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Omar Aena

@omaraena

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Devotion in Motion 🌀
Founder @lilatheseries
Co-Creator @dance.beyond
Sufi Whirling @sema.collective

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Şeb-i Arus - the Wedding Night 🤍

Every December, Konya fills with dervishes and pilgrims from around the world to honor the night Mevlana Rumi returned to the Beloved. He asked that his passing not be mourned, but celebrated as a reunion.

This year, LILA is gathering there for our first Şeb-i Arus retreat.
🗓 December 12–18
📍 Think Hotel, in the heart of Konya, Türkiye

For seven days we'll stay rooted in one place, hosting our own gatherings and workshops while joining the sema ceremonies, music, and remembrance unfolding across the city all week.

We'll be in the company of our elders Cem Baba and Sharif Baba, our sisters Ayna Ayna, and a global family of seekers.

✨Space is limited. If you feel the call comment KONYA to receive more information and reserve your place.✨

#SebiArus #ŞebiArus #Konya #Rumi #sufi by @omaraena

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2 days ago

We've just returned from eleven days in southeastern Türkiye with a group of travelers from around the world, led by our guides Cem Baba, Sherif Baba, and the women of Ayna Ayna.

We traveled through the lands of ancient Mesopotamia, where many faiths have lived side by side for centuries. We prayed in monasteries, mosques, and the shrines of prophets and saints, watched the sun rise over a mountaintop of fallen stone gods, and stood where humans first gathered to worship more than 11,000 years ago. Each evening we came together in music, zikr, and sema. This land keeps inviting us back.

✨We return to Konya for Şeb-i Arus, the anniversary of Rumi’s passing, from December 12–18. Comment "Konya" to get on the waiting list if you'd like more info on how to join us. ✨

#sufijourney #şebiarus #sebiarus #sufitradition #rumi by @omaraena

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6 days ago

Come Trance & Dance tomorrow night at the legendary @nublunyc - celebrating the release of @samirlangus album ‘Gnawa Love’. He’ll be playing with his full band, DJ Omar Aena will follow with ecstatic tunes from around the world. 🌎 it’s gonna be a viiibe. 🔥

Tickets in link in bio. by @omaraena

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a month ago

Grateful for the completion of our 28-Day Heart Space Meditation cycle. Alhamdulillah.

What a beautiful journey it was - coming together each and everyday on Zoom for 15 minutes to remember the Beloved and our ever-present connection Source.

Blessings to you on this new moon. by @omaraena

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a month ago

Today I’m beyond excited to release my first original song, in collaboration with the incredible duo @theforbiddenlovers . 🌀

Less than a year ago I began a journey into creating original music — learning the oud and electronic production.

After 10+ years DJ’ing, something deeper was calling to be expressed: a bridge between the Sufi path and the conscious dance floor. A course called Sonic Alchemy through BEYOND Academy lit the spark, and I’ve been cookin’ ever since ☺️

Friends of God ~ a song rooted in the qawwali tradition, honoring the saintly beings who’ve walked this Earth, outwardly ordinary yet inwardly intoxicated by the Wine of Divine connection.

Listen now on my SoundCloud (link in bio) 🎶

Habibty @raradwan on the visuals. by @omaraena

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a month ago

In a little over two weeks, I return to the sacred lands of Anatolia for the fifth Heart’s Turn Sufi Pilgrimage with @lilatheseries .

Each year has been a deepening; love for the Beloved, for ancient culture, sacred music, movement and friendship. It’s basically a caravan of friends traveling together for 11 days, seeking to create a more beautiful experience of life together.

While I know it’s last minute, we do have a few spots left. If you’re feeling the adventurous pull of the heart to go on this journey, you are welcome. You can find the link in my bio or DM me and I’d be happy to share more. by @omaraena

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a month ago

We’re over the moon to be welcoming @omaraena to Love Portal! ♥️🌀

He’ll be leading a dynamic, co-creative, prayerful, joy filled set on Sunday, September 13th to close out Dance Camp! ✨

Get to know him 👇

Omar Aena is a cultural storyteller, community weaver, and DJ whose sets are portals between worlds.

Omar bridges traditional songs of the past with the electronic pulse of the present, creating an ecstatic soundscape that spans cultures and awakens spirit. Guided by his Middle Eastern heritage and the Sufi path, he curates a journey from slow and grounded rhythms, through ecstatic peaks, and into the soft stillness that follows.

Each set is a living prayer — a dance of liberation, unity, and remembrance. Omar’s intention is simple yet profound: to create a space where we can move as one body, one breath, one heartbeat. 💫

Founder of @dance.beyond, and creator of the @lilatheseries exploring devotional music around the world, Omar brings decades of experience in transforming dance floors into temples of truth.

Learn more about Omar here: omaraena.com by @omaraena

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2 months ago

We’re still taking in the beauty of our community’s last 24hr Sema. The songs, melodies, and rhythms are still humming with us. We pray the integration has been gentle and joyful for you. 🌀

Ustad Ismail Hakkı Çimen, a hafız of the Quran and Turkish musician from the Sufi tradition, will be with us at our next Sema in the Hudson Valley on 8/28, and in Brooklyn this September. We’re honored to open the gathering with a special Sohbet led by Ustad Ismail.

Come whirl with us. RSVP in bio.

📸: @marginwalk3r taken in AKERA Experience by @omaraena

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2 months ago

Join four-time Grammy Award winner and founding father of the modern frame drum movement, Glen Velez, for Rhythms of the Mystics.

Over six sessions, Glen guides us through the ancient art of frame drumming, integrating rhythm language, shakers, vocal toning, and synchronized movement as pathways to inner stillness, sacred presence, and embodied awareness.

An invitation into a living tradition of sacred rhythm 🔥 We start on October 10, with sessions every Saturday through November 14

✨ Comment RHYTHM for details and to register✨
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#GlenVelez #FrameDrums #bendir #riq #musiccourse by @omaraena

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2 months ago

Join us for an 11-day Sufi Pilgrimage through the ancient lands of Mesopotamia. Following in the footsteps of ancient prophets and mystics, and guided by musicians and spiritual teachers, we will visit sacred sites and some of humanity’s oldest temples while immersing ourselves in Sufi teachings and the living traditions of Zikr, poetry, devotional music, and whirling.

📅September 23 – October 3, 2026
💬Comment TÜRKIYE for more info and to register

✨This pilgrimage is an invitation to step into the living poetry of Turkish Sufism, where every moment is a call to remembrance of Divine Love and Beauty. We welcome seekers from all backgrounds, with open hearts and a longing to connect✨

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#Sufi #Sufism #Turkiye #Mesopotamia #SpiritualJourney by @omaraena

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2 months ago

We’re all just walking each other home 🌹 MashaAllah.

Recap photos from our last 24hr Sema on 8/8, at Akera Retreat Center, where 150 beautiful souls came together to turn towards the heart, anchoring Divine light and healing into the Earth. So many blessings poured through, alhamdulillah.

Save the date for our next 24hr Sema, Dec 19-20, on the longest night of the year, in honor of Seb-I-Arus, Mewlana Jalal-al din-Rumi’s passing and reunion with the Beloved.

Dec 19-20, 2026 6PM
📍 Akera Retreat Center

Join the waiting list on our website (link in bio) to get notified of when tickets are live.

photos by: @marginwalk3r 📸 by @omaraena

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2 months ago

experimenting 🌀

#liveloop #boombap #fairuz by @omaraena

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2 months ago