Greetings and Namaste!
In October we will be having the Mysteries of the Divine
Femine retreat, a time for delving into the power and
mystery of the Goddess while taking refuge in Her
grace-filled
forms.
One of those magnificent forms
through
which the Great
Goddess reveals Her nature, and ultimately our own
true nature, is Ma
Kali, the dark Goddess who is loved
and revered throughout India. We can also see Her
inflection in western forms of the Divine
Feminine, ranging from the Black Madonnas of
Europe and the Americas, to Isis, Inanna, Sophia and
many other figures She creates for humanity to benefit
from.
Through Her mantra, Her name -
Om
Kali Ma or Kali Ma or even simply
Kali - one can enter
into the mystery and power that is Kali. Mantra
is the
sound form of the Divine, the vibratory equivalent of the
Divine. By completely absorbing
oneself in the mantra, one becomes absorbed in the
deity of the mantra itself.
Ramprasad Sen,
the great poet saint of Bengal who lived in the 18th
century, was an ecstatic devotee of Ma Kali. His
poetry,
beautifully rendered by the late spiritual master, Lex
Hixon, gives the fortunate reader a glimpse of what
comes of being absorbed in Her name, in the Great
Goddess Herself, and
Her "furious bliss" that annihilates all boundaries. By
taking refuge in Her one becomes fearless even in the
face of death.
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Fall Programs
Anam Cara, Bedford, NY
(Check back for future additions)
October 26-28, Friday Evening-Sunday
Afternoon
Mysteries of the Divine
Feminine and Kundalini Empowerment
Retreat
Taught by Lawrence Edwards,
Ph.D.
The extraordinary power of
Consciousness to completely transcend the mind and
body in order to directly know the Infinite is known as
Kundalini in the yogic tradition. This power of
revelation and transformation is
recognized in some form in every spiritual tradition
and lies at the heart of profound meditation. In this
retreat you will be guided through practices that
awaken and unfold the inner power of meditation and
yoga, Kundalini.
Through this innate
power of Consciousness we will explore the
archetypal realms of transcendence, wisdom and
grace. Through the power of mantra, chanting, breath
work, and the profound tales of mystical traditions,
including the Black Madonna, Inanna, Kali and
Kundalini, we will further access the inner source of
true knowledge and ultimate freedom. That source is
the Divine within. Through this process you will be
empowered to deepen and sustain your meditation
practice at home. Many people take this retreat
repeatedly in order to delve more and more deeply into
the mysteries of true meditation and further unfold the
power of Kundalini. Sharings from others who have
taken the retreat can be found through the program
link below.
Meditation
Group
every Tuesday
evening
starting promptly at 7:30pm at our center at
SunRaven in Bedford, NY. All are welcome! Directions
are on the Anam Cara website. If you ever question
whether the group is being held on a particular
Tuesday evening there will always be a
message stating if it is cancelled on that
night on 914-234-4800.
Click here to find out more about the programs....
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We had joyous and inspiring programs with Swami Ma
Chetan Jyoti in July. She finished her U.S. tour with
us and offered an ecstatic night of chanting. Then on
the weekend she and I led a retreat on the divine
power of mantra. People experiened the profound
deepening
effect that mantra repetition has on their meditation
and how it quiets the mind throughout the
day.
During the retreat
Mataji taught
everyone to chant
the sublime devotional hymn, the Hanuman Chalisa.
Even if you weren't able to attend her inspiring lessons
on chanting this powerful hymn you can learn from her
CD which is available through her blog. She is
accompanied by Shivananda, the master violinist and
tabla player who directs the music institute at her
ashram in Rishikesh. He was with Mataji on her tour
and we delighted in all that he offered. The whole
Anam Cara community is grateful for Mataji's
generous sharing of her love and dedication to her
practices and the wisdom she has gained through her
many years of sadhana.
Anam
Cara was able to bring Mataji and others here
through your generous contributions.
Because of your gifts we are able to continue our
mission of making meditative practices from many
traditions available to all.
Now there's a new
and very easy way to show support for Anam
Cara. On
our website you will find at the bottom of the pages a
link to the Store. That will bring
you to a
portal, Giveline, through
which you can do ALL your online shopping, for every
imagineable product, and know that a percentage of
what you purchase will be donated to Anam
Cara,
without costing you anything! Please use the
connection on that page or copy it to your desktop and
use it to do your online shopping. This will help
Anam
Cara tremendously as every little bit adds up.
Thank you all
for your notes of
appreciation
for our newsletter.
You've helped to expand the Anam Cara
community to
nearly 1500 people around the world! Everyone has
the heart to be a true soul friend.
If you have
any
suggestions, comments or sharings, please don't
hesitate to e-mail me and I'll do my best to
respond.
Anam Cara, Inc. is a 501
(C) 3,
non-profit
educational organization dedicated to teaching
meditative practices. Our non-denominational
programs are open to all. There are free meditation
instructions and downloadable audio files of guided
meditations on our website.
Thank
you for
the many ways you have shown
support for Anam Cara, Inc. Your tax
deductible
donations enable Anam Cara to put on free
programs
and expand its work in sharing the practices of
meditation. Please send your donations to Anam
Cara, P.O. Box 215, Bedford Hills, NY
10507.
I look forward to welcoming you
in person to our programs.
With great
respect and love,
I thank you all.
May all beings realize complete freedom from suffering and may all our actions reflect only wisdom, compassion, patience and loving kindness.
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