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kami
USA
921 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 06 2012 : 11:03:43 PM
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Hi everyone,
We have finalized the dates for this retreat - the first weekend of May (4th - 6th). We will follow the regular AYP weekend retreat schedule, meeting late morning on Friday and ending after lunch on Sunday.
Here are more details:
Where: Clarkston, Michigan at the Colombiere Retreat Center - www.colombiere.com
When: May 4-6, 2012
Price: $200 for single or shared (double) rooms, all meals included
Leaders: Shanti and Kirtanman and Kami
Please respond here if you'd like to attend.
Looking forward!!
Love,
kami
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chas
USA
209 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2012 : 12:08:00 PM
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Hi Kami,
I'm planning to attend.
Thank you, Kami, Shanti, and Kirtanman!
Love |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2012 : 12:10:19 PM
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Will be great to see you again Chas.
Thanks. |
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2012 : 3:43:48 PM
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Thank you Chas! Will be great!
Love! |
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Pheel
China
318 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2012 : 12:35:59 AM
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Hi Kami,
It's good timing and good price. I'll probably attend and I'll ask the members in the meditation group here. Hopefully we'll end up going there as a small group:)
Pheel |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2012 : 08:32:17 AM
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That will be wonderful Pheel.
It will be great to see you again and meet the others in your group.
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BellaMente
USA
147 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2012 : 6:48:13 PM
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| If I am able to get off work and fly back to Michigan to visit my family around this time I will definitely come... But what if I don't want to get a room? Is it possible to come for only one day? |
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magman
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 08:10:51 AM
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I just wanted to say thank you all for such an awesome experience! It was great spending the day with such genuine people! I learned a great deal on Saturday, and I cannot explain the sense of peace and acceptance I felt when I left that night. It was an experience I will always remember, and I look forward to seeing you all again some day!
Magman (Gene) |
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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 4:00:25 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by magman
I just wanted to say thank you all for such an awesome experience! It was great spending the day with such genuine people! I learned a great deal on Saturday, and I cannot explain the sense of peace and acceptance I felt when I left that night. It was an experience I will always remember, and I look forward to seeing you all again some day!
Magman (Gene)
Hey Gene,
It was great talking with you, too -- and thanks very much for your contributions to our group discussions at the retreat.
As several of us discussed, we all have lots of similarities, in lots of ways -- including with respect to the types of energy experiences that tend to happen off and on (i.e. the stuff you've been going through lately, and that some of us have gone through, over the years).
The main long-term effect of practices though, as several of us also discussed, is:
Life just keeps getting better. And better. And better.
Not a bad return for investing 20-30 mins., twice a day. 
I'm looking forward to talking further as it flows to do so -- and I certainly encourage you to post more of your thoughts and experiences here at the forum.
Kirtanman
(Doug) |
Edited by - Kirtanman on May 07 2012 4:16:42 PM |
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magman
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 7:38:09 PM
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Thank you Kirtanman. Yes, I plan to make it a point to begin contributing more. I've been going over.... in my head  ..... the many great conversations I had on Saturday, and have many things I'd like more clarification on. I'll have to tackle them one by one, because I know that this isn't the proper place on the forums for them. Hopefully I'll bump into you on other posts. I'll also be lurking on your website as time allows. Good stuff.
'Til later
Magman |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 09:11:28 AM
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Hi Magman,
It was wonderful meeting you at the retreat. So glad you did decide to attend that one day. Hopefully, next time you will be there for the whole thing. Thank you for your presence. |
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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 09:27:00 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by magman
Thank you Kirtanman. Yes, I plan to make it a point to begin contributing more. I've been going over.... in my head ..... the many great conversations I had on Saturday, and have many things I'd like more clarification on. I'll have to tackle them one by one, because I know that this isn't the proper place on the forums for them. Hopefully I'll bump into you on other posts. I'll also be lurking on your website as time allows. Good stuff.
'Til later
Magman
Hi Magman,
No worries (literally).
There are plenty of ways to utilize head/mind (aka thinking) naturally -- and the way you described sounds a lot more natural than the "mental hammering" most of use on ourselves for much of our lives (from, say, mid-childhood up until we engage in daily AYP long enough to experience the "great dialing-down" of that hammering .... ).
That's especially true if the "in your head" considerations get you to post a bit, here -- because it's as much about the continuation of the community you saw / felt and participated in, on Saturday, at the retreat, as it is about getting any particular answer to any particular question.
Side Note: I haven't posted a lot, here, lately -- I'd have to look, but it's been probably a year (at least) since I've posted consistently (or maybe "at all"), I'm pretty sure.
You know what got me started again? Your post, yesterday (my first reply above, was my first post at the AYP Forum in quite a while). I've since done a couple of others, in another comment thread -- and it feels very good and natural to be "back" (I didn't "leave" -- I just wasn't posting for a while). And so -- thanks.
It's all very mutual. We all help each other with even the most simple of connections -- "We are all students and teachers to each other", as A Course In Miracles states so beautifully.
And I see you as not only being someone who can benefit from learning, here -- but also as someone who has a lot to offer (as you demonstrated by the conversations you had with some of us, and with the group as a whole). Some people "ask and shut up" (which is fine, too) -- but you just dove right in, and engaged in very authentic conversation -- and when anyone does that, especially in a public "forum" of any type -- everyone benefits.
And so -- please dive on in, here, as you feel like diving.
We're pretty mellow around here -- the forum sections are "clearly marked", and as long as you're "close" (i.e. meditation questions go in the meditation sections, kundalini questions go in the kundalini section, etc.), you should be "good", where-to-post-wise.
And if you "miss" -- we have a pretty good system for getting posts to the right place, and indicating where they've "gone".
Looking forward to talking more, whenever it flows -- and if you don't post for a while -- we're always here -- even if one of us, i.e. me, may not be posting for a while (and we're always reachable individually, via the email links in our profiles).
Finally, as several of us indicated: we really were where you are now, in terms of general experiences, mind-activity-levels, energy experiences, etc., not that terribly long ago (just a few years, in my case, maybe a bit less or more, for others) -- and the way to smooth it all out and "get to the {unspeakably} good stuff" is simply to, as Yogani says "Practice wisely and enjoy".
Is it worth it?
As I've said here for a few years, now:
It's worth everything.
Kirtanman
PS- And please remember: "Big Y Yoga" (union, the peace that comes from natural non-disturbance, etc.) comes from the *non-attachment* to mental activity, not the absence of mental activity. A song that's stuck in your head is only a problem if you don't like the song.
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 12:48:42 PM
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Hi everyone,
To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about this retreat, primarily because it was going to be different from the other AYP retreats where all participants had been practicing for at least some time and were into all things "yoga" This group consisted mainly of people who had attended the 6-month sessions at my work, and were novices to this. A few were meditating for the very first time..
However, must say this was the most powerful "retreat" experience for me The group energy was amazing, everyone receptive and open, and everything just "flowed", as K'man would say. I have spent some time this morning going over the surveys, and seems like everybody felt the same. The sessions themselves, the unhurried and informal discussions, the Ayurvedic wellness sessions and the kirtans were all beautiful. The location, food, and campfire on Friday sure helped
Every AYP retreat I have attended has been fantastic; this was no exception. I am still reeling from the group energy and warmth. Every single participant who turned in the survey said they wanted this to be an annual event!
I'm very grateful to K'man and Shanti for doing such a phenomenal job leading this retreat. And special thanks to all of you from the forum who came and elevated this to a whole new level - Jeff, Chas, rohini, Pheel, Magman, BellaMente (and mom ). Thanks so much!! _/\_
Much love,
kami |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 08:58:23 AM
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Firstly I would like to thank Kami for the wonderful job she did with the group over the 6 months and the wonderful retreat she organized. Everything went off so smoothly and the retreat center was really heavenly. Also was a pleasure to see how wonderful a teacher you are, the clarity and depth of your words touched everyone in that room. Thanks Kami.
quote:
Originally posted by kami
To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about this retreat, primarily because it was going to be different from the other AYP retreats where all participants had been practicing for at least some time and were into all things "yoga" This group consisted mainly of people who had attended the 6-month sessions at my work, and were novices to this. A few were meditating for the very first time..
This is how I felt going into the retreat as well, but by the end of it I realized (huge lesson for me), it does not matter how advanced we may be or how much of a novice we may be, we are all the same on the inside, looking for love and connection and a place to be ourselves. The form of our thoughts and suffering may be different, but in essence we all stay caught up in our minds, looking for a solution outside of us and the way of letting this go is the same. By the end of the retreat, it was so beautiful to experience how everyone saw this.
So many hearts opened by the end of the retreat (the 6 month program and the retreat was so aptly called "Heal your Heart" ). It was so beautiful to see all the transformation that happened over the 2 and half days.
Thank you all for letting me a part of this retreat and for sharing all the loving.
A seed was planted this weekend... and I pray it will grown into a beautiful giving tree of love.
_/\_
PS: There is another retreat coming up in Colorado in June http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....=10798#10798, I would highly encourage people to look into attending it. The transformation you will experience in just 2 and a half days is worth more than it's weight in gold. |
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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 6:12:18 PM
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Hi Kami & All,
I also had a sense of wondering what this retreat would be like --- and as discussed "here, there and everywhere" --- it was awesome.
As Shanti said, we're all just people -- and offering a retreat for people who are new to yoga was a lot less "different" than I would have thought.
And thank you, Shanti, for your open-hearted and wisdom-filled teaching and discussions -- the attendees not only "got" what you were saying, but in at least several cases, were moved deeply, as well; beautiful.
And, thank you, Kami, for your kind words, and for your excellent organization, teaching and leadership -- this retreat flowed so beautifully thanks to everyone's contributions, as well as everyone's openness and authenticity (always the case -- just "even more naturally expressed" these days, it seems).
quote:
And special thanks to all of you from the forum who came and elevated this to a whole new level - Jeff, Chas, rohini, Pheel, Magman, BellaMente (and mom ). Thanks so much!! _/\_
I concur -- completely.
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cygnet
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2012 : 12:09:48 PM
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Hello
Thank you all for the wonderful retreat! It was an honor to meet everyone, even those who could only be in attendance for one day.
Even a week later, I am still discovering some of the ways that I was transformed during the retreat.
I look forward to learning more through the lessons and forums.
Cygnet |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2012 : 12:49:01 PM
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Thanks Cygnet!
Welcome to the AYP forums!
It was a pleasure getting to know you and sharing the silence with you.
I am glad things are going well.
Much love!
-Shweta |
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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2012 : 1:15:44 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by cygnet
Hello
Thank you all for the wonderful retreat! It was an honor to meet everyone, even those who could only be in attendance for one day.
Even a week later, I am still discovering some of the ways that I was transformed during the retreat.
I look forward to learning more through the lessons and forums.
Cygnet
Hi Cygnet,
Welcome!
It was wonderful meeting you, too -- and I'm very happy to hear the retreat was so powerful, for you.
There's a wealth of information here, and a great online community, and as discussed at the retreat -- if you need help with anything, have any questions, etc., please feel free to get in touch via email, and/or here at the forum (and if email addresses aren't handy, for some reason, you can email any of us via our forum profiles).
And again, welcome!
Kirtanman (Doug) |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2012 : 11:05:46 AM
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Sharing a correspondence I had with a retreat participant with her permission.
quote:
I knew going back to work Monday was going to be a challenge because of events that transpired on Thursday before the retreat, but it really wasn't challenging. It was like I was observing things, and was in situations, but the emotions weren't there. There was a calm that I could keep going back to. When I think about how I would have reacted in situations this past week if they had happened before the retreat, it would have been very different than the way I reacted this week.
I feel much more calm...not peaceful yet, but calm. It is wonderful!
I knew I needed something desperately, but didn't realize until after the retreat how unravelled and stretched out of shape I had become. (like a piece of fabric)I believe that when the student is ready the teacher will come. I am deeply touched by how many beautiful, caring teachers came!
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ClearAvatar
Ghana
12 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2012 : 3:41:51 PM
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It seems to me from experience that arousal is part of starterkit+siddhasana+pranayama+meditation routine yet I do not see anywhere anybody talking about it in group retreats. Is it because it does not happen in when groups are practicing? Or is there a way of handling such arousal what show physically where men are concerned?
Could somebody clarify this for me?
Thank you.
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Michigan Retreat, May 4-6, 2012
