SO FAR, more than one hundred fifty people have worked with this program and it is being periodically refined. The Ninety-Nine Day Program seems to be answering a real need. It has been used by a political prisoner under the harsh conditions of solitary confinement, by a Catholic nun in a Third World country, by people who have lived up to twenty-five years with the Work, by Buddhist monks, and by people with no formal spiritual training, all with positive results.

Purpose and Intentions

Often people ask us how they can connect with the Sufi tradition, or if we can recommend a teacher or a group in their local area. Sometimes an appropriate connection can be recommended; too often it cannot. The Ninety-Nine Day Program was created to meet the needs of our time for a balanced education in Sufi practice and spiritual psychology. It is not a substitute for a living connection with a teacher and a group; it provides the knowledge and the structure for development within the Sufi process and may lead to more personal contact through regional gatherings of the Threshold Society.

It is a first step in the meeting between the student and the tradition. The commitment it entails is short term but intense. Quite a bit has been offered in this program—enough to sustain personal work for months or even years. The knowledge and practice offered should enrich and complement the work of people at many different levels of attainment and experience.

If, after completing this course, you feel that you can make a clear intention to seek a connection and to continue wholeheartedly on this way, then the process which has begun will continue. After your work and experience of the Ninety-Nine Day Program has been considered by the Mentor, some recommendations will be made about how to continue to integrate this knowledge and practice.

The Ninety-Nine Day Program will come to you in a three-ring binder.

If you wish to begin the Ninety-Nine Day Program:

We suggest a donation of $130 for the program itself, which includes the evaluation, correspondence and/or phone contact, at two points during the program. If you don't have a copy of Kabir Helminski's Living Presence, A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self, we suggest you order a copy from us ($11.95), since it is integral to the program. Open our order form, or send your request and initial donation to:

The Ninety-Nine Day Program
The Threshold Society
270 Quarter Horse Lane, Watsonville, CA 95076

It is also possible to register by phone: (831) 685-3995. (You may contact our answering machine, so be prepared to offer your name, address, credit card information, etc.).

Also available in Spanish: www.sufismomexico.org