On my last weekend in Manila, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Solace for the Soul program at the Brahma Kumaris Centre for Spiritual Learning in Tagaytay with my buddies - Karen, Lei, Gretchen, Kristina - and new friends, who willingly came along without knowing what to expect. It took me almost five months to arrange the retreat. I can vividly remember how I emailed Sister Salud asking if I could bring a group with me and how we kept in touch all those months.
We were greeted with a nice warm cup of salabat tea on our first night. I shared the room with Karen and Lei. From my experience staying at the Global Retreat House in Oxford, I knew the food was going to be awesome. But we never had veggie meat served there during our stay. To my amazement, the meals were so delicious and tailored to the Pinoy tastebuds! If only I could cook like that, I would join the BK and set up my own vegetarian cafe. Even the carnivores in our group were so stuffed!
On Saturday, waking up at 6am to practice before my hatha yoga class was a mean feat. 98% of the group were totally new to yoga. They had their yoga mats in hand and were roaring to start! We had a 40-minute practice before breakfast, which consisted of macaroni soup, BK-made oven fresh bread, strawberry jam and fresh fruits! I taught another class in the afternoon; it seemed that everyone were enjoying themselves. The rest of day was spent on lectures about getting to know ourselves, 1-minute traffic control meditations, group work, going for silent walks and getting tips on how to meditate. That was a long day!
Sunday was our last day. We were invited to experience meditation at 4am, when the air is crisp; the energy is at its clearest and our soul at its purest. All the BKs were out and about, doing their meditation in the big hall while we were in the dome. 98 students, all wearing white, from Metro Manila were to arrive by 7am to attend this special day, the death anniversary of Brahma Baba. He founded the Brahma Kumaris. We, of course, were not part of this event. It was Sister Salud's oversight when she agreed to accommodate us on this weekend. Normally, they wouldn't have agreed to do a program around this time due to their celebrations. This was truly a blessing that we pushed through despite being informed of this problem two weeks prior to our arrival.
More exercises followed like writing a letter to yourself, spending quiet time and introspecting. At the end of the program, Sister Salud and Sister Yugini gave us a sweet treat and an affirmation. I always look forward to these gifts after every session I attend at Inner Space. We did one last hatha yoga session before we made our way home. Sister Rajni gave us all a pin button to remind us of angels, that we are free and peaceful.
This was a memorable experience for me. I learned that meditation is a constant learning process and no matter who we are and what we do, we can always benefit from being quiet and listening to our inner selves. Our spirituality will link us to the Supreme, whoever that may be in our lives.
Thank you to all who joined me on this spiritual journey of rediscovering ourselves.
Om Shanti.
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