The Art of Listening Within
A simple meditation you cannot do wrong.
No mantras. No special posture. No rules. Just the quiet practice of listening — to your thoughts, your body, your emotions — as the Atma, the inner witness, has always done.
A meditation for everyone
Most meditation teachings begin with rules — how to sit, how to breathe, which mantra to repeat, how to control the thoughts. For many people that's exactly where practice stops. This workshop begins somewhere quieter.
Drawing on Sathya Sai Baba's teaching of the mind as a watchman, we offer a practice of simple awareness. Not fixing. Not judging. Not trying to empty the mind. Just listening — the way you might sit beside a river and listen to the water without trying to change its direction.
"There is only one changeless principle: constant integrated awareness. The Upanishads declare — Prajñānam Brahma. Supreme Consciousness is God."
— Sri Sathya Sai Baba
This is the simplest thing in the world. And yet it may be the most powerful. It can be done in a chair, on a cushion, on your bed. It can be done for twenty minutes a day, and it will begin to seep into the rest of your day without effort.
What the weekend includes
🪷 Meditation practice
Guided sessions in the art of listening — morning and evening. Sit as long as you like. Sit badly. That's fine. You cannot do this wrong.
🧘 Daily yoga
Optional morning yoga in the eco yoga hall — gentle, suited to all levels, and a beautiful way to settle the body before meditation.
🏡 Earthship tour
A walk through Karuna's earthship homes — India's first, built by Alex Leeor — and a conversation about why sustainable housing is a form of inner work too.
🌱 Permaculture & gardening
Time in the organic vegetable garden. Composting, planting, weeding. Gardening is meditation with dirt under the fingernails.
🍚 Vegetarian meals
Simple, satisfying food from Govinda's Café — much of it grown here. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.
🌄 Silence & space
Time to walk the forest paths, sit with a fire, or simply do nothing. The schedule is spacious by design.
The practice itself
Here is what you will learn. It is so simple that the mind will tell you it cannot possibly work. That is the first thought to watch.
Find twenty minutes — before the phone, before the news, before the day begins its demands. Sit somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes. And then, do nothing. Don't try to empty the mind. The mind will think; that is what minds do. Let it.
Instead — listen. Listen to your thoughts as they arise. Not the content, but the fact that they're there. Watch them appear. Watch them pass. Like clouds across a sky that remains unchanged.
Listen to your body. Where is there tension? Where is there ease? Your body has been sending you messages for years. This may be the first time you've sat down to hear them.
Listen to your emotions. Whatever is present — fear, sadness, gratitude, restlessness, joy — let it be there. Don't push it away. Don't amplify it. Just feel it, and give it your full, gentle attention.
You are not your thoughts. You are the one watching them.
You are not your pain. You are the one who notices it.
You are not your emotions. You are the vast sky through which they pass.
The power of emotions
Most of us were taught to manage emotions — suppress them, distract from them, medicate them, scroll past them. But emotions are not the enemy. They are the most creative force we possess. Every act of love, every moment of courage, every piece of music that moved you — all of it began as emotion.
When we sit in silence and allow ourselves to feel — without judgement, without story, without trying to fix — something begins to move. Emotions that have been stuck for months or years begin to soften and flow. Not because we do anything. But because we finally give them the one thing they needed: our attention.
Who leads it
The workshop is led by Alex Leeor alongside visiting teachers. Every group is different; every retreat takes on its own shape. Some sessions draw more on Sai Baba's direct teachings, some on yoga and karma yoga, some simply on silence. If you'd like to know more about who is teaching a particular dates, please get in touch.
Who it's for
- Anyone who has wanted to meditate but been put off by rules and complexity.
- Seasoned practitioners of Japa or Namasmarana looking for a companion practice — speaking to God on one side, listening on the other.
- People going through transition, loss, or a period of noise — who need a quiet place and a gentle framework.
- Anyone curious about what sustainable living and spiritual practice look like when they sit alongside each other.
Format
A typical workshop runs three to five days. Mornings begin with optional yoga and a guided meditation. Afternoons include the earthship tour, garden time, or rest. Evenings have a teaching session and a closing meditation. Meals are together, at Govinda's.
Accommodation is in one of our cottages (see rates). The workshop fee is a separate contribution — please contact us for upcoming dates and details.
If Japa or Namasmarana is already part of your daily devotion, this is not a replacement — it's a companion. Japa is speaking to God. This is letting God speak to you. One is the voice. The other is the ear. You need both.
The Atma is not hiding. It is waiting.Register your interest
All you have to do is listen.