After a brief acquaintance with Los Angeles, we head to our destination — Meditation Mountain in Ojai, which Max Simon chose for a spiritual retreat.
For reference:
Retreat (“seclusion,” “withdrawal from society”) — an English word that has entered Russian as an international term for time dedicated to spiritual practices.
I was impressed by the approach itself: holding a SPIRITUAL retreat for online business owners… many of whom first heard the word “meditation” on webinars of a coaching program and tried it for the first time at the retreat itself )))
At one point, Max mentioned that his first business, related to yoga and meditation, “burned out” very quickly… Because meditations and practices are not the goal itself. They are a TOOL!
Which fit very neatly into a business coaching program as a tool for gaining greater clarity and focus…
Meditation Mountain actually turned out to be a mountain whose slopes are planted with orange and lemon trees and avocados, with a spiritual center for regular meditations at the top, built back in the 70s of the last century.
Several single-story wooden cabins, lawns, flower beds, and hand-made paths, where anyone can come to enjoy silence and solitude.
I mentally prepared myself in advance for the fact that during the retreat it was recommended not to use the phone or internet )))
But the facilitators’ request NOT to talk about business and marketing led to interesting consequences in my case: I completely LOST the need to SOCIALIZE?!
I never had a command of everyday English vocabulary, and I was simply too lazy to translate everything I could have said )))
On the very first day, my consciousness split: on one hand, I actively participated in the process, while the other — analytical — part of me recorded the structure of the event, how the team interacted, why it was done this way and not otherwise, and how it affected the participants…
It was at this level that a huge EXPANSION “happened,” and a perspective opened up that fundamentally changed my approach to the online learning process.
I always tried to use the principle of “give more than was promised.” And, probably for the first time in my life, I saw the same thing applied to myself and all the participants.
This is the eco-cotton hoodie, custom-made, that each retreat participant received as a gift — a pleasant surprise from the organizers.
An initiative from Max’s team: a board of release and receiving, where everyone could write what they were ready to let go of and what to welcome into their lives. A nice addition.
After lunch, which was brought up to the meditation mountain from a vegetarian restaurant (another gift from the organizers), we had an hour of “meditation in nature.”
In such beauty, I didn’t feel like just sitting and meditating. So Maris and I created our own dynamic meditation by climbing all over the mountain slopes we could reach.
One day, a representative of the Russian-speaking spiritual community of Los Angeles, Gregory Makaron, who lives in Ohio, got in touch with us.
Maris found a pleasant conversation partner “in the know,” who introduced us to the sights and history of this place.
Since we found him through Facebook, I made a mental note to announce our travel plans on social media in advance.
The last day of the retreat. Wrapping up.
Inside — a feeling of boundless peace and an awareness of immense inner strength.
What stands in the way of manifesting this strength in the physical world?
The lack of a team that is also “on fire” and moving in the same direction as you. This is the first thing that needs to be done, after integrating the energy and knowledge gained during the retreat.
Alena Staroitova, Max Simon (retreat leader), Maris Dreshmanis
Everyone has left. The team, together with the leaders, are summing up and discussing future plans… We approach them with a request to record a short interview on the topic of spirituality and business.
Despite their fatigue, we get the “green light.” Yee-haw! (The video clips aren’t uploaded yet, but you’ll see them soon).
Maris Dreshmanis, Jeffrey van Dyk (retreat leader) and Alena Starovoitova )))
And finally — a short video I gave my husband for Valentine’s Day!
How Men Meditate
P.S. More photos are in my Facebook album: