Will.iam,
Your ideas are brilliant...thank you very much for taking the time to give them. See, I wouldn't have thought of this stuff on my own. So much can be accomplished with teamwork. Thank you.
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What do you want to do? Your idea seems to conflict with itself. DO you want to have a spiritual retreat or some kind of a "spiritual" lounge?
A lounge that can act as a retreat, depending on the individual. I know...kinda funky...but I think it'd be overwhelming for some to go into a retreat type atmosphere with all day long silences, vegan food only, etc. I know at least personally, I wouldn't like it. When I'm not doing practices I like to engage the world. I like to eat hamburgers.
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In my mind there are two approaches to a serious spiritual retreat center.
- Donation centered approach. Much like the retreates offered at dhamma.org....
The donation approach is a very generous one. I think it all depends on how well financially I would be doing at the time. If I'm always worrying about money, I don't think the donation idea would work. But if I've got a little extra to spare, then I would definitely make it so that people could come and go for free.
It's just that the quality of the place will probably go down. I think it's good to have a clean and comfortable atmosphere...and to keep that up it's necessary to spend money. I've heard of some of the dhamma places where it kind of sucks to stay there. Like cockroaches crawling on people, and living in a bay type atmosphere where you have to hear other people snore all night. They aren't all like that, but a couple are.
I would never wish for cockroaches to crawl all over you.
I think this place should be nice...where people would want to come back. Where some would want to stay. A place where I wouldn't mind living.
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- Particiapants pay for their time there
+ perhaps some staff to do some of the more menial tasks
+ people paid wages or salary and volunteers accepted
This is what I'm thinking would work the best. All it would take really is like 3 people to run the place. A host, a cook, and a maid. And the more the merrier.
I think it's a good idea to allow people to live there for free if they help out with the tasks. What kind of a deal is that? In real life, we have to work jobs and then pay to live somewhere. In this fantasy AYP center I have, you can work and get some money then sleep in a bed for free. Watch tv, surf the internet...for free. I've always wanted to find a place like this.
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= maintain silence during the day (or at least most of the time, maybe talk at meals only)
I think this should be up to the practitioner. Personally, I like to talk with people after my practices. If I am in meditation all day, I don't progress as much as if I come out of it and bring my focus and energies into the world.
Some people may want to take on a few days of silence. Or perhaps the rest of their life, if they're so inclined. Well, more power to them. If that helps them in their search, then that's what they should be allowed to have.
What I would like to see from an AYP center is respect for anyone's practice. Having an imposed silence seems kind of disrespectful to someone who wants to chat.
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= have a schedule of activities for the day (wake up at 5:30; asanas at 6; meditation at 6:30; breakfast at 7...)
I thought about this, and I don't think it would work. What it means is that there needs to be a lot of rooms for each practitioner. Like what if 25 people were staying there, and we only had 15 meditation rooms? That would mean 10 people have to miss out on using a room during the designated time. Maybe it'd be better to just have the rooms open all the time, with sign up sheets to reserve them. That way, if someone prefers to eat dinner at 9 pm, and likes to meditate right before, they can do so!
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= keep sexes seperated (except married?)
This would definitely be good to avoid problems arising between people...but I don't think it's very AYP-like to seperate the sexes.
I know that's hard for some people, who believe that the mere presence of the opposite sex hinders them spiritually. I guess if they want to be apart from the opposite sex, they can either try to avoid them at the center...or just not go to the center at all.
Anymore suggestions on this? I know my idea isn't very win-win. I'm definitely open to finding a better solution.
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= foster an atmospehere of quiet contemplation
I would definitely like to see the asana room and the practice rooms quiet...unless there was some sort of class going on in the asana room. I also hope for there to be enough nature to walk around in...maybe a forest or a small mountain nearby where someone can get away to contemplate quietly.
But like I've said, I wouldn't like to impose quiet contemplation on people staying there. Nor would I like to impose talking on them. They should do what they feel they need to do in their time outside of practices, and I should have no say in that.
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= check students progress daily
How do you suggest doing this? Like having a group session where we each take turns talking about our experiences?
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= have an area for advanced students
What do you mean about this? What would advanced students need which differs from an asana room and practice rooms?
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+ Vacation center
= entertainment
= internet
= other distractions
Yes, I would definitely like to see these types of things there. What can I say...I'm a hedonist.
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If there were to be an official AYP center then I think it should be a donation based serious spiritual retreat center. Maybe on Saturdays things could loosen up, but if you are going to spend your time away from home and work then it would be better spent making progress spiritually, or learning new techniques or perfecting asanas, or whatever.
It's good to see this point of view, because it's the opposite of my own. This is exactly what I've been looking for here.
By the way, if this ever gets going, I would hope that my center isn't the official AYP center. I would hope that there would be one in every major city.
Anyway...I want to solve the problem of having the place fit everyone's needs. I think each person's progress is entirely dependent upon them. If they need a serious, silent, spiritual retreat...they should have it here! They shouldn't feel as if the place is kind of a joke. The point of an AYP center would be strictly for spiritual progress...so if it wasn't fulfilling that goal it would be worthless.
So the person shouldn't feel overwhelmed with people and entertainment. They should feel that it's an atmosphere which allows focusing...where they can forget about worldly pleasures for a weekend.
I hope if you have any suggestions on how to make this possible that you give them.
It's also clear to me that not all yogis are as determined as others. Some don't think it necessary to forsake worldly living for the spiritual. Personally, without engaging the world when practice time is over, I stop progressing. I NEED to live fully...that is the biggest part of my yoga practice. Spreading my energies into a wide array of activities.
So if I were to go on a silent retreat, I would actually be quite stuck. My energies would be stagnant.
So I would hope that this place could cater to someone like myself, as well. Have both atmospheres at once - a reflective type, as well as an engaging type.
I know - seems impossible. But it's what I see as necessary for an AYP center. If you have any ideas on how this could be possible please let me know.
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Ideal location would be in the country side maybe an hours drive outside of a major city with a "hub airport". This would allow for less expensive air travel. Dallas, Atlanta, Chichago, New York, Philidephia, Los Angeles, San Fransico, etc.
Excellent advice!!!
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It would be really cool to see it happen.
It definitely would! Thanks again.