An example of Emissary Wheel made from small stones
An example of Emissary Wheel made from small stones
Join us in the most beautiful place on
Earth
for a Mother Divine retreat
Delayed
The energy for this event is not yet ready to support it. Those of you who have worked with me before will know that I try as much as possible to be open to where the Divine takes me. I was really keen to organise something at our beautiful Greek house. However I cannot proceed with the event I had planned and remain in truth.
Instead I will be organising an event in London. It will be over one or two days and will probably be about working with the energy of Mother Divine to remove blocks and attachments.
However the information for my original retreat idea is still available for your interest below. This will be happening but not just yet!
The Love of Mother Divine
Removing
Blocks and
Attachments
Taking as our starting point my book The Song
of Mother Divine we will experience
5 days of exploration,
stillness and transformation.
The retreat is open to everyone but will best suit the more independent traveller. You will be responsible for organising your own accommodation and travel, including your travel to and from Villa Stepeni each day. We can of course help you and you will find our recommendations for accommodation and travel below.
We feel that in arranging the retreat in this way it gives you the most flexibility on pricing. You can stay in utter luxury or choose something simpler. You can travel alone, travel with friends or bring your family - they might want to spend the whole day on the beach where you can join them each afternoon for example.
Whatever your beliefs or practices you are welcome on this retreat. I only ask that you at all times respect the integrity of others and allow them the space to be who they are. Personally I have no beliefs and subscribe to no ideology, religion or philosophy. I am simply curious to know how things work. I have found a few systems and procedures that I currently find useful and of value and I am happy to share these when appropriate.
Below you will find all the information you need.
NB: The programme may be updated at any time.
For a printer
friendly, version of the details below click here 
Prices & Booking Details
My hope for this retreat is that we find ourselves regularly connecting with the energy of pure, creative, unconditional love that is sometimes called Mother Divine. Perhaps we will also feel curious enough to explore some of the other aspects of Mother Divine energy too. The methods we will use will be based on the practice of exploration, stillness and transformation. We will look at ways to raise our consciousness by exploring ways of stepping out of our fixed mindsets and emotional patterns. We will be particularly focusing on what might prevent us from really experiencing the feeling I am Loved i.e. our blocks and attachments. Is it possible to identify and shed some of these hinderances?
Hopefully we will mostly have a lot of fun together!
The programme is designed to be flexible to enable us to go where the energy takes us. Before the retreat takes place it is possible that new ideas will occur to me or someone may step forward with a particular skill they wish to share with us. Therefore the programme below can only be a guide to what we will actually do. I invite you to keep your expectations open and flexible. Ideally expect nothing, discount nothing and be open to anything. However be reassured that my skill is to create a safe environment where we can all experience stillness and begin to allow our Life Force energy to guide us into the individual transformations that are right for each one of us.
Monday:
9.00am:
The
first day together will begin with registration and tea/coffee.
This will also be a chance to get to know each other, to find out about the area and
about Villa
Stepeni.
This initial meeting will be followed by our first group session which will finish around 1.00pm. There will be no organised programme for the afternoon and evening but private sessions will be available at a small extra cost.
Tuesday - Friday will be as follows:
9.00am - 12.30pm: Our group session will begin. We will take as our starting point my book The Song of Mother Divine and the principles of exploration, stillness and transformation. We will look at blocks and attachments. What are they? How do they affect us? What are our own blocks and attachments? Can we step out of some of them? We will be flexible as to where we go with each session but some of the possibilities are:
You will be encouraged to view the group as an open platform where you can bring anything along that you feel moved to share. E.g. a skill you have, a reading from a book, a poem, a picture, music, cards etc.
Evenings: If the group is interested we will organise some evening activities. This might include eating out at one of the many local tavernas or perhaps an evening of Greek dance or singing Bhajans together.
Private appointments with Sue will also be available during the week for a small extra charge.
NB: This programme may be updated at any time.
Retreat on hold for now. See above.
The price €100. This includes a three and a half hour group session each day and a signed copy of "The Song of Mother Divine". It does not include travel and accommodation.
Local residents are welcome to join the retreat for only €75, a 25% discount.
Bookings and enquiries are welcome via email: sue.saraswati@gmail.com or via telephone: + 44 (0)208 546 7790 uk. 6970 914 831 gr.
Deposits of 25% can be paid in Sterling via BACS or by a UK bank account cheque at the current exchange rate. Alternatively you can pay by euros into our Greek bank account. Contact us for other payment options or for bank account details.
Once your booking has been processed you will receive an information pack by post and offered any help you require in making your travel plans.
Some suggestions for accommodation can be found here all the accommodation has been checked by us, is fairly close to Villa Stepeni and we think it is very good value. However please do note that it is your responsibility to choose and book your own accommodation. So please look at all options available to you and not just our recommendations. However if you decide to stay at Kelly Apartments or Villa Pelagia please be sure to tell Katarina when you book that you are taking part in the retreat. She will then offer you a discount.
Travel to and from the Mani area of Greece is very easy. Most people coming from the UK choose to either fly via EasyJet to Athens or to book a charter flight to Kalamata.
Via Athens:
Flights to Athens can be
very cheap. We usually travel with EasyJet from London Gatwick. You can also
get flights from Manchester, Stanstead and Luton with EasyJet. Many other
airlines also fly to Athens from the UK. Athens airport is a modern,
international airport and you will be able to fly there directly or indirectly
from anywhere in the world.
From Athens airport it is very easy to get a bus or taxi to the bus station and then a coach from there to Kalamata. We can advise you about this if you choose to take this route. It takes up to an hour to get to the bus station (depending on Athens traffic) and then four hours by comfortable coach from Athens to Kalamata (3 hours if you get the Express service). The total cost of these trips is around €26. From Kalamata there are buses and taxis to the Mani - but ask our advice if you are planning to travel this way.
Car hire from the airport is an excellent option and by far the easiest and most convenient solution for most people. There is a new toll motorway - the Attiki Odos - that skirts around Athens and takes you to the motorway that leads down through the Peloponese to Kalamata and then on through the mountains to the Mani. The whole trip down to the Mani from Athens takes around four to four and a half hours. It's actually a beautiful route with very little traffic (usually).
Via Kalamata
Charter flights from
the UK and Europe are
available direct to Kalamata during the period May - October. Although you
have less choice regarding travel times and prices with these flights it is much easier to arrive at Kalamata
airport, take a taxi (we can arrange this for you with a good local firm) or pick up a car and drive to the Mani than it is to arrive via Athens.
Companies such as Travel Republic, Mark Warner Holidays, Thomas Cook, Sunvil and Just the Flight
will sell you a flight direct to Kalamata. You then have a one hour drive down
to the Mani. UK flights from London or Manchester arrive/depart on
Saturdays & Sundays.
Buses
Many Greek people get
around in Greece by bus. The bus service is excellent, clean and comfortable
as well as being very cheap. There is a frequent bus service from Athens to
Kalamata and a less frequent service from Kalamata to the Mani. Once you are
in the Mani there is a bus that links up the small resort towns and beaches
and many buses to local villages. Unfortunately there is no bus service to
Villa Stepeni in Elaiohorio. There is however a good local taxi service which
might be a cheap option if several people pool together - we can help you to
arrange this.
Car Hire
Car hire is quite cheap
in Greece particularly if you book in advance. A good selection of budget car
rental companies can be found at
www.zorbas.de
In the Spring of 2006 my husband Roger and I visited the Peloponnese area of Greece to search for a house. We only had two weeks in which to do this. We wanted to buy an old stone house that we could use as a family home but that I could also use for workshops and other group events. We were clear that we wanted somewhere that did not need too much renovation, somewhere that was immediately useable.
The house we ended up falling in love with did not entirely meet these criteria. It was perfect, well it would be eventually, for group events and family visits. However it did need a tiny bit more work than we had originally planned to take on. No, it needed considerably more work than we had originally planned to take on. It was once a kaffeinion, a sort of bar/coffee house type of place. In fact it was still fitted out as a kaffeinion although very full of junk and old furniture. To follow the story take a look at my blog starting at December 2006 and working your way forward.
The house is now finished, more or less, and will be ready for group workshops by October 2009. I will update the photo gallery after each trip I take to Greece. Look out for new photos at the beginning of May 2009.
The Mani is a part of the Peloponnese area of mainland Greece. It is a beautiful, wild area where stunning mountains sweep down to quiet beaches and azure blue seas.
There are still many unspoilt areas and remote mountain villages (e.g. Elaiohorio) where life has changed little for hundreds of years. The road to the Mani from the nearest town -Kalamata - was only completed in the late 1960's. Before that the only access was by goat track or sea.
Of course there is tourism here but it is very civilised! The more popular tourist spots are Kardamyli, Stoupa/ Kalogria and Agios Nicolaos.
The village where we live is definitely not a tourist spot. It consists of only houses and a church. Many of the inhabitants of the village are quite elderly and have lived there for the whole of their lives.
There are a few interesting websites on the area such as: www.maniguide.info and www.zorbas.de There are photos of the local area and Villa Stepeni in my Google albums here
Bookings and enquiries:
sue.saraswati@gmail.com
+ 44(0)208 546 7790
For a printer friendly,
easy to read version of the details above click here
Programme Dates Prices and Booking Accommodation and Travel
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