Retreats - Testimonials

Retreat: Retreat January 3rd to 14th, 2023

For me it was an incredible experience, I have always searched for spirituality, for God, but I felt that there was something missing that did not let me get closer to Him. I had already been to several religions, but none could fill me up. With the retreat, I learned to silence my internal noises, to raise my vibration, to elevate myself beyond discomfort and pain, because that is where God is.

 

Retreat: Retreat January 3rd to 14th, 2023

I had already spent a New Year's Eve here at the ashram, also of silence, but not the whole time in which I could have great Hatha Yoga classes, good food and peace on New Year's Eve.

For this retreat the purpose was different, a dive in 10 days of silence for Kriya learning. I found a magic call when I found an email in my inbox talking about the proposal of this retreat, because I had just read "Autobiography of a Yogi" in which Yogananda talks (it seems to me) about exactly the same technique. Four years ago I did the Vipassana retreat and the schedules I could read between here showed me that the workload was just as extreme and rigorous: more than 100 hours of meditation.

The welcome from the Ashram residents was very attentive. The place in the mountains of Minas Gerais is rich in the sounds of nature, the water is straight from the source, and the food is very tasty, nutritious, and light, always giving us the feeling of satiety even though it is offered only twice a day. I never went hungry in the middle of the journey here.

The satsangs have repetition of themes necessary to introject the practice and the way that the themes are presented are elucidative, always providing insights to deepen the technique and the introspection.

The technique doesn't seem complex to learn because it is composed of a few steps. I suffered with the execution because of my particular difficulty in paying attention. To keep repeating something apparently simple was very tiring and painful. But in the moments when I got a good continuity from it, it was as if I dissolved in time and found such a dreamed and unprecedented peace.

Following the Master's advice was essential - No matter what happens: don't give up!

I recommend this retreat to all restless seekers.

Retreat: Retreat January 3rd to 14th, 2023

The blessings are immeasurable for the spirit, mind, and body of those who participate.

These ten days of silence practicing ten hours a day of meditation integrates your being, making you recognize the identity of the divine being that you are.

On the physical aspect, you re-educate your eating habits, realizing that it is not necessary to eat more than twice a day, and you realize that body and mind function much better.

You learn that talking wastes a lot of precious energy, which you can direct in meditation, for example.

By meditating you learn to breathe better, organize your posture, think more clearly, and sleep with quality.

The spiritual fruits a priori is your encounter with the beautiful silence that exists in the Universe and inside you, which in fact is the same Unity, the One, God.

Recognizing the Divine Consciousness that you are, and knowing that you are part of the source of Love that is God, and in this source of Love, Compassion, Joy, Perseverance, Generosity, the waters of the divine virtues bathe you, cleanse you, and feed you in a full and endless way.

It is important to register the quality and lovingness of the devotional work of Master Sriman Narayana and all the spiritual team of the City of Angels Ashram, here we received spiritual guidance, guidance on the ancient technique of Kriya meditation, a diet made with much love and I received the main thing that I came to seek SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE.

Gratitude ??

Retreat: Retreat January 3rd to 14th, 2023

Dear Ashram,

First of all I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be here, to be able to go through an intense process of purification, to finally quiet my mind a little and be able to listen to my soul's desires, to be received with so much love and care, to have learned a little more every day. What a blessing, what a good thing, my chest is full of gratitude and love.

When I found this retreat, or this retreat found me, I felt in my heart that it would be a moment of great change in my life. I was always looking for healing from the outside, as if in a magic trick, a potion would cure me. Slowly I began to understand that I have the power to heal myself, and here I was able to deepen my understanding of this, mainly by listening to the videos after the meditation practices. Sometimes I would leave the meditations with a doubt, and as soon as we went to the dining hall to watch the Satsang, there I found answers to many of my questions and doubts.

It has been a while since I threw everything away and have been following my heart, I reached a point where many things were taken from me, I lost all my money. And now I am living in the middle of the bush in Bahia, without any perspective or knowing what to do. And my parents with a big house right in front of the beach with lots of comfort and luxury asking me to come back home. I understood that if everything was taken away from me, it was because I asked God, I begged God to take away this emptiness inside my chest, tired of covering this hole with a rug. I asked Him to really fill me up.

Today I leave here more sure of myself, more confident, with more mental clarity. I will continue to follow my heart, no matter how many obstacles and temptations appear in front of me, I will resist.

From the bottom of my heart thank you so much for so much. The food is wonderful too, made with much love, food that nourishes the soul.

With love,

Nayara