Take a moment now. Think carefully about everything that holds you back in life, that diminishes your happiness. Think about the fact that fear is always part of the equation. Not always heart-pounding panic attack fear, but fear as the operative force behind all our likes and dislikes.
Why do we say, “I want this, I don’t want that”? Because we are afraid that the undesired outcome will cause us pain and suffering, or at the very least, diminish our happiness.
Fear of suffering. Fear of loss of happiness. It consumes our mind and influences our daily actions.
Now, you may be thinking at this point, “Living Fearlessly, that’s a mighty big title for a weekend retreat!”
Good point... we certainly don’t want to over-promise. Perhaps we say: First Steps, or Dynamic Tools, or simply Hope for a Better Future. Sound better?
In the Bible, St. Paul says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” While the title of our weekend includes the word Fear, the substance of our weekend is Love.
Consider what life would be like if in our lives we replaced fear with love, or at the very least if we could actually live by the yogic principle “Even minded and cheerful — come what may.”
Wow! Now that is something worth striving for! Definitely worth a weekend adventure at The Expanding Light Retreat at Ananda Village!
Swami Kriyananda was utterly fearless. The secret of his courage was his faith in God. We’ll spend time over the weekend learning about the principles that guided his life, how he faced and overcame countless obstacles. We'll tune into Swamiji’s consciousness, and through him to Paramahansa Yogananda, Babaji, and all the Masters.
This program will be guided by Asha Nayaswami, one of Ananda’s founding members, and long-time community leader (check out her website). With warmth and wisdom, Asha weaves spiritual teaching into daily, ordinary life. She is a master teacher, considered by many to be one of the most nuanced and clear teachers of Yoga in the world today. She offers practical, real-life examples to guide, encourage, and support. She shares universal truths that unite the great religions.
Joining Asha as your host is Keshava Betts (check out his website). Keshava is a life-long devotee of Master, literally. (No really, he was born and raised at Ananda Village, and now serves as one of Ananda’s Next Wave leaders). Keshava will especially bring us music, chanting, meditation, and guided Sadhana, which will be key components during this weekend in giving us practical, experiential ways of shifting our awareness from fear to hope, from fear to love.
We hope we got your attention!
Ready to join us? Here’s a sneak peek of the weekend in detail:
- Friday evening and Saturday morning will both feature class and discussion time with Asha, covering various topics such as:
- Where are we now? Where are we going? How do we get there?
- What opens doors to great awareness? What closes them?
- How do we break free from long-standing emotional and mental habits that hold us hostage and steal our happiness?
- Cultivating patience, the fastest route to victory
- Saturday afternoon will be at the Crystal Hermitage, the spiritual heart of Ananda Village. We’ll have free access to the gardens, Swami Kriyananda’s living quarters, and the Moksha Mandir (the temple created after Swamiji’s passing, and which now is home to his remains). Asha’s many years of close association with Swamiji will give a unique perspective on the experience of these shrines.
- Saturday evening will focus on music as a way to liberate our consciousness.
- Sunday morning service with Asha will end our weekend together by integrating our small family with the greater Ananda community for an experience of group worship, including The Festival of Light.
For more information, please send us a Question or Comment:
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Asha Nayaswami
Asha Nayaswami, serves as Ananda's global ambassador at the request of her lifelong teacher, Swami Kriyananda. With her unusual insight and clarity, warmth and wisdom, she helps us see how spiritual teaching can be woven into daily, ordinary life. She offers practical, real-life examples to guide, encourage, and support. She shares universal truths that unite the great religions.
Keshava Betts
Keshava is a life-long devotee of Master, literally. Keshava grew up in a family of yogis in the spiritual community, Ananda. Immersed in the spiritual wisdom of Yogananda since birth he is also an accomplished musician, vedic astrologer and now serves as one of Ananda’s Next Wave leaders.
No dates scheduled for Living Fearlessly at this time.
Prices are all-inclusive and cover accommodations, meals, classes or activities, and course materials.
Living Fearlessly starts the afternoon of the first date listed and ends with lunch on the last date listed. Check-in is anytime between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at our Front Desk. Your room will be available by 3:00 p.m. Dinner is at 6:30. The first gathering of your group is after dinner.
Please see:
You can add extra personal retreat days before and/or after your program. Check availability and costs for the days and accommodations that you require.
Living Fearlessly starts the afternoon of the first date listed. It’s ideal to arrive before 4 pm, if you are able to. That way, you can join in the afternoon session of yoga and meditation, which begins at 4:45 pm. Dinner is at 6:30. The first real gathering of your group is at 7:30 pm. If you need to arrive here after 5 pm, that’s fine, but it helps us if you let us know at 800-346-5350. We can also put aside a dinner for you if you need to arrive after 7 pm. The program ends with lunch on the last date. Please see our Daily Schedule.
See Transportation and Directions whether you are coming by plane, car, bus or train. Our Frequent Questions page answers many of the questions you might have about How to Go on Retreat.
