Excitement of Continuing Spiritual Practices
I remember when I first came back from India in 2007, I promised myself I would keep up with the ashram's daily schedule of meditation, mantras, exercise, and healthy eating. After a few days, I was deeply yearning the disciplined life of the ashram and missing the daily spiritual talks I was used to. For a few days, I kept up with ashram routine I learned while in India, but it was not the same. After time, all that was left of the wonderful and transforming routine, was a mala of mantras, meditation, and chai tea.
Returning to Home Life
Upon returning from the trip to India and ashram living, there were emails to attend to, homework to catch up on, military business to take care of, cleaning up of my home, visiting with family and friends to update them on my trip, and so much more, on top of the excitement of keeping up with my given spiritual practices. It was definitely overwhelming mentally and emotionally, but after a few days I just learned to adjust and balance it.
When you return home, do your best to live in the moment and be in relaxation, just like how you were at the ashram or retreat.
Digesting the Spiritual Experience
I learned so much while I was visiting India, getting a taste of ashram living, and just absorbing Indian culture, that it took me a few weeks to really digest the whole experience. With daily teachings and guidance from Acharya Shree, plus visiting holy places that were vibrating with spiritual energy, there was a lot of energy, spiritual experiences, and learned knowledge to fully understand balance it out. Sometimes a retreat/ashram experience is shocking to the system - mind, body, soul. What goes up, goes down, too. Therefore, upon returning home, give yourself sometime to absorb the whole experience, relax, and figure out which positive things you'd like to slowly incorporate in your home life.
How to Extend the Retreat/Ashram Experience
- Give yourself 2-3 days to catch up on work. During your first 2 - 3 days upon returning, keep your practices to a minimum, so as not to overwhelm yourself with the responsibilities and errands you need to catch up on.
- Follow a simple schedule that works for you. If you learned to meditate or recite mantras twice a day, exercised or did yoga at a certain time, or followed a strict schedule, take 1-2 activities from the ashram schedule and incorporate it into your daily routine. After time if you would like to and if your schedule permits, incorporate more of the ashram schedule into your daily routine.
- Keep in touch with the teachers or friends you met at the retreat or ashram. Remembering your experience and keeping in touch with others helps remind you of how much at peace you were. When you remember special spiritual memories, you become peaceful.
- Be patient with your practices. You might have been given specific spiritual sadhana to do or guidance by a teacher; however, it is important to slowly incorporate the new knowledge, awareness, and practices into your life. It's not a necessity to do all things at once. You want to grow, heal, and be relaxed - this is the goal. Rushing into practices, while full of tension, will not give you the best results as if you were fully relaxed.
- Your Home is the Ashram. Remind yourself that your home is an ashram - a place of spiritual learning and practices. Remember to always be clean, use calm voices, never use abusive language, nor permit cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs in your home. By just doing these few things, you can create a very peaceful and spiritual atmosphere in your own home and family.
