Events
Retreats, Bi-Monthly Meditation Group & Courses
Retreats:
October 6-8, 2017
Living Meditation: Deepening & Integrating Practices
October 6-8, 2017 (Columbus Day weekend)
Friday evening 6pm- Sunday noon
Wisdom House – Litchfield, CT 06759
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD, poet, author, mentor and teacher.
Living Meditation will take you into the rich meditative practices and teachings found at the most profound levels of the great spiritual traditions, where the ultimate state of non-dual awareness is all that exists. In this retreat you will learn to deepen and integrate meditation into everyday life. Meditation uplifts our work life, our home life, our health and all that we engage in. Meditation begins as a set of practices and then the transformative power of meditation processes becomes apparent as we shed old conditioned patterns of mind. The transformative processes develop and ripen, opening the boundless domain of the state of Living Meditation, also known as sahaja samadhi, in which the waking, dream and deep sleep states are transformed. In this retreat you will learn how to deepen your practices, further empower the transformative process of meditation and discover the state of radical freedom, the state of Living Meditation. This is the state of the Living Presence that already exists within you as your true nature. Some call this their Buddha nature, or their Christ nature, or their Divine Self, but whatever we call it, it is beyond words, beyond the mind, yet at the very heart of our Being. Come to know your state of radical freedom, come to know the living presence of the One.
Radical freedom unfolds from knowing the truth of who you really are. Suffering arises from the false self, from identification with the limitations of the conditioned mind and ordinary consciousness. We have the innate capacity to know what mystics of every tradition have experienced first hand and rapturously proclaim to be the highest truth – we are what we seek, our highest Self is the Divine within, ever-present in all we perceive, and we can know this directly for ourselves. In the yogic tradition this innate power of consciousness to know the Infinite as your Self is called Kundalini. It is also known as the power of grace and the power of revelation and transformation, which is the root power of all meditative and yogic practices. Come to know the source of this within yourself and you will discover the innate state of radical freedom!
The retreat will include instruction for all levels of practitioners. We will dive into meditation, chanting, mantra, contemplations and integrative practices for bringing it all home. Discussions and Q&A time will help to further integrate the practices. All the classic forms of Shaktipat Diksha are incorporated in the retreat and pass the living flame of Kundalini Shakti to everyone present.
Lawrence Edwards, PhD, LMHC, BCN has been teaching and practicing meditation for over 45 years and trained as a monk in India. He’s also trained in Tibetan Buddhist practices, Jungian psychology, and neurotherapy. He is a licensed psychotherapist in Armonk, NY. He is the founder and director of the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to making meditation practices available to everyone. He has done meditation training with hospice staff as well as physicians, nurses and people from all walks of life. He has been on the faculty of New York Medical College since 1998. He is the author of The Soul’s Journey: Guidance From The Divine Within, Kali’s Bazaar – a collection of poetry, and Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom (7.5 hour audio program and companion book published by Sounds True). He also created the audio CD Om Namah Shivaya – chants and meditation to support people in their practices.
This retreat has limited openings to facilitate optimum learning. Please register early.
Registration requires payment in full for the program and accommodations.
Program Fee:
Friday: 7:15pm – Sunday: 12pm – Friday dinner is served at 6pm, the program begins at 7:15pm
$225 Program Registration Fee
Accommodations are not included in the program fee. The Wisdom House fee for accommodations include all meals from Friday dinner through lunch on Sunday and accommodations for Friday and Saturday night.
Accommodation Fee:
Private room with shared bathroom: $237 (two nights plus 6 meals)
Shared room with shared bathroom: $197 (two nights plus 6 meals)
The program fee and accommodation fee must be paid in full to register.
To register choose which type of room you would like, add the $225 program fee to the accommodation fee and then pay the total, which is $462 for a private room with shared bathroom, or $422 for a shared room with shared bathroom. You can pay the total with a credit card selecting the amount you are paying, on the right there is the drop down menu to choose the shared room, then clicking the Buy Now button. You will have the option to pay with your credit or debit card, or with PayPal. If you have any questions please call 914-219-8600.
Refund Policy: Cancellations made before August 15, 2017 will receive a 50% refund. After that date refunds can’t be given since we have to guarantee the accommodation fees for the use of Wisdom House.
Monthly Meditation Group:
Second and fourth Thursday evenings each month, 7:15pm, at the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, 2 Byram Brook Place, Armonk, NY 10504. Visit Anam Cara Meditation Foundation for details.
All are welcome!
Swatantriya Meditation – The meditation of absolute freedom. Swatantriya Meditation is based on the inner power of Consciousness called Kundalini. It embraces and empowers all meditation techniques to take one beyond the ordinary confines of the mind. This is the primary form of meditation that Lawrence teaches. It includes mindfulness training, breath awareness, mantra and additional practices.
Meditation Courses
Fall 2017
The Art & Science of Meditation
A FREE Evening Seminar
September Date and time to be announced
Learn meditation practices you can do at home to gain the extraordinary health benefits of meditation. Meditation is the top stress reducing, health enhancing activity you can engage in. You’ll learn about the scientific reseach that has been done on meditation showing its positive effects on the brain, immune system, cardio-vascular health and more!
Meditation practices are a part of every spiritual tradition and include non-theistic, non-spiritual approaches as well. The Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, directed by Dr. Lawrence Edwards, teaches meditative practices from a variety of traditions. No matter what one’s interest or perspective there are meditative practices that will work for you and give you access to your power to transform your mind, brain, body, health and relationships.
October-November 2017
Buddhist Wisdom Treasures III
Living Dharma
4 week course – dates to be announced
Wed. evenings 7:15-8:45pm
Many people have been asking for a continuation of the Buddhist Wisdom Treasures for Non-Buddhists initial courses and here it is! You don’t have to have taken the first course, though it will be helpful, and of course you don’t have to become a Buddhist to enjoy and benefit from the insights and wisdom of this great tradition.
Pre-registration required.
Fee: $120
January 2018
For Non-Buddhists
4 week course
Wednesday Evenings 7:15-8:45pm
Dates To Be Announced
Pre-registration Required
To register contact Lawrence Edwards, PhD at 914-219-8600
February 2018
ABIDING IN STILLNESS
Like a broken gong be still, be silent.
Know the stillness of freedom
Where there is no more striving.
Buddha
Silent Meditation Retreat
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD
April Dates To Be Announced
Sunday 9:00am-3:30pm
Fee: $90, includes light meal
To register call 914-219-8600
Dive into the depths of meditation by living in silence, even for this brief span of time the effects are powerful. Deepen and expand your meditation practice by nurturing it with the time and attention it deserves. The Buddha said, “Better than a hundred years of ignorance is one day spent in reflection. Better than a hundred years of idleness is one day spent in determination.”
All are welcome!
Anam Cara Meditation Foundation
Preregistration required
Refund Policy:
Full refund given if cancellation is received 8 weeks prior to the course or if the course has to be canceled for any reason. 50% refund given if canceled 4-8 weeks in advance. The balance will be received as a tax deductible gift to the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, a 501 (C) 3 educational organization. Last minute cancellations are nonrefundable.
For information on additional courses and programs please visit the Events listing at the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation website.