Open Heart Workshops
We are happy to announce our next set of workshops will be given on Saturday April 14, 2012 and Sunday, April 15, 2012. CEUs will be available for social workers!
Please contact Bob Kaplan at 828-645-5950 if you would like to register or if you need more information.
Open Heart Schedule of Activities:
Open Heart Workshops
Open Heart 1 – Saturday, April 14, 9am – 5pm — Asheville
Open Heart 2 – Sunday, April 15, 9am – 4pm – -Asheville
Note: There are no prerequisites for Open Heart 1.
Anyone may attend.
You do NOT have to attend an introduction to the workshops nor an Open Heart Meditation before attending Open Heart 1.
You must attend Open Heart 1 before attending Open Heart 2.
You do NOT have to attend Open Heart 1 and 2 on the same weekend.
You may attend (or not attend) Open Heart 2 at any time.
Open Heart 1 & 2 are offered frequently in the Asheville area.
Open Heart 3 & 4 will be offered every few months in the Asheville area.
You must complete Open Heart 2 at least three weeks (21 days) before attending Open Heart 3.
Please contact Bob at 645-5950 or at heartsareopening@frontier.com to register or for more information.
Free introductions to the Open Heart workshops:TBA
Open Heart Practices (all are free)
Open Heart Practice Tuesdays 6 – 7 pm – at the Heart House, 5 Covington St. in west Asheville
Note – this practice is for those who have attended Open Heart 4 and/or Spiritual Retreat
Open Heart Gathering Tuesdays 7 – 8:15 pm, , 5 Covington St. in west Asheville
Note – open to anyone
Open Heart Workshop fee schedule
| Level 1 |
| $100 regular |
| 75 senior (62 and over) |
| 70 full-time student |
| 25 to repeat this workshop |
| 10 if you have taken Inner Heart and repeat 1 |
| Level 2 |
| $150 regular |
| $112.50 senior (62 and over) |
| $105 full-time student |
| $25 to repeat this |
| $25 if you have taken Inner Heart |
| $10 if you have taken Inner Heart and repeat 2 |
| Level 3 |
| $175 regular |
| $131.25 senior (62 and over) |
| $122.50 full-time student |
| $60 to repeat this workshop |
| $40 for True Self alumni to repeat |
| Level 4 |
| $200 regular |
| $150 senior (62 and over) |
| $140 full-time student |
| $70 to repat this workshop |
| $50 for True Self alumni to repeat |
Open Heart Prayer Online
You can also enjoy practicing Open Heart Prayer online with people from around the world. Please visit www.openyourheart.info for more information about how to register and when the prayers are held. You will find Open Heart Prayers at various times during the week in the Padmacahaya Room and in the Open Your Heart room. At the current time, prayers are offered 13 times each week.
Free downloads of Open Heart Meditations and practices
You can listen to and download a free guided Open Heart Meditation by Irmansyah Effendi at: www.heartsanctuary.org (link is at the bottom of the page)
Also, a number of Open Heart Meditations and other Open Heart practices are available for listening and download at: http://www.open-your-heart.org.uk/open_heart_meditation.do
All of these guided meditations and practices can be shared with the public.
If you have attended Open Heart 1 and/or Open Heart 2, there are special guided meditations available for each workshop level. Please contact Bob Kaplan at heartsareopening@frontier.com or 828-645-5950 if you would to receive these guided meditations.
Open Heart Yoga – Gentle Yoga for beginners
Heart Strengthening exercises
Stretches
Breathing exercises
Laughter
Gentle yoga postures
Open Heart Yoga is led by Evaa Whitley, yoga instructor for many years and Open Heart Meditation guide for 3 + years.
It is $ 8 per session and open to the public
on Mondays and Wednesdays 9 – 10 am
at 5 Covington St. in west Asheville
Please call Evaa at 215-2572 to register or for more information. Please call Evaa before attending.
| Opening our Hearts Opening our heart as big as possible is the greatest gift that we offer ourselves and to the world. Opening our heart has a profound healing affect on all levels of our being as well as on our families and communities. The more we allow our hearts to open, the more we can share love. For peace, joy, and love radiates from the core of our hearts. If we really listen to and feel our inner calling, we will realize that our hearts want to open and let the light and love to do wonderful things for ourselves, our families and communities. When we open our hearts, we deepen our spiritual connection to the True Source, and this allows us to live genuinely and authentically in the sacredness of love. Then we can begin to realize that the True Source, as the Ultimate Source of Love and Light, has Loved us completely in every moment of our existence. Indeed, there has never been a moment in our existence, when this was not the truth, because True Source can never stop Loving us and all beings. (Note: We prefer the term ‘True Source’ because it is a neutral term which does not have a charged history. Feel free to replace the term ‘True Source’, with whatever phrase for you which represents the Ultimate Source of Love and Light).Where does the Peace, Love and Joy Originate From? The deepest peace and love that is available to us in our earthly existence is the spark of light and love in the core of our hearts. This spark is the purest aspect of our deepest self and is directly connected to the Source of Love & light. The more we allow the blessings of love and light to purify and open our hearts, the more the love and light from the core of our being becomes free to radiate in all directions to every heart everywhere. Everyone has a spark of love and light in the core of their heart. However, not every spark is radiating freely and sweetly.When we first begin to open our hearts, the nice feeling we experience may only be felt as a peaceful and calm feeling. As the layers of our heart are purified, not only are we able to feel the peace and the calmness, we are able to feel the deep joy, love and light that radiates from the core of our heart. At any time we can then just stop, do nothing and realize and feel that the Love is sweetly pulling us deeper into the Love….toward the core inside of our heart. And this never stops if we allow it to take us there. When the clouds of impurity surrounding our hearts are dissolved, then the love and light can be experienced without obstruction in its purest joy.Why we are here? The ultimate purpose of our life is to love the True Source completely with all of our heart. To the head/brain this statement might seem debatable. However, the core of our heart, which is calling to take us ‘back home’ to the Source of Love and Light, knows this to be true. But the direct path home to the cherished goals of our existence can only happen by embracing and surrendering completely to the purest love – the most subtle, most sublime form of love – that of the Ultimate Source of all. It is only through this purest love that our essence of being can return home. We are being invited to open our hearts and be instruments of Love and Light by sharing the blessings of this love with the hearts of every being. When we share this love as an instrument, we are also loving the True Source and getting closer to the home of our True Self. This means we are getting closer to the Ultimate Destination available to us. So now is the time for our deepest awakening – loving The Source of Love and Light completely with our heart and whole being and becoming the instrument of light and love that we are intended to be. Our life on earth is a great gift. To live our life without opening our heart and loving the True Source completely is to miss out on the real meaning and purpose of why we are here. Equally, being mindful, or using intellect or logic, cannot take us home. |