January in Amonines
Coming home, the Feast and our Agenda 2025
Arriving in Amonines
When I open the gate
And hear the creaking call:
Hello?! Who are you?!
Then I remember again…;
as my footsteps crunch over the gravel,
leading the way
to a beautiful robust front door.
Then I remember again,
that there is something hanging above my head…
and as I wipe my feet,
I come home to the vestibule.
Where curtains and a draft door tame my longing
Then I remember again:
As if my coat, which I take off,
becomes a gesture of liberation;
neatly hung in the hall closet, where I also exchange my shoes for slippers.
Then I remember again
the way to the kettle
and arranging fresh flowers in a vase
I inhale the scents
and see my hands trembling
Then I remember again
Oh yes, here I don't have to do anything,
The phone, the pressure, the burden
It can all let go off
Here, different rules apply
Subtle and in silence
A fireplace that always burns
The cup of tea next to the blue chair,
Feet stretched out,
I sip the hot tea and the atmosphere
Then I remember again
I am home
As a farewell to my persona
Skipping through thoughtless ideas
being together with people I don't know
And feeling so at ease
And outside, under my feet: the Aisne flows rapidly and wildly
Then I remember again:
I give everything away with that pace.
Willemien
Feast of Lesser Light
Instead of starting the new year on January 1, with Nâm Living we start the year on December 22 and celebrate the end of the year with the solstice, or Feast of Lesser Light, on 21 December. The reason for this is that the solstice is known in many cultural traditions without belonging to any in particular, which is why most people can relate to this celebration. The resonance of the online connection with Yoginâm in Spain and the flow of the joint recitation formed the basis for a beautiful day in which we cooked together and enjoyed ourselves to the full.
Welcome to 2025
Now that 2024 is behind us, we used the month of January to prepare for the new year and we are happy to present the Agenda for 2025 with the hope that you feel the room to step out of the daily routine occasionally, to be with what is.
Whether you come to participate in an event or for a regular stay, coming to the Asharum offers the space to gradually let it sink in that...
The unknowable is beyond human considerations
It opens itself only in a letting go
Of the luggage of opinions and convictions
Of beliefs in dogmas and adherence to methodsYoginâm
Agenda 2025
February 23 - March 1: Nâm Retreat of Silence (also online)
March 5 - 9: 5-Day Intensive - Meaningful Living
March 20 - 23: Yoga Retreat (fully booked)
April 10 - 13: The Essence of Meditation
April 18 - 20: Nâm Weekend of Silence
April 23 - 29: Nâm Retreat of Silence (also online)
May 20 - 23: Yoga Retreat
May 28 - June 1: 5-Day Intensive - Meaningful Living
June 12 - 15: Yoga Retreat
July 11 - 13: Nâm Weekend of Silence
July 17 - 20: The Essence of Meditation
July 23 - 27: Qi-Gong Workshop
August 15 - 17: Connect in Heart & Spirit with Movement and Resonance
August 22 - 24: Nâm Weekend of Silence
August 27 - 31: 5-Day Intensive - Meaningful Living
September 18 - 21: Yoga Retreat
October 23 - 27: Causal Investigation Shamanic Retreat
October 30 - November 2: The Essence of Meditation
November 20 - 23: Yoga Retreat
December 28 - January 3: Nâm Retreat of Silence (also online)
All Year Round: Personal Meditation Retreat
All the courses in the Agenda can be taken separately, but the Nâm Retreat of Silence with five days in complete silence and five meditations a day may be too big a step and it may be helpful to build it up step by step. This can be done in various ways.
When meditation is entirely new to you, it might be valuable to have a framework of what we mean by meditation. This framework is offered in the course: The Essence of Meditation. Additionally, meditation techniques are provided that support the process of letting go and opening up. No one can teach another to meditate, it is something to discover for oneself, and that is what this course supports and guides.
The Personal Meditation Retreat can then be the next step. This retreat is tailored to your individual needs, making it an accessible way to get to know the silence and the possibility of multiple meditations a day. For those interested in an extended version of the Personal Meditation Retreat, this is possible in June, from the 6th till the 15th.
The programme of the Nâm Weekend Retreat of Silence is the same as during the Personal Meditation Retreat, but this time in a group, and the whole group is entirely in silence, making the silence less optional and possibly deepening its effect.
Finally, you can then participate in the Nâm Retreat of Silence, where you turn completely inward with five meditations a day, supported by silence and with specific instruments for focus and alignment.
When it is difficult to surrender to a retreat in any form, it may be that another step is needed first. This is not only related to experience; life orientation also plays a role in this. In this case, the intensive Meaningful Living can be a good start. This course shows a different perspective step by step, which can lead to a shift in how we see and experience ourselves and the world. This shift is extremely helpful in the search for the meaning of life and gives new meaning to processes of self-reflection and contemplation. The intensive Meaningful Living is often experienced as very surprising and joyful and is a good preparation for the Nâm Retreat of Silence, but can also be well combined with one of the shorter meditation retreats mentioned above.
In Asha
As explained by Yoginâm in a footnote to the first song in the Oh Abbah book, Asha is a word used to indicate the natural course of things seen from a human perspective. It complements Abbah which indicates a state in which the observation of the natural course of things and the observer are both transcended, which implies its natural unknowability (Oh Abbah p.17) It is only Asha that we can perceive within our human understanding, but “the natural wonders; inexplicable courses of affairs” show that Asha is the face of Abbah. These wonders are part of daily life and the art is to notice them. To give a small example, this is the flow of events that drew our attention and dedication to the meditation room at the beginning of the year:
It had been a long time since Goran came to the Asharum. Goran has been part of the group of people who helped build the Asharum as it is now, so normally when he comes we have a to-do list with things that need to be repaired or renovated, because that is his specialty. This time though there was not really a list and Goran took the time to rest. When he had recovered and had new energy he started looking around and noticed a crack in the ceiling of the meditation room. When he checked and poked against the plaster, a large part of the ceiling came down. He got hit on the shoulder and was very lucky not to have injured his head. In Asha there were no guests coming and Goran still had time to stay and repair the ceiling with the help of Annebeth, who took the opportunity to learn on the job. It took some days and when it was time for the online meditation we still could not use the meditation room and had to cancel, which prompted the following reaction:
"I just saw the message with the photo. I still have quite a bit of white wall paint that could also be used on the ceiling. Can I possibly help you?”
And so we got the paint and also help to paint the meditation room, which will soon happen.
Online Gathering with Yoginâm
Every Thursday, in Asha, there is a gathering in Nij́ar with Yoginâm, starting with lute and drum as an introduction to the HarpMood by Yoginâm. The Asharum joins in this gathering with an online connection. This programme starts at 6pm on Thursdays. People who are interested in this experience with Yoginâm are welcome to join us in Amonines and share in this beautiful happening. For people arriving here on Thursdays, either for an event or an individual stay, it is good to know about this, with regard to planning their travel and arrival time. For more information about the HarpMood, please visit our website.
Why would I imagine bondage by searching liberation
Not disturbed by passion and dispassion
By desire and aversion
I remain in the Beloved in Well-Being
Beyond pleasure and painFrom: Abbah Unveiling - 99 Reflections by Yoginâm
