Guided Meditation – Forest Walk
Join Nayaswami Asha for a weekend of classes and practical exercises that will help you deepen your meditations and expand your consciousness.
You will learn: • How to find your own true path in the chaos of modern existence • Ways to attune to your purpose in life in an age of distraction • Practices that help you move beyond just personal growth to your full potential, a true Self-expansion
Self-expansion manifests in many forms – from the desire for love, knowledge and understanding through to the ongoing aspiration for a better life.
Nurture your practices in this 3-day weekend and return to your daily life feeling inspired, refreshed and with tools to deepen your meditation experience.
About Nayaswami Asha In 1969, Asha met Swami Kriyananda and since that time has devoted her life to practicing meditation, living the principles of Self-realization, and sharing with others the inspiration she has received. From her home in California, Asha conducts a global ministry through the internet at www.ashajoy.org.
Retreat Schedule
Friday 8 May
6:00 – 7:30 – Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 – Welcome, introductions, music and inspirational talk
Saturday 9 May
7:00 – 8:00 – Morning Yoga (Kavita Parshotam) Yoga Postures including Paramhansa Yogananda’s unique energization exercises.
8:00 – 8:30 – Chanting and Meditation We’ll sing several beautiful chants in English accompanied by harmonium or guitar. Most chants are simple to learn, so you’ll be able to join in easily even if it’s your first time. Chanting has the power to transform and uplift the soul, and to open the heart. It shifts our mind into a higher state making it a perfect preparation for the silent meditation.
8:30 – 9:30 – Breakfast
10:00 – 10:45 – Music with Dambara and Tandava
10:45 – 12:30 – Can You Make it On Your Own?: Exploring the Need for a Teacher (Nayaswami Asha) If truth is universal, why limit yourself to just one path? If the power is within you, why should you listen to anyone else? Is there such a thing as a map for the spiritual path? How do you find a teacher among the huge sea? How do you tell a true teacher from a false one?
In this session Asha will address these pressing questions to help you arrange the ideal conditions for the most effective meditation practice.
12:30 – 1:30 – Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 – Free time
2:30 – 4:15 – What it means to be a student – Panel of Speakers So, what happens when you begin to have a regular practice? Does your life actually change? Do you attain a sudden state of constant joy? Find out what the experience was like from a panel of students who studied and then practised these teachings. The panelists include students who have been practising Yogananda’s teachings from just over a year to more than 40 years.
4:15 – 5:00 – Free time
5:00 – 6:00 – Chanting and fully guided group meditation Here’s your chance to deepen your meditation practice under the full and thorough guidance of an experienced teacher
6:00 – 7:00 – Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 – Music evening
8:30 – Fire ceremony (weather pending) Ancient mantras and fire clear the way during this ceremony to make place for pure aspiration allowing you to move towards your goal and transform. Sanskrit mantras are repeated and rice is offered into the fire at the end of each mantra repetition. The rice is symbolic of the seeds of Karma. We burn these seeds in order to purify our karma and to prevent the seeds from germinating.
Sunday 10 May
7:00 – 8:00 – Morning Yoga (Kavita Parshotam) Yoga Postures including Paramhansa Yogananda’s unique energization exercises.
8:00 – 8:30 – Chanting and Meditation We’ll sing several beautiful chants in English accompanied by harmonium or guitar. Most chants are simple to learn, so you’ll be able to join in easily even if it’s your first time. Chanting has the power to transform and uplift the soul, and to open the heart. It shifts our mind into a higher state making it a perfect preparation for the silent meditation.
8:30 – 9:30 – Breakfast
Purification Ceremony Whether it’s aspects of our lives we need to get rid of, or goals we are working towards, a purification ceremony helps us we make that conscious intention in a symbolic way. Through a powerful and moving ceremony we open ourselves to the progressive influences of a greater flow of energy, so we can achieve our highest purpose.
Music and Meditation Enjoy the joyful and deeply uplifting music of Swami Kriyananda performed live by Dambara and Tandava. Transformative and sometimes playful and humorous, each song will inspire and attune you to your highest potential.
Reading: Whispers from Eternity Yogananda’s eternal and timeless teachings taught through a collection of mystical poetry that holds the power to change your life. Through these words, Yogananda promised to speak to us until eternity.
Inspirational Talk: The Secret of Right Action Nayaswami Asha When carrying out any task, there is always a purpose greater than the task itself. When doing something we don’t necessarily enjoy, It is easy to let your work affect your inner peace. The key to tranquility is to move from restless preoccupation in life towards a peaceful absorption under all circumstance.
Festival of Light Through poetry and music, the Festival of Light offers the core teachings of our path in a concise way. It is a ceremony that helps us remember that what we are receiving is not a philosophy, but a ray of light from the Divine. It reminds us of our responsibility on the spiritual path – to serves as instruments of the Light.
12:30 – 1:30 – Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 – Closing and farewell
meditation for beginners meditation music