Spending last summer getting in over my head gave me an extra dose of confidence. A friend of mine suggested Byron and I take a Happiness course at The Art of Living. So, as I had done in the past, I got on my board and paddled toward adventure, only this time I was in my SUV driving up a mountain in Boone, NC.
It wasn’t the first time we had been to The Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, NC. I brought Byron there for his 50th birthday on a whim, thinking what better present then to take him to the top of a mountain so he can breathe deeply for his 50th. We had such a positive experience that we were eager to see if the second time around would be as inspiring.
When we arrived at the retreat center and checked in, we immediately felt like we had just returned home. It was a very odd feeling to have only been here one other time and yet feel as if I was at home.
After dropping our luggage off at our room and breathing in the mountain view from our hotel window, we headed to dinner. The dining hall was just as I remembered, vast with windows providing spectacular views of the rolling mountains. The food bar held soup, salad, a vegan entree, and kichadi. Kichadi is a staple at the food bar. It’s a yellow bean mixture that has the consistency of porridge. It doesn’t look appetizing, but for some reason, I crave it.
A rainbow had settled in over the mountain range before the sun began to set. We had to pull ourselves away from the deck outside the dining hall to make it to our first class for the Happiness Retreat. It was in one of the small buildings below the giant ashram. The teacher, Poornima, which means full moon, had set up backjacks (meditation chairs) and yoga mats for our class of 12. Byron and I sat next to each other in the semicircle.
The class began with “get-ta-know-ya” exercises which helped ease our initial discomfort over being in a new situation with people we didn’t know. Sitting in a room at the top of a mountain with ten strangers is awkward.
It just is.
As we sat there, trying to hide our insecurities while pleasantly working with the instructor, a storm began. The wind started to howl; the two doors began to rattle, and the lights went out.
So, now we were insecure, at the top of the mountain, with ten strangers, and in the dark.
Poornima tried to light the dark room with the light from her phone. That light and the faint glow of a small tea light that sat near a picture of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar did little to ease the nervousness of the room.
“Let’s all move in closer to each other. Let’s make our circle smaller,” Poornima said while purposefully keeping a calm voice.
We all looked over our shoulders at the buckling windows.
A groundskeeper nervously rushed in with a lantern, and Poornima placed it inside our small group.
The collective nerves of the class began to calm as Poornima continued with the class as the storm continued to rage.
We learned yoga, breathing, and meditation techniques. As the wind continued to rattle the building, we learned about the importance of slowing our minds down and focusing on the world around us.
Before the class was over, the storm had dissipated.
I don’t think any of us realized when the rain and wind stopped; I know I didn’t.
I was too busy acknowledging the storm in my brain.
The class let out after 9 pm. When we walked out of the building, the stars shown above us in the cleared night sky. The mountains, which should have been lit up from the town of Boone, were completely dark.
The air was crisp and clean.
We learned from one of the staff that a tornado had just ripped through the retreat center, which was the commotion we had experienced.
None of us appeared upset or unsettled by this.
It seemed to have the opposite effect, a validation- as if our environment had acted out in response to our cluttered minds and embattled nervous systems.
We had survived the tornado that we didn’t even know existed, and now it was time to learn to be calm.
We walked back to the hotel in darkness, nearly complete darkness except for the stars. At one point I was compelled to use my cellphone flashlight when I saw two large green eyes cross the street in front of me. I have no idea what animal it was, but its eyes were enormous.
The lights on the mountain came back on after 1 am. I know this because all the lights in our room came on with the return of the electricity and woke us up. We are like so many people who turn on lights without thinking when the power goes out.
The next morning after breakfast, our class met back in the small room with chatter about the storm and the power outage.
While learning yoga and movement exercises, I felt like I was a kid again. The importance for me about being kid-like once more was with that renewal, also came the innocence and trust of youth.
We participated in some very simple, yet very powerful exercises similar to team-building. For one of the exercises, we had to sit “crisscross applesauce” knee-to-knee with one of our classmates.
That sounds easy, right?
Well, we had to look into that person’s eyes with a steady gaze.
Have you ever tried that?
Well, let me tell you, it’s difficult.
After five minutes of staring into the eyes of a person I did not know, I felt a great sense of vulnerability and a letting go of any façade I was trying to hold up in front of that person.
We learned a breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya. In the 1980’s, Sri Sri created this simple breathing technique. You don’t need a Ph.D. to perform it, nor do you have to have rippling abs and a great physique. All you have to do is purposefully and mindfully breathe.
The breathing technique, called Kriya for short, had different effects on each classmate. As we shared our experiences with the class after practicing the method, one thing was similar; it helped us all to calm our minds down. For some, it was an emotional detox, for me it was spiritually centering.
Sri Sri’s breathing method is taught in hospitals, schools, and to returning soldiers with PTSD. The Happiness Program focuses on helping participants be more mentally and emotionally fit through the use of yoga, breathing exercises and meditation.
By Sunday, after learning to take away barriers, rest our emotions and settle our minds, we were left with the aftermath – happiness.
Another exercise involved sitting next to a person I didn’t know. For ten minutes, I had to tell that person over and over again who I am. Boy does that drag on at first.
Once my partner and I got comfortable, It was incredible what came out.
It helped me realize how important it is to express who I am and how nearly impossible it is to do that succinctly with one title. We are full of complexities.
Who are you?
For me, the exercise made me think about when I go running, and it begins to rain, I am part of the rain. When I walk barefoot through the grass, I am part of the earth. When I hear the gentle breeze blow through the branches, I am part of that breeze.
I am laughter and the color blue. I am the gentle snow fall and the warm fire that crackles.
Everyone answered differently, which is part of what makes the exercise enriching.
Byron and I left Sunday with a new sense of belonging, not belonging to the mountaintop in Boone, but a belonging in our own skin
My new friend, Sejal (the yoga instructor/writer I met at The Art of Living in February), told me that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar would be coming to the retreat center in Boone the following week, and she encouraged me to return and participate in the Silence Course he would teach. There would also be a huge festival called Guru Purnmia, which would be memorable.
I had read enough about Sri Sri to know that this man is a highly awarded, world-renowned humanitarian. I thought, what a great opportunity to meet someone who has spent his life trying to better the world around him. I found the idea of spending days on end in silence a daunting challenge. I had never been quiet a day in my life, and I didn’t think it was possible.
Check back with my blog later to find out if I was able to keep silent, and did I get to meet Sri Sri? I’ll let you know what it was like being part of Guru Purnima with thousands of others and Sri Sri on a mountaintop in Boone.
