Ram Dass Mountain Retreat ~ Boone, North Carolina
(Disclosure: I wrote this post a little each day, as the retreat transpired. As I reflect on its completion, I recognize that my writing starts out with information about the retreat we attended and evolves into a process of my experience. I am grateful for my blog as it gives me a place to work through my experience. So, dear reader, thank you in advance for coming along on my journey.)
Retreat Check-In
My husband and I participated in our first meditation/spiritual retreat offered by the Ram Dass Love Serve Remember Foundation titled Summer Mountain Retreat located at the Art of Living Retreat Center (AOLRC) in Boone, North Carolina. The retreat center is in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains. We felt so high in altitude that it seemed like we were often looking down on the other mountain tops and into the fog settled in the valleys. A true feeling of being on top of the world. The AOLRC is all inclusive with an Ayurvedic spa, hotel, retreat rooms, main meditation hall, dining hall, labyrinth, gift shop, smaller yoga/meditation halls, and hiking trails. Basically, it has everything necessary for a meaningful spiritual experience. There isn’t any air conditioning at the center. The temperatures were mild, in the mid to upper 70’s, so it was completely manageable. The hotel room was equipped with a ceiling fan and two box fans that we mostly used in the late afternoon/evening to cool the room off. This hotel is the quietest place I have ever stayed. It’s apparent it was built for a meditation retreat. I couldn’t hear any of my neighbors at any time of day. I slept so soundly. The accommodations were perfect.
Day one of our experience had us arriving at lunch time for our retreat registration and hotel check-in. We were provided with a retreat schedule, meal menu, property map, and several goodies.
I think it’s helpful to note that the AOLRC is free of drugs, alcohol, and smoking/vaping. Consistent with the Ayurvedic lifestyle, all meals are vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. This is not our typical diet; however, we were more than willing to try a different diet. I especially won’t complain when someone else is preparing three meals a day for me and there’s an excellent chef in the kitchen. LOL We genuinely enjoyed the food. Although, I don’t see myself continuing with this diet. On the third day, my body definitely started to feel as though it was digesting food differently than I’m used to. It felt like my body was also craving sugar. The desserts offered were really good; baked apple crisp, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, sweet potato pie, and chocolate cake. Reminder, the desserts were still vegan. I’m happy to have ate differently for the duration of the retreat and I’m satisfied to be back to my normal diet.
Meeting Our Satsang Family
Our first day started off beautifully with meeting some of the people directly involved with the Love Serve Remember Foundation started by Ram Dass. It was a true honor to meet some of the people we have communicated with by phone or feel like we have gotten to know by listening to their podcasts. Raghu Markus of the Be Here Now Network, Mindrolling and Ram Dass Here and Now podcasts and Krishna Das of the Call and Response and Pilgrim Heart podcasts. It was a pleasure to have lunch with Sunanda Markus of the Love Serve Remember Foundation. Throughout our time at the retreat, Sunanda made us feel so comfortable and seen. She was gracious with her time by sharing several meals with us. She is incredibly easy to talk with and my husband and I felt a genuine connection with her. She treated us with kindness as she introduced us to so many people.
Spring Washam
Through Sunanda, we met Spring Washam who was one of the presenters for this retreat. Spring shared her fascinating spiritual path and her expertise in meditation and plant based medicine. She’s the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. Her next book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground, is out January 24, 2023. I am excited to read her books and learn more about Spring.
Let’s kick off the retreat with yoga!
In the afternoon, we participated in Movement and Meditation by Marisa “Radha” Weppner accompanied with live music by Shantala. After so much time traveling and driving this was a welcome experience.
Opening Ceremony
Our first day of the retreat concluded with an opening ceremony in which all of the retreat’s presenters gathered on stage for a delightfully entertaining introduction to the wisdom that laid ahead. The presenters were Bob Thurman, Nina Rao, Krishna Das, Raghu Markus, and Spring Washam (pictured left to right.) Lastly, Krishna Das and friends performed live music and chanting to finish out the night.
Up at 5:00 am on “vacation”…
Day two began bright and early with yoga and meditation offered by Radha. I’m used to getting up early for work, so I was grateful for the opportunity to do something that truly brings me joy and peace. My husband wasn’t so excited…but, he was willing because a musician he admires, East Forest, was the live musical accompaniment. I was so consumed by the experience, I failed to take any pictures. Nor was my husband excited to learn that yoga and meditation took place daily at 7:00 am. For one, he’s a great husband so he went along. Second, I think he enjoyed it, as he fully participated in the sessions.
Bob Thurman & Krishna Das
The rest of the day was filled with sessions offered by the amazing presenters. Krishna Das and Bob Thurman engaged in a hilarious conversation. Bob is the most hilarious person and highly intelligent in the wisdom of Buddhism. He’s authored several books on Tibetan Buddhism and most recently published Wisdom is Bliss. If you ever have the opportunity to see Bob Thurman in person, I highly recommend it. You won’t be disappointed! He has the best stories and can ramble on like no other!! The next best option, is to listen to him on a podcast. I suggest the Mindrolling podcast, episode 408. Seriously though, I observed Bob treat others with pure kindness and sincerity. I quickly developed pure admiration for him. Bob also has his own podcast, Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun!, which I have subscribed and look forward to including it in my podcast listening rotation.
Indian Chai Tea!
I have to take a moment to mention the delicious Indian Chai Tea that was provided by AOLRC. They were generous to have it available all day, everyday. It was amazing!!
East Forest
We ended our second day with a concert/meditation experience with East Forest. He performed live with his tracks of Ram Dass from his album East Forest with Ram Dass. It’s a beautiful album and my initial introduction to Ram Dass’ teachings. My husband exposed me to Ram Dass through this music. After listening to this album, I was hooked and hungry to learn all I could about this exceptional being. It was an amazing experience to relax, close my eyes, and simply absorb the music and messages of Ram Dass.
Thankfully, more yoga!
Day three opened with another yoga session facilitated by Marisa “Radha” Weppner accompanied with live music by Shantala. Today’s session began with meditation and chanting. The yoga session was perfect for hip opening. I was relieved to hear Radha share she felt sore as I could tell my body was feeling the physical effects of the retreat too. I woke up that morning with a stiff, sore neck and mild headache.
Spring Washam & Jackie Dobrinska
After breakfast, we attended the morning sessions with Spring Washam and Jackie Dobrinska discussing their experiences with the loving kindness practice. Spring shared some hilarious stories about starting her meditation center in Oakland and inspired to accept all beings into her center. Once people started complaining about everything and transient people were coming in intoxicated, she had to go on her own meditation retreat to become grounded again. Spring shared another story about attending an event with His Holiness The Dali Lama in which a participant crossed the physical boundaries and was removed by His Holiness’ security team. She explained how witnessing that event taught her the importance of setting boundaries while accepting all beings.
Sharon Salzberg, Bob Thurman, & Raghu Markus
The next session was one I was most looking forward to participate; SHARON SALZBERG!!! She is my idol. Unfortunately, Sharon was only able to be present via Zoom as she currently does not travel due to the COVID pandemic. I was grateful to observe her interact with Raghu Markus and Bob Thurman on the topic of love. Sharon shared her thoughts on a line from the movie ‘Dan In Real Life;’ “Love is not a feeling. It’s an ability.” In brief, she explains that love is something we can show in our actions rather than simply stating kind words. Bob Thurman contributed to the discussion by reading Albert Einstein’s letter to his daughter about love. I highly recommend checking it out here. This letter was new to most of the retreat participants and quite the topic of conversation as we broke for lunch. Lastly, I was thrilled to learn that Sharon is releasing another book ‘Real Life’ in early 2023. I’ve read her most recent books ‘Real Love’ and ‘Real Change’ and I cherished them both. I’m confident this next book will be a welcome addition to this topic.
My husband and I were honored to have been invited to lunch with Sunanda Markus and her former brother-in-law, Raghu Markus. Sunanda treated us with such generosity of her time and constantly introduced us to many people in the Ram Dass Satsang. We enjoyed sharing stories of our journeys to Ram Dass and hopes for our futures. I was hoping to experience a sense of connectedness with other Ram Dass devotees during this retreat experience and I definitely felt it in my soul during this lunch session. Everyone at this retreat, from the staff to fellow participants to the LSRF gurus, is kind, compassionate, courteous, friendly, and open-hearted. What a place this world would be if everyone practiced these simple attitudes in their daily lives. I look forward to continuing to work on myself so that I can do my part on this planet.
Nature Trails
We took a break from the structured retreat sessions and explored the nature trails at AOLRC. Such beautiful trails surrounding the center, yet it felt like we were miles away in secluded terrain.
Having some time to relax and cool off from our hike, we visited the gift shop and cafe where we enjoyed delicious fruit smoothies. Before we knew it, we were back in line to receive our dinner. Even though we ate three meals a day, and at the typical meal times, it sure felt like we were constantly eating. LOL Thankfully, the AOLRC is on top of a mountain which means lots of hills to traverse when walking to and from our hotel accommodations. The hotel and spa are located at the lowest point of the property which means the main meditation hall and dining hall are up hill walks. Albeit they are short walks, it will get your heart rate up. There is a shuttle service that runs all over the property from 7:00 am until 10:30 pm for those who don’t want to walk.
AOLRC Garden & Coy Pond
The AOLRC is like it’s own city; they have everything…including a garden with a coy pond! After dinner, we took a stroll past our hotel and reveled in a moment of pause by the pond and soaked up the beauty of the garden full of vegetables and flowers.
As we settled into our room for a relaxing evening of reflection, we were entertained by the presence of a deer who came out of the woods to munch on acorns. We received repeated visits from the deer throughout our stay. We kept seeing two does and a baby with its white spots. So completely special and adorable.
Day 4 ~ A Day of Reflection
Day four. The last full day of retreat activities. We elected to sleep in a little bit as there weren’t any yoga sessions scheduled. The morning sessions started off beautifully with Mike Crall, the wizard behind the magic of this retreat, encouraging the group to reflect on the overall retreat experience by remembering when we first learned about the retreat opportunity. To think about all of the people who helped us get to the retreat and who are supporting us while we are here. I am grateful for Mike’s prompt of reflection.
I remember getting the email early one morning, March 30, 2022 at 4:30 am, when I woke up to get ready for work and the immediate excitement I felt that a retreat was being offered on the east coast for the first time. I remember sharing the news with my husband who called me at work a few hours later to confirm the accommodations we preferred so we could get our reservation booked ASAP! I am grateful for his efforts and hard work to do all of the leg work. We spent the next few months looking forward to the retreat and planning how to spend our time before and after the retreat so that we could be at, and stay at, our best mentally. This involved staying in Blowing Rock, NC the day before the retreat began and allowing ourselves some time in and around Asheville, NC before heading home. This also meant I looked out for myself in regards to my employment. For the first time ever, I took two weeks of vacation. I wanted a few days off before to pack and prepare myself mentally by having some time to disengage from work. I also wanted my husband and I to have some vacation time after the retreat to physically and mentally re-join society before heading back home. I then wanted a few days to be at home before re-entering the workforce. All of this strategic time scheduled off means that I have a team of people holding things down at work and covering for my absence. I am grateful for each and every one of them. We have people caring for our four-legged kid, Nikolette. Thankfully we get to watch her on camera anytime we want to see her. We have family watching over our home and taking care of things there for us. Last but not least, my parents play a significant role in this retreat happening. I was immediately filled with so much love and gratitude for everyone who played a role in this experience so that I may grow personally.
This final full retreat day was filled with nuggets of wisdom for how to apply the teachings once we departed. Mike simply put it; when you forget what you learned, you remember it, and mentally come back to the experience. And, when you forget again, you remember, and come back. That advice sounded exactly like the directions for meditation and focusing on the breath. Sharon Salzburg always says, keep coming back to the breath, again and again. That coming back is what matters.
Sharon Salzberg & Spring Washam
The first session of this final day was Sharon Salzberg zooming in again from the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Sharon was in conversation with Spring Washam about Metta (loving kindness meditation.) Sharon offered her wisdom and practical application for Metta. She graciously led the group in a loving kindness meditation at the end. Before Sharon zoomed in, Spring led the group in a 20 minute mindfulness meditation that set the tone, for me, for the rest of the day and allowed me to be present with all of the emotions I was feeling. Both meditations were a beautiful experience.
Bob Thurman & Krishna Das
For the next session, we were entertained by Bob Thurman and Krishna Das in some philosophical discussions about Buddhism and stories about Ram Dass and Majarahji. Krishna Das’ take home message was to keep practicing and remembering why we were practicing. He shared an analogy about the work place and a grumpy coworker; we tend to take their attitude personal and yet we don’t know what is going on for that person. It’s important to recognize that we all have things going on that are unknown to us, so be kind. As Spring Washam stated during her session; “practice goodness.”
One of my struggles that kept coming up during the retreat was my judging mind. I kept noticing how often and easily I was judging others. I made assumptions about people and the next thing I knew, the universe was intervening by having me meet some of those people, only to walk away with a completely different perspective. It felt like Ram Dass was repeatedly reminding me of this self-talk that did not reflect love. Finally, I was often saying to myself or to my husband, “my judging mind is active again.” The more I recognized this, the more love I began feeling for people. It’s an experience that is very difficult to put into words.
Duncan Trussell, David Nictern, & Raghu Markus
The final session we attended was for the Mindrolling podcast, hosted by Raghu Markus. He was in conversation with David Nichtern and Duncan Trussell, who zoomed in to be with us. Duncan is hilarious and full of silly analogies that make you laugh while making perfect sense of the concept being discussed at the same time. It was a treat to see him on video.
Walking to dinner, I began reflecting on my readiness to leave and have closure with the retreat nearing its conclusion. I feel okay with leaving. Before the trip I anticipated that I would hate leaving, but I actually think I’ll be okay with it. It’s been the right amount of time spent here. I will miss doing yoga in the morning, meditating throughout the day, the people who are on a similar path, and the overwhelming positive vibes. Honestly, I won’t necessarily miss the vegan/vegetarian food. The desserts were consistently delicious. I’m tired of tofu and some of the other dishes that my taste buds simply grew tired. I still appreciate the opportunity to eat differently. Unfortunately, it’s made my digestive system a mess and I felt physically uncomfortable the last two days of the retreat. I’m ready to get back to my normal diet.
I’ve learned some valuable lessons this week. I have been watching my judging mind. This retreat reinforced that this is an area I have a lot of work to do. I was reminded to just keep practicing. Be kind to myself so that I can be kind to others. I will keep working on myself. This retreat experience has reinforced that I’m on the right path. I am starting to understand what Ram Dass always talked about regarding love. I think with the passing of my parents and grandparents, I haven’t felt it as much, or as strongly. And that’s not a dig on anyone in my life who loves me. I just believe I experience the sense of love less. Well, until this retreat. My heart has felt an explosion of love many times this week.
Closing Ceremony with Krishna Das & Friends
We wrapped up our final full retreat day with the closing ceremony of kirtan with Krishna Das and his band. We only attended kirtan for the opening and closing ceremonies. The closing ceremony was a beautiful experience. While I haven’t gotten into chanting, I enjoyed the music and observing how other participants were responding with chanting and dancing wildly around the room when the beat of the music picked up pace. It was interesting how when a song ends there is no applause, only complete silence with a meditative pause. This allowed me to hear so many nature sounds. Late at night, I could hear every bug on the mountain until someone from the band broke the silence. Krishna Das offered the group final words of wisdom and encouragement. We celebrated him and the band and dispersed into the darkness to find our beds. The night finally closed with the sounds of nature in the woods and echoes of chanting in my head.
Departure Day
We enjoyed one last breakfast with an opportunity to say farewell to the amazing people we met and to express our deepest, heartfelt gratitude. We also met with East Forest and Marisa “Rhada” Wheppner to purchase East Forest’s Ram Dass and Possible albums. As a very generous treat, East Forest signed both albums. We were pleasantly surprised by how accessible all of the presenters and performers were during the retreat.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning. We walked over to the main meditation hall one last time to soak up the goodness of the land and the beauty of the mountains. We returned to our hotel room to finish packing our belongings and loading up the car. It was a departure of mixed emotions. Sadness that the experience had concluded. Gratitude that it happened. Hopefulness for our future.
As we drove to our next stop on this journey (Asheville), we reminisced on the previous four days. We talked about the areas we want to keep working on. We expressed fears of what lay ahead as we return to circumstances we cannot change. We processed how much the Ram Dass satsang means to us and that we have found our family of people who understand us because we are on a similar path. We look forward to future opportunities like this. Until then, we will keep remembering.
~Namaste
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