March in Amonines

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Cultivating growth in life and garden

Something out of nothing

Stress often is an important motivation to act, perhaps even accompanied by the belief, conscious or subconscious, that stress is necessary. To believe that something can also emerge from nothing then becomes almost unthinkable, making it normal to apply pressure -on others or ourselves- to initiate movement.

It’s nice to hear that the Asharum is experienced as a place where one can free oneself from the pressure of conformity patterns, expectation patterns, or pleasing behaviour. Guests come closer to themselves and a genuine desire to contribute to this place may emerge. One of our guests described it as ‘The Magic of Amonines’.

 

 

The Magic of Amonines

 

No one expects anything from you. And soon you stop expecting anything from yourself. Before you know it, you stop expecting anything from others. You don’t need to initiate anything, urge anyone, or activate anything. The day fills itself naturally with eating, meditating, walking, reading, and sleeping. Occasionally, there’s a conversation. Nothing is required; you are free. That is the magic of Amonines for me.

regular visitor

 

Intensive Meaningful Living

In early March, we once again welcomed a house full of participants for the 5-day Intensive Meaningful Living. This intensive creates a circular flow where an answer does not signify the end of a quest. It invites one to shift from exclusive to inclusive thinking, from duality to unity, as one participant described:

The workshop brought a lot of movement, but also calm. It brought a lot of hope, but also uncertainty. It brought a lot of answers, but also questions. But above all, it brought the trust to change all the ‘buts’ in the previous sentences into ‘ands’.

Laughter echoes from the room where everyone is gathered. Fortunately, humour is also part of the quest for Meaningful Living. As often happens with humour, a shift in perspective brings lightness; the chance to see oneself differently, marvel at one’s thoughts, and turn things inside out, so much so that a blank piece of paper suddenly becomes full of meaning:

Never before has a blank paper held so much meaning. We were given space to contemplate and reflect on big themes like birth, death, and the unknowable totality. And on the quest in giving meaning to all the experiences and memories that life brought our way. During these five days, we walked alongside each other, experiencing that we are not alone in our quest. Through attunement and affirmation, we collectively gave meaning to human life.

And finally in retrospect:

I often think back to the 5-day programme with you. Every time it helps me to consciously choose the ‘radiant light among the rings.’ And every time, a spontaneous smile appears on my face.

The next intensive runs from May 28th to June 1st.

 

A Journey Through the garden

Gradually, the green haze that blankets the garden becomes visible. With one more heavy rain, we expect spring to fully manifest in an explosion of colour and various shades of green.

 

In April, much work was done in the garden within just a few days, making it look quite different already, even before spring has fully arrived. For a detailed tour of the garden, I like to let Frederique, who faithfully walks through the garden every season with great strides and a professional eye, do the talking:

It was a particularly beautiful week that allowed us to accomplish a lot, the first lunch at the picnic table, next to the new hedge of olive willows, for example.

 

Additionally, several new ground covers were planted in different beds, such as creeping thyme along the path to the vegetable garden and yellow creeping sedum atop the ceramic pot.

 

Bugleweed, which thrives in shade, was planted in the cleaned bed beside the Japanese cherry tree.

 

At the back, near the rowan trees, euphorbia fireglow (purple spurge) was also added—a wintergreen variety with beautiful autumn colours and snail-proof qualities.

 

 

 

Another significant project we checked off was pruning the lilac tree that had been hanging over the ‘serre’. Here, we benefitted greatly from all the tools now available, chainsaw and steel pole pruner included!

 

Speaking of tools: the hedge trimmer is fantastic for efficient and quick pruning. Whether it’s laurel (yet to be done), roses, lavender, sage, rosemary, rhododendron, or ivy!

 

Finally, we drastically pruned and topped the large wild climbing roses next to the house.

 

February in Amonines

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Awakening, doing nothing, and longing: A journey through February's reflections and the promise of spring

 

The light is growing stronger

February was a quiet month, allowing space for awakening. The garden, sometimes still covered by a thin layer of white, is surprisingly green underneath for a winter garden. The first snowdrops with their delicate white flowers are increasing in number daily, standing in clusters, perhaps waiting to see which flower will follow in showing itself to the changing light and the warming rays of the sun.

 

 

Indoors, the major projects of the past weeks are coming to an end, with a beautiful, fresh meditation space ready to welcome the participants of the Nâm Retreat of Silence, who may share in this process of opening happening outside.

 

Silence and doing nothing, a great mirror

In the Nâm Retreat, doing nothing and inviting silence are important aspects that become like a mirror, reflecting the movements of the mind. The intention is not to dive into and examine these movements, but to do nothing and watch. The retreat days, with their Attunements, seem to touch something within that then comes to the surface. Like swirling dust, it can obscure the horizon. It may cause restlessness and pain.

As one participant mentioned at the end, the HarpMood by Yoginâm, both at the beginning and end of each retreat day, brings a sense of restful silence, leaving no choice but to smile in response to Yoginâm's radiance. As the signs of restlessness begin to fade, the participants take the time to stare into the fire.

Could it be that, just as the promise of spring resides within the bare branches, the hardened earth, and the closed buds, the promise of well-being resides behind our closed opinions and judgments, becoming visible once the dust of these attachments is cleared, opening our horizon for a different perception of ourselves and the world?

A passage from the Attunements in the Oh Abbah book, used for the recitations during the Nâm Retreat of Silence, comes to mind:

 

Oh Abbah
In knowledge you know yourself
In vision you witness yourself
In discrimination you discriminate in yourself
You are your own mirror
My attachments are the dust
That obstructs the reflection
Clear your mirror from yourself
And realisation will be all yours

 

New Developments

In the kitchen, there are always new developments. When we are open to them and ready to appreciate their value, a period of experimentation begins. The possibility of introducing a new flavour to the menu is always a reason for pleasure. Currently, the focus is on fermentation, with the first recipe already in the Weck jar.

Fermenting food not only has the advantage of preserving it longer while retaining its nutritional value, but it is also very helpful for digestion and protection against diseases. The world of fermentation is vast, with possibilities such as wine, miso, pickles, sourdough, sauerkraut, yogurt, and even the consistency of ice cream. Fermenting is also a way to reconnect with real, as opposed to industrially produced, food and the life process itself, as it is a partnership with microscopic life. As described in the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Elix Katz:

 

This partnership leads to a reverence for all the processes that contribute to the well-being of the human race, from the contribution of enzymes by invisible bacteria to the gift of milk and meat from the sacred cow.

 

At the moment, we stick to kimchi, but with enough options for vegans, a new world opens up for us.

 

Longing

A long period was needed to prepare mentally for the decision to renew the pond. Already in 2010, it became clear that the pond was leaking, and for the past four years, there has been talk about renewal. Longing for a solution, it is time to take action. A concrete plan has been made, with measurements, choices for materials, and planning. In the week of April 8-13, all preparatory work will be carried out, such as securing plants around the pond and organising a tub for the fish. The following week, April 15-18, we will drain the pond and replace the liner. Especially during this week, one or two extra pairs of hands would be welcome. So, if you are handy, willing to work and available or have experience with laying liners in ponds, it would be greatly appreciated if you could join us in realising this long-standing project. Please let us know by sending a message to  asharum@amonines.com.

November in Amonines

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Nâm Retreat of Silence, snowfall, time/no-time and Weekend of Silence

Nâm Retreat of Silence

In daily life people often feel pressed for time. Time is measured and valued not so much according to how things are done, but according to how much is done. The goals that are to be met are not limited to work, but extend into private life. It might feel as being pushed in a boat on a turbulent river. And sometimes you need to get out of the boat and stand in the mud, letting the water go past you.

To keep with this metaphor, the Nâm Retreat of Silence is a way to get out of this boat, connect to the essence behind the surface and have your habitual programmes of perception reflected in the water. That is how November started.

For some people it takes time to make the shift from their daily state to a state of silence which the Asharum invites. Especially when you are coming as staff and you have a certain task -read goal- it is more of a challenge to stay in the present where the silence resides and time plays no role. Saying this, it was beautiful to see how one of the staff members, our cook Luz, who arrived halfway the Nâm Retreat of Silence, quietly joined in, needing no-time at all to adjust.

Marjolein, who was intrigued by her way of cooking, asked her about it; she wrote the following:

Intuitive Cooking

In Amonines we see many different kinds of people, all with their own reasons and motivations. Sometimes there also happens to be a very good cook among them. Take Luz, she is a cook by profession. During the Nâm Retreat of Silence, she served the most delicious meals to the guests of the Asharum. Dinners that she often comes up with in the course of a day. You won't find recipes, scales or measuring cups in her kitchen. Intuitive cooking, she calls it. First take a look in the fridge, the vegetable basket and the vegetable garden and then just get to work. Cooking from the heart, it may also be called. It connected beautifully with the sometimes almost tangible silence of a special week.

 

A visit of winter

We live in autumn, in winter, in autumn

Tempering with our ...

constructed sense of time,

the garden is dealing with what is.

 

Child on mother's lap

Tolmiea menziesii is a small plant that has been given the name ‘Child on mother's lap’ in Dutch (‘Kindje op moeder’s schoot’). The evocative name inspired Marjolein to write about it:

Little ones in the garden

Child on Mother's lap, that's the name of the little plant. A touching name for a sweet and brave little plant. A small new leaf starts on top of an older one and it takes root. This happens when conditions cooperate a little with a fine autumn sun that still carries enough warmth and light and the plant is not disturbed. A loving approach does the rest. This is the way the plant grows, covering more and more ground every season.

 

A blessing in disguise

It felt like a huge triumph when we finally managed to have an appointment with the electrician for the fire safety control. After at least half a year of phone calls and fruitless appointments we almost concluded there was a cultural miscommunication. But when the fuses blew (literally), the cycle of events took a turn for the positive. The electrician came and the personal contact seemed to break an invisible barrier that we had been unable to breach over the phone. The blowing of the fuses was a blessing in disguise as we seized the moment when it presented itself to finalise an appointment at last.

Estonia

When we got a visitor all the way from Estonia who stayed for four nights, we started wondering about the relation of travel time and the relatively short time of her stay. She had a beautiful answer, showing us at the same time how with our thinking we also fell into the trap of valuing time in terms of quantity instead of quality. She shared with us that the experience of time is different in the Asharum and that what needs to happen happens regardless of the length of one’s stay.

 

 

Transformations in daily life

Sometimes changes are already on their way, but still in a dream state. Staying in the Asharum might then be just what we need, as one of our guests told me. With the delicious food waiting for her on the table, the cookies were not missed. When she enjoyed the meals in silence she realised how much chatter normally goes on while nothing is said. These are discoveries she will take with her, while other things that are of no use any longer will be thrown out.

 

The Weekend of Silence

Sometimes you have a group that hardly asks for guidance. The last weekend of November we had such a group. It was so clear that they were eager to enter the silence that I felt almost uncomfortable with my brief introduction in which I asked for their attention. They were already still before I could finish. Everybody had arrived at different times, not being able to dip their toes in the water to feel the temperature of what they were getting into and with whom, but as soon as they entered the silence, they formed a collective field where the support of the group was immediately palpable.

Participants of the event Meaningful Living

Course Meaningful Living - A participant speaks

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~ Translated from Dutch into English ~

 

Find here information on the 5-day intensive Meaningful Living

 

Garden of Eden

The garden of Asharum Amonines may be compared to the Garden of Eden. All those flowers and plants, those scents, those colours! Insects buzz around sweetly, the water of the fountain sounds like a soft melody. A curious robin wonders from his hiding place in the bushes what those new, as yet unknown people are doing there. A languid cat stretches on the gravel path and understands it very well, he does exactly the same as those people who walk around there: catch your breath, breathe in beauty and love and gather strength for a possible next step.

The red thread

The statement ‘ Attunement in affirmation is the meaning of human living ’, is the guideline for the course. It sounds a bit ambitious, trying to understand the meaning of life in five days. At the same time, what is not possible in five days is probably also not possible in five lives. So you might as well try it. Irma is our guide these five days. Step by step, day by day, meditation to meditation, she takes us to an answer. She does this very patiently, with a quip and a lot of understanding, with room for everyone's personal account, which she effortlessly places in the great story that we form together.

How do we deal with today's events?

As different as the background of us as participants is, it becomes clear that we also struggle with the same questions, each in our own way: how can we live, maybe even survive, these days which are full of incomprehensible developments, terrifying ideas and hair-raising events? Should we accept quietly and endure everything? Democracy is not for fearful people, is a saying. But can we counterbalance, offer an alternative that goes further than stop watching news out of self-protection? How? How to offer an alternative without losing yourself in political disputes and above all: without making the opponent stronger by your resistance? While we bend over the meaning of attuning, of affirmation, of what it is like to be human and we ultimately also contemplate the meaning of meaning, these questions form a common thread throughout the days.

The insights and answers to the issues come, on stockinged feet. With every meditation something changes in us, something that cannot be captured in words. I see my own changes reflected in the other participants. Their faces become softer, their voices firmer, their gaze radiates more strength and conviction by the day.

The answers are within ourselves

Answers are already here waiting for us deep within ourselves. We take first steps to get in touch with what else is there. With All that Is. And try to face that unknown without fear and prejudice. Perhaps spirituality, like democracy, is not for fearful people either.

Our journey can begin by realising that we are more than an ‘ opinion ’, more than the experience we experience. We are introduced to new concepts such as ‘ I-World ’ and Irma explains the phenomenon of resonance on the basis of a simple mathematical figure.

Irma navigates us around the rocks of our convictions. 'Knowing you don't know is quite a lot," she says. It is already a step to accept that there is more and that you cannot understand it. And she radiates an unwavering confidence: ‘ although you are touched by the things around you, your wonder and your love resonate in All that Is. ’ Then the answer to the previous questions also looms, how to deal with today's challenges? She points out that it is not necessarily necessary to have some kind of  'numerical majority ’ to let Love conquer.

Meditation and visualisation

It is a lot and it is big what we are trying to learn. Our ideas and experiences as participants vary widely, but Irma always guides us to a middle with meditation exercises and visualisations, to the place in time and space where the inner and outer world become as one. Symbols also help to get past words. And of course music brings an answer. When we listen to the chant “ The Breath of Heart ’ by Alexander Gustave on Sunday morning, everything that still looked for a place falls into place. Thus, almost unnoticed, the certainty has grown in us that only love is the way, only love can disarm.

Come and experience it too!

Much more happened, the conversations were more comprehensive and the meditations deeper than words can represent. Actually you just have to experience it yourself. And then be quiet.

It is very pleasant to stay at this place in the Ardennes, if only because of that magical garden full of peace and quiet. The food is delicious, the rooms are sparkling clean, the atmosphere is silky soft. Irma, Annebeth, Katelijn and Louise lead the dance unobtrusively, each in their own rhythm and always at the right pace. The Asharum Amonines lives its own promise of love and devotion.

Participant of the course August 2024

 

Find here information on the 5-day intensive Meaningful Living
Private retreat

Introduction into the Breath as a powerful tool

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~ A text by Irma ten Brink - inspired by Yoginâm ~

Do you wonder?

An introduction into the Breath

You may have read or heard it somewhere….someone talking about ‘the Breath’.

If you wonder what this is about, and how this is more than ‘breathing in and breathing out’ which is of course a natural part of it, then this blog article is meant for you.

It is quite impossible to directly tell you what the Breath is. Therefore I need to talk around it.

First of all, for those trying to live in Nâm, the Breath is our most important instrument. Just consider, if you agree on spirituality to be nothing more than living your natural state, how then can the tools to help you find and live your natural state be complicated?

The Breath is a tool of utmost simplicity.

The quality of the Breath, because it is infused by Awareness, is of a complete other reality; beyond words, beyond grasping and beyond understanding.

Breathing is so natural that we often don’t notice we are doing it. Or is it something that happens to us? Or are we a happening altogether which includes this breathing? We can do things with it, manipulate it but ultimately and definitely life as we no it stops when the breathing stops. Food for thought perhaps. And when you contemplate this, then consider as well that the breathing connects us all, we all breathe the same air! It is not for nothing that in many traditions breathing exercises or focussing on breathing is such an important instrument.

As for ‘the Breath’ it may be good to realise that it is small and big at the same time. Small in its simplicity, big in its transcendency. Close in its intimacy, wide in its infinity.

Why use the Breath?

Because the Breath of Yoginâm is given in his name and received in a specific manner it is not of Experience, it is of Awareness (read more about how these terms are used in  the book SIWEB). Without being able to explain what this means, it may help to realise it is and will not become ‘you’ in the narrow sense of the word, meaning it is not part of your habitual self, not part of your programmes. That is where the power of the Breath lies.

The power of doing the Breath makes your attunement in Awareness becomes so strong that your life will gradually free itself from your disturbing programmes. The experience of living will go beyond your habitual self. You may for example experience life living through you or life guiding you. A profound meaning will enter your life in all circumstances.

An important shift in attention ...

Your attention will first of all move from an I-oriented person to an I-World oriented person who realises I and World are intertwined and sharing in a Whole. And with that realisation you will start living accordingly in a very natural and even effortless way.

The Breath is very simple, all you have to do is bring back your focus to the received sounds connected to your breathing. Of course simple is not always easy. You will soon notice when trying how quickly your attention is distracted.

But that is oké, you just try to find and bring back your attention to the Breath. It is the practice of coming back to the Breath that counts more than the losing of your attention.

And with everything else, it just takes practice and consistency. But if you manage this practice and consistency you will find in the Breath your very best friend, a companion for life!

You will notice, in moments of relaxation, the Breath will be accompanying you. When you drive your car, the Breath is there, when you clean your house, the Breath is there. And yes, when life challenges you and presents difficulties that may be hard to digest, the Breath will be there!

However, when struggle hits you with a returning inner dialogue with negative thoughts, triggered by a disturbing programme which we all have, you may need to be strict on yourself in choosing for the Breath. Because negative emotions can pull us hard. But if you practised the Breath often enough in easier days you will find in the Breath your saviour, for it has the power to help you overcome the difficulty, it helps you transform what needs to be transformed.

... ánd an important shift in identification!

In a spiritual endeavour and in fulfilling your task of life the Breath becomes a powerful tool. Not because of some magical trick but simply because it can help you make the shift in identification.

Transforming our daily life events in which we share with our habitual programmes is an ongoing task in life and we are equipped for that naturally. The Breath supports this natural skill and helps to keep our focus and stay attuned to what we are beyond our habitual programmes, Awareness.

In other words, by bringing our attention back to the Breath every time a negative thought comes up or disturbing emotions, instead of pushing them away you shift your attention, this is an act of letting go. And because the Breath is infused with Awareness (which is beyond Experience) in this proces of letting go emotions become transformed and you attune yourself.

This makes the Breath into a tool that shifts our identification with the daily perception of Experience to a wider identification in Awareness, something that happens rather gradually and in this process disturbing programmes are transformed. This shift is what the real mystics like Rumi has appointed as 'the life's task of man'.

Therefore the Breath is the most simple and natural instrument and yet very profound and powerful. A true pearl amongst all instruments that may support a spiritual endeavour.

Do want to make use of this instrument in your daily life as well?

The Breath can be received upon request, please feel free to ask for more information.

Please contact us for questions and if you are interested in receiving the Breath.

Nâm Retreat Centre Asharum Amonines

A poem on dying

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A poem on dying

~ A text by Irma ten Brink inspired by the work of Yoginâm ~

July 21, 2023

Death and Life
It is one and the same
I knew this, for I saw it with my waking eyes already many years ago
Death and Life
One and the same
But life is lived in such a way
That we tend to forget this wisdom
We are forgetful beings
Sometimes, only little moments, we may catch a glimpse
A glimpse of Death and Life
as one and the same
It are these moments that are most precious to me
What a joy was it to know with an absolute certainty
That my dear friend was going home
Stepping over, just a very small step it seamed,
to the other side
A home where time changes into timelessness
Where an illusional difference between Death and Life disappears
‘Search for me there, on the other side’ was the message of his Beloved
And he searched until he found Him!
No sorrow, no pain.
All I want is to celebrate!
What a joy it is, to know our dear friend is back home!
Stervensbegeleiding

The Essence of Letting Go

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The Essence of Letting Go

~ A text by Yoginâm ~

 

Many people believe that life is about acquiring something

Acquiring knowledge or acquiring possessions

Even about acquiring age, we celebrate our birthdays

As if we have acquired another year

There are many cultures in which age is unimportant

And birthdays are totally ignored

Acquisition is very different from need

A human culture that is based on need

Would be a very different culture

It would not know the manipulation of greed

That is so characteristic to the Western culture

Living is all we have and as such living is important

But ultimately living will come to an end

And everything will stop in a most drastic manner

It is inevitable, it is the only thing you can really be sure of

The question is: are you prepared?

All spiritual endeavour is ultimately rooted

In dealing with the temporariness of life

In this sense people have discovered

Ultimate values that lie beyond that

To which one feels naturally attracted to in living

In a derived sense such ultimate values psychologically

Contribute greatly to the emergence of enviable states

Such as inner tranquility, contentment and Well Being

A drive for acquisition that is considered to be common

In Western society is a bad preparation for death

Death is not about getting something it is about letting go

When the Sufis advice you to learn to die before you die

They are in fact saying: learn how to let go

Before you are forced to let go

Which, when you are ill prepared could be problematic

Learning how to let go has a double advantage

It constitutes a good preparation for the unavoidable end to living

While at the same time it generates

Tranquility, contentment and Well Being in living

Something that cannot be achieved in acquisition

Because the drive for satisfaction in acquisition

Always involves a degree of dissatisfaction

And a lust for ever more

Because people are usually trained to hold opposite ideas

Letting go is generally not well understood

People often associate it with asceticism

Or with an uncaring, lethargic attitude to life

And with a disinterest in the aspects of living

Such ideas are indeed unnatural and often a trap

Because life is all that you are and it is in life that you live

Letting go is something entirely different

Letting go implies to stop relating to life

As something that is of your own

Of course you are the only centre of your universe of experience

And in living you are your universe of experience

Life however is more than experience

Your state of living is an integral whole within a whole

About which proportions and qualities we can have no idea

The letting go that I speak about refers to this whole

It is not restricted to how you deal with the world

Which for instance is the basis of the ascetic attitude to life

Letting go is not something that you do

It is different from trying to overcome your attachments

Letting go refers to you as the universe and the universe as you

Letting go is the ultimately refined expression of

What starts with the effort to overcoming ego attachments

In Letting Go you both flow in development and you contribute to it

In Letting Go everything always goes right

Because in Letting Go you listen first to the flow

In Letting Go the idea of going against the flow does not arise

When things go all right you are in the flow

When things start to go wrong you a diverting from the flow

These are the rights and wrongs of the flow

And not necessarily those of what you like and dislike

Or those of what you consider as important or not

Holding on to likes, dislikes, opinions and beliefs

Is usually an expression of attachment

Letting Go is not fatalistic in any way

It does not mean that you have to give up

Whenever you meet resistance

Your resistance may be part of the flow

While it may also be against the flow

Only open and non-attached listening

May provide an indication

Letting Go can only emerge when it is rooted in Trust

Without Trust there cannot be a Letting Go

There is horizontal trust and vertical trust

Horizontal trust is conditional

It is about who or what you can trust and who or what not

Vertical trust is unconditional

Vertical trust refers to Life in the transcendental sense

Life is geared to optimal living

In joining the optimal living of Life

The phenomenal living of experience

Will equally assume the characteristic of optimality

In the vertical trust there are no conditions

It is not a reflection of circumstances

Vertical Trust is an inner recognition

In Letting Go there is great Well Being

A Well Being that satisfaction cannot achieve

In Letting Go there is Awe and Wonder

In Letting Go all Life is continuously revealing

In Letting Go life becomes a revelation

In order for Letting Go to emerge

You first have to put effort in overcoming attachment

Mainly because such effort will guide you in the proper direction

This will lead you to an ultimate Letting Go

Only in Letting Go will attachments ultimately be overcome

Just trying to overcome your ego attachments

Does not necessarily lead to Letting Go

The necessary ingredient for Letting Go is Trust

When Symeon the New Theologian

Shouted out 1100 years ago

That his hands were God's hands

And that his feet were God's feet

Because he was a liberated theologian

He meant that his hands and feet

Were in the flow of life and that he was not

Imposing his will and his desires on that flow

He was expressing Letting Go

Letting Go is impossible without a profound Trust

It cannot be achieved without the unconditional vertical Trust

Ego cannot let go of ego; ego can only place itself in Trust

Ego can work on attachments as psychological objectives

For Letting Go there must be something to let go in

For this purpose all cultures cherish their gods and revelations

When gods become objects of attachment they become obstacles

And when religions and philosophies become concepts of identification

They lose all purpose and they merely lead astray

I therefore propose Abbah, undefined representing all

Without distinction embracing all transcendence

Abbah is Life and beyond

Abbah is ego and Life and beyond

Abbah is what it is and beyond what we could imagine

Abbah is all states non-living, potential living and living

Abbah is the invitation to Trust

Abbah is ultimate consolation and ultimate joy and beyond

Abbah is the Well Being and beyond

You can only discover Abbah by Letting Go

Ego as Nafs should concentrate on overcoming attachments

Ego as Ruh should elaborate openness and Trust in Awe and Wonder

Ego as Abbah is ultimate transcendence in the annihilation of Letting Go

25 September 2010

Nâm Retreat Centre Asharum Amonines

What it means to become an Aspirant Carrier of Nâm

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~  a text by Yoginâm ~

The Carriers of Nâm

A Carrier of Nâm is somebody who has taken a solemn Intent to search with one’s life for optimal Attunement in Abbah, with the aim of optimally contributing thereby to the performance of the Task of Human Living, in the interest of humanity as a whole.
A Carrier of Nâm thereby aims to live, with Attitudes and Behaviour, the full potential of human living. This is a supreme state of mature human living, however, to claim to be a Carrier of Nâm would be arrogant and such a claim would in fact be its own denial. Those who have made the Intent of Nâm therefore identify themselves as ‘Aspirant Carriers of Nâm (ACN)’.

Mustering the Intent and living life in accordance with Nâm is entirely individual, because everybody is unique as a human being, with circumstances that are unique to one’s life situation. But because all living is Resonance, your individual endeavour resonates in everything into infinity. Like a sound, resonance does not stop. This is the way in which you contribute to collective Asha that shapes human living.
You start the way of an ACN by stating a strong Intent to do so. An Intent is more than the expression of a desire. It is a firm commitment to shape your life according to Nâm. For this purpose, there are a number of instruments that guide your orientation and can lead you. Invariably these instruments do not present a truth or a rule of behaviour. They are rather living infusions that when applied to your daily life, gradually generate a change as from within.

Because our living happens as Resonance, it is advisable that when you make the Intent of Nâm, you do so in front of a witness, preferably somebody who knows what Nâm implies. What happens next is entirely up to the degree in which you take your stated Intent seriously and the degree in which you shape your life with Attitudes and Behaviour that is beneficial for the performance of the Task of Human Living.

The Breath

The major instrument for ACN is the Breath. With it you gradually allow yourself to become opened for Attunement in Awareness. Indeed, Experience has so many facets that it is easy to forget Awareness altogether. The Breath is a constant reminder.
You should always remember Abbah; you should remember that all activities, thoughts, emotions, desires, opinions, ideals and beliefs are relating to Abbah of which they are an expression. Therefore, it is best to consider them as resonance that resonate in all directions. Remembering this by means of the Breath is of major importance.
The Breath is a sound that is repeated inwardly in synchronisation of the physical breathing, and whenever possible strengthened by the use of a string of beads, the Nâm Beads. You cannot select the Breath from a book. In order to benefit from its full resonance, it should have been received by somebody who is authorised to do so, in a particular manner.

The Community of the Aspirant Carriers of Nâm

It is a natural aspect of the human species that we search for each other’s company, particularly when we have something in common. It was in fact what made the Homo Sapiens dominant over the Neanderthals. A community strengthens. When like- minded people gather, that in what they are like-minded is strengthened.
Though the way of the ACN is an individual one, Nâm Asharums have been founded and other activities are undertaken that allow ACNs to come together. Because it is an individual way there is no conformity that rules the community. ACN are discouraged to talk about their way and experience on their way. This would only be confusing for those whose way has a different form. Particularly when the ACN who presents the view is elderly or respected, this may be taken for something to be aspired for as well.

It is the Nâm Affirmation that implies that the ‘you’ that you are is the starting point, every new instant again. Your position is unique and from your position you aspire to live optimally the performance of the Task of Human Living. There are no rules or commandments other than reaching out for Harmony by shaping Attitudes and Behaviour optimally in the corresponding way.

This Harmony however is not necessarily the harmony that you consider as being harmonious. The Harmony of Nâm is the Attunement in Abbah (Attunement in Awareness). Obviously, one is kind and respectful; obviously one avoids anger and destruction; obviously one abstains for exploitation and suppression of others; obviously one generates giving disposition rather than a profiting one.

In the Nâm Affirmation only what is ‘evil’, or against live is rejected. An ACN is a servant of life, supporting life with the optimal performance of the Task of Human Living.

Participating and supporting a Nâm Community is a major instrument to dissolve the exclusive attention to the 'I/World' interests. It is indeed sharing in communal interest of Nâm that is for the ACN a golden way for reaching Attunement in Abbah. In such sharing you meet all the obstacles that are there for you to resolve and that constitutes your specific way towards Attunement in Abbah.
Aspirant Carriers of Nâm are expected to activate the community with activities and financial support. In the Asharums various activities are developed. Some of these activities are directly linked to creating possibilities for as many people as possible to come in contact with the beauty and effectiveness of Nâm as a guidance for living. Other activities provide an income with which the Asharum and the activities can survive.