Mindfulness, Imagery, Scanning, Surprising Wisdom, and Mortality
Stillness with Insight: Gentle Depths of Awareness
4 night/5 day retreat
Led by Arohananda – teacher at Tushita Hermitage Ashram
$50-$65 registration/administration fee PLUS Donation/Koha for retreat, accommodation and meals
BOOK a Five Doors of Meditation and Presence retreat NOW
Jan – Aug 2026 DATES
(more dates will be added for Sept – Dec)
About Five Doors of Meditation and Presence
Step away from the busyness of daily life and into a transformative 4-night, 5-day retreat at Tushita Ashram, designed to soothe the nervous system, quiet the mind, and renew your sense of self. This retreat offers a gentle blend of different meditations, journaling, and reflective discourse, guided by a path of observing thoughts without engagement.
What to expect
A gentle, flow-driven experience tailored to participants needs.
A carefully balanced rhythm of different meditations, journaling, reflective discourse, and periods of silence designed to soothe the nervous system and cultivate spacious awareness.
Core guidance led by Arohananda, with supporting practitioners providing timely questions, feedback and personal attention.
Description of Retreat Content
Every retreat will include a variation of topics, each one offering its own unique guided visual meditation to introduce participants to the exploration of each subject. Arohananda will then sit with and guide participants through Reflective Discourse to encourage a deeper inquiry into each Door of Meditation and the relevance it has in each of our daily lives. There will be dedicated times during the day for questions and expressions relative to each meditation.
The upcoming retreat will delve into the following Doors of Meditation:
- Pregnancy:
Both female and male bodies are superbly designed to be pregnant with Life, with Spirit, with Wonder, with Mystery, with Surprise, with Curiosity, with Play, with Delight, with Joy and Sorrow, with Love and Loss. These are all the natural forces of Life that shape our real human life. Sit quietly, feel into the body, listen to the body, let the body breathe itself. - Present Existential Self-Worth:
We are already Complete, already in Self-Worth, already and always Nature’s Gift of Love, as opposed to the worth of a society or the worth others assign to us. Beauty of both body and mind arise in and from our Meditation on our Identity as Nature’s Gift, Nature’s Miracle, rather than a product of society. - Beauty:
When we acknowledge a Reality higher or greater than the individual (but includes the individual) and we conform our way of life to that greater Reality, there is a deeper human beauty that comes through us. When our thoughts and conversations and silence are expressions of our love of that greater Reality, a raw and naked and strong humble beauty adorns our face, our disposition. - Self Responsibility:
Before we had time to think for ourselves, discover our self, feel and know our own life gifts, we were given or taught a script to follow – taught what to respond to and how we should respond, what we must believe in. We are conditioned to respond to outer social ideas and beliefs and “how to be”. We must give ourselves the chance to change the conversation in our mind – the ideas we have of ourselves. Are we responding to the inner call of our heart, our soul, our spirit, our true aspirations, our real potential, or are we responding to what others want of us, what we think is expected of us? - Mature Innocence:
Emotional Maturity (not merely maturity by age) is the necessary maturity required to overcome fear ruling our life. Mature Innocence is the bodies open affection and non-judgmental disposition with the emotional maturity of Self-Responsibility. - Community:
The human body, any creature’s body, is a living example, a living principle for the human community. Every part of the body, no matter how different its function, is in constant communication with all parts of the body – this is how the body survives. No one part can act alone according to its own will. It is governed by the Will of the total body. The true human community only exists and survives if each individual remains in open co-operative Commonality with the body itself.
Journaling for self-inquiry
Thoughtful journaling prompts after each practice session to capture insights, notice patterns, and track shifts in perception over the retreat.
Retreat schedule will be given when you arrive.
About Tushita Ashram and the ethics you’ll encounter:
Tushita Ashram is dedicated to the inquiry into who we are, exploring the nature of mind, heart, and action.
The ethical framework emphasises honest self-inquiry, compassion in daily life, and the courage to see things as they are.
Practices are designed to illuminate authentic living, reduce interior fragmentation, and foster spacious presence.
Arohananda – Your guide at the retreat:
Arohananda will accompany you as the residual spiritual teacher for this gathering, bringing 20+ years of sustained practice under the guidance of a Crazy Wisdom Master.
This lineage informs the retreat’s ethics: steady practice, humility, ethical clarity, and a vow to guide others with compassion and discernment.
Arohananda’s role is to illuminate the path, answer questions, and support your personal integration of the retreat’s teachings into daily life.
The Potential Benefits of sitting with Arohananda and other practitioners
A calmer nervous system and reduced everyday stress
Enhanced mental clarity, emotional balance, and ethical discernment
Practical insight for navigating life with greater ease and integrity
A renewed sense of purpose and spaciousness and humour in daily living .
Retreat Details and Bookings
Retreat start time: 5.00 PM (please arrive between 2-4pm)
Retreat finish Time: 1.00PM (approx)
Location and transport: Location, directions and transport
Price: $50-$65 registration/administration(non-refundable, transfers available) PLUS cash Donation/koha for retreat
Accommodation:$50 registration fee is shared accommodation. $65 registration fee is single accommodation (only 5 of these available).
Meals: Simple vegetarian meals are included.
How to Book: Select the button below for the dates you wish to book for.
Questions: Complete the Contact Form here
