About Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

The lane of love is narrow,
as narrow as the edge of a sword;
two can not walk on it.
—Bhai Sahib

Irina Tweedie was born in Russia and studied in Vienna and Paris. After the Second World War she married a British naval officer, whose death in 1954 led her on a spiritual quest. Little did she know that her trip to India in 1959, at the age of fifty-two, would mysteriously lead her to a Sufi Master from the Naqshbandiyya-Mujadiddiya Sufi Order, whom she called Bhai Sahib (Elder Brother). This meeting set her upon a journey to the "heart of hearts," the Sufi path of self-realization.

Her teacher¹s first request of her was to keep a diary of her spiritual training which became the book Daughter of Fire, the Diary of a Training with a Sufi Master. This diary spans five years, making up an amazing record of spiritual transformation ... the agonies, the resistance, the long and frightening bouts with the purifying forces of Kundalini, the perseverance, the movements towards surrender, the longing, and finally the all-consuming love. From a psychological viewpoint, the diary maps the process of ego dissolution, gradually unveiling the openness and love that reside beneath the surface of the personality. Irina Tweedie was the first Western woman to be trained in this ancient Sufi lineage.

After her teacher¹s death in 1966, she returned to England where she started a Sufi meditation group in North London. Gradually groups spread throughout Europe and North America. Irina Tweedie retired in 1992 after having named Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee as her successor to continue her work and the work of this Sufi Lineage. She passed away in 1999.

Daughter of Fire:
A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master

by Irina Tweedie

Description and Table of Contents

“This book is a testimony for great courage and integrity.”

—Marie Louise von Franz, Jungian psychologist

Little did Irina Tweedie know that her trip to India in 1959, at the age of fifty-two, would mysteriously lead her to a Sufi Master, and set her upon a journey to the "heart of hearts," the Sufi path of realization.

Her teacher's first request of her was to keep a complete diary of her spiritual training—everything, all the difficult parts, even all the doubts. He predicted that one day it would become a book and would benefit people around the world.

This diary spans five years, making up an amazing record of spiritual transformation ... the agonies, the resistance, the long and frightening bouts with the purifying forces of Kundalini, the perseverance, the movements towards surrender, the longing, and finally the all-consuming love.

From a psychological viewpoint, the diary maps the process of ego dissolution, gradually unveiling the openness and love that reside beneath the surface of the personality.

Mrs. Tweedie is the first Western woman to be trained in this ancient yogic lineage. Her story and experience testify that this teaching system can still be powerfully transformative today in our modern world.

First published in its abridged form as Chasm of Fire (which has sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into six languages), Daughter of Fire is a unique account of a spiritual training with a Sufi Master and is the most detailed account of the relationship between disciple and teacher that exists in Western Literature. Written in diary form, this title has already sold over 30,000 copies worldwide and is now being published through The Golden Sufi Center.

870 pages, paperback, ISBN 13: 978-0-9634574-5-5
$19.95 US, £15 UK, SFR 20.80 / EUR 18.--, *Bestell-Nr. TB 01

DVD: The Naqshbandi Path

In the first section Irina Tweedie describes the Beliefs and Ethics of the Naqshbandi Path, beginning with “We believe in the Oneness of Being.” The second part comprises a selection of films of Sufi meetings at her London home in May 1991. We are given a unique glimpse into her presence, her way of weaving teachings and stories, bringing alive her saying, “Sufis teach simple things.”

1. Beliefs and Ethics of the Naqshbandi Path, 29 min
2. Group Meeting: Once and Forever, 25 min
3. Group Meeting: Mystics Teach Simple Things, 17 min
4. Group Meeting: Pointers on the Path, 12 min
5. Group Meeting: Humility, 15 min
   

1 DVD • almost 2 hours • NTSC • Region Free
US: $14, UK: £12 plus £1.50p&p

DVD: Branded by God:
Interview with Irina Tweedie

In these rare video interviews Irina Tweedie speaks about the Naqshbandi path and its principles. She describes how she met her teacher in India; and she addresses many questions that concern every sincere seeker on the path:

• What are the most important qualities needed on the spiritual path?
• Is the training the same for men and women, and are they treated differently?
• What is the meaning of solitude in the crowd?
• What is the meaning of non-attachment?
• What is surrender, and to whom or to what?
• What does it mean to die before you die?
• What is poverty of the heart?
• What does it mean to lead a guided life?

Four interviews available as a two dvd set
2 DVDs • 3 hours • NTSC • Region Free
US: $19.95, UK: £15 plus .80p p&p

Additional Resources

Online Video: Video of talks and interviews with Irina Tweedie

Articles: Articles and interviews with Irina Tweedie

Audio Archive: MP3 audio of interviews with Irina Tweedie