October in Amonines
Asharum Amonines and the theme of manifestation in October
Manifesting an Ayurvedic kitchen
At the beginning of October the Asharum was rented out for a yoga workshop. As residents we had contact with the yoga teacher, but we had nothing to do with the students. Being only present as staff was an interesting experience. It also gave a new perspective on how the meditation room can be used…
During these days the emphasis for us was on cuisine. The challenge to cook all the meals completely in accordance with the Ayurvedic principles was taken up with care. This way of cooking appeared to have a beneficial effect on our own health as well. As a result, the ‘Kitcherie’ recipe has currently become a regular part on our menu.
Manifestation in dynamic movement
Followed by a second letting out to the Qigong workshop, the Asharum's own yoga workshop and the Weekend of Silence, October was a month of one event after another, with weeks of a fully booked house. The atmosphere was good, the weather beautiful. Beforehand we were clear on how we wanted things to go and we planned accordingly, we looked ahead and arranged staff. However you cannot foresee all aspects. So when someone fell ill, this might have caused us some concern. But there was no sense of pressure. A feeling of pressure mostly gives a feeling of incompleteness, which feeds anxiety. A feeling of anxiety blocks the view of other possibilities that might be available.
Somehow there just seemed to be trust that things would work out. This allowed us to stay in the moment, which keeps the door open. And the door was open, people stepping in and out, we could feel them already as part of the Asharum and they just manifested themselves in being present at the right moment.
Trusting seems to be the key, but from where did this trusting feeling come? So many people are involved to make the Asharum happen. Before we have a meal already food has been produced. It has been bought and prepared. A car has been used for us to go and buy it. A website has been maintained so that people can find us. To be aware of all this makes us realise how we are part of a web of interconnectedness. Realising that we are part of this web helps to arrive at a feeling of trust. And then life, through us, is taking care of itself.
Embraced by silence
One of the events in October was the Weekend of Silence. Here follows how one of the participants experienced it.
In everyday life silence mainly means the absence of sound. So then it sounds like a breath of fresh air to take part in an Asha Silence Meditation Weekend, to spend Friday evening to Sunday morning in complete silence and thus especially in complete tranquillity in Asharum Amonines. No talking for a while, no giving opinions, no small talk. Remaining silent for hours on end. The Asha Silence Meditation retreat goes even one step further. Because in such a retreat, silence is also the absence of sign language, of significant head movements or the search for eye contact to communicate ‘good morning’ to the people around you - who in turn also seek silence. Staying fully and only with yourself is the motto. And so the smartphone with apps, mails, music and games can be switched off. Even reading books may be omitted for a while, except for the texts of Yoginâm, because these are a guide to finding your way to silence. Gradually, after hours of quiet silence, interspersed with Asha meditations, it seems as if the silence lovingly closes around you and embraces you. Like a space, a space where you are allowed to be, where you are welcome, a space of silence that thus becomes a state of Being. Of well-Being. Experiencing silence is, at first sight, a strictly private experience. But sharing silence is something you do with each other, and remarkably, you can sense how warmth and love grows, even between people who have met for the first time in what for some is a very new setting.
It seems quite striking that many young people also managed to find their way to this retreat. Apparently these so-called ‘digital natives’ feel strongly drawn to this formula of seeking silence. While it can certainly be difficult for them to abandon that self-evident gesture of checking their phone. Still, they rise to the challenge.
Silence is not that popular, especially not in this time. The things people come up with to break the silence! At first glance, choosing silence is choosing a difficult path. At the same time, or perhaps for this very reason, silence also commands respect. It sometimes seems like a form of martial art, a form of noble martial art, to not speak where everyone else is talking and watch the squabbling without comment but in gentle silence.
The silent hours fly by, the weekend is over before you know it. ‘Good that this place is here,’ says another participant as he says goodbye, looking at the Asharum, the garden, the forest in the background. And that really says it all.
Marjolein, participant of the Weekend of Silence
