FIRST SUMEDHA SADHANA OF 2023

 The First Sumedha Sadhana – A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey programme at Sumedha Centre, Jharmari, began on February 12^th. 

There are 17 participants from different parts of India and one from Indonesia. There are 8 women from seven different religious congregations (1 each from Apostolic Carmel, Holy Family, Presentation, Notre Dame, Ursuline, Ursuline Franciscan, and 2 Holy Cross of Chavonod), and 9 men from three different congregations (4 Jesuits, 3 Salesians of Don Bosco, and 3 Missionaries of St Francis Sales)

Sumedha Sadhana is a programme of inner journeying together with fellow seekers in quest of greater healing and wholeness, so that one can live one’s life in more fulfilling and satisfying ways and be more effective in one’s service to others. A variety of approaches and techniques are used to reach these objectives.

A major portion of the programme is devoted to the exploration of the psychological dynamics affecting our spiritual journey.

The programme began with a module on Self-Awareness in which participants were helped to look at all that was going on their lives at this current period of their life and discern what m might be telling them through all this.

The next module was on Cultivating Prayerfulness, in which participants were exposed to various forms of contemplative prayer and had opportunity to practice them. Both modules were facilitated by Jose Parappully PhD, the Director of the Sumedha Centre.

In Somatic Meditation, Jose Parappully used a combination of Qigong, Yoga, Music, Dance and the Word of God to help participants to loosen up all the knotted energies in their psychosomatic system and experience rejuvenation of psyche and soul.

The next module was “Unconscious Dynamics and the Spiritual Journey” in which Johny Dominic PhD helped participants explore the dynamics behind the helplessness that they often experience in not being able to do what they want and doing what they do not want.  Using concepts from Freudian, Jungian, NLP and Transactional Analysis theories he helped participants unleash the powers of the unconscious to facilitate healing and wholeness.

The next module was “Midlife Dynamics and the Spiritual Journey”. In this module Jose Parappully used insights from various psychological theories, tools and techniques from Expressive Arts and Journaling, as well as movies and music to help participants explore and integrate dynamics of midlife and engage in required transformational processes to enhance their wellbeing as they move into  the second half of their lives.

In Yoga & Cosmic Spirituality, Alba Rodrigues MA, BEd used ancient wisdom traditions and evolving spiritual insights and practices to offer participants tools, ancient and new (including Yoga and Dance and cosmic rituals), to awaken the deep wisdom lying dormant within the participants and reconnect with the capacities of their body, mind and spirit and experientially deepen and expand their spirituality in alignment with the evolving cosmos

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The remaining modules are: "Breath, Spirit and Wellbeing" by KC Thomas Kurianthanam, Sexuality, Celibacy and Intimacy by Jose Parappully, “Challenges of Consecrated Life Today” by Philip Pinto, Group Therapy by Johny Dominic, Jose Parappully and Maria Goretti Kanakaratinam, and Spiritual Retreat by Jose Parappully.

The programme concludes on May, 02.

The next Sumedha Sadhana begins on July1. Registrations are open. Contact: sumedhacentre@gmail.com

SUMEDHA CENTRE MARKS 10TH ANNIVRSARY WITH SOMATICS & AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT WORKSHOP

Sumedha Centre marked its 10^th Anniversary with another workshop. This time the workshop was led by internationally reputed somatic therapist Don Hanlon Johnson and Jungian Analyst Barbara Holifield.

Johnson is professor of Somatics at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and the founder of the first graduate degree program in Somatic Psychology. He is the author of several books, collections, and articles whose focus is on the role of direct bodily experience in organizing our personal and communal worlds.

Holifield is a Jungian analyst practicing in the San Francisco Bay area. She weaves somatic and relational perspectives into her analytic practice, and works extensively with the psychophysiology of trauma. An adjunct faculty member at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she teaches Authentic Movement in the United States and abroad.

The workshop titled “Body Practices, Authentic Movement, and Personal and Professional Well-Being” was held at Bosco Psychological Services, New Delhi, on March 31 and April 1.

There were 16 participants, 13 professional women and three Salesian priest psychologists. All were involved in the healing ministry either as psychologists, counsellors or therapists.  They represented a number of different theoretical and practice approaches to healing and transformation.

At this workshop Johnson focused on touch and breath and Holifield on Authentic Movement.

Authentic Movement, a combination of Jungian Active Imagination and body movement and awareness is a profoundly simple process in which one, in the presence of a witness, closes one’s eyes, and turning his or her attention inward, listens for prompting from the psyche as well as impulses for movement or stillness.

The workshop was a very “moving” (in many different ways) experience for the participants. It helped them to get in touch with parts of themselves and possibilities they were not aware of; brought a greater awareness of both body and psych. It also helped them to be aware of new dimensions that they can introduce into their existing practice.

As one participant wrote: “The workshop was a beautiful experience.”

Within the short a-day-and-half workshop participants could only get a taste of the possibilities that touch, breath and authentic movement offered for personal and professional well-being, and they thirsted for more, wanting Johnson and Holifield to return and do a longer workshop.