Hosted by Yasmeen Clark and Jonathan Spark
April 6th - 12th 2015
Ubud, Bali
On the island of Gods and Goddesses, Raman guided a wonderful retreat nurturing attendees to feel and embrace the Divine Man and Woman within us. A learning process to use this part of themselves to empower their life and love in life. Many found this retreat transforming and healing and returned glowing. This retreat was held in the beautiful warm and green Gaia Retreat in Ubud, Bali.
Jonathan's Review
April 2015
Retreats with Raman really are one of the great joys of my life. A time that not only do Yasmeen and I get to be immersed in the energy of love in another part of the world, but we get to share this with loving and open hearted souls who have come to grow, open and discover.
This Retreat was blessed with many, many special moments. From the simple joy of scootering around together in the Bali warmth, feeling the elements and smelling the smells, to being surrounded by the presence of the Gods in the form of rolling thunder and torrential rain.
Our Villa was magic, held in the loving energy of its owner Glenn Adams and it's divine manager Dwi, who went above and beyond to take care of us. We ate food made with love, fresh and clean food that fed you heart and Soul.
The pool was a gift and Yasmeen and I would regularly start the day with a swim before I would teach a Yoga class that would flow onto a meditation session with Yasmeen all before breakfast.
Raman showered us in Love, building the bridge between our world and that of the Gods and Goddess, bringing their presence into our lives in such solid and tangible ways. They sat with us and gently awoke the truth inside of each one of us. The truth that quite naturally led you to hearing the word come out of your mouth, ‘I am a God/Goddess.’ Not any self-proclaiming grandiose claim of wonderment, just a simple egoless recognition of the inescapable truth. The God is within me, God is around me, the God and Goddess so clearly sat in front of me when I looked into the eyes of those with us, so why would I, in this grand plan of love, be the only one separate to this Divine force? The answer is of course I am not, for that would simply be impossible.
Raman opened us to the parts of ourselves that we knew no longer served this higher frequency and through beautiful and gentle ritual we burnt the old, offered prayers for the new, then birthed, blessed and reborn through the sacred waters into this new choice of being ourselves. Living form this truth and connection.
Of course the echoes of patterns and beliefs of the past always ripple in the atmosphere of our mind. But the ritual, the depth of connection and of course Raman’s love has made it so much easier to turn to the new sense of Self, to the God or Goddess within and let the doubt and questioning of the mind drift off like the echo it really is.
Some of the highlights for Yasmeen and I was connecting with Ajeet Kuar and chanting with Maneesh de Moor. We met wonderful awake Souls who are really connected to this new wave of energy embracing the planet.
Ubud is a magnet for transformation and change, Raman explained that one of the reasons it has been a point of pilgrimage and creativity for generations is because of a huge ruby gem stone buried deep under the mountain that amplifies the energy of change and transformation.
It reminded us at times at how spiritually conservative we can be in New Zealand, not celebrating the Divine or our connection to each other and love very comfortably. But it is also very reassuring to know how many are working and awakening to this new consciousness in the world.
Raman and Yasmeen have been welcomed with open arms by the Ubdian community and we are looking forward to our return. Keep an eye out for information of our next flyer.
I want to thank the wonderful people who joined us, you were a treat and pleasure to support, handling your changes and transformations with grace and dignity even if at times they stretched and tested you leaving you quite literally flat on your backs.
I want to thank my extraordinary wife for her commitment to the service of humanity and to the Divine and to of course my teacher and friend Raman Pascha who held us with such care and love, it lit up the hearts and faces of all who attended.
Love Jonathan
Tim Withell's Review
Bali Retreat Review: Transformative and Incredibly Healing
(Alternatively titled: S#!t, now I have to build a new life!)
I have been sitting at home for the last day, really taking it easy and letting the dust settle inside after such a wonderful and powerful experience in Bali. It has been one of those experiences that has left me feeling incredibly energised, incredibly powerful, and once again like my true life is only just beginning.
The first thing that I have noticed about myself upon returning home is how very much deeper my sense of spirituality and connection is. Both to myself, but to others, to music, mantra, chanting, and such a desire to express this. I spent the first half hour upon returning home unpacking my bags and building something of an altar, while humming along to Krishna Das. I’m feeling the depth and sacredness of this connection, and it has all the more highlighted how special and rare this path is, and how different and almost alien the outside world feels now. It has become the place I turn to first, and I’m expecting my life to reflect this reasonably quickly in the future.
I can already hear my mind going “Oh good! New car, new job, possibly new flat, I’d like this, this, this, that, and these other couple of things dealt to as quickly as possible…” as I feel this excitement and opportunity, and yes, all these things will change in time, but the biggest change I’ve experienced is where I live my life from. Letting my heart be the guide, staying open, trusting, and feeling life flow as easily as if I was flying down the side of a volcano on a bicycle with no brakes! The learning from here forward will be the balance. When I decide want something in life I tend to go after it like a dog after a big juicy bone, and I can already feel that happening somewhat with the practical things. I’m doing my best to keep this in check though, as what this retreat has opened me to is the energy of life, and staying very open to letting it come naturally. Trusting you will be met with love, and the practical will be taken care of. (It never happens as fast as the mind wants it to!)
My experience of Bali itself was one of wonder and amazement. Such a vastly different and overwhelming culture to get used to when first experiencing it from the outside. I found myself in dinner the first night sitting there giggling to myself about the fact I was actually there, and how delightful and overwhelming it all was (granted I had been awake for 21 hours!). You can really easily drop into the Balinese flow of things. The phrase “Oh, we’re on Bali time!” grew popular as everybody just went with this flow. This is most present in the way they do traffic. I saw a couple of police officers standing on street corners trying to direct things but everybody just did what they were doing anyway. It’s stressful to someone who clings tightly to road rules and security, but great fun for those on scooters who understand that if they take the gap they will be accommodated. A wonderful metaphor for life it seems.
I had lots of fun out and about wandering the streets of Ubud, going out for dinner, stopping for drinks at different places, and had one major shopping trip with the girls where I really got to know the part of me that is patient. It was a delight to immerse myself in the culture and the Balinese people are all so friendly and delightful. They take every opportunity, but a strong clear “No” is always respected. It was quite the novelty to see stray dogs and chickens wandering the street amongst the people.
The impact of the actual “retreat” part of the trip was far greater than I had anticipated, especially on the physical level. I found myself falling ill on the morning of the first day of the retreat and was praying to the porcelain for most of Monday. For the next couple of days I was having intense flashes of hot and cold (which Raman explained at one point was the hot and cold, masculine and feminine energies coming together inside of me) and felt like jumping in the pool one minute to curling up under 5 blankets the next. Almost sweating and shivering at the same time. Thankfully this eased on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and I have never been so thrilled to have breakfast in my life. This intensity continued in other ways in the second half of the week as we performed activities to physically express what was changing inside of us. We had a traditional Balinese fire ceremony where we wrote what we wanted to receive in life on one side of a piece of wood, and what we wanted to let go of and offer up to the gods on the other. (Some of us had enough to fill a sheet of paper as well which I think the Balinese found quite interesting). This was incredibly profound and moving as all of the parts of life that no longer served us literally went up in smoke. A great release. The morning after this amazing evening we all dressed up in our sarongs again and headed out to one of the sacred temples of cleansing waters. We put our togs on underneath our traditional dress and one by one, drank three times from each of the 12 fountains and washed ourselves clean. An incredibly purifying and humbling experience. After a beautiful lunch provided by the staff of Villa Gaia, we piled back in the vans and headed down to the temple of the great mother to really ground this brand new “reborn” self that we were all discovering.
To top it all off, on Saturday afternoon we all rode bikes down the side of an incredibly large volcano to really feel the flow of life and the ease and pleasure that living in this energy can bring.
Once I got over the fact that my back brake was completely worn down to the metal, the chain came off if I changed my gears up too high, and that my handlebars were slipping and the plastic covers came off them, I had an amazing time! We saw so much amazing scenery, waved and said hello to so many cheerful kids in the villages and went so much faster than the tour guides wanted us to. We really captured the feeling of flying and it felt so damn good that even after 25KM and several hours we didn’t want to stop.
Before I wrap this up I would like to acknowledge and give thanks to all who made this possible.
First and foremost, Yasmeen, Raman, and Jonathan. My teachers, my guides. My eternal gratitude goes to you for making all this possible, for holding this love, and for giving so much to all of us, not just this week but every week for as long as I can remember.
Thank you never seems like enough.
Next, to those Gods and Goddesses who I had the privilege of sharing this week with and sitting next to on this journey. I feel I have gained such a deep friendship with all of you. Thank you for the support during my rough first couple of days, your care and your support all meant so much, and thank you for being yourselves. I have made such special new friends, and so powerfully deepened the connection to those I already knew, and I treasure that very dearly. Thank you all you beautiful, wonderful, lovely people. It has been such a pleasure seeing the changes in you all as you transformed into the Gods and Goddesses you truly are, and so incredibly healing to be a part of a group this intimately. A very very special connection.
And finally to those gods and goddesses who supported this in worlds and dimensions beyond what we can see. You have been very clear guides and wonderful support to all of us through this, and continue to be in life to come. Thank you.
In the last few hours of Sunday before flying home I had several powerful quiet moments of giving thanks at the Gaia Retreat. In my room and bathroom, for the space to rest and be held (I know me and the toilet got off to the wrong start on Monday, but we’re cool now!), in the pool for the wonderful clear and refreshing water, for the environment, the wonderful view and the connection to nature, the sounds of animals, insects, the breeze, and especially for the beautiful central space we were held in and were able to be so vulnerable and so connected in. A space that was beautifully healing and supportive, maintained by staff who were incredibly lovely and sweet.
This experience will stay with me forever and what I have gained from it will be instrumental in moving my life forward from now on. For that I am eternally grateful.
Attendee Testimonials
Gods and Goddesses Retreat Reviews 2015
Amazing healing and nurturing 7 days with loving people and great teachers - Yasmeen, Jonathan and Raman. He still surprises me every time. Thank you very much to all of you. I feel very grateful and blessed. Anna Fabbri
I feel very blessed to be here in Bali at the Gaia retreat with all these special Souls. To have Raman and Yasmeen as our teachers is very special. Thank you so much for everything and all the love I have received. Jackie
- Didn’t really know what to expect, I just felt from the start that I had to go on this trip. Glad I listened to that intuition. It has been truly healing. I found the whole process painful at times and became a little doubtful. I realise now it’s what has been needed. I thank you both so much for the generosity with your wisdom and love. Vicky.
- This retreat has literally changed my life so very much. Similar to the training but in a different way. It is truly amazing how such a short time can changed literally every aspect of your life as you embody this god and open to the divine. Thank you all so very very much. Love Tim.
Dear Raman, Yasmeen and Jonathan. Blessing, love, gratitude, words can’t express the feelings in my heart to you all for sharing this retreat experience with me. This work that you do is truly divine and such a gift. Thank you. Please allow me to support you all in any way I can as its my wish with all my heart to do so. Hope to see you soon in Melbourne or wherever. Jai Guru Dev. Gitanjali, Lots of love always.
Dear Raman, Yasmeen and Jono. Thank you for everything you do and having me here on this retreat. I really do have the best job in the world!! I feel so very blessed to be here and send all my love and gratitude to you all. This has been so very healing for me and has really showed me the goddess within myself and to embrace this! Business wise this has also been awesome, it has given me a lot of insight into what goes on and how/where I can support you. I look forward to many great times ahead with you. I feel so privileged to work alongside with you all. Thank you all so much. Lots of love, Amanda xxx
Dear Team. Thank you Yasmeen for all that you bring. I am truly grateful to have you in my life and have loved our time together here in Bali. Jonathan – thank you for all that you are and all that you bring to support of beautiful Yasmeen. I acknowledge your love, devotion and service to both Yasmeen and Raman. I find your love for your goddess and your teacher beautiful and touching and too Raman…my beloved teacher and friend endless gratitude and love always. Xox Lucy
Dearest Yas, Jono and Raman. Thank you so much for all your love and support over the last few months, even before the retreat…Yas and Jono – You are a beautiful couple whose generously share your love, wisdom and divinity. Raman – So grateful and blessed to have you in my life and encouraging this healing to occur. Vicky xxx
Dear Yas and Jono. What a beautiful week you have given me and I feel very blessed to have you both in my life and given me the chance to be on this retreat. I have you both very much thankful for everything. Big hugs and kisses. Jax xxx
Dear Yasmeen, Jonathan and Raman, Thank you for bringing us to Villa Gaia, for what has been truly a healing retreat in every way. Kate and I were particularly spoiled to have the garden suite, which was perfect for our needs. With much Aroha and Gratitude, Rob.
Dear Yasmeen, Jonathan and Raman. Thank you for making this a very special time of healing and transformation. Thank you for all your love and wonderful gifts. Love Kate.
Many thanks Jono and Yasmeen for a wonderful week of great teaching and smooth organisation. As always Yas, I highly value what you are able to do for those of us wise enough to benefit from your heart – Felt love for your work and clients. Thanks Jono for holding the nuts and bolts together! Hugs, Jeff.
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