Asharum Amonines, Nâm Retreat Centre, Nâm monastery

In 2023, following the passing away of Boris, the community at Asharum Amonines consisted exclusively of women. When a fourth woman joined us a year later, this aspect became even more prominent and was experienced and remarked upon in a very positive way by many visitors of the Asharum. It also played a role in what followed, as it was around that time that Yoginâm began referring to Asharum Amonines as the Nâm Monastery for Women.

That we are four women is something on which we can readily agree. However, being described as a Nâm monastery required a little more consideration. It led to a process of reflection, contemplation, discussion and refining our understanding, until we arrived at a shared meaning. This process involved disentangling the term ‘monastery’ from its religious associations as well as finding a way of communicating that was free from generalised interpretations based solely on personal associations and experience.

What we clearly share is that we are all devotees of Yoginâm. This means that each one of us has an individual relationship with Yoginâm, and that it is up to each of us to develop this relationship in the context of our personal life experience or ‘I/World’.

Irma volunteered to write a text reflecting the outcome of our process. Since Nâm is at the heart of our way of living, her text takes us on a journey through its distinctive terminology, much of which is explained in Yoginâm’s own words. The quotations have been carefully placed and contextualised so that the text reflects how we perceive Nam Living as we live it at Asharum Amonines, as the Nâm Monastery for Women.

There is one particular passage that I would like to share here, as it refers back to the personal level of ‘I/World’:

Exploring and living the Nâm Ethics naturally includes a purification of Heart, an ongoing refinement in transformation throughout living. For it is through ignorance and disturbing habitual programmes that we tend to hurt ourselves and others, lose our direction and get in trouble. When seeing life as Asha, with its regularity of cause and consequence, life can become a great teacher in discovering what living the Nâm Ethics really means.

To read the full text, please click on the following link: Asharum Amonines - Nâm Monastery for Women

Nâm is an open invitation for everybody to enrich their living and for some to reach the Well-Being of Optimal Living.

Yoginâm, Nâm part 1, 2024

Asharum Amonines is here for you to explore this, because it is something you can only discover for yourself.

Nâm Retreat of Silence

The Nâm Retreat of Silence is a very direct response to a serious longing to open oneself to profound and lasting transformation. Following on from the above, it is the perfect opportunity to experience Nâm Living, rather than merely explore what it means rationally.

The five daily meditations, called Attunements because they also include recitations and songs, carry you through five days of complete silence. They initiate a process that weaves the hours and days together into a continuous meditation, one that does not stop when you leave the meditation room.

The next Nâm Silence Retreat will take place from 17 to 23 September. You are very welcome, there are still a few places available – book here

Meaningful Living - How was the five-Day Intensive?

The Meaningful Living Intensive began with the solstice: a source of wonder and an opportunity to ask, “What is causing this?”—an invitation to look beyond rational explanations.

The Intensive brought together participants ranging in age from 30 to 84, with varying degrees of familiarity with the topics. This created a lively group dynamic that everyone found very valuable. Amy described it as follows:

I appreciated the dynamics of the wonderful group, especially the intergenerational elements as we all reflected from our lived experiences of different life stages.

One of the older participants initially felt wary of explanations that were not scientifically based. However, as the Intensive progressed she discovered that going beyond the tangible was not necessarily far-fetched. To her surprise, she found that she could relate to it very well through her own life experience.

At the other end of the spectrum, one of the younger participants could immediately relate to everything that was being said. She had already been asking herself these same questions since the age of ten. Her struggle was more a matter of not having satisfying answers. She felt different in her way of thinking and wrestled with how to integrate this part of herself into daily life—how to find harmony in relation to these deeper, unanswered questions.

It was wonderful to see how the two participants connected with one another, each taking away from the Intensive what they needed to hear. This was reflected in the feedback from the younger participant:

It left me with more peace of mind and reassurance to live my life according to my inner being, along with remembering to be ‘more’ in touch with it. Not that I am or will be like that all the time :) but there is a knowingness that I can give myself permission, or actually that I am permitted to be in touch with it while I am alive.

With a thank you to Wabke, who offered free Qigong lessons early morning this week for everyone to join. They were greatly appreciated!

The divine (Abbah) is in everything

During an informal conversation, Yoginâm once said: ‘Abbah is in the Brussels sprouts.’ I’d like to take it from there and invite anyone who would like to take part in a very practical job that needs to be done, namely: painting the window frames of the Asharum.

If you are able to come for one or more days, please contact [email protected] for more information and to arrange a date.