Regina Sara Ryan will come to Romania between 31 May and 11 June 2012 for a pilgrimage to a monastery in Dobrogea and afterwards she will come to Bucharest for a series of events presented bellow. Regina is visiting Romania since a few years ago and she is a spiritual friend from whom we can learn and with whom we can share our lives’ deepest spiritual intentions and visions. During her stay in Romania she is available for meetings and talks, for details contact her event organizer.

                                 Regina Sara Ryan events’ schedule:
                                              (click on the title to read more details)

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Pilgrimage in Dobrogea with Regina Sara Ryan, June 1-3

The topic of this pilgrimage and retreat is "Women's Wisdom and Power and the Spiritual Path". During these days, in a relaxed but intense private environment, we will work together with Regina and we will go into the depth of our heart desires and we will use the feeling of communion we get from the monastic life as a source of energy for our inner transformation.

Regina's spiritual journey started in her youth when she was a catholic nun and then it continued with the exploration of other spiritual traditions. Her love for Christian rituals and prayers are deeply rooted in her heart. After finding the intense and active spiritual life of  the Romanian monasteries and after meeting a few hermit monks in Moldavia, she was impresses and she found fresh inspiration for her work as writer. After her visit in 2009, Regina published the book "Igniting the Inner Life", writing about what it means to have the courage to start a pilgrimage to yourself and how you can truly open to love, knowledge, self-appreciation and forgiveness. 
 

For details about the retreat and about registration please send a mail to the organizer using the form at the end of the article.

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Good Company meeting, on June 4th, at 19.00 to 21.00
A dialog with Regina about: Spiritual Friendship - a source of learning, inspiration and communion.

It is a real blessing to know that we have friends who are interested in our inner life and are willing to listen and guide us as we explore it. The hallmark of any spiritual friendship is the shared commitment to partnering on behalf of awakening. That’s what matters most.

The Buddha emphasized the importance of spiritual friendship. It is said that Ananda, one of his principal disciples, said: "This spiritual friendship, spiritual companionship and spiritual intimacy of ours is no less than half of the spiritual life.' The Buddha is said to have responded: 'Say not so, Ananda. It is the whole, not the half of the spiritual life.'

Movie and Dialog Evening with Regina, on June 7th, at 19.00 to 21.30

We will watch the movie Darshan, followed by a session of questions and answers. 
The movie will be subtitled in Romanian language, it is produced in 1997 by Alize Diffusion and shot in 1997, India. 

This film presents a glimpse of the relationship between Lee Lozowick, an extraordinary American-born spiritual master, and his own master Yogi Ramsuratkumar (1918-2001), a beggar-saint, often described as "the Godchild of Tiruvannamalai." Yogi Ramsuratkumar is widely recognized as one of the greatest sages of contemporary India. This documentary, shot in southern India, shows many facets of Mr. Lee's journey to his master's ashram which he visited regularly for over twenty years, and highlights his role as a devotee. The "beggar-saint" called Mr. Lee "an Indian saint", and their rapport in this film gives us an exceptional chance to better understand the essence of the master-disciple relationship, particularly as it shows up in the Hindu tradition.

 

Regina Sara Ryan traveled many times to India with her spiritual master Lee Lozowick and during these trips they visited Yogi Ramsuratkumar. In 2003 Regina published the book "Only God, a biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar". 

 

Here you can register for the movie evening.

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About prayer, the sacred, attention and the present moment, July 8th, 19:00 - 21:00

Regina will present this evening the topics of the 2 workshops she will lead over the following 2 days: "Praying Dangerously" and "Invitation to the Here and Now". What if we would lay down our peace of mind so that our hunger for truth can grow? What if we would lay down our peace of mind if the peace we have achieved has been a false one? What if we would lay ourselves open to the chaos so that the chaos may be redeemed, or blessed?

Here you can register for the introduction evening.

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Praying Dangerously, on June 9th
One day workshop about transformational prayer 

"Prayer is dangerous because it undoes everything."

The mystics and passionate lovers of the Divine within the world's great religions have always “prayed dangerously.” They chose to embrace the darkness, to love, to live in gratitude, to put others first, and to say “Yes, again and again, despite all odds! With such dynamic and deep intention have they achieved clarity, and witnessed the false self dismantled and resurrected in a wholly new way.

Sentimental and childish approaches to prayer and spirituality (a common tendency in this day), might feel good, even for a long time. But they will ultimately delay the serious practitioner in her/his quest for realization for true aliveness.

Praying Dangerously is an invitation to expand the possibilities of prayer within our lives, elevating our desire for personal comfort, security, satisfaction and prosperity to that of a fierce and awesome commitment to life, a commitment to serve and surrender to life as it is. Praying Dangerously is ultimately about a celebration of the highest potentials of the human soul - love, gratitude, communion, selfless service, worship and adoration. Those who pray dangerously sing with the poet Goethe who wrote, "I praise what is truly alive, what longs to be burned to death."

      •  Inspiration to deepen the inner life through prayer, self-observation, meditation, listening within, and embracing Life as it is.
      •  Time for quiet self-reflection,
      •  Participation in both active and passive prayer forms,
      •  Sharing the warmth and company of others with a similar commitment.

During Saturday seminar Regina will present her book - Praying Dangerously. It has been translated into Dutch, German and French and it is a book with a message more relevant now than 10 years ago when it was published first time for the first time. The book presents over 50 years of experience in prayer, but Regina is also recognizing that she is still "a mystic in diapers." The book is rich in stories, insights, mystical prayers seen through the eyes of various spiritual traditions, like Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and various saints and sages such as Mother Teresa, Rumi, Gurdjieff, Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating. A few of the chapters are: What is Prayer, What Prayer is Not, Prayer Methods, The Body in Prayer, Prayer and Relaxation, Chanting God's Name, Writing your Way Home, Praying on the Subway.


"To pray is to cultivate a love affair with love itself, the most awsome power in creation." Regina Sara Ryan

An excerpt from this book, from the chapter " Praying on the Subway " can be read here.

'Praying Dangerously' is a brave book for brave people. But it is more: it gives those of us who are less brave in our prayer life than we'd like to be encouragement, guidelines, and wise advice. This is the book on prayer many have been waiting for.

David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., authoer Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer and Deeper Than Words: Living the Apostles' Creed.

To pray dangerously is to willingly expose ourselves to the undoing of our illusions, and to the disruption of our polite and highly- controlled means of existence. It is to throw ourselves voluntarily into the arena. It is to lay down our peace of mind so that our hunger for truth can grow. It is to lay down our peace of mind because the peace we have achieved has been a false one. It is to lay ourselves open to the chaos so that the chaos may be redeemed, or blessed.

Here are details about workshop registration.

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Invitation to the Here and Now, on June 10th
One day seminar about the everyday possibility of genuine practice

"What if we where to choose - and not because it was proven one way or the other - to simply find God's Hand or God's Face in every situation of life? What if we were to look for gift and grace in every person we met, every circumstance that presented itself? What if every gap in the business of life became an invitation to enter the sanctuary of the inner temple? What if, down to this very breath, we contextualized everything as holy?

In my experience, my life flowers when I make these choices to sacramentalize the moment. Life contracts and dries up when I let emotional reactivity or doctrine or a belief system regarding a person or situation determine my view. In form, to practice the sacramentalizing of the present moment one lives a big YES. In this moment, I say yes and turn to Love. In this moment next, I say yes and turn to Love. Does that sound easy? Well, how about in this moment? Choose!"

"The Sacrament of the Present Moment "- Regina Sara Ryan

This seminar will explore topics like: 

      •  Move from "there and then" to "here and now".
      •  Identify what has captured our attention
      •  Re-Member what the Body Knows
      •  Exercise Self-Observation in daily life
      •  Bring practice alive, moment to moment, in daily life
      •  Celebrate the company of those who share similar dedication

Here are details about workshop registration.

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