 |
Enjoy a Sedona Meditation Vacation.
Do you feel like you could use a vacation? Relax, experience nature's beauty, and learn how to meditate in "America's Most Beautiful Destination" (USA Today).
A two-day Sedona Meditation Vacation can be arranged to perfectly fit your schedule.
Here's what a Sedona Meditation Vacation includes (valued at over $1000):
- Luxurious Sedona accommodations for two for one night. (up to $250 value)
About the Sedona Meditation Training & Retreat Company:
The leading meditation training company in Arizona offers meditation classes, creativity and self-discovery retreats, and expert meditation instruction in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. Discover a variety of meditation techniques, the many health benefits, and leave with a personalized meditation practice that you can do every day - perfect for anyone, even those who say they can't quiet their mind. Meditation is easy to do when you are taught correctly. Sarah McLean, the founding director of Sedona Meditation Training Company, served as the education director at Deepak Chopra's center in California. Read more here.
About Sedona Private Guides:
Experience a personal adventure with America's best team of guides. You'll be privately led to Sedona's highlights, away from the crowds and with an insider's perspective. As you do, you learn about Sedona's geology and wildlife, plant life, Native history and vortex energy. Best of all, you'll see the places that few ever find, experiencing panoramic Red Rock views. All of it is customized to your interests and level of ability. In short, with Sedona Private Guides, you'll experience the perfect Sedona adventure. Find out more about Sedona Private Guides here.
Enjoy a Sedona Meditation Vacation for two - a value of over $1000 - for only $749. Call (928) 204-0067, or click to contact us to book your Sedona adventure.
__________________________________
Find out how you can win a Sedona Meditation Vacation
Next contest to be held in December 2011
__________________________
Announcing the 2010 Meditation Vacation Contest Winner:
Amanda Larson!
In September while sitting in an Internet cafe in Kasoa, Ghana, Amanda Christmann Larson received an email announcing she had been chosen as the winner of the Meditation Vacation contest in Sedona, Arizona. Dennis Andres from Sedona Private Guides and I chose her from over 50 entries because of her upbeat, enthusiastic attitude. We had decided to award the weekend to someone who was already feeling good and already on a journey to a fulfilling life.
Her entry read:
“For years, I was a hard-working mom putting in hours and hours of overtime each week to keep the electricity running and gas in the car. In the last year and a half, my life has changed dramatically, and I've been discovering who I really am and what I really need. What I've discovered is that I am a beautiful person with a whole lot more to give than what can be calculated on a time clock, or what can be measured by my clothes or my cars. I'm new to meditation and really want to know more. This would be an incredible opportunity for me to dig a little deeper and learn a whole new way of communicating with myself and the world and universe around me. In doing so, I can learn to become the person I was born to be, and do the things I was meant to do.”
A year and a half ago, Amanda was in a job she hated and was not happy. She felt like she was often irritated and angry, and that something important was missing in her life. She had gone through some difficult times and had a feeling she had a bigger purpose, that there was something more to life than punching a time clock and struggling to pay for things that she and her family didn't even need.
She and her husband Evan decided to put their attention on what they really wanted to do in their lives. Amanda wanted to travel to Africa – not as a tourist, but to go and make a difference. She had wanted to ever since she was a young girl. They downsized their house and got rid of their expensive vehicle. Friends donated money and Evan sold some of his hunting gear to pay for the trip. Amanda quit her job and left to teach in a locally-run orphanage in Ghana for a month.
“It was a scary move,” she recalls. “I didn't know what I was going to do with my life, or how we were going to make it, but I just knew with everything in me that this was something I needed to do.”
On her first visit to Ghana, Amanda saw the many foreign charitable organizations and individuals that were in the country to help, but their efforts weren't always effective. She noticed that many people who arrived from the West came with their own ideas, and they often tried to implement them without asking local people what they wanted and what they needed. In contrast, she saw that the locally run organizations were underfunded and understaffed - such as the orphanage where she’d worked. This gave her an idea.
When she returned to Arizona, Amanda set out to create a non-profit organization she called Compassionate Journeys, designed to connect volunteers to worthy locally-run projects. U.S. volunteers would pay for their volunteer experiences in Ghana with most of the fees going directly to the projects where they worked. Whether the project is an AIDS clinic, a school, a maternity clinic, or, in some cases, an entire village, this funding means they can obtain more supplies, pay their workers, and ultimately save lives. In exchange for volunteers providing an educated, willing and able workforce, their own lives would be changed by their new perspective.
Amanda returned to Ghana, this time for seven weeks. She toured rural areas forging relationships and identifying volunteer opportunities. She had just visited a tiny remote fishing village on Lake Volta, where the school for 160 children was staffed with only one teacher, the nearest doctor was hours away, and, most tragic, hundreds of children were being forced to work in rickety fishing boats on the dangerous lake as child slaves. This was the perfect place for her to help and she was ready to work. Then, as she was sitting in the internet café at the end of her seven-week trip, she received the news that she’d won a Meditation Vacation.
She emailed her husband to let him know the good news. Evan agreed to throw out any preconceived notions he had about meditation, vortexes, yoga - all of that, and accompany her on her Meditation Vacation. Evan is a drug interdiction officer who Amanda describes as “a tough, outdoors, meat-and-potatoes type of guy,” so this would be a challenge for him.
They drove up to Sedona and checked into the Hyatt. “So far, so good,” they thought, and spent a quiet evening alone together. The next day they would go on a guided hiking tour, learn to meditate, and take a private yoga class.
Dennis Andres, known as “Mr. Sedona,” and the author of What is a Vortex? from Sedona Private Guides picked them up early next morning and personally guided them on a tour of the majestic Boynton Canyon. They loved it! It was a beautiful morning and Dennis' good humor and knowledge of the history and mystique of Sedona was just what they needed to get their day started. They got back just in time to learn to meditate with me.
Amanda had told me how she’d read books about meditation, but she didn't really "get" it, and she had no idea how Evan would feel. But they both realized they were stressed out, and that stress was affecting how they communicated and related to each other, as a family, and in the world. They came to my class and learned how to use meditation as a practice to be more of who they really are, outside of the roles take on, and they left feeling energized, happy, and connected. They’ve since reported they’ve started their own meditation practices.
Amanda had been to yoga at the gym a few times, but her focus was more on exercise rather than the mind/body connection. Evan had never been to yoga. His only reference point was the movie "Couple's Retreat,” which was far from an accurate picture. Nathan Gangadean, a musician and yoga instructor, made them feel comfortable with wherever they were in flexibility, stability and overall ability while showing them yoga postures.
Amanda reported that the weekend was nourishing for both of them. Evan discovered he can still be strong and address stress – and not ignore his emotions. Amanda reports she is sleeping better, is making more mindful choices, and realizes that yoga can help her to release the stress she holds in her body.
“It was such a great experience for us to share,” Amanda explained. “We do a lot of things together, but this experience really gave us a chance to grow together, both individually and as a couple. We're now learning to talk about how we're feeling and what we're thinking. It opened up doors for us that had never been opened before.”
Amanda reports that now she and Evan are much more open to new experiences together. They’re traveling to Ghana in January as a family – it will be Evan’s first time. They plan to build a house for a new schoolteacher and a volunteer house in the remote fishing village. Once Amanda builds a solid foundation for Compassionate Journeys in Ghana, she plans to take the same model into other developing countries. Read more about Amanda and her journey here.
_________________________________
Don't want to wait for a contest to enjoy a
Sedona Meditation Vacation for two -
a value of over $1000 - for only $749.
Call (928) 204-0067, or click to contact us to book your
Sedona adventure.
Read the Meditation Vacation contest rules here.
|
|
Receive the Inward Bound monthly newsletter. In it you'll find meditation secrets, self-awareness tips, and the latest schedule of meditation classes & retreats. Sign up now and receive a free gift: The 5 Essentials for a Successful Meditation.
|
An Invitation
Upcoming Events
.jpg)
Latest CD Release
Sarah McLean delivers captivating instructions for the beginner, reminders for the seasoned meditator, and three soothing guided meditations. A selection of crystal bowl healing sounds makes this CD perfect for anyone seeking a soulful companion for meditation. More
|
|
