Silent Meditation Retreat
Sanpetru, Romania
Daily Schedule
The daily program for this retreat is split into two parts: a morning session (08:00-13:00) and an afternoon / evening session (15:30-20:30).
- 08:00-10:00 Meditation: The revelation of the Spiritual Heart, Atman. This meditation will begin in smaller segments (for example, with short hourly breaks), building to one continuous, deep meditation session.
- 10:00-11:30 Relevant lecture teaching
- 11:30-12:30 Hatha Yoga practice of techniques, especially those that facilitate the revelation of the Spiritual Heart: a simultaneous (class-like) group practice
- 12:30-13:00 Meditation: The revelation of the Spiritual Heart
- 13:00-16:00 Lunch and rest. Kamala Center arranges the lunch.
- 16:00-19:00 Meditation: The revelation of the Spiritual Heart. This meditation will begin in smaller segments (for example, with short hourly breaks), building to one continuous, deep meditation session.
- 19:00-19:30 Hatha Yoga: Individual practice and tapas
- 19:30-21:00 Dinner. Kamala Center arranges the dinner.
- 21:00-21:45 Daily themed spiritual discourse plus Q&A
- 21:45-22:30 Final evening meditation
- 22:30 Retreat events end for the day.
A single, gentle bell-ring will mark the end of each meditation or other period, and will signal a short break. A series of bell tones will indicate that the next meditation or other period will begin within two or three minutes and that it is time to take one’s seat and cease movement in the hall.
Special Themes for Evening Meditations
Special meditation lecture topics will be explored every evening between 21:45 and 22:30.
- Day 1 Meditation for revealing the Divine Self, Atman, using the Self-inquiry method of Ramana Maharshi, “Who am I?”
- Day 2 Spanda, the sacred tremor, and the Divine Mystery that is revealed by opening to the reality of the Divine Self, Atman
- Day 3 The method of resorption of the “I” thought at its source (according to Ramana Maharshi’s revelation)
- Day 4 The Prayer of the Heart (the fundamental method of the Fathers of the Desert)
- Day 5 Exemplification of the four fundamental stages in the process of Self-revelation; Complete surrender to the Supreme Reality of the Divine Self, Atman
- Day 6 The Divine Love that pervades our entire being, through the revelation of the Divine Self, Atman
- Day 7 A special schedule will be kept this evening that affords time for concluding remarks, open questions and answers, and an opportunity for retreat participants to share their spiritual experiences
- Day 8 It will be just a morning meditation session and sharing.
Retreat Techniques and Activities
All meditations and techniques are specifi cally intended to reveal the Spiritual Heart and to awaken the consciousness at this level. We will integrate advice for guided meditation, lectures, and practical techniques and methodologies in our retreat sessions, including:
- Ramana Maharshi’s atma vichara method of introspection (Who Am I?)
- Techniques to still the mind using breath control
- Study of the symbolism of the Spiritual Heart
- Methods of passing from individual consciousness to Cosmic Consciousness
- Methods of Self-centering in daily life
- A proper understanding of Advaita Vedanta’s fundamental tenets
- Hatha Yoga sessions in a special spiritual style
- Other Yogic methods that approach the issue of the Spiritual Heart
- Sacred poetry
- The four fundamental stages in the process of the revelation of the Spiritual Heart
- Advice for maintaining awareness in the Spiritual Heart in the tradition of the Fathers of the Desert (from Christianity)
- Daily special meditations on themes connected with Self-revelation
- The Christian method of the Prayer of the Heart
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English 
Romanian
