Maa Saraswati
embodying creativity to liberate our human potential
Do you yearn to be in a place where the sacred is embedded in daily life? Are you ready to shed old skins and stories about yourself and reconnect with intention?
With Suzanne Sterling at the helm, come on a powerful journey into the art of ritual and sacred song as a way to tap into states of joy, creativity and connection, to cultivate, expand and heal.
In the land of living rituals and the power of its sacred waters, we shall embody, take refuge, pay homage and tap into the profound energy and symbolism associated to the elemental forces of Water and Fire, to release old patterns to open and unlock your sacred power.
Together we will deep dive into potent ancient and modern ritual practices, as well participate in ancient water rituals with local water Balinese Priestesses in the land of Dewi Danu, the Balinese goddess of the water, lakes, and rivers.
Designed for passionate healers, creatives, and activists who want to share their gifts with the world. The promise is of intuitive clarity, transformation of the mind, creative blossoming, and profound liberation and healing that will continue to percolate and impact all aspects of your life.
Suzanne Sterling
Global Teacher, Musician, Ritualist, Activist and Instigator of collective joy
Suzanne Sterling has been performing and teaching around the globe for over 25 years, creating ritual, training teachers and offering year–long Sacred Leadership training.
She is the founder of The Voice of Change method (VOC), a comprehensive system of releasing blocks to self-expression that weaves together a number of modalities including sound, story, movement, and ritual. The VOC journey holds at its center the understanding that we are all hard-wired for self-expression and can create a new vision for ourselves, and our world through art, creativity, and community. (Anti-oppression frame and is trauma-informed).
Since 2007 she has been training leaders in spiritual activism and social justice through her co-founded organization Off The Mat, Into the World (OTM). As director of OTM’s Seva Challenge, she has spent time in the US, India, Cambodia, Haiti, Ecuador and Africa working in community resilience.
Suzanne has been featured at hundreds of international festivals and conference centers including Yoga Journal, Omega, Esalen, Wanderlust, Kripalu, Symbiosis, Bhaktifest, Boom Festival and many more. She is an award-winning musician, having released 5 solo albums.
Basundari Property
Basundari (The Grace of Mother Earth) is a beautiful (4 Stars) boutique retreat property located in the village of Laplapan, 2km from Ubud’s town centre. Its chosen because its secluded and set amongst the jungle and rice fields and provides the perfect environment for sacred gatherings. The yoga shala is a big large open and wooden place space (65m2) situated among the gigantic bamboo trees near the river, so when it rains you can hear the waterfall cascading. The property accommodates 22 people in total, 11 unique double rooms with unique splendid rooms that each sleep 2 in single beds, each room with their own bathroom. The property also has two lovely pools for refreshing swims. One is an eternity pool with views of coconut palms and rice fields, while the other has a deck overlooking at trees and a 4 m high Buddha statue. There is also an infrared sauna, with hot rocks and an amazing view. The property is surrounded by beautiful jungle where which frogs, butterflies and geckos, dragonflies, ducks, chickens and lizards inhabit , which is – the place is truly magical. We have our own kitchen and cook on hand for all meals and a beautiful shared space to come together. This is a special oasis.
Why Ritual & Song? Acts of ritual motivate and move us into places sometimes hard to access. Sound and song vibrate our being and calibrates our collective past, present and future. Rituals allow for our primal impulses and emotions to have a channel for expression, to assist us to step out of our logical 3D reality and find deeper purpose and connection.
Connecting with the world amd nature in a sacred way through ritual is a powerful way for us to learn to see our place in it, and truly discover that our actions and our words matter. When we live and embody our truth, we can better speak truth to power. When we honour our voice, we remember that our words matter, and from there we can stand for what matters most to us in the world. When we give permission to our innate creativity, we can be both powerfully effective and visionary.
Why Water & Fire? Deep diving into the elements of Water & Fire and their purifying strengths washes away what is no longer necessary, reflecting back to us a new vision. Water and Fire are often paired together in ritual across cultures, as they combine the forces of the feminine (water) and the masculine (fire) ) and they hold significant symbolism and relevance in transformational work due to their inherent qualities of purification.
Water assists with shedding, cleansing and self-purification and it is related to the Svadisthan (sacral chakra), which transforms shame into creativity and self-expression. It is also a carrier of our emotions and unconscious and so when we purify within, we are equally purifying outwardly. It represents the fluidity of change, adaptability, and the power of surrender.
Fire, on the other hand, represents passion, energy, and transformation itself. Fire is yoked with blood and life–force, and activity in motion; across cultures, stories were told around fires. Fire is also highly purifying and protective and helps with driving back our shadow. It embodies the power of creation and destruction, symbolizing the burning away of the old to make way for the new. In serves as a catalyst to encouraging us to face our fears, break through limitations.
What to expect
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We will begin each day (5) with a 3-hour practice incorporating flow yoga asana, ecstatic movement, sacred singing and rituals of connection
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Ample time set aside (don't worry) to reset and rewind
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Delicious and nurturing meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, both local and Euro cuisines) designed especially and cooked on the premises
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Walks in the rice fields, forest and local villages
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Swims in the property’s two lush pools;
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Explore together on excursion/s to local water rituals; (Puru Tirta Empul, an important sacred water temple for more than 1,000 years, contains a warren of shrines, gates, courtyards, and purification pools); and to the holy waters of Dewi Danu
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Visit with traditional Balinese healers
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Evenings we will gather to go deeper into the mysteries of the night, with candle lit restoratives and rituals both ancient and timeless
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And, we will spend one afternoon working with a local non-profit organisation
Tentative schedule
SAT 25
arrive in afternoon | dinner | evening opening circle
SUN 26
morning workshop 3 hours | free afternoon | evening ritual/restorative
MON 27
morning workshop 3 hours | afternoon temple excursion | free evening
TUE 28
morning workshop 3 hours | free afternoon or visit local healer | evening ritual/restorative practice
WED 29
morning workshop 3 hours | free afternoon or visit local healer | evening ritual/restorative practice
THU 30
final class and departure
Choose your room
All rooms are twin share with single beds and a shared bathroom. Selection is first in, first serve basis, however each room is elegant and uniquely special. If you want to share a room with another please include their name in booking form.
Agama Tirta (the religion of water) and Goddess Dewi Danu
The beauty of living rituals and the power of its sacred waters permeate Bali. Basundari in Ubud, hidden in the magical jungle and rice fields and magnificence of nature - this is where we will land together, to embody, take refuge and pay homage to elemental forces of Water and Fire.
Water is a way of life in Bali - the giver of life From the cycles of reincarnation to the cult of fertility, self-purification and cleansing, water holds significant importance in Balinese Hinduism, and reflects the belief in the spiritual and transformative qualities of water.
Balinese religion was often referred to as Agama Tirta (before it’s official title of Hindu Dharma), as water was and continues to be an essential element in the rituals and beliefs of the Balinese.
Dewi Danu is a goddess in Balinese Hinduism associated with water, lakes, and rivers, considered the deity of Lake Batur and Lake Bratan, representing the vital role that water plays in Bali's agricultural and spiritual life. Her worship is the deep connection between the Balinese people, their environment, and the importance of water as a life-giving force.
So, if the night breezes and wild star mysteries are singing to you…
If you want to remember a deeper part of your own sacred journey…
If you are longing to go beneath the surface and unlock your hidden life force…
then join us as we adventure together.
SACRED WATERS
6-day intensive with Suzanne Sterling
25-30 May 2024
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
EARLY BIRD OFFER
ends October 30
$2740
$2540
Includes:
Twin share accommodation with your choice of 11 traditionally designed rooms.
Nourishing food and beverages of 3-meals per day.
Transfers to and from the airport including holy water excursions.
Designed for passionate healers, creatives, and activists who want to share their gifts with the world.
Open to all Women 18+ NO previous vocal or yoga experience is necessary.
Limited spaces (20)
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
This is designed as an intensive immersion into the art of ritual and song and asks you to show up each day to the practices and to respectfully show up within this intimate circle of the collective, and to the rich sacred culture of Bali.
Excludes airfares and insurances.
Please download and read the Terms & Conditions
You will be held in beauty.
Honouring our mutual belonging with the web of life. Self–purifying through the elements of water and fire. Journeying through the power of song and ritual.
Designed to support the radical change we are living through, help transform insights into a lived reality and restore through embodying creativity to liberate our human potential – from the spiritual to the social, come join the collective wellspring!
You who want knowledge, seek the Oneness within.
There you will find the clear mirror already waiting.
– Hadewijch 13th c.