HAPPY CHRISTMAS

God becoming human in Jesus (that we celebrate at Christmas) was the beginning of a process of healing of a ruptured world.

That process has been carried on over the centuries by individuals and organizations committed to extending God's designs for humanity.

Sumedha Centre is glad to be part of that process and contribute in a small way to the healing and transformation of individuals and organizations.

All of us at Sumedha Centre (Jose, Johny and Justin) wish you all a very happy and grace-filled Christmas.

33rd SUMEDHA SADHANA CONCLUDES – VERY SUCCESSFULLY!

The 9-week (September 28-November 29) Sumedha Sadhana – A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey” concluded yesterday, every participant expressing immense satisfaction with the programme.

Eight of the 13 who provided feedback gave a perfect 10 on usefulness of the programme. Four gave a score of 9 and one 8.

The spiritual retreat that concluded the programme was the one that was found most satisfying by most of the participants.

Some comments from the participants.

“The programme has been a beautiful blend of different psychological and spiritual modules, interspersed with somatic elements which has been a healthy diet – for reflection, learning, growth and deepening at various different levels.

I have appreciated the creativity of prayer and the very enriching and meaningful liturgies we have celebrated.

The unique and dynamic retreat has been the crowning glory of the programme after group therapy.

Very well planned – attention to the body, mind, heart and head aspects on this journey.”

“All the topics, modules were well-planned, organized. The progression of the topics led us to move from where we are to our inner depths, especially in knowing oneself, the real self. The movies, liturgy, meditation and exercises were all helpful, leading to in-depth knowledge of oneself and others. The Group therapy and Retreat were the culminating point.”

“I discovered myself at Sumedha. I had come carrying a lot of unnecessary emotional baggage. I was able to unload them. I have undergone a change of heart. I now look at myself and the world differently. I feel a sense of freedom now.”

“It has been a rare privilege being at Sumedha. I came here with heavy burden – anxiety, fear, sadness. Sumedha Sadhana gave me courage and confidence. This was a journey toward reconciliation and peace.”

“Each session touched a different aspect of my life. Time at Sumedha was one of grace, something very special. The retreat was a very powerful experience - Deep and unique experience of God.”

“It was a time to grow in many ways.”

“I strongly feel that what I had come here for, has been largely realized.”

“I would like to congratulate all the facilitators of the different modules. All were experts in their field and each module was well presented. I am very happy about the whole programme.”

 “I felt welcomed here. I felt a family atmosphere. Accommodation and all the facilities were very good. There was a lot of care and concern toward each one of us. I was free to ask anything…. Food was very tasty.”

The next Sumedha Sadhana is from March 13 to May 14, 2017. Registration is open. Please contact sumedhacentre@gmail.com 

Sumedha Retreat

The concluding module of the Sumedha Sadhana is a Spiritual Retreat - Sumedha Dhyana. It began on 21st and will conclude on 27th. It is facilitated by Dr. Jose Parappully, the Director of Sumedha  Centre.

Sumedha Dhyana, a spiritual retreat designed as a desert journey modeled on the experience of Jesus in the desert  (Mark 1, 12-13) provides participants an opportunity to spend time in the metaphorical desert around the Word of God to experience “Wilderness & Paradise,” to encounter their “inner demons” and their “ministering angels”, to renew the love, the enthusiasm and the passion they had at the beginning of their vocational journey (Rev. 2, 4 ), to recognise their helplessness and surrender in faith and trust to a loving God who calls them to deep intimacy with him (Hosea 2, 16-17) which in turn leads to transformation of their self and their ministry in powerful ways (1Kings 19, 1-8).

This Retreat - Sumedha Dhyana - will be offered as a stand-alone event from May 21 to 30, 2017. Registration is open.

HARD WORK AND RELAXATION

The Sumedhans completed the various modules of the Sadhana. The last was a 9-day intensive group therapy experience.

They were divided into two groups. One group was led by Dr. Jose Parappully, the Director of Sumedha Centre and the other by Dr. Johny Dominic Padinjar, the Assistant Director of the Centre.

The day after the group therapy concluded, the Sumedhans went on a picnic to the Lakes. They were accompanied by the resident faculty of the Centre.

The group visited the three lakes in the neighbourhood – Naukuchiatal, Bhimtal and Sattal and also the famous “Bell” Temple dedicated to Golu Dev and the organic Tea Garden at Ghorakhal.

The Sumedhans have further two days to relax before they enter into the 6-day spiritual retreat.

DEEP SOUL-WORK AND FUN OUTING!

The Sumedhans celebrated completion of three weeks of deep soul-work as part of their Psycho-Spiritual Wholeness of Journey with an outing, walking upstream along the rivulet that flows close to the Sumedha Centre campus at Jeolikote.

The birds that abound in this part of the Kumaon Hills provide soothing melodies. The autumn winds blew gently as they trudged along the narrow pathway through the jungle.

Settling down in a lovely rock-strewn dry spot in the rivulet, they made tea tinged with fresh ginger (grown at Sumedha), feasted on fresh home-made momos and sandwiches, had lots of fun climbing trees,  splashing water on one another and playing Housie/Bingo. (“Such a lovely place. Wish we could spend the whole day here!” several remarked.)

The Sumedha Sadhana Programme began on September 28^th with the module “Psychological Dynamics on the Spiritual Journey” facilitated by the Director of the Centre, Dr. Jose Parappully, a clinical psychologist.

Parappully began this foundational module helping participants look at the current realities in their lives in the context of Midlife and Post-Midlife Dynamics such as emotional awareness of mortality, reassessment of life and its priorities, facing de-illusioning, mourning one’s losses and unrealized dreams, understanding reawakened sexuality and intimacy needs and dealing with them in ways that respect one’s celibate commitment and lifestyle.

During second week, Dr. Ajoy Fernandes, clinical psychologist and Director of Prafulta Mental health services at Matunga, Mumbai facilitated the module “Jungian Perspectives on Personality and Spirituality.

Fernandes helped participants discover their personality type (using the MBTI) and its impact on their spirituality. He also helped them recognize their persona and shadow and integrate the shadow into their conscious self.

This process was further enhanced in the third week through the module “Unconscious Dynamics and the Spiritual Journey” facilitated by Dr. Johny Dominic Padinjar, another psychologist and Asst. Director of Sumedha Centre.

Using concepts from Freudian, Jungian, NLP and Transactional Analysis theories Padinjar helped Participants unleash the powers of the unconscious to facilitate healing and wholeness.

The remaining modules of this 9-week programme are: “Word and Stories: Ours, the Universe’s and Jesus’” by Gerard Alvarez; “Core Dynamics” by Jose Mathew Kuttianiimattathil; Group Therapy’ by Johny Dominic Padinjar and Jose Parappully; and a Spiritual Retreat, facilitated by Jose Parappully which will bring the 9-week psychospiritual journey to its conclusion.

For the Sumedha Sadhana programmes in 2017, please see the earlier posts on this blog.

2017 SUMEDHA CENTRE PROGRAMME BROCHURE

RETREAT AT YESU ASHRAM, BHOPAL

Director of Sumedha Centre, Fr. Jose Parappully, facilitated a spiritual retreat for the priests of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bhopal from 9^th to 14^th October, 2016.

The retreat was held at Yesu Ashram, some 20 km from Bhopal on the Bhopal-Kanpur road, in very pastoral surroundings. The Ashram is run by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. The current director is Fr. Paul Pattathu, CMI.

There were 32 participants at the retreat, including Archbishop Leo Cornelio.

The retreat was based on the theme: “Priest: Bearer of the Mystery of God and Doctor of the Soul” Besides the inputs by the facilitator on the theme and the well-animated liturgies, participants were given ample time for personal prayer around the Word of God. 

Everyone, including the Archbishop Cornelio, was very appreciative of the retreat. A common observation was, “This was a retreat with a difference,” The Archbishop commented that he was “personally touched” and was appreciative of the way the priests made this retreat.

One priest commented. “In my 26 years of priesthood, I have made many retreats. This was the most unique of them all.”

Fr. Parappully will be facilitating a second retreat for the priests of the Archdiocese of Bhopal in the first week of December, 2016.

33rd Sumedha Sadhana Commences

The 33rd edition of the 9-week-long Sumedha Sadhana commenced on September 28. It will conclude on November 29.

There are 16 participants, including three from Thailand and one from Mauritius.

Sumedha Sadhana is an inner journey in quest of greater healing and wholeness. Participants begin from where they are, looking at what is happening on their spiritual journey. They then move on to explore the psychological dynamics that affect their spirituality and integrate them in healthier ways to create more satisfying life patterns and make their ministry/professional work more fulfilling and fruitful.

EDUCATING WITH THE HEART!

Director of Sumedha Centre, Dr. Jose Parappully, facilitated a two-day workshop for teachers of Holy Cross Convent School and Junior College at Kalyan, Maharashtra on September 20-21, 2016.

The first day’s workshop was for the teachers of the High School and the Junior College. There were 63 participants.

The second day’s workshop was for the teachers of the primary and the pre-primary schools. There were 32 participants.

The title of the workshop was “Educating with the Heart.”

Parappully, former Vice Principal at Don Bosco School, Calcutta, and a  Clinical Psychologist, used insights from Self-Determination and Self-Psychology theories to emphasize the importance of creating in the school and the classrooms an environment which fosters the fulfilment of basic emotional needs such as for relatedness, competence and recognition and for teachers to be mirroring and idealizable selfobject figures in the lives of students, displaying and modelling character and competence, and capable of healing narcissistic wounding through empathic responsiveness.

Parappully used short films and songs to illustrate the insights from the psychological theories and provided the participants opportunities to reflect on their experiences as teachers and share insights with one another in small and large groups.

Participants of both days reported great satisfaction with the workshop. They found it enriching and inspiring. They were able to introspect on the ways they were relating to their students, recognize their failure to be sensitive to their emotional needs, and inspired to pay greater attention to and respond with greater sensitivity to the needs of the students.

Participants felt that the insights gained through the Workshop will help them not just to teach better but to “educate with the heart” through greater emotional sensitivity and empathic responsiveness.

SUMEDHA OUTREACH PROGRAMME- HELPERS OF MARY

The Director of Sumedha Centre, Jose Parappully, facilitated a four-day Workshop for the Sisters of the Society of the Helpers of Mary at Atmasadhana, the Generalate of the Society at Andheri West, Mumbai from 14-17, September 2016. 

There were 60 sisters participating including current and former Provincial Superiors.

The title of this interactive workshop was “Midlife Dynamics and the spiritual Journey.”

The topics covered during the workshop included Midlife Dynamics, Psychosexual and Celibate Integration, Love and Friendship on the Celibate Journey, Midlife and God’s Second all, and a Spirituality for the Post-Midlife Years.

Participants reported that they found the workshop immensely useful. The workshop provided much useful information, provided answers to their many questions and helped them understand their experiences. It helped them  accept themselves and their experiences and re-orient their priorities for the post-midlife years.

A common opinion expressed by participants was that had this workshop been offered them a few years earlier it would have helped them even more. They could have understood what was happening to them when it was happening and helped avoid confusion and needless anxiety and distress.

At the same having gone through these experiences they were able to better understand what was presented.

The topics that were found more helpful by most participants were Celibacy and Chastity, Celibate Friendships and Spirituality for the Post-Midlife Years.

SUMEDHA OUTREACH PROGRAMME- HELPERS OF MARY

The Director of Sumedha Centre, Jose Parappully, facilitated a four-day Workshop for the Sisters of the Society of the Helpers of Mary at Atmasadhana, the Generalate of the Society at Andheri West, Mumbai from 14-17, September 2016. 

There were 60 sisters participating including current and former Provincial Superiors.

The title of this interactive workshop was “Midlife Dynamics and the spiritual Journey.”

The topics covered during the workshop included Midlife Dynamics, Psychosexual and Celibate Integration, Love and Friendship on the Celibate Journey, Midlife and God’s Second all, and a Spirituality for the Post-Midlife Years.

Participants reported that they found the workshop immensely useful. The workshop provided much useful information, provided answers to their many questions and helped them understand their experiences. It helped them  accept themselves and their experiences and re-orient their priorities for the post-midlife years.

A common opinion expressed by participants was that had this workshop been offered them a few years earlier it would have helped them even more. They could have understood what was happening to them when it was happening and helped avoid confusion and needless anxiety and distress.

At the same having gone through these experiences they were able to better understand what was presented.

The topics that were found more helpful by most participants were Celibacy and Chastity, Celibate Friendships and Spirituality for the Post-Midlife Years.