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American Retreat - 2009
American Retreat
2009This report was originally a blog on Gnosticweb
The 2009 North American Retreat took place once again at beautiful Buckhorn Springs resort in Ashland, Oregon. The almost fifty people that attended from around the world did whatever it took to get to this wonderful event, where a common goal was shared:
to Wake Up!
"Waking up" meant getting out of the psychological sleep, the daydreams, the pulls of desires, emotions and thoughts. Waking up from this is to come out of it, and we did this over and over throughout the retreat to bring ourselves to the present moment, to the here and now...
We were striving to experience peace, clarity, intelligence and love.
By 7pm on the first day of arrival, everyone was there, and it was time for our first delicious meal, a totally awesome home-cooked dinner. We all got acquainted with new faces, caught up with old friends, and found our way to our rooms.
Well, some of us didn’t have rooms to stay in because we grew quite a bit from last year! So, a handful of us volunteered to sleep out in tents!
But there was nothing to fear, only to enjoy- like this beautiful deer!!
After so much travelling, and in order to prepare for the intensity of the days to come, the first night’s practice was simply to rest...
After so much travelling, and in order to prepare for the intensity of the days to come, the first night’s practice was simply to rest...
Every morning, breakfast was served at 8:30am and it was always fresh, delicious and healthy!
At 9:45, after we had eaten, talked, showered, etc., we would meet out on the spacious deck and prepare for an inspiring talk before the first awareness walk of the day.
We went for several walks each day, in order to practice and investigate how to self-observe properly and activate the spiritual part within. We learned how to continuously renew the effort - walking and trying to be in the present moment.
We had many stops where we took a moment to experience the beauty of nature, and tap into the vast knowledge it has to offer.
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After the walks, we would go and meet in the Dodecagon, the building where we did our practices. |
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This is an amazing 12-sided wooden structure- with perfect acoustics for experiencing sound and trying to attain heightened spiritual states!! |
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At one o’clock, we would gather for a scrumptious lunch. This may seem like leisure time, but there were no breaks in our focus of waking up. |
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It didn't matter if we were putting on our shoes, showering, or getting ready for the “next” practice, we were to keep on pushing, especially during those in-between moments that are normally thought of as mundane. |
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True, this was called a retreat, but actually, it was more like a long-awaited, Spiritual Boot Camp preparing us to fight for our lives to awaken. |
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On the last night of the retreat we lit a bonfire accompanied with music. But it turned into anything but the ordinary. It was transformative with hours of mantra chanting! |
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This is where the group strength was undeniably penetrating us all. At that moment, it felt as if we could have moved mountains! |
Our final practice was to astral project by concentrating on the fire we gathered around that night.
In the morning we ate breakfast, said our farewells, and left with something amazing to take home.
Here are a few comments from those who attended:
"This was the most intensive retreat I have attended so far, with a lot of strength generated in a group of about 50 people. On this year's retreat I realized again, how each of these gatherings are a kind of turning point for me, making me reflect on the work I have been carrying so far and where I should be going from there. The meditation practices we have been doing provided me with a lot of material to work upon in my daily life and the areas i need to focus on most."
Lucia, USA
"I'd like to say that this retreat was the best I've had. By applying myself fully to the practices I was able to feel great spiritual strength from within, and amongst all who attended."
Jon, Australia
"After hearing rave reviews of the 2008 US retreat, I couldn't help but attend the one in 2009. And I'm glad I did!
We got a lot of guidance and great training on how to be aware. This has helped me a lot to better see where I am not aware during my daily life and to take more serious steps to change that.
You would expect (I did) that I would have a lot of unanswered questions from the retreat, since I didn't ask many (at least not out loud) and wanted to see what I could find on my own and with spiritual help. Surprisingly, either someone else asked my questions (even a couple that were quite precise), or I found the answer myself (sometimes). I thought it was interesting and ironic that not asking questions (and just getting quick or simple responses when I did) gave me all the answers I needed anyway, but I think it's because I wanted to find the answers and give it some time before asking the questions.
I went into the retreat with a couple goals, because I think it's important to get something for oneself at one of these. By the end of the retreat, I had fully achieved one of them! I went away with some new understanding and ideas to deal with the other; it's a bigger one to tackle, so I probably wouldn't have totally achieved it at the retreat, but I'm continuing it now.
This was my tenth retreat, and the remarkable thing about retreats is that they're never the same and always really helpful for understanding oneself and changing."
Kevin, USA
"This retreat, was a relearning of the basics with much more clairity than ever before. My foundation for this spiritual work has now been renovated."
Silvia, USA
"This year's retreat was completely awesome for me. It was such a great opportunity to get away into nature and to be able to focus intently on exploring different practices on a much deeper level. I've learned so much about myself and was able to spot and tackle some difficult egos I did not have an opportunity to deal with properly beforehand. I came away from the retreat with a fresh approach towards many practices, and feel completely motivated to return back into daily life with this new understanding and strength!"
Jenny, Canada
"I had one of the most amazing times in my life and that the group strength was very important for me to experience. I have not met so many amazing people in such a long time and it was just so refreshing to be around so many people striving for ideally, the same goals in their life and spirituality. I am so glad I got the opportunity to come."
Christy, Canada
Lucia, USA
"I'd like to say that this retreat was the best I've had. By applying myself fully to the practices I was able to feel great spiritual strength from within, and amongst all who attended."
Jon, Australia
"After hearing rave reviews of the 2008 US retreat, I couldn't help but attend the one in 2009. And I'm glad I did!
We got a lot of guidance and great training on how to be aware. This has helped me a lot to better see where I am not aware during my daily life and to take more serious steps to change that.
You would expect (I did) that I would have a lot of unanswered questions from the retreat, since I didn't ask many (at least not out loud) and wanted to see what I could find on my own and with spiritual help. Surprisingly, either someone else asked my questions (even a couple that were quite precise), or I found the answer myself (sometimes). I thought it was interesting and ironic that not asking questions (and just getting quick or simple responses when I did) gave me all the answers I needed anyway, but I think it's because I wanted to find the answers and give it some time before asking the questions.
I went into the retreat with a couple goals, because I think it's important to get something for oneself at one of these. By the end of the retreat, I had fully achieved one of them! I went away with some new understanding and ideas to deal with the other; it's a bigger one to tackle, so I probably wouldn't have totally achieved it at the retreat, but I'm continuing it now.
This was my tenth retreat, and the remarkable thing about retreats is that they're never the same and always really helpful for understanding oneself and changing."
Kevin, USA
"This retreat, was a relearning of the basics with much more clairity than ever before. My foundation for this spiritual work has now been renovated."
Silvia, USA
"This year's retreat was completely awesome for me. It was such a great opportunity to get away into nature and to be able to focus intently on exploring different practices on a much deeper level. I've learned so much about myself and was able to spot and tackle some difficult egos I did not have an opportunity to deal with properly beforehand. I came away from the retreat with a fresh approach towards many practices, and feel completely motivated to return back into daily life with this new understanding and strength!"
Jenny, Canada
"I had one of the most amazing times in my life and that the group strength was very important for me to experience. I have not met so many amazing people in such a long time and it was just so refreshing to be around so many people striving for ideally, the same goals in their life and spirituality. I am so glad I got the opportunity to come."
Christy, Canada
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