The expansive emerald lawns of Omega institute have a special dapple of sunshine and shade that is so inviting, so soothing - a living, breathing reality all its own. Omega has gracefully enveloped thousands, perhaps millions of spiritual seekers and teachers over the years in its transformative embrace, and the effect  is palpable. For seven days I submerged myself in that rarified atmosphere, along with 300 other souls, for a silent meditation retreat with the great, yet humble spiritual teacher Adyashanti.

We quickly established our rhythm; up at 6:30am to find our place in the meditation hall, followed by sequential meditations, silent meals, talks, then the chance to step up to the mic and ask our deepest, most heartfelt questions each evening before final meditation.

Adya’s dharma talks and interactive discourses were surely some of his finest. Adya’s wife Mukti led Chi Kung sessions twice a day by the lake, which opened us up even more for the light, energy, pure power and wisdom that flowed like holy water.
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Day by day, I began to feel like a hippopotamus submerged in that holy water, with only my eyes peering out above the surface. For the first four days, I admit, my mind was swirling around its usual paths, a hamster unable to get off the wheel. It’s been a tough year, full of stress. Emotional turmoil bubbled like hot lava beneath my calm façade. So I followed Adya’s directive to just compassionately watch my mind running on its wheel. Meditation session after meditation, it ran and ran through its cycle of stressful concerns. At Adya’s behest, I began a gentle discourse with my own mind; “Sweetheart, of course you’re racing all over, that’s just what you do, come on home and settle down Sweetheart”.

Then one evening, during our final meditation, Adya's powerful transmission of light reached a pinnacle, as he urged us to look attentively for the ending of anything in our experience.  So I started to notice, more and more, the ending of each thought, the ending of each breath. That became my queue, that became my mantra, that became my work for the rest of the week. As I felt into that deeper self within, the self that witnesses, the self that remains when each thought comes to an end, everything in me became peaceful. The relief was so sublime, it was true bliss. So very simple. It’s always been right there, we all know this… Adya calls it “garden variety” consciousness. It couldn’t be more fundamental or apparent, yet its depth is unfathomable.

I walked out of the meditation hall that evening into Omega’s warm, fragrant night-embrace. The plants were gently swaying in the breeze as we all found our shoes on the porch in the moonlight, each soul, each heart, connected to every other heart. The great, living Buddha field we had created in the womb of Omega, vibrated at such a high frequency, I reveled in the grateful knowing that I was in the perfect place for me on the planet at that moment. ‘How MUCH I LOVE this’ my heart sang. - Savitri Narayan Kaur