My Transformational Journey at the Sat Yoga Ashram
Shakti Saturation Month, February 2024
By Donna
As Shunyamurti recently stated, the undesirableness of the location of the ashram is what makes it so desirable—as all values have been inverted at the end of time—and this desire, or soul yearning, I found was to be fulfilled in each moment during my stay, as I participated in the Shakti Saturation month at the Sat Yoga Ashram. (Wait, it was a month? No…it was only a few days!!! Wait!!! No, it had to be several months, maybe closer to a year, right?) All that transpired—and the disillusionment that came with no disappointment but deep gratitude—all that took place during that extraordinary month packed more transformative punch than could be contained in a lifetime of karmic experience. My stay was only a month in Chronos time, but the realization was of Eternity!
These “undesirable” environments certainly warp time! Whew!
My early life environment influenced my spiritual path to be Christian oriented. However, as Shunya’s teachings have expressed many times, all religions at their core are the same Truth–the Dao: I am the Way, the Truth and the Light, or Life, depending on the version one was taught. All paths lead to this pathless path, away from duality into the zero point, the no-thingness of being a no-body! This rarified location—an ashram in the cloud of unknowing—offers the opportunity to practice being the Way!
Becoming a nobody can be appropriated by the ego, of course, and turned into an imaginary achievement—a becoming a special somebody. We can tell ourselves over and over, “I am not a body! I am consciousness.” But internalizing that reality will bring the ego to its knees in humility. The humor is undeniable!
It takes courage to accept the invitation that Sat Yoga offers. All the best intentions make no difference at the moment of letting go. Grace must provide the push into the Void.
The splendor of the gardens so carefully tended by the yogis and devoted workers allows the “dream wanderer” to experience the majestic beauty of Nature—the flora and fauna, the symphony of the birds, the butterflies and bees, all playing the strings of one’s heart in perfect harmony. One’s archetypal mind is projected on the screen of life, manifesting the glory of our divine nature. Every detail of this retreat was intelligently designed to provide the opportunity to turn the body into a temple—an abode of Liberation. As Shunya stated, “An ashram is a place one comes to in order to be decapitated.” A lightning bolt struck my heart when Shunya said: “Sacrifice means to make sacred. What will save us is what we fear the most!” There was no choice but to accept the invitation!
The sincerity and welcoming openness of each yogi touches one upon arrival. I felt as if we had known each other forever! As I was initiated into the energy field, my heart smiled wider than I had ever experienced. The smile on my face likewise grew to greater breadth with each step forward on this pathless path. I knew not where I was going, but I imperienced the joy for which I was truly grateful, for it was a recognition of grace received. This ever-increasing joy and wonder carried me to where at some point, several weeks into the Shakti Saturation month, I discovered my “crown of thorns”—the barbed wire wrapped around my heart that kept me bound to the suffering of the ego’s programming—that made me unable to experience the fullness of my true nature.
Self-realization sounds simple, and in truth it really is, but it was because the retreat curriculum was carefully crafted and guided by all the teachers and leaders of classes and activities that I succeeded in being released from the grasp of the inner Censor, the Controlling Deceiver who had usurped my divine power. The daily meditations helped me still the mind, expose the shadows within, and reactivate the Light.
The classes enable one to recognize the machinations of the mind. I found the Art Expression classes especially helpful. “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single image.” The times set aside for communal service provide an accurate barometer of one’s generosity and force one to recognize if one is truly in service or simply giving to get. All of these specifics of the program combine to empower one to unearth the buried treasures in one’s soul. And as in all good video games and adventure films, there are pitfalls of master’s discourse and traps of collusion with other egos that one must move through before the prize is found. This is where the onsite atmanology sessions throughout one’s stay come in to ensure that such self-deceptions will be unmasked. The added guidance with interpretations of one’s nightly dreams (messages from the soul) and daily experiences bring one face to face with the Great Ordainer.
The qualities of the environment and the program include a high level of physical comfort. For a whole month, one is treated like royalty! The bhavans offer the paradox of simple luxury. Kombucha from the ashram brewery and cookies made lovingly by yogis were always available in case of emergency.
Three not-so-simple meals, mostly prepared with freshly harvested produce from the ashram lands and greenhouses, were sincerely appreciated–I really felt like royalty! But mostly, I felt deep gratitude that my physical needs were being taken care of so that I could give as much attention as possible to the quest for Self-Realization.
They say that home is where the heart is. My heart felt finally at home in this wisdom school of wonder. And now I am at home everywhere this body wanders in time and space, as I am in the Nirvana of the Now. Home is not a place, but a state of consciousness—a vibrational frequency—where one dwells in the House of the Lord forever. I abide in awe and wonder at the beauty of God’s dream. I am in the world, but no longer of it—just a nobody in service to God!
My Heart writes this message for all who have the good fortune to find it—in Adoration to God and Gratitude for the Grace received.
To Shunyamurti: Thank you! To all the blessed souls at the Sat Yoga Ashram: Thank You! To God/dess, All That Is: Thank you!
Learn More About our Shakti Saturation Month Program
