after meeting NEEM KAROLi BABA, ram Dass returned to his father’s farm in new hampshire in 1969
People started hearing about his energy and coming in droves, staying in tents to share the Bhakti path. We are recreating this nostalgic experience for a weekend of glamping at Just Love Forest in Poetry, GA.
Expect three days of service with meditation, breathwork and forest therapy, followed by one day of spiritual workshops and a final day of silent experiences of self reflection.
JUNE 7th - 12th: Just Love Forest, Poetry, Georgia
SCROLL BELOW TO SEE SPEAKERS AND WORKSHOP LEADERS
HOSTED BY BALA & The satsang
We all have life wisdom to give and share. These are the beings who will guide shared conversations and experiences with us. We’re grateful to have a beautiful collection of their paths and gifts to offer.
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I’m the friendly spirit in a human body who gets to steward this beautiful forest. My spiritual journey started 5 years ago, leading me on a year long pilgrimage from Encinitas through India and then finally to Maui where I spent time with Ram Dass. Eventually I received my spiritual name, Balarama from him. I go by Bala. Just Love Forest was the dharmic path I discerned to flow through me by listening and doing my practice. It’s been a crazy adventure and I’ll share the story with you.
Before this, I was mostly an “ordinary guy” doing digital technology and leading start-up ventures. That was until I remembered my “extra ordinary” existence, the week before Christmas in 2017. My truth is that I had one of those “lightening bolt” moments of insight during a spontaneous meditation sitting in the closet of my family’s home. Everything I thought I knew vaporized instantly as an expansion beyond words occurred. Imagine closing your eyes and experiencing yourself an everything in the universe - no plants or psychedelics involved. Yeah, hard to describe and unfathomly unexpected. I try to use words to convey the experience in the podcast. What I can say is that whoever I thought I was before that moment was obliterated. All my desires, preferences and behaviors were wiped clean - full system reset.
Now I learn to surrender daily to the perfection on this magical universe and live in and from my heart.
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Ganga Das is an American spiritual figure and practitioner. He lives and serves at a Hindu Buddha Mandir, and has lives as an ascetic. His message of Big Love and internal peace is easy to digest and process. Ganga Das offers a realistic and simplistic approach to the yogas of Bhakti and Jnana in a fast paced, social media craving world. He weaves a tapestry of relative topics to both entice and open others to yoga, spirituality and compassion.
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Going on a journey inward we will explore thought provoking questions to center ourselves in the now. Unfolding with intentionality, we will participate in a discussion of mindfulness focused on compassion, being, and divine-activism.
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In 2015, after graduating with an M.S. in neuroscience, I followed an aching in my bones to leave academia. Soon afterwards, I dramatically awakened to the Spirit-World realm and consciously embarked on my own healing path. During a master plant ceremony, I asked how to align with my soul mission and heard one clear word----SOUND. Thus, I began apprenticing under a Cherokee/Taíno/Choctaw healer, learning medicine songs from various lineages. This communion allowed my classically trained operatic sound to break into something much more powerful--my true voice. Soon thereafter, I began channeling unique medicine songs through my direct connection with Source. My inner voice told me that rather than passing along the songs I'd learned, I'd be bringing in sounds to support the new paradigm of humanity, a world culture characterized by heart-centeredness and unity.
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Ken was living the lawyer life of seeming material abundance and success. But inside, something was missing that no amount of external - anything - could make up for. Through the coalescence of multiple life calamities all at once, Ken began the journey of reconnecting with Spirit.
Ken is currently working daily at living fully connected to the physical world, while simultaneously carrying the kindling of a tethered flame to that from which we - and all - derive. An Inspired life. Ken will lead a conversation with participants designed to inspire them on walking *beside* people and loved ones in their lives - as opposed to above, below, or adjacent to - those loved ones.”
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In 1976, it seemed the book “Be Here Now” was reading ME. When I closed the book, the world around seemed to speak directly to me. At 18 I took a Greyhound from Ohio to Southern California to meet Ram Dass, my first friend in our Satsang. At 63, I’ve now met countless hundreds of Maharaji’s Devotees, while living in New Mexico and Ohio, and while traveling, especially in India and cyberspace. I’m looking forward to meeting more in Just Love Forest.
Currently I’m serving as Executive Director here: www.babasyard.org
and Vice President here: www.nkbashram.org
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Zander Karlin (they/them) is a sprouting kirtan wallah, filmmaker and musician hailing from New York. Guided by their Guru’s Grace, Zander has led kirtan across the country, and accompanied seasoned wallahs such as Nina Rao, Devadas, Shyama Chapin, Sitaram Dass and more. zander also works with the Sacred Community Project and is the host of the Baby Teeth Podcast. They look forward to releasing their first track soon!
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"Everything is important, but Nothing matters" were the words the Universe gifted me as I reconnected with this world and my body after the immensely beautiful time spent bathing in the Ocean of Love I refer to as God's Mind. This intense and awe inspiring spiritual awakening happened for me in 1992. My spiritual awakening allowed me to meet the challenges of 25 years as an Air Force F-16 pilot through rigorous training and intense combat situations, but more than anything it pushed me to explore and endure the massive highs and lows of my own spiritual path. While the meaning of these words have morphed with the passing of time, I have used them as an all important life code through today. To me, they remind me to still my monkey mind daily in order to reveal the truth of each and every moment as being precious and important, but to accept the inevitable and beautiful change of every-single thing in this material world and Universe. God's Mind is the quantum field of pure potentiality we are surrounded by, and can be accessed when we find our quiet center. In 2017 I found the cheat-code for entering that quantum ocean through breathwork. To me, breathwork is the nearly free vehicle God gives us to remember and reconnect with our core Self. My spiritual path has been guided by my Guru, Maharaj-Ji Neem Karoli Baba, and the sage advice of beautiful masters such as The Buddha, Jesus, Hanuman, Krishna, Shiva, Rama, Muhammed, Ram Dass, Meher Baba, Rumi, and Hafiz. Like these masters, mine is the path down the river that leads to the Ocean of Love, and breathwork is the vehicle I use to float this beautiful River. It is my immense pleasure to share this vehicle and its gifts with as many people as possible. God's Mind is an infinite Ocean of Love that surrounds us, and is us, that is waiting for us to relax, be still/silent, long enough to breathe into remembering our Truth.
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Andrew is a chanter, multi-instrumentalist musician and sound therapist who has a deep love for anything involving sound. His journey started with four years of music theory and guitar training, beginning at the age of 13. He is also a singer, songwriter and music composer, as well as lead singer and musician performing kirtan at satsangs. His other instruments include: piano, harmonium, a variety of flutes, hand drums and more. As a sound therapist, Andrew has trained with the Acutonics system, which utilizes tuning forks on acupuncture points and meridian lines. He also uses gongs, Tibetan and crystal singing bowls, and other instruments in the application of sound therapy and for group sound meditations
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Community with Sangha
You’ll be part of this special forest tribe of likeminded souls sharing their journeys and learnings they’ve experienced along the path. Come share camping, food and camp fire camaraderie.
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Kirtan
Come share in the heart opening practice of devotional chanting. Experience this core part of the Bhakti path of love and devotion. Whether you’ve done this before or not, everyone is included and welcomed to share in the miracle of music.
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Nature and Forest Therapy
Share in meditation, yoga and forest therapy in 716 pristine acres of nature preserve. You’ll enjoy some guided group experiences with trained guides and have free time to experience the forest in your own way.