Asharum Amonines in August: The Snail’s Path & Other Journeys
Snails
In August, with lots of sunshine but also many rainy nights, we had an overpopulation of snails. To save our plants, we catch them and take them to the other side of the road, where they can live on the garden compost. To keep them together before we move them, they are placed in a pot with a moat around it. Although the circle of water does not prevent them all from staying in the “castle”, it works well enough and gives us the opportunity to observe and admire their graceful movements and ingenuity.
Renovations done
Maarten, a professional arborist who has helped us before, came to prune the old cherry tree next to the meditation room. This has removed the cause of the drain blockage, which we wrote about in the previous newsletter. For Maarten, it's a daily job; for us, it's a spectacular view.
The wooden picnic table has been stained and looks like new again. The legs that were rotting have been temporarily repaired until Frederique returns in October with new wood to replace them.
It is a pleasure to see how easily and smoothly the sink drain in the small kitchen was repaired and a few leaking taps replaced by René, who spent a weekend in Amonines.
Renovations to come
In August, we made decisions about a number of major renovations. One concerns work on the electrical circuit to comply with the guidelines for the Asharum as a gîte. Since our system is very old and maps have never been made this is a big job.
The second concerns a sewer pipe that appears to have a long crack, causing sewage to leak into our basement. With a house full of people, we were glad to have found a plumber who could repair the crack quickly, but he also told us that he hardly dared touch the pipe for fear that it would crumble under his hands. The seriousness of the pipe's condition is forcing us to take further measures soon, which we will do in two stages. First, the pipe will be replaced as far as we can directly reach it, and at a later stage it will be necessary to break open the floor in the hall between the toilet and the kitchen to replace the remaining part of the pipe. It is a ceramic pipe and may be over a hundred years old.
Another important event taking place in September is the replacement of our heating unit, which is due for replacement.
Looking back on a joyful event
The event Connect in Heart & Spirit with Movement and Resonance, given by Angela Köhnlein, brought a lot of movement in the house. There were outings where the participants played with the elements of nature, and there was a night-time excursion that brought with it a confrontation with their own fears. All the elements of the course, from painting masks to dancing in the river had an inspiring energy that brought a light and cheerful vitality to Amonines.
On a personal level, I was fortunate to be involved in an assignment where I received a big hug from one of the participants. Later, I heard that this was her way of carrying out the instruction “Leave the room and do something out there”.
This is what Eva, one of the participants, wrote about the event:
Although I am somewhat familiar with the Nâm yoga terms Angela used during her course, my mind was regularly asking ‘what does she mean exactly’? But as soon as we got to the actual practice of the terms during the workshops, everything fell into place.
At the end of this 3-day course it felt like way more than three days. Maybe because I did so many things I had never done before. Or maybe because the group transformed in such a way, it felt like knowing each other much longer than three days.
Things I had never done before included getting out of bed at 4 o’clock to dance and lie in a field & watch the stars, while being watched and smelled by a herd of wild boars who were hidden in the mist that was hanging low above the meadow.
Becoming that mist was another thing that was completely new for me. Rolling on a soft carpet in slow-motion like mist, felt like giving my whole body a reviving massage.
Dancing with closed eyes while being seen and heard and smelled in every move and afterwards drawing the same dance, was just another totally new experience. Dancing like a tadpole in a stream, in Awareness, while listening to the sounds of nature and Angela’s music was immersive, literally, as well as metaphorically.
A most surprising part of this collective ‘trip’ was the transformation of the group during the course. From perfect strangers, we gently grew familiar, until on the last day everyone decided to stay for lunch in order to enjoy each other’s company for a little bit longer.
The words we wrote to each other on little ‘dream catcher’ cards Angela gave us, said it all. We had seen, recognised and appreciated each other from our most beautiful, powerful, unique, soft and joyous side.
If a follow-up course is planned, I will definitely join Angela again in this unique, transformative experience. I have no doubt at all about Angela’s inspiration and materials to fill this follow-up course!
To read the other reviews and Angela's own philosophical reflections, click here.
The Weekend of Silence
After the Weekend of Silence one of the participants shared with us that his last visit had been too long ago. He had needed to reconnect with himself and take a pause to reflect.
These weekends do indeed offer stable support and a way to connect with the silence beneath the fast-moving currents on the surface. Although they are offered regularly, it doesn't matter how much time there is between visits to slowly develop the habit of integrating these moments of rest and reflection into your life. It is not the first time that people share the need to return and we are always happy to welcome them back.
5-day Intensive - Meaningful living
The composition of the participants often includes certain interests and/or common themes that help determine the direction of this course. This time, the participants' backgrounds provided an interesting combination with great potential for examining life questions from different perspectives.
There was one woman with a Muslim background, one with a Christian background, one practising Christian and one woman who studies Advaita Vedanta. Underneath these differences everyone is of the same essence. Everyone is of Abbah.
Why is it (made) so difficult to get to our essence and stay there? That was a question of one of the participants that came to my attention.
I was not present to attend the meditations on this question, but shortly afterwards I happened to read a text by Yoginâm that evoked a joyful sense of surprise with regard to this question:
In Asha we are divided and multiple
That is the nature of living; in it movement is rooted
It is a vain illusion to assume that one can unite religions
Because they are of Asha they are meant to be multiple
It is only in Abbah that they are all one
Not united, not in agreement, not a unity but a one
That cannot be captured by a concept
Because a concept is always based on Asha
Yoginâm - The Asha of Nâm, December 2023
With the end of August, summer is drawing to a close. We look back on inspiring events and many people who have shaped an enriching season. The sun and the chilly – sometimes rainy – nights have kept the garden, and nature in general, lush and green, with the result that even now we are still surrounded by a green landscape.
