NEUROSCIENCE AND MEDITATIONS
IN THE SPIRITUAL HEART

Led by Olga Louchakova

September 12-19, 2010
$610 Overnight  (includes all meals)
$530 Commuter (includes lunch and dinner)

In the West, non-dual consciousness has become a subject of scientific research. Recent advances in neuroscience and psychology demonstrate that the experience of non-dual awareness enhances attentional resources of the brain, improves memory, and promotes personal growth. In this retreat, based on the research done by Olga Louchakova, participants will be introduced to meditations that lead to the emergence of non-dual consciousness, experience the positive outcomes of non-dual awareness, and learn about the relationship between attention and awareness from the standpoint of the scientific research of non-duality.

In order to attain non-dual awareness, we will learn meditations on the Spiritual Heart, which is the center of non-dual awareness in the human body. These meditations are at the core of the wisdom traditions of Sufism, Hasidism (mystical Judaism) and Hesychasm (mystical Christian tradition of the internal stillness). In the East, they are found in traditions of Advaita and Shakta Vedanta. Focusing attention in the Spiritual Heart opens access to subconscious and enhances self-knowledge, brings up the direct intuition, expands consciousness, purifies the mind and, above all, leads to the gestalt of the non-dual awareness.

Retreat Include

• Initiations into the Spiritual Heart
• Work with sacred imagery
• Periods of guided and silent meditations
• Discourses on non-dual consciousness and scientific research of the non-dual brain
• Psychospiritual guidance, and
• Other exercises relevant to the journey into non-duality

Retreat Schedule

Retreat begins on Sunday, Sept 12. Check-in is open from 3:00 pm, dinner at 6:00 pm.

The first session is Sunday from7:30 - 9:30 pm. The ending of the retreat is the following Sunday, Sept 19, with the closing session 9:30 am-12:30 pm, and lunch. From Monday Sept 13 - Sat Sept 18 the schedule will be:

• Breakfast 8-9
• Morning session - 9: 15 - 12:15
• Lunch 12:30 - 1:30 pm
• Rest time 1:30 - 2:30 pm
• Afternoon session 2:30 - 6 pm
• Dinner 6-7 pm
• Evening session 7 - 9 pm

The time between the meals, except for the afternoon rest hour, is occupied by meditation and discourse (sohbet or satsang). Morning and Afternoon are primarily meditation sessions, guided. The sessions may also include some work with sacred images. Evening sessions include questions and answers, and possibly some video materials.

Olga Louchakova is a spiritual teacher, medical doctor and neuroscientist. She is the founding Director of the Neurophenomenology Research Center at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and the mandated teacher of Advaita Vedanta, Kundalini Yoga and Prayer of the Heart. Her original spiritual training comes from the Russian spiritual underground. Her recent research of visual awareness in Tibetan monks was featured in the Science Daily, on the Discovery Channel, and on BBC News.

You can contact Olga at olouchakova@gmail.com.

Registration

Click below to pay by credit card. Select your preferred registration type: Overnight or Commuter.

Mercy Sisters and Burlingame Associates: you may select the RSM-BurlAssoc special rates.

Or call (650) 340-7454 for registration assistance,

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