Invitation out into the bramble: Hiranyagarbha Yuga Ashram

Being out here--it’s a whole lot of work + fun. Or you could say fun + work.

Personal transformation is comprehensive work—affecting the mental, emotional, and physical bodies (everyone has all three of those—and at the ashram we talk about it!). The fun comes when a person does the transformative work, opening their heart. Laughter, communal singing, and casual sports are all integral parts of life at the ashram.

Compared to where I was before coming here, I’ve grown miles. I can now hit pause on unhelpful thoughts and watch them pass. Instead of bursting out upset, out of nowhere, I can fully emote within a specific moment. And everyday my physical body is strengthened by the outdoors lifestyle—I'll always welcome a day in the mountains!

I am surely grateful for the people and the environment that is here. Instead of reading about it, I wish you’d just come and see!

Taste a rich, leafy green while feeling the sun on your skin, and hearing soft chatter from across the sturdy table...and you really taste it after digging away bramble and dirt, focusing so hard on the task at hand.

and you truly feel it, after having suffered in the past.

“In the darkness of the evening

the eyes of my heart are awake to you.

In the quiet of the night

I long to hear again intimations of your love.

In the sufferings of the world

and the struggles of my life

I seek your graces of healing.

At the heart of the brokenness around me

and in the hidden depths of my own soul

I seek your touch of healing, O God,

for there you reside.

In the hidden depths of life, O God,

there you reside.”

Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayer, J Philip Newell