Wednesday, July 04, 2012
A weekend awakening
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar inaugurated The International Center for Meditation and Well-Being in Boone, North Carolina on Sat June 30th. It is meant to be Art of Living's (AOL) American center. Other centers are in Canada, China, India obviously, Germany and Poland.
We are so grateful that Boone, a relatively short drive for us, is re-emerging as a major spiritual center on the eastern seaboard. Mother Mira from Germany, well known for her silent blessings, visits at least once a year. We were fortunate to have been blessed by her during her recent visit to Boone; the peace within us from those blessings cannot be explained, just has to be experienced. John Douglas an Australian spirit and energy Master Healer visits multiple times a year. And now, this new center. Add all this up amid the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains, with the small popular town of Blowing Rock nearby, and we have a magic potion for the soul. When we decided to move to Raleigh, we had no idea our ardent wish to find a replacement for Kripalu (largest Yoga center in the Eastern US, and an awesomely spiritual place) would be fulfilled so soon and so dramatically.
So who awakened? We, the town of Boone, or a new spirit in the mountains?
We had walked into what is now the main meditation hall before AOL acquired this property in an auction last Fall. Its a beautiful huge meditation hall last used by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's followers a few years back, sits right on top of a hill (read mountain), and provides amazing vistas of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. A big dining hall nearby has some spectacular views. Just being there is a spiritual experience - the beautifully crafted building, the mountains, the open sky, beautiful huge trees all around, and the quietness. The picture below from AOL's website gives you an idea how huge the hall is inside. Sri Sri is sitting on the dais during one of the sessions. This setting was similar for the innauguration, daily Satsangs in the evening and the AOL Silence course, although the energy in the hall was dramatically different during each.
We are so grateful that Boone, a relatively short drive for us, is re-emerging as a major spiritual center on the eastern seaboard. Mother Mira from Germany, well known for her silent blessings, visits at least once a year. We were fortunate to have been blessed by her during her recent visit to Boone; the peace within us from those blessings cannot be explained, just has to be experienced. John Douglas an Australian spirit and energy Master Healer visits multiple times a year. And now, this new center. Add all this up amid the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains, with the small popular town of Blowing Rock nearby, and we have a magic potion for the soul. When we decided to move to Raleigh, we had no idea our ardent wish to find a replacement for Kripalu (largest Yoga center in the Eastern US, and an awesomely spiritual place) would be fulfilled so soon and so dramatically.
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| A view from the Blue Ridge Parkway |
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| Thanks to a friend, we stayed here nestled among the mountains with nothing around |
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| In the morning the entire valley below the house was inundated by fog after a spectacular lightining/thunder "show" overnight, but by the time I took this picture, all that was left were wisps of that fog mass lifting quirkily; still breathtaking and reminiscent of my days growing up in the Himalayas |
So who awakened? We, the town of Boone, or a new spirit in the mountains?
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| A plane streaks past the Moon as I look up into the vast open "mountain sky" |
