UNITY OF BEING - nondual tantra & embodiment
 

Welcome to 5 days deep dive into Awakening, inspired by the practices and view of nondual shaiva tantra.

At this retreat we will experience

* daily yoga and movement
* daily awareness cultivation/meditation practices
* tantric practices that combine visualizaton, mantra, mudra and inner emotional attitude (bhava)
* Authentic sharing & interaction
* Interactive meditative practices/ DYAD
* Ecstatic Dance
* Beautiful rituals & tantric ceremonies
* Time for stilness & rest, nature & nurture
* Emotional digestion/ alchemy

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The theme of our September retreat is unity consciousness which depicts the nature of Reality in Shaiva Tantra. We will explore ways to repose in the still quiet center while immersed in embodied experience. This type of awake awareness eyes open and in fluid interaction with the world is the tantrik way of attuning with inherent unity of all Being. 

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We will dive into the experience of all emotion, thought and sensation as singular field of vibration, dancing in intimate fusion with the radiant sky of awareness. Each flash of direct experience is a consummate spontaneous union.

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“Possessing the central Power, replete with the flood of all the feeling-states existing within; beautiful with the universal joy arising from essence-nature when it is stimulated by innate desire; beautiful with the nectar of complete creative emission; vibrating eternally — that is the union of Shiva and Shakti. It’s called Love.”

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~ Mālinīślokavārttika ("Versified Commentary on the Mālinītantra"), Abhinavagupta
(transl. Christopher Hareesh Wallis & Ben Williams)

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We decided to open this retreat to all who are interested - no previous background in shaiva tantra is required. 

There will be a bit longer practice sessions (up to one hour at time). We recommend daily meditation practice (15-25 min) one month prior to the retreat to prepare your body and mind for sitting still. More information in signing up.

ABOUT OUR APPROACH:

This retreat is a synthesis of the modalities of nondual tantra that we found most powerful on our own journeys when it comes to actualizing the goal of the path known as bodhi (awakeness).

The lineage of shaiva tantra is the main source of liberating insight and inspiration for this retreat that we have both been studying and practicing in depth. Christopher Hareesh Wallis is a teacher of ours from this tradition whose work on the original texts has made these teachings accessible for a vast amount of people in our time. As facilitators we draw from our background in various forms of yoga, tantra, meditation, inquiry, nondual therapy, dance, movement, somatics, trauma-informed therapy and nonviolent communication (NVC).

TIME:
The retreat begins Wednesday 20.9.2023 and participants can arrive from 16:00 onwards. The official program begins at 18:00.
The retreat ends Sunday 24.9.2023 after lunch and clean up. We are ready to drive home latest 18.00.

PRICE AND REGISTRATION:
**Earlybird** price (until 1.8. 2023) 550€/460€ (full time students and unemployed). After this 650€/560€.
The price includes the retreat program for 5 days, accommodation, four meals per day and sauna every night (payment plans available for those with low income).

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VENUE:
We will stay in a beautiful retreat centre in the quiet countryside of southern Finland. An old village school building situated in the middle of fields and forests will offer generous space to practice and rest. The venue provides an atmosphere of calm and simplicity with beautiful surroundings that invite for walks and contemplation. There are different options for accommodation that will be chosen during the registration. For more detail
ls, please visit: http://lammiretreat.com/home/

FOOD:
We will have three meals per day including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our catering is taken care of by an amazing culinary crafter. She will cook us delicious vegetarian and gluten free food during the whole retreat. Water boilers, coffee and tea will be supplied all day. There will be an evening snack also available after the program ends every evening.

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FACILITATORS:

Viivi Jokela

Viivi Jokela shares about the universal wisdom of recognizing the nature of Reality and the deeper truth of what we are. Her background is in the lineage of nondual shaiva tantra (Kashmir shaivism), which she first encountered academically (MA), and later on experimentally as direct experience. She is especially inspired by the aesthetic aspect of the tantrik path: the innate capacity of consciousness to savor wonder and beauty in all life experience. Grounded on the awareness cultivation of the Direct Way, she integrates somatics, music, and ecstatic dance to explore this natural mode of being called Awakening. Her main teacher is Christopher Hareesh Wallis. Other teachers that she has studied with are Adyashanti (nondual zen), Paul Muller Ortega (shaiva tantra), Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (bön dzogchen), and Rupert Spira (Kashmir shaivism & advaita).

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Gloria Salo
gloriasalo.fi/about