For more than 50 years, seekers from around the world have come to Ananda’s retreats in the Sierra Foothills—drawn by the promise of peace, meditation, and connection with the Divine in nature. From the quiet beginnings of our first retreat—called The Seclusion Retreat for most of its history—to the vibrant community life of The Expanding Light Retreat, each campus has opened a unique … Read More
Everyone in the world wants happiness. There is no one alive who really prefers to be unhappy—though moods can cause strange twists in people’s minds, temporarily! The desire for happiness is because all beings are projections of the consciousness of God, whose nature is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss (Satchidananda). In our souls, all of us long to return to that … Read More
Paramhansa Yogananda, on whose teachings the Ananda Meditation Retreat is based, says: “The week should be allotted to work, amusement, and spiritual culture—five days for money making, one day for rest and amusement, and one day for introspection and inner realization.” There probably isn’t too much question about working: most of us don’t have much choice about it. Rest and … Read More
Stay in complete silence and alone. Obtain and wear an IN SILENCE badge whenever you go which might cause you to encounter people. If you see someone, lower your eyes and keep walking and/or point at your badge. If you need to communicate with someone, write a note. For the first day, make it a point to do EVERYTHING much … Read More
“Taking a seclusion” means carving a chunk of time out of your (probably) very busy life to be completely alone and in silence and then dedicating that time and to deepening your spiritual life. Deliberately taking a time of seclusion and silence is not particularly well-known or popular concept for most people in our culture today. It’s best to start … Read More
“Seclusion is the price of greatness,” said Paramhansa Yogananda. Why would this be so? Well, there aren’t many of us who have lived and worked in society that haven’t found themselves saying “God if I could just get some time alone.” And then we fill in the rest of the sentence with something like; “then I’d be able to think … Read More
A long time ago, when I was working at the East West Bookstore in Menlo Park, California, I was assigned the task of creating a display with a line of colorful aromatherapy candles. I was new at the store and didn’t have a clue where to begin. My friend who was in charge of gifts and display simply offered me … Read More
It was 30 years ago that Divine Mother brought down the Seclusion Retreat temple, with meinside. Here’s the story: Friday, February 14, 1992 was not only Valentine’s Day, it was the evening that the Ananda trainees at the Seclusion Retreat were hosting a grand banquet for all those at the Retreat, plus many invited guests from the Village, including Swami. … Read More
