French Alps: A sacred Tantric liberation - where the spirit can live its higher dream (part 2 of 2)
After a few days of hiking and just being in the mountain, I head to a place, for which I don't even assume how special it is. This ashram is a hidden magic, and should perhaps remain such. I am going to follow two consecutive yoga and meditation retreats. Both experiences are extremely unique and intimate. Therefore, I will not talk about any individuals in particular, neither will I describe very practical details, as they can be largely misinterpreted, while they can only be understood, if experienced. I will however, try to explain my reflections and learnings in a non-fluent, non-chronological way.
"Woman of Joy", a kundalini yoga retreat for women to connect with their feminine power
Around twenty women, of any age, get together to explore themselves, support themselves and
help each other grow while overcoming one main challenge, which perhaps every woman faces - "the fear to let go of control".Disturbing and discomforting it may be, it is an experience I would recommend to any woman who wants to discover the joy in herself and to get liberated from what keeps her away from her true nature. I will not reveal any of the actual events, but I can share a moment of liberation I lived through when the sole guidance of one of our mentors was "Release your craziness. Here you don't need to explain or suppress it!". How often has each of us wanted to hear an urge like this? :)
Wake up every morning at 4:30, meditating and singing for 6-7 hours without stop, barely eating any food, barely sleeping... still, one of the most special, impactful and controversial experiences I have gone through. Let's say, we hear, learn and assimilate what we want and are open to.
Sometimes, we know the answers for ourselves, but we are afraid to come to the conclusions alone. We prefer to hear answers from someone else, because then it somehow feels safer, more credible.I will not dig into whether this is a healthy approach towards self-knowledge, but I would still like to share my personal conclusions and the concepts that are not originally mine, but resonated with me. This is my own interpretation.
A concept, which greatly moved me was that
"we often choose to live in a cage with an open door".
You may read my personal take on this concept after I digested it - "Cage", on my literature website www.PoetryOfLiving.com .
We sat in the white tent, dressed in white, for numerous hours per day. We sang, we danced, we meditated, we surrendered and relaxed. We listened to lectures and learnings of the master of the event and the ashram, we were part of the same powerful thing. We were free together, we were lost together, we were crazy together, yes with the goal of finding the ultimate personal liberation. The "master" guided us to experience freedom, or at least the perceived-there notion of it.
As controversial as it sounds, I did learn a lot and was exposed to compelling new ideas. Here is my own personal interpretation of those learnings. I found it rather complex, so I have tried to illustrate it graphically. I hope it means something to you, too, as it is an experience very dear to me.
May we all aim beyond our basic comfort and let our spirit live its higher dream. May we be one with the nature and with each other. You don't need to be special, everyone was born to contribute to the planet - through your body, through your talents, through connecting with nature and with the common consciousness. SAT NAM.
