden, and turning round it, began reciting imagistic poetry about inner life and love of God. After Rumi's death, his son founded the Mevlevi Sufi order, the whirling dervishes. Lovers of Rumi's poems comment on their power and meaning, including religious historian Huston Smith, writer Simone Fattal, poet Robery Bly, and Coleman Barks, who reworks literal translations of Rumi into poetic English. Musicians accompany Barks and Bly as they recite their versions of several of Rumi's ecstatic poems.

1235273-thumbnail

Nel silenzio del parco (2025)

1044916-thumbnail

The Sufi and the Scientist (2006)

The Sufi and the Scientist is the collective story of Sufi healer Sayyid Arif Hussain, the medieval Sufi Sheikh Haji Ali, and Dr. Thornton Streeter, a scientist working in the realm of human consciousness.

52159-thumbnail

Rumi: The Dance of Love (2008)

A dramatised documentary about the life of Rumi, a Persian mystical poet whose images of universal love and divine mystery continue to be celebrated more than 700 years after his death.

719550-thumbnail

Sunseed (1973)

This documentary explores the growing American interest in the 1970s in Eastern religions and philosophy. The teachings and lifestyles of ten spiritual teachers and their followers are presented without voice-over narration.

1499370-thumbnail

Wild Magic (2025)

A kaleidoscopic road trip through modern mystical Americana, revealing the hidden magic that’s happening all around us. A living tribute to the glimmering pockets of light beneath the crumbling facade of the American Dream, inviting viewers to slow down and engage with the unseen.

1137867-thumbnail

A Fire in the Forest: The Life and Legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov (2012)

Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Ba'al Shem Tov ("Master of the Good Name"), is one of the most beloved and celebrated, yet elusive, figures in Jewish history. Today, Jews worldwide – and even non-Jews – revere him as the founder of the Hasidic movement, a 18th-century offshoot of Judaism that promotes a mystical interpretation of the Bible, and as a model of piety and spirituality. The documentary A FIRE IN THE FOREST explores the life and legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov through interviews with religious leaders and scholars, and on-location footage. The title derives from a tale about rabbis finding a hidden fire in the forest where they could appeal to God for help and have their prayers answered.

1137526-thumbnail

The Way of the Heart (2010)

The Way of the Heart is the story of a spiritual master who brought the wisdom of Sufism to the West in 1910. Today the message of love, harmony, and beauty that Hazrat Inayat Khan gave to a troubled world is more urgently needed than ever. Award-winning filmmaker Mischa Scorer weaves a tapestry of music, sound, and compelling images together with the testimony of many contemporary Western Sufis to evoke the magical atmosphere of a consummate mystic.

776551-thumbnail

Faya Dayi (2021)

A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations – and Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. A tapestry of intimate stories offers a window into the dreams of youth under a repressive regime.

1342172-thumbnail

Out of Darkness: Heavy is the Crown (Vol. 1) (2022)

An examination of how Africa's mythological stories have served as the basis for the world religions that came after, especially in Western civilization.

1170579-thumbnail

DIVINE MYSTICS: ANOTHER SIDE OF ISLAM (NaN)

A documentary on sufism

1137530-thumbnail

Padre Pio (1968)

BBC TV movie about the life of the late Francesco Forgione, widely known as Padre Pio.