Mevlana Garden, Thursday, 17 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Today was the last day of this beautiful retreat. The Satsang soaked us in bliss, as our beloved Swaha radiated love, light and truth.
A friend from the east reminded us all of what an incredible and precious gift it is to have an alive buddha among us.
Swaha is intimately available to us. He meets us where we are in our consciousness - in a way we can understand. The more sensitive we become and the more we fall in tune - the more we will recognize this miracle, and remember who we truly are.
Although this retreat has come to an end, for all of us it could be a new beginning. As we move back into our daily lives, most of us will meet all our old habits, dreams and desires waiting on our doorstep.
To accept the gift of Sannyas, means that now we have made a choice to face all these ghosts our minds have created. To see and to realize that they are not real, and that we can function perfectly well without them.
Sannyas is this new beginning - it is a sign pointing the right direction. However, it is up to each individual if they want to follow that direction or not. In the beginning the path is narrow - because we are so identified with our story - our past, that lives inside our minds.
In the retreat, Swaha introduced us to new friends who will help us stay on the path.
They are - Love, Awareness and Silence.
Thank you everyone for being here.
Thank you Swaha - our beloved Master and friend.
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Wednesday, 16 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Tuesday, 15 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Monday, 14 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Sunday, 13 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
In the first part the of the retreat, the focus was on love and celebration. Now, the focus is more on meditation and relaxing into silence - bringing all that energy, that was expressed and awoken, back to our selves.
In this world there are many traditions, paths and ways to self realization. Around Swaha the focus is on Love and Meditation - Sufi and Zen.
Meditation without love, can be dry, and love without meditation, can be shallow.
So Swaha brings these two together. With mystic alchemy, he combines the awareness of meditation with the intoxication of love, and we are served a divine potion, which is lovingly intoxicating, yet at the same time, makes us alert.
In Satsang, Swaha shared,
“This is what I am teaching you, that they meet. In reality there is no inner or outer - it just is. They are like the two wings of a bird - love and meditation.
But of course; some are more naturally inclined to the path of love, and some more to meditation - the inner. This is like the feminine and the masculine. It is everywhere in existence: yin and yang, night and day. But they meet. They are not opposites. They are one.”
As always in a retreat with Swaha, the invitation is to get involved in what is happening. To be total. To drop all ideas and questions, and to explore both our inner and outer universe fresh, childlike, without any expectations. To simply wake up.
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Satsang 13 December 2009 (MP3 audio file)
Quote of the day:
"When you go in - it should be blissful silence.
When you go out - it should be loving."
Vasant Swaha.
Mevlana Garden, Saturday, 12 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Wednesday, 9 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
The Satori process is a miracle. With each question “Who am I?” we exhaust our minds cutting through layers of ideas, identifications, beliefs and emotions, and we experience a new level of relaxation.
As our attention moves from our heads to our hearts our awareness is rising and we dive deeper into our essence. With it, comes a beautiful feeling of expansion, of space, of openness, of nothingness - a feeling of being empty, yet full.
One friend shared in Satsang about her experiences participating in the Satori group.
"When the question was,
- Who are you without your story? -
I had a wonderful sensation. I got into a very light space, calm, open, present, where only the Moment existed. There where no past nor future. Only the Now - with gratitude."
We are soaked in silence, and there is peace in the Beloved's Garden.
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Satsang 9 December 2009 (MP3 audio file)
Quote of the day:
"I came. I saw. I listened. I stayed. Om Shanti."
Vasant Swaha.
Mevlana Garden, Tuesday, 8 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Monday, 7 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Sunday, 6 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Have you ever asked yourself who you are without your story? Who you are behind your personality?
These are some of the questions we ask ourselves in the Satori Group this week. This is an intense inquiry process of 21 sessions helping us to tune inwards and to come closer to the essence of who we truly are.
Inscribing the question “Who am I?” into our hearts, into our consciousness and even into our dreams - this process reveals and slowly pulls away veil after veil, mask after mask in our quest for Truth.
At mealtimes, during working meditations and in the café, an occasional bell calls - inviting us stop whatever we are doing for a few moments and go in. The purpose is to bring the awareness back to ourselves allowing us to gradually relax into a natural silence.
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Satsang 6 December 2009 (MP3 audio file)
Mevlana Garden, Saturday, 5 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Thursday, 3 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
It is full moon in Mevlana Garden.
She reflects the transformation and the subtle, yet strong, sensitivity that reveals itself when the mind slows down.
"Your old life was a frantic running from silence.
The speechless full moon comes out now."
Rumi
The Sufi Heart has lovingly guided us through a week of celebration - expressing life in an spontaneous and childlike way.
Through dance, music and song - our hearts are opening, softening and melting into love.
Silence is approaching...
Below you can listen to the Satsang from yesterday.
Satsang 2 December 2009 (MP3 audio file)
Quote of the day:
"The longing itself will bring you home."
Vasant Swaha.
Mevlana Garden, Tuesday, 1 December, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Monday, 30 November, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Sunday, 29 November, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
A warm sun, some soft rain and a sweet breeze. Springtime in Ibiraquera! Nature is abundant with bright colors and the fragrant air full of playful birds.
Recently we took over the ownership of the hotel where the retreats happen, and old and new friends are coming together in a fresh sense of joy and anticipation.
Now it is our pleasure to take care of this precious place and to create an oasis for the flowering of love and meditation.
The difference is already noticeable. Everything is beautifully prepared for the retreat and improvements can be seen everywhere.
Truly we feel how much love and care that have gone into every detail, as we are welcomed into the sacred garden of the Beloved – "Mevlana Garden Resort".
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.
Mevlana Garden, Saturday, 28 November, 2009
Winds of Freedom:
Below you can listen to the Satsang from today.