ABU DHABI // A degree in engineering and a three-decades long career in the oil and gas sector may not seem like the obvious credentials to become one of the pioneers of meditation in Abu Dhabi but that is exactly what Abbas Al Khoori did.
Mr Al Khoori, 62, born in Abu Dhabi on a rainy day in a traditional Emirati date palm frond home, is co-founder of the Inner Space Centre for Training in Meditation and Self Development.
It is regarded as the first official mediation centre in Abu Dhabi and provides a space where Emiratis and expats can learn the ancient practice of observation and training the mind.
“I honestly think everybody needs meditation,” says the father of seven children and grandfather of seven.
“We have reached a stage now where we cannot control our mind, it is too occupied, even in our sleep.
“You need a way of slowing the mind down, as they say, and mediation is one way.”
In 1972, at the age of 19, Mr Al Khoori travelled to England to study engineering as one of the first Emiratis to do so overseas.
Before learning to embrace meditation, he put in more than 30 years in the oil and gas sector, where he remains today as the chief executive of Maqta Bridge Engineering, a recruitment company.
He says he would have never discovered meditation if it was not for his daughter Noura, who was using the practice after being taught it by Australian expat Sona Bahri.
In 2011, Noura arranged a meeting between her father and Ms Bahri.
“It was January 27,” says Ms Bahri. “I just had this intuition that something amazing was going to happen.”
It did. The seeds were sown for the creation of Inner Space – a collaboration between Mr Al Khoori and Ms Bahri.
While he took care of the administrative duties and obtained the necessary Government approvals, Ms Bahri provided more training in meditation – not just for Mr Al Khoori but his family.
Inner Space – now in the Bain Al Jessrain Coop Building – was born.
The not-for-profit meditation centre offers classes for Arabic and English speakers and has done outreach work – with workshops being held at a number of companies, including Adco, Gasco, Cleveland Clinic, Anantara Eastern Mangroves, ADIA, and Etihad.
It is also still a source of peace for Mr Al Khoori. “I still continue,” he says, revealing that he frequently visits the centre for meditation sessions, seminars, and also attends retreats in places such as Madhubani, India.
Reaction to his new path, from friends and the local community has been positive, he says, with some coming to visit the centre.
Meditation is not always an easy concept to grasp, though, he says. “Nowadays, people like to speak, they like to see their WhatsApp and Instagram,” he says. “The mind is all the time occupied with the external. It’s only free when you can sit and meditate.”
While helping him in everyday life, Mr Al Khoori says meditation can also had a positive effect on how people view each other.
“Another thing meditation does is you treat everyone equal,” he says.
esamoglou@thenational.ae