September in Amonines
Asharum Amonines Journal August
Autumn in August
August was a mixture of summer and autumn. We see the changes in our garden and in nature around us. Everything still looks lush and green, the streams are full and flowing with great power. Blackberries are already ripening, while tomatoes stay way behind. Mushrooms are abundant and huge, as if it is already October. Occasionally the temperature drops to 15 degrees during the day so we already lit the wood stove twice to make it comfortable for our guests in August.
Light in the garden
The summer part of this month was great. Not too hot, with a little wind. Perfect weather to work in the garden. We are creating a lot of space and light in the garden. Much pruning was done, culminating in the thinning of the bamboo. The bamboo was done with courage, care and a keen eye for the end result. It has never been thinned this far before and it looks beautiful.
The in-trance gate
Also belonging to the garden, but requiring a very different skill is the iron entrance gate. In June Brigitta worked for two weeks on the first half and has now come back for the second half. She takes off the old paint with a small knife, devoting herself to the gate with one-pointed focus from early morning until the sun goes down. Luckily, she has an occasional helping hand from our guests.
Connections with the castle in Fisenne
It was a practical month and that also allowed for perpetuating social relations in our direct environment. This sounds a bit official, but it means that we had very joyful encounters. There is a community in a castle in Fisenne and every Friday they sell vegetables from their own garden. When the sun is out they have a little ‘bar’ with free coffee and tea. It was a great occasion to meet all the residents and learn that one of them is a French teacher. She relished the prospect of giving us conversation lessons. She invited us to join every table to have a small conversation with the people present.
A devotion of involvement and concentration, The Active Devotion week(end) in retrospect
Sometimes the physical work with bare hands is just what we need. A favoured task was taking off the ivy that was destroying the wall surrounding the garden. When rain interrupted this joint effort, the team went inside to tackle the electricity grid in the shrine to reinstall the light. Also the history written on some walls by the leakages of the past was erased with one lick of paint. We all enjoyed visibly reclaiming the house from the forces of nature and the working of time.
Attractive in its practical approach, active devotion is also an instrument of attunement:
Active Devotion implies devoting yourself fully
And with utmost care for something of which
You are not the direct beneficiaryYoginâm 2022
Inner experience
The experience you have during your regular stay, a yoga-, meditation-, or other retreat is the experience that you need in that moment, no experience can be forced upon you, when you are ready for a specific experience it will present itself from within. Therefore your experience is very personal and still needs the freedom to move in all possible directions and gain meaning for you. When you want to share it with the world often a few lines are enough to touch on the depth of your experience: without revealing its full meaning.
Dear Asharum,
Stay as it is…
Perfect for me in all its forms.
Grateful
Participant Yoga Retreat
I enjoyed a lot these four days and the yoga classes.
I felt like being in a cocoon, warm and roomy enough to spread my wings.
Participant Yoga Retreat
With the discomfort of a restlessness mind, I gifted myself a four-day stay in Asharum Amonines. The fine energy, the silence and the delicious meals made my body quietly thaw and find peace again. This complemented by a wonderful deep Shiatsu experience completed the picture for me.
Thank you for letting me experience this again!
I am still thoroughly enjoying it.
Regular visitor
I booked a 3-day meditation retreat at Asharum Amonines, expecting a time out with like minded people.
But then I was the only participant and I got an intensive one-to-one retreat with wonderful all-around care from Irma.
Although it was my first retreat, I felt safe and taken care of the whole time.
The small idyllic place, the Asharum peacefully situated in it, the people – everything supported my retreat into my inner being.
Irma answered all my questions. She held the space and was there for me.
It was a wonderful experience to find peace and myself surrounded by wonderful people living peace and love.
Irma and the Asharum Amonines are making this world a better place.
Ute