“And I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the Joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused, whose dwelling is the Light of setting suns, and the round ocean and the living air, and the blue sky, and in the mind of man; a motion and a spirit, that impels all thinking things, all objects of thought, and rolls through all things.”
– William Wordsworth
I recently experienced the blessing of spending three days and two nights in spiritual retreat at Prana — the headquarters of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness also fondly known as the Home of the Traveler. Prana is evolving into a spiritual day spa including the Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens.
My time was filled with a jam-packed panorama of spiritual experiences including: spiritual exercises in my room, in the second-floor solarium, and at various chairs and niches in the back of the property; a walk on the labyrinth; two trips to the recently completed multi-level meditation garden at the very rear of the property; and a John-Roger taped seminar, led by Marjorie Eaton, Prana’s guest coordinator and MSIA staff member.
Prana’s labyrinth is built on the design of another labyrinth constructed at the Chartres Cathedral in France around the year 1220. Made of hand-cut stone, each piece is laid by hand along several interlocking circular paths measuring 40 feet across, stretching out a third of a mile in total walking distance.
According to an instruction sheet provided at Prana for those who want to walk the labyrinth, “Labyrinths are a kind of archetypical designs that have been in existence for hundreds — perhaps thousands — of years as part of mystical and religious traditions and cultures throughout the world.”
The powerful energies of the labyrinth path can result in many types experiences, each different, and each giving you still another insight into your life — as it did my experience of walking the Prana labyrinth.
But, the meditation garden is a crowning, glorious achievement found at this spiritual spa. The garden was inaugurated on June 30th at the wedding of Dr. Paul Kaye, MSIA President, and his lovely wife Shelley Noble.
Constructed in rectangular shape with several stair-stepped levels going down, the garden features a gazebo at one end, a really large oriental urn and fountain in the center, flanked by two Chinese pots, and a foot-bridge over a beautiful pond , and a table and chairs at the other end.
Additional chairs and benches are found on the different levels throughout the length of the garden, along with a number of smaller urn-fountains of Balinese, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese crafting, all with bamboo water pipes and water-delivery systems. Everything was designed so there would be no awareness of going from one culture into another.
Hundreds of plants and trees, including cannas, roses and lilies, all in many radiant colors, seem to reach out to greet and welcome you. Fruit and citrus trees were added in addition to the avocado trees, already in place from the old orchard.
I immediately experienced the presence of Spirit, making me feel more and more alive and increasing the awareness of my senses. The presence of love and the feeling of well-being and contentment was everywhere.
Marjorie Eaton accompanied me on my first of the two visits to the meditation garden. With intimate knowledge of the different plants and species, she described every feature of the garden in great detail. When we prepared to leave, I felt the Loving Presence seeming to reach out to me, and I didn’t want to go.
Although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, I experienced in meditation afterwards many vertical lines of shimmering energy and varying intensities of color, with faces and forms of the Divas reaching out to me from the plants and trees. I also felt the energy of what I interpreted as “higher beings,” and of course I experienced the overwhelming energy of love and the Travelers. My second trip in the meditation garden was even more pronounced. Even more powerful.
It seems so few people know what’s really available to them at the Home of the Traveler! The meals were wonderful! There was roast beef with all of the trimmings on the first evening, and roast lamb and veggies on the second evening. And, an array of frozen desserts in the freezer, IF there was still room for dessert.
On the final morning of my stay, Marjorie prepared for me rice flour pancakes with eggs and real maple syrup, plus sausages made with chicken and applesauce.
Heaven? On Earth! And a set of Spiritual experiences I will remember always!
Mark Lurie, a member of the MSIA Presidency, said the renovation projects are ongoing, and that work is being done on Prana as part of a continuing reconstruction program for actively opening the properties to visitors.
“People are still welcome to come by in the interim. However, we do plan to open the facilities more to the public once our renovation of the Prana dining room is complete. We don’t have a firm date on when that will be,” Mark said.
If you’d like to be a guest at the spiritual day spa which is Prana, you can call Prana at (323) 737-4055 for information on costs and space availability.
