Essence Drops Retreat - nondual tantra & embodiment

Welcome to 5 days transformative retreat about embodied awakening and the three ‘bindus’ or Essence Drops that constitute the totality of our embodied experience. When we abide in direct experience there is amazing fullness to the reality of our senses. We are in touch with the mysterious aliveness that animates everything and expresses as everything. We connect with others and the world around us with fresh eyes and openness. Instead of interpreting our experience through the mind we taste the astonishing immediacy of That Which Is. However, if we want to access this mode for more than just occasional glimpses, it is useful to have practice that supports this direct immediacy. Nondual shaiva tantra is a path of awakening that recognises aliveness as a doorway to the infinite presence-awareness that is our true nature. Cultivating natural rest as the still spacious core of being, together with absolute intimacy with all our experiences, is what makes this approach so potent. This retreat focuses on the practices of tantrik yoga that assist in building a strong energy body that can digest any experience. We will dive into the three ‘bindus’ or Essence Drops that constitute the totality of our embodied experience. The practices taught are also useful in emotional digestion, a term referring to the integration of unresolved experiences such as trauma. We will explore the key concepts essential to total intimacy with all experience. These include somatic awareness as pure sensation, genuine love and curiosity for the experience, and a capacity to drop the narratives associated with feelings so that we can experience all emotion in a raw, unfiltered manner. No previous background in nondual shaiva tantra is required. Meditations are simple yet profound. Practice is weaved together with the exploration of undivided awareness that we call Awakening. Deliciously empowering embodiment practices - restorative yoga and ecstatic dance - are included in the program. The program consists of: * meditative contemplation (tattva bhavana) * embodied yoga and somatic movement sessions * deep and nourishing teachings and practices * authentic sharing * celebration and ecstatic dance * rest and regeneration There will be hours of silence to allow the powerful and integrative meditation practices to sink deeper, as well as hours for socializing and getting to know our ‘kula’; our fellow practitioners. We are nurtured by each other's intrinsic wisdom, delicious vegetarian food and daily sauna. Welcome to this retreat to remember, explore and welcome the totality of who you are. ***************** "Supreme is your completely pure nondual form: One, yet existing in many guises, pervading the universe that is flowing forth (within you), yet entirely free from change—it is known as the integral nature of Consciousness." Kālikā-stotra verse 2, trans. by Christopher Wallis ***************** TIME: The retreat begins Wednesday 15.3.2023 and participants can arrive from 16:00 onwards. The official program begins at 18:00. The retreat ends Sunday 19.3.2023 after lunch and clean up. We are ready to drive home latest 18.00. PRICE AND REGISTRATION: **Earlybird** price (until 15.2.2022) 540€/450€ (full time students and unemployed). After this 640€/550€. The price includes the retreat program for 5 days, accommodation, three meals per day and sauna every night (payment plans available for those with low income). To reserve your place please send an email to: [email protected] After receiving your email, we will send you payment info and some questions for you to answer like food allergies, accommodation preferences etc. Your place at the retreat will be secured after your registration and payment of a deposit of 100€. If you have any further inquiries, don't hesitate to contact us! 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. TRAVELLING TO THE VENUE: By car: Map link to the center: https://goo.gl/maps/HBMSY8b8JhR2. By train/bus: Check www.vr.fi and www.matkahuolto.fi for the most recent info. With a train you first have to go to Hämeenlinna or Lahti and then with the bus to “Lammi (Hämeenlinna)”. Busses go to Lammi from all major cities via Hämeenlinna or Lahti. Ridesharing (Google Doc): In the registration email we will send you a link to a doc where people can share car rides and to synchronise their arrival in Lammi with public transport for a shared taxi (10km) from the venue. You are warmly welcome! Gloria & Viivi Please check the discussion area for the introduction of the teachers, and other information! 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). Gloria Salo gloriasalo.fi/about