The Shambhala Mountain Center

The last stop in Colorado was to visit the quiet and scenic Shambala Retreat Center, some 9,000 feet high into the Rocky Mountains. This 600-acre facility is home to pine and aspen forests, providing a safe and supportive container for the teaching of paths of personal health, deepened awareness and transformation. There are approximately 50 people on staff living on site and keeping up with daily chores such as cooking, ground maintenance, construction and cleaning.

The center has over 150 programs per year and welcomes all people with inspiration, interest and curiosity about understanding the nature of self and society.
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Satguru's talk

Appreciation Dinner

Cache la Poudre river

We open with the 25ft tall Buddha in a building that is called The Great Stupa. To get here one must walk in the brisk mountain air for one mile, through switchbacks, old creek beds, pine and aspen groves--until finally it appears.

The core values are illustrated just outside of the parking lot. Colored flags light our way to the Great Stupa.

Yogi is suited for the cold mountain walk and begins to read the information kiosk

Swami joins. Please see the core values

Bobby Page of Page Inc. Rajkumar Manickam and the two monks all begin to tromp the path with an empty mind. The meditation in the Great Stupa really begins here, at the beginning of the path.

Swami stops to appreciate some beautifully laminated wood posts in this bridge. All along the path are wood furniture that someone made by hand. The dry cold weather seems to preserve everything as if it was just made.

A sign along the way letting us know that the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya is up ahead

Swami points out that this tree colony is one of the largest species on Earth. The aspen grove starts with one tree and grows a whole field of itself, perfect clones.

Small unmarked buildings studded the path

Archery is a meditative practice for Shambhala retreaters

One of the many facilities on the grounds. Our minds are one-pointed and too focused to stop in, we are headed straight for the Buddha.

Imagine there are no sounds around you, a slight chill of wind in the air and a clear sky: that is Shambhala\

s atmosphere'

A small residence along the way

We come upon an offering stable where travelers can release the last of their attachements before attaining Buddhahood

The Great Stupa is in sight

We meet our host Joshua, head manager of the Stupa...and the man who built it with his own hands thirty years ago

Joshua Mulder is not an ordained monk but he is very monk-like. He humbly answered all of our questions and made offering any donations very difficult!

We go inside this quiet space and are marveled by its peace. As we close the doors it becomes obvious that we are in some sort of meditation chamber and simply cannot bring ourselves to stand for much longer. Sitting down and going inside ourselves happened naturally, no one expected anything else.

\"The seventh meditation is inner sound, which Gurudeva calls the nada-nadi shakti. Nada-nadi shakti. It\

s the high \"eee,\" the inner sound. More subtle than the light that lights your thoughts. So we\'re getting more and more subtle here.\" Bodhinatha\'s Mahasivaratri talk '

The center is building a collection of prayers that they aren\

t quite sure what to do with. Swami offers the burning technique as a way for the prayers to be released. '

Back outside and still buzzing from the meditation, we walk the one mile path back to the main buildings for lunch

Bliss!

On our way through the backroads we come across the Cache la Poudre river

Rajkumar (far right) gets the praise for his photography and video work during our Colorado portion of the trip. Thank you! Rajkumar filmed and created the Appreciation Dinner movie

Bobby Page selflessly coordinated the Shambhala visit and guided us safely around the curvy mountain roads which he is so familiar with. Wild Turkeys, amazing rock structures, geographical marvels and Colorado history were all part of the stunning drive up and down the mountain.

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