Courses in Meditation and
Self-Realization
Based on the Universal Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda

The Art of Meditation: Basic Practices

17-22 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
9-14 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

Meditation is becoming recognized as an important tool for health and success. It improves mental concentration, stimulates creativity, relaxes physical tensions and emotional stress, and makes us more aware of our possibilities and potentials.

While it is possible to learn meditation from a book, it is helpful to learn it directly from people who have practiced it for a long time, in an environment that is peaceful and where meditation is practiced every day. This five-day course offers you everything you need to know about meditation and how to use it, and gives you a daily routine that you can follow at home.

You will learn:

• A technique of concentration taught by Paramhansa Yogananda
• What you need at home in order to be able to practice effectively
• A series of energy recharging exercises that will improve your vitality and concentration
• The philosophy behind meditation
• The stages of spiritual evolution that each person experiences
• How to contact your superconscious mind and use it as an inner guide
• Yoga practices to reduce stress and facilitate meditation
• How to have a more positive outlook on life.

The Path of Kriya Yoga

20-22 July 2012 (in Italian only)
24-26 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

Kriya is a specific meditation technique which accelerates human evolution and which leads to God-realization. This weekend course is an introduction to the philosophy and science of Kriya Yoga and teaches specific practices that help you to focus your mind in meditation and control your energy through pranayama.

Subjects include:

• How karma is created and how it can be eliminated through the practice of Kriya          
• The importance of having a Guru and how to recognize who is yours
• The meaning of discipleship and why it is important for spiritual growth
• How to prepare for initiation into Kriya

 

Discipleship
How and Why to Follow a Spiritual Master

14-16 September 2012 (in Italian only)

Some spiritual seekers are soon led to their masters and their path, while others require a much longer time to find the teachings and the teacher who will take them to Self-realization. Each seeker has his own karma, and the seeds of spiritual yearning sprout in their own time. In India they say, “When the disciple is ready, the master appears.”

This program focuses generally on the guru–disciple relationship, and more specifically on the Masters of Kriya Yoga. These and other questions will be addressed:

• How can I know who my Master is?
• Is it necessary that the guru be alive?
• What are the commitments and obligations of a disciple?
• Is discipleship a life-long commitment?
• To practice Kriya, do I have to become a disciple?
• To learn Kriya, do I have to renounce my religion?
• How soon can I receive Kriya Initiation?

For those who are ready to make the discipleship commitment in the path of Kriya Yoga, there will be a ceremony at the end of the course.

Karma and Reincarnation

29 June - 1 July 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
7-9 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

While we can’t avoid life’s tests and challenges (our karma), we can learn how to prepare for them, and through them to grow wiser. During this weekend you will learn how you created your karma, how it can be neutralized or nullified, how to stop creating it entirely, and how the practices on the path of Kriya Yoga can help you overcome karma.

These and other questions will be addressed:

• What is karma and how is it created?
• Can I get rid of all of my past karma in this lifetime?
• Can I protect myself from my past karma?
• If I increase my good karma, can I balance out the bad karma?
• How can I reconcile reincarnation with Christian doctrine?

See also: The Law of Karma from The Hindu Way of Awakening by Swami Kriyananda.

Chakras: Pathway to Liberation

20-25 May 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

This program involves an in-depth study of the psychological and emotional characteristics of each chakra, and how to use meditation, yoga, music, and mantra to awaken and harmonize them.

You will also learn about:

• The physical, astral and causal bodies
• How the soul enters the body and get entrapped
• The components of the astral body: the astral spine, energy channels, chakras and kundalini
• The connections between the chakras and karma
• References to the chakras in the Bible
• How the chakras relate to the eight-fold path of Raja Yoga (Patanjali)
• The Spiritual Eye and how to stimulate it
• Symbolism in the Bhagavad Gita and the “soldiers of light.”

Ananda Yoga sessions throughout the week will focus on postures, pranayama, bandhas, mudras, and other practices for gently and naturally awakening the chakras.

See also: Yoga for Awakening the Chakras

How To Be Happy

22-24 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
10-12 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

Did you ever wish that life’s happy moments were not so fleeting, and so rare? That you could achieve a state of happiness that always stayed with you? If you want more happiness in yourself, and in all parts of your life, come to this course and discover the secrets of how to be happy all the time. You will learn to recognize and guard against the happiness thieves, the moodiness gremlins, and to avoid the highways that lead to sorrow and suffering.

Whether you come for a weekend program or the longer one, you are guaranteed to be with happy people, in a beautiful environment, eating happy, healthy food, learning where your happiness treasures have always been hidden.

See Also: Success & Happiness: An Online Video Course by Swami Kriyananda

Crises and Crossroads

24-29 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
12-17 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)
31 August - 2 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

We often face challenges and circumstances that test our strength, our beliefs, and our stability.

This course will help you find the inner resources to transcend your fears, the clarity and wisdom to make wise decisions, and the strength and courage to transform yourself and direct your life in new ways.

You will also learn:

• How to perceive inner guidance
• How to harmonize your will with Divine will
• New ways to develop faith and courage
• How to strengthen your aura and protect yourself
• Relaxation exercises for overcoming stress
• Meditation practices that help you gain a fresh and inspired perspective.

In a moment of great inner suffering and darkness I came to Ananda, and here I was able to see again a gleam of light. It is wonderful to know that places like this exist, places where you can learn to be centered and more able to meet life’s challenges. I will certainly come back! — Daniela, Torino

How to Love and Be Loved

8-13 July 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
28-30 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

“The secret of happiness is keeping your heart open to others, and to life’s experiences. For the heart is like the door of a building. The sunlight can enter only when the door is open wide.” ~ Swami Kriyananda

Are you a “head” or a “heart” person? Do you think that life is something to be managed or experienced? In order to survive, we often develop our intellect and neglect our feelings, which leaves us somewhat handicapped in the field of human relationships.

This program focuses on developing those qualities of the heart without which true happiness and success are not possible. Once this door is open, your life will become immeasurable better.

You will learn:

• How much God loves and accepts you
• How to have more meaningful relationships at home and at work
• How to spiritualize your marriage/partnership
• How to find friends who understand you
• How to overcome judgment, jealousy and other negative emotions
• How to overcome the fear of being hurt or betrayed
• How to deal with separation, divorce, or the death of a loved one
• How to live and work with others in harmony and mutual respect
• How to understand yourself and others more intuitively.

Spiritual Counseling
Advice for Those Who Give Advice

6-8 July 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

Professional counselors, educators, group leaders, yoga teachers, parents, friends—we all find ourselves eventually in a situation where someone is looking to us for guidance. But giving advice can mean much more than helping someone solve their problems: it could be an opportunity to inspire someone to discover and develop their higher potentials. This course is an introduction to the art of spiritual counseling, which requires a developed intuition, a sensitive ability to listen, and an attunement with higher consciousness. It is offered by the Ananda teachers who for more than twenty years have been offering spiritual counsel.

Intuitive Intelligence
How to Awaken and Use Your Superconscious Mind

8-10 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
5-10 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

While we are familiar with the rational, logical functions of our minds, we are far less aware of its superior dimensions. Success, creativity, understanding – these experiences are filtered through the conscious mind but they come from its “superconscious” capacities. Known as “intuition,” these superior impulses open the doorway to universal experiences and insights.

You will learn how to:

• Gain the most from the rational and subconscious dimensions of your mind
• Improve your comprehension and clarify your ideas
• Find inspiration and clarity for solving your daily problems
• Better understand others and their conditions/situations
• Find guidance for your life from your own higher Self.

The teachings at Ananda have found a permanent place in my heart and in my mind, because, without any mystification and by respecting the free will and dignity of every person, they have given me the knowledge of how to achieve my goal of living a joyful life. This visit to your community gave me the inspiration . . . and the willingness to be a better father, a better husband, to be a more responsible and conscientious member of society, to keep fighting against the moral temptations that surround us, and to stay steady in life’s storms. — Franjo, Zagabria

NEW! Create your Own Destiny

13-18 May 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
26-31 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

This new week-long course is an opportunity to deepen and expand our understanding of the law of Karma, and how we can overcome our past and create a new life of inner freedom. It is based on the book Karma and Reincarnation, which contains extracts from lessons and articles written by Paramhansa Yogananda, from his own true knowledge and experience, on the subjects of karma and reincarnation.

Included are the topics:

• The origin and purpose of reincarnation
• What karma is, how it is created, and how it affects our lives
• Our spiritual anatomy: precisely where the seeds of karma are found within us
• How to work with our energy to overcome past karma and protect ourselves from the effects of our karma
• How to identify the most important karmic patterns in this life
• How to eliminate the negative habits and tendencies born of our past karma
• How to tune into our intuitive guidance to know God’s will for us
• What happens at death and after death? Is there a heaven? How can we prepare for the moment of death?

NEW! The Art and Science of Raja Yoga

3-8 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
29 July - 3 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)
16-21 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

This new course is based on Swami Kriyananda’s book The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, recently released in Italian with the title Raja Yoga. Originally written as a home-study course in 14 lessons, this book gives us a balanced, comprehensive approach to the ancient science of Raja Yoga.
This program is especially recommended for those who wish to continue on the path of Kriya Yoga and to deepen their understanding of what Kriya Yoga is and how this practice can greatly accelerate one’s spiritual development.

The course covers the main topics presented in the book, including:

• The Paths of Yoga
• Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga
• Affirmations
• Energy and Magnetism
• The Role of the Guru
• The Anatomy of Yoga
• The Yogic Scheme of Life (Sanaatan Dharma)

The study of these topics is complemented with daily practices of meditation, Yogananda’s energization exercises and Ananda Yoga (hatha yoga postures) to provide a complete experience of yoga.

How to Live With More Energy

25-27 May 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
10-15 June 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
15-20 July 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)
17-19 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)
21-23 September 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

This course teaches how to draw on cosmic energy, to improve your health, increase your vitality and creativity, obtain success and serve others more effectively. You will learn and practice Yogananda’s remarkably effective energization exercises, which direct vital energy (prana) into your cells and organs through the use of will power and visualization.
In the week-long courses, we will cover the following aspects of energy:

• How to have more of it, and how to control the flow of energy in your body
• How to have it constantly without getting tired
• How to use it to overcome personal and professional obstacles
• How to use it to help others and help the planet
• How to have more vitality and better health
• How to strengthen your aura and protect yourself from negative influences

The weekend courses focus primarily on learning and practicing Paramhansa Yogananda’s energization exercises, which recharge the cells, tissues and organs with prana and eliminate toxins from your body and tiredness from your mind. You will also learn the spiritual basis for these exercises, and how they work.

The Bible and The Bhagavad Gita
Rays of the Same Light

8-13 July 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation)

“Whenever virtue declines and vice predominates, I incarnate on earth. Taking visible form, I come to destroy evil and re-establish virtue.” ~The Gita

“And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory… full of grace and truth.” ~The Bible (John, 1:14)

The Bible and the Bhagavad Gita are the great scriptures of East and West. The Bible includes the eternal life and immortal teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Gita is the sublime “Song Celestial”, the ancient wisdom of India’s revered Sri Krishna. These teachings have inspired and guided millions throughout the world for millennia. We will focus on the harmony and unity of the exalted wisdom of the ages expressed through these two great Masters. Our points of reference will include Yogananda’s and Kriyananda’s writings on The Bhagavad Gita and Revelations of Christ.

Devotional practices, spiritual music and meditation, will also be part of your experience.

NEW! Swami Sri Yukteswar: Planetary Evolution and the Yugas

This course will explore two trends—one ancient and one modern—which are awakening the consciousness of the world. We are witnessing a world-wide and dynamic renaissance of ancient wisdom traditions. Yoga, meditation, acupuncture, ayurveda, and scores of other practices are now widespread. At the same time similar insights are emerging from science and the creative work of intuitive pioneers. Mind-body medicine, quantum awareness, healing with energy, holistic health, psychic awareness, and martial arts are but a few of the hundreds of fresh expressions of timeless wisdom.
Why are these two trends happening now?
In the introduction of his book The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar explains the cycle of the yugas, which tells us that human development is cyclical and that high ages existed in the past. This course presents his teachings that will help us understand what it means to have recently entered the “new age” of Dwapara Yuga—an age when awareness of subtle energy and higher consciousness is becoming increasingly the norm—not the exception.

The Holy Science of Sri Yukteswar, with guest teacher Simone Stefanini and Triveni Paola Luchetti

In 1894, Swami Sri Yukteswar met Mahavatar Babaji at a Kumbha Mela (sacred celebration) in Allahabad, India. At that meeting, as recounted in Autobiography of a Yogi, Babaji asked him to write a short book on the underlying basic unity between the Christian and Hindu scriptures, instructing him to “Show by parallel references that the inspired sons of God have spoken the same truths, now obscured by men’s sectarian differences.”* The Holy Science is the result of this divine request.
*Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda, original edition, published 1946.

Ananda teachers Triveni Paola Luchetti and Simone Stefanini have made a profound study of Sri Yukteswar’s opus. In this course will share their insights into the great master’s teachings and show how they are still relevant in today’s modern world.

Supplemental Fee: € 60.00

NEW! Quantum Realities
with Anand, Oliver and Dana

There is a revolution happening in the sciences and it is changing the paradigm of our world. The discoveries in Quantum Physics point to the reality described long ago in the ancient Veda’s of India. In this course we will overview the surprising new discoveries in science and show their correlation with the timeless teachings of Yoga. The material science of the West now joins the spiritual science of the East, and together they herald a transition from an age of form and matter to an age of Energy.

Education for Life Teacher Training

Course description coming soon.

The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita

5-10 August 2012 (in Italian or English, with translation) (A deposit of € 50.00 is required to confirm your reservation.)

In the introduction to his book, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Kriyananda wrote the following about India’s greatest scripture:
“The Bhagavad Gita teaches every important aspect of the spiritual path: during activity, Karma Yoga (the yoga of right action); during thinking and discrimination, Gyana Yoga (the yoga of wisdom and discrimination); when feeling and experiencing emotion, Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion). There is a central teaching in the Bhagavad Gita, however, which unites all paths even as subsidiary streams unite in a larger river.

“That river, [Paramhansa] Yogananda said, is the energy flowing in the spine. The subsidiary paths of yoga offer guidance to people of different basic temperaments: the active, the discriminating, the heartful. The central river to enlightenment, however, is shown by Raja Yoga, the royal yoga: the pathway of the spine.

“Raja Yoga, he continued, takes one straight up the central pathway of the spine into the inner silence of divine communion. It is the teaching of this yoga, finally, that makes the Bhagavad Gita truly a scripture for all mankind. It is why Krishna stated in the Gita, ‘O Arjuna, be thou a yogi’.”

In this course, we will discover the hidden meaning of this great scripture, revealed through Yogananda’s illuminated commentaries, and brought to life in its original form in Kriyananda’s inspired presentation—a masterpiece of superconscious literature from both of these great souls.

See also:

Why Meditate?

What Is Self-Realization?

Spiritual Self-Healing