Madre Grande Monastery

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Meditation, Monks, and Monastery Life

A Weekend Spiritual Retreat

Madre Grande Monastery

June 10-12, 2016

A unique opportunity to experience life at Madre Grande and share our Spiritual Journey.

Three days, two nights, five meals, and a varied program of teaching, healing, ceremony, and celebration.

All for only one hundred bucks!

Meditation is an effective and useful tool on the Spiritual Path, with proven benefits for physical and mental health. But meditation can be much more than sitting calmly in a peaceful puddle, as silent and still as "a sack of rice".

          The Monks and Friars of Madre Grande Monastery strive to meditate throughout our daily lives, being mindful of our thoughts and actions and remembering to radiate loving kindness all the time. We're not perfect, but we're working on it, learning every day to heal ourselves, heal each other, and heal the Earth. As Monks of the Paracelsian Order, this is our life and our goal.

          We would like to share our methods, thoughts, and experiences with you during a weekend Spiritual Retreat, June 10-12. We invite you to join us on our journey toward positive Spiritual Perfection.

          This special weekend retreat is being offered at a very special price of only $100, and includes a two night stay (double occupancy), all meals, and a series of discussions and teachings on meditation and Monastery life. (See schedule below.)

          Space is limited to six participants, so reserve your space as soon as possible. If you plan to attend, please RSVP and send a $25 deposit (via Paypal, check, or credit card). Let us know when you will be arriving on Friday, and if you will be sharing dinner with us at 7:00.   The program begins at 8:00, and we hope to see you here.

                    Friday

5:00-6:00 p.m.                        Early arrival*

6:00-7:00                    Meditation Hour*

7:00-8:00                    Dinner*

8:00-9:30                    Program Begins

                        Welcome, Introductions, Guided Meditation

                        Program Outline, Monastery Facilities, House Rules

                        History, Purpose, and Future of Madre Grande

                         Saturday

8:00-9:00 a.m.            Meditation Hour

9:00-10:00                  Breakfast

10:00-10:50                Meditation in Daily Life

11:00-11:50                Meditation and the Fifth Vow

12:00-2:00 p.m.          Lunch and Rest Break

2:00-2:50                    Are You Secretly A Monk?

3:00-4:00                    Working With The Vows

4:00-6:00                    Free Time, Wandering, and Exploration

6:00-7:00                    Meditation Hour

7:00-8:00                    Dinner

8:00- end                     Drumming and Celebration (Sun Center)

           Sunday

8:00-9:00 a.m.            Meditation Hour

9:00-10:00                  Breakfast

10:00-11:00                Healing Garden Experience

11:15-12:00                Sharing and Closing Circle

`           *Optional participation. Please make prior reservations.

                              Women’s Inipi (Sweat Lodge)

Saturday June 4th 2016, 10am-5pm

Experience healing in a circle of sacred women and sisters, just like you! Learn the wise Medicine Wheel Teachings to release past pain and replace it with joy, confidence and bravery.
Our Lodge leader, Roberta "Mama Bear" Moon, carries ceremonies and teachings from husband Hawk Moon and his family. She has been pouring lodge and sharing teachings for over 20 years. She will be supported by the female members of the Medicine Shield Strong Heart Society committed to keeping the circle safe and prepared for your healing journey.

Suggestions for an Enriched Day

Please wear a long skirt and a shirt with sleeves and bring a towel for inside the lodge - these items will get dirty. Come hydrated and bring extra water. Please, bring an extra change of clothes and a clean towel (to dry off with) since lodge wear will be wet and muddy. Cold shower and toilet available. Please also bring a dish of your choice for our post lodge potluck (note: we do not provide a way to heat or keep food cold). Suggested donation of $60 will be collected at arrival - cash or check only. Make check out to Roberta Moon.

Item Checklist:
2 towels
Wear a long Skirt and T-Shirt
Extra clothes and jacket
Flashlight
Bottles of water
Favorite dish to share
Donation: cash or check made out to Roberta Moon Please send any questions via Messenger or call 951/609-1415

                                   Inipi Ceremony Saturday,

                                               May 21 2016

Traditional Lakota Sweat Lodges take place the third Saturday of the month. Join us for an afternoon of healing and release.

Followed by a pot-luck. Suggested donation is $60. Learn more @ www.facebook.com/hawk.moon.3

                                      Let's Connect!

Madre Grande is available to host groups for retreats or workshops. Share your ideas with us and we will work with you! Join our Facebook group.

Visitors and those interested in spiritual retreats are asked to call 619-468-6869 or email reservations@madregrande.org for reservations and more information. Thank you for reading our newsletter! Many Blessings from Madre Grande Monastery.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

    My quest in the Healing Earth Garden for the day was how to bring loving awareness to emotions, thoughts and actions that I clearly want to avoid. When I avoid these things I self-righteously justify myself, or become upset at the other person’s reaction. This is the behavior I am trying to change.

   One station in the Earth Garden is the Infinity Walk, the symbol for infinity marked out with a border of rocks in the sand. The interwoven circles seemed to contain both the problem and the solution. The question and the answer are flowing into each other creating an eternal balance.

   I realized that the simple willingness to ask the question was one tiny step toward a shift in behavior. Letting go of being right or wrong melted my fear and gave myself a break from my own limitations.

   I need to open the door before I cross the threshold.

The Healing Earth Garden

     The Healing Earth Garden at Madre Grande Monastery is a project inspired by discussions around the kitchen table in my friend Olga’s house. We were pondering how to maintain our connection with the Great Spirit while practicing life. My friend was illumined by a powerful, simple suggestion: “Ask the Healing Earth!” A few days later she came up with a written plan that I eventually manifested at Madre Grande Monastery.
    To my friendship with her I want to dedicate this coming year of my experiences in the Healing Earth Garden.
   The garden consists of nine stations, each one centered around an oak tree.
Nine elements, or facilitators, are used to support the experience of healing from the Earth: cleansing smoke, water, sound, earth breathing, magnetic power, texture, natural patterns, play, and infinity.
In the middle of the garden there is a small pyramid of rocks. The seeker presents her or his intentions and prayers to the Great Spirit.

The journey starts at the station that is most inspiring to the individual, and follows the healing circle in an Earthwise (counterclockwise) direction.
The Healing Earth Garden allows one to spend time in deep meditation with nature. By grounding through one’s heart, mind, intuition, senses and knowledge, participants draw nourishment directly from the Mother of us all-- the Earth itself.
On January 1st 2016, I practiced “doing absolutely nothing” in the Healing Earth Garden. This is a practice that, ironically, I had on my “To Do” list for almost four years.
The connection with nature came easily. Birds devoted themselves to acrobatic dances through the reddish sunset air, the oak tree branches became solidified smoke, and the soil covered in dry grass and oak leaves appeared as an immense sensitive skin.
The teaching that runs through my blood is this: reconnect gently and slowly with Mother Earth, and accept her precious gifts over my own thoughts and reactions.
Throughout the year I will be working with the Healing Earth Garden on my own journey, and sharing the experience and lessons as I find them. Perhaps you can join me and we can help heal each other with the strength and love of our Mother.

Newsletter March 2016

Hello! And thank you for visiting Madre Grande Monastery's blog, our home for upcoming events.