We are born with the power to love and heal, care and give, achieve and let go. We are also born with the power to bond with our family, friends, community, and society. These extraordinary qualities and powers make us human and put us in the top tier of nature’s creation. These qualities afford no room for fear, doubt, anger, grief, loneliness, and hopelessness. And yet we see how these conditions have undermined our capacity to love, heal, care, give, achieve, let go, and bond with others. This New Year’s retreat is for discovering the cause and cure for this affliction and for reclaiming our birthright, which the scriptures summarize in a few words: God created humans in his own image.

Almost all the world’s cultures and traditions—Eastern and Western, ancient and modern—talk about the spiritual dimension of the heart and its role in unleashing the power of love, compassion, willpower, inner protection, and inner guidance. Entering the heart and unleashing its powers is a methodical process—a shortcut to reestablishing our connection with our inner self. According to the ancient masters, this is when all our fears, doubts, questions, and complaints vanish.

In this retreat, learn the actual method of entering the cave of the heart and practice the technique for meditating on the lotus of the heart. This retreat is the distillation of practices taught by Buddha and Patanjali, and is a fully digestible summary of great texts, such as the Yoga Sutra, Lotus Sutra, and Shiva Sutra.

Highlights of the retreat include:

• Invocation of the divine forces at five distinct altars.
• Recitation of Sri Sukta, the 16 mantras dedicated to the goddess of inner prosperity and protection.
• Daily study and practice of techniques for meditating on the lotus of the heart.
• Study and practice of breathing techniques for restoring the body’s natural rhythm and for cultivating a clear, calm, and one-pointed mind.
• Incorporating the techniques of tantra and alchemy into your practice to awaken the innate power of the body and mind for accelerated healing and nourishment.
• Special prayer and group meditation on New Year’s Eve culminating at midnight.
• Identifying our aspirations and resolutions, and gathering the tools and means for creating the destiny of our choice.