- By OmShanti Pelkonen

A primary Sankalpa for 'Niwas this year is "Be the Solace."  Every action, every breath has been dedicated to this Divine aspiration of SOLACE.  These past months have provided such an opportunity for us all to cultivate restraint and simplicity.  The Living Local retreat has always gifted those at the Ashram experience of freedom that can arise from restraint and this year, this feeling of freedom, for me, felt particularly elevated... I felt the solace.  The solace that was birthed from being with others all dedicated and focused on the Sankalpa of a Paramhansa, and committed to building community and soaking up the teachings of Truth. 

Living Local is a retreat where we dive into the beauty of Karma Yoga and practice the Sadhana of only eating foods from within a 150km radius.  The majority of foods come from Annapoorna Garden herself, here at the Ashram.  This practice and experience of restraint through Sadhana all us to experience that restraint is not a constrictive word; restraint is merely a set of conditions to keep things within limits.  Without self-discipline, there is no opportunity for spiritual development.  Ashram provides opportunity to cultivate self-discipline.  As Swami Sivananda has said: "Discipline harmonizes the opposing elements of the soul."  To harmonize the opposing elements, we learn to balance the impulses - this is Yoga.

My duty throughout the retreat was kitchen lead.  It is always so beautiful to experience the meals "making themselves."  Karma Yogis would come and go in the kitchen, the children would step into action without complaint, and plants would communicate how they wanted to be of service!  The smiles in the photos speak for themselves.  We worked hard, we laughed hard, and ultimately I saw everyone leave the Ashram with full hearts, elevated Prana, and a higher sense of purpose. 

With gratitude for the abundance of Ashram life, community, and the teachings!  

- By Sannyasi Shivani

Sankalpa means to set a resolve, or statement of manifestation that you implore your whole being consciously, subconsciously and unconsciously into aligning with to make that resolve become a reality.  
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Yet, to set a resolve, we first need to inquire, dream and set intentions before they become resolutions.  For the vow of a resolution is not a small thing for a human, regardless of the state of waking up that they embody.  It is said that a Sankalpa is the one thing that cannot fail you. When the seed of resolution is planted into the depths of the unconscious, you have no choice but to unconsciously manifest its reality.   This might be a good time to point out that a Sankalpa and a New Years resolution are two very different things and need to be interacted with as such.  A New Years resolution is an intention stated to or for the outside world, for an external action to create an internal shift.  In contrast, at least in my experience, a Sankalpa is an internal seed that is born of the soul that blooms internally resulting in natural changes or evolutions in our external world.  They are born of qualities such as, “I am healthy,” rather than quantities such as, “I will go to the gym four times a week until I have lost x amount of pounds."