Experiences and Testimonials
Oneness Awakening Course:
Marieken,
Jane S. from Maine...
I SO enjoyed the weekend too. I sense the Mukthi as a clear path to waking
up. I did have one day of discomfort
again, but it made me pleased that shift is happening. Most notably, I'm FEELING/ experiencing even
more fully (I had to stop feeling as a child to be safe). There are so many, many things to
feel/experience/be :) infinite!
Meanwhile, Marieken, I wanted to thank you again for
everything you have done, for staying on your path and getting to where you are
now so that I and many others can be affected.
I am especially inspired by what you said, "If you would have told
me I would be doing this..."
For
me, it spoke to the way I have held back and stayed "small" out of
fear. I see the way your Oneness
experience has simply brought out who you are in such a gentle, natural way.
A feeling I came away with is simply,
"let." It truly inspired me
and affirmed my sense of confidence and faith in this process.
Marieken, thank you.
The weekend stoked the fire for Deeksha/Oneness that
began four years ago. I'm so happy! thank you
with LOVE,
Jane
Deeksha Giver Retreat:
Hi Marieken,
Every experience with Oneness builds upon the other. Your
retreat was amazing. The venue was magical, the food was plentiful and there
was just the right amount of snow.
It was evident that a lot of time and effort went into
this retreat. Your passion for Oneness and your eagerness to share your
experience is inspiring.
With regard to your request for feedback, I offer the
following:
We need to remember to keep it simple and resist the urge
to over analyze, or to improve upon. You did an extraordinary job in moderating
some of the more intense discussions. I think that we need to be reminded that
we all have unique experiences to bring to the oneness experience and we should
relate these experiences to reinforce Oneness teachings.
Today I had my first sustained experience that words
cannot begin to describe. What I can tell you is why I believe this experience
came to me.
I remember you telling us about the people in the
surrounding villages and their amazing experiences with deeksha. In
today's meditation I was one of the
villagers. I received without conditions, without expectations, and without
judgment. I simply was.
That was it. I took out all the ego, all the education,
all the preconceived notions of enlightenment and simple became one.
Love,
Mark
Oneness Experience Course:
Thanks again and again and again. You know what made you
such a good trainer for our group in particular? Your depth and breadth of
knowledge about many spiritual practices and disciplines. One of the reasons
I've stayed in this area so long despite some social deficits for me , is that
this area is rich with people who've been seeking for a long long time and have
been through many many experiences... people who've
gone in depth. You fielded such a variety of questions which many of us
have pondered and debated around fires and potlucks ... This is the first time
I was with someone who I thought really "gets
it." I think perhaps you felt that. You answered simply and clearly.
I hope you know what a gift you have.
And I acknowledge that part of it is that this Movement is finally a home.
Love,
Jill, NY
Distance Sessions:
You
have been an amazing source of strength and inspiration to me over the years
but particularly through the Oneness Blessing in the last couple of years when
I have had intense personal challenges. I am very grateful for your remarkable
gift at guiding one through difficult and intense moments that life
presents...or that we allow to arise in our lives.
Catherine Carpenko, ON Canada
Thanks very much Marieken - quite an extraordinary experience!
Sherilyn, CO
In Person Session:
Marieken:
Thank you so much for the deeksha and counseling today. It was well
integrated into my psyche. I could feel the transmutation in my
brain. I had a wonderful day today and plan to keep the process alive.
with loving kindness,
R.V., NH
Oneness Bhakti Yoga:
Hi
Marieken!
Also
just wanted to tell you I had a major shift on the course last weekend,
the bhakti was very powerful as well as the process you did on our relationship
with God. Then during the week I listened to Adyshanti Radio and he
gave an amazing talk on the process of awakening. It's like I have
periods of time of everday where I feel that I am recognizing that I
have already woke up, it's like my mind is catching up with what has
already happened. I don't know if that makes any sense at all. I
feel like I am looking out from behind my eyes and I automatically
feel the center of my heart and feel I am the oneness that
exists in everything. Life feels easier, everything is the same but just
doesn't feel as solid or imbedded, there is a fluidity, things move and flow
and change and I just don't feel as attached to all of it because I realize it
is not really me. I am the wholeness. My body is the manifestation
of the wholeness but that isn't really me either.
I
also wanted to express gratitude to you for so consistently
setting up deepening courses and everything else you do that gives us the
opportunity, the structures to come together as a community to grow in our
relationship to the Divine. You are a blessing to the community as are
all the trainers who were there.
Much
love
Namaste,
D
“The weekend was so
amazing and beyond what I could have imagined. At some point I will write down
what I recall of my experience. As far as the actual process goes — I do
remember a TREMENDOUS force of energy coming from the Sri Murthi through my
hands and my arms and entire body shaking as it rumbled through me. It was
strange because I am sure I was conscious but at the same time not conscious
and had no control over anything. When I eventually attempted to move my hands
from the Sri Murthi it was no use. My hands sort of jumped a bit on the Sri
Murthi but would not come off. I remember being carried on the sheet, shaking
in a convulsive way. Anne said she was one of the people who carried me. At
some point, before during or after or all of the above, I felt as if I was out
of the body but cannot put it in to words right now if ever. I was still wrapped
in the sheet and remember that. It was like experiencing nothing but everything
at once and I cannot recall whether my eyes were open or not but I was not
seeing anything.”
“This weekend has been
truly life-changing for me.”
“Life has profoundly changed
since experiencing Oneness Bhakti Yoga. I am experiencing life in a completely
new way. I love people more than I ever imagined possible.”
“I have fallen in love
with myself and I deeply love everyone and everything I see.”
“We
are both in an increasing unstoppable sense of JOY BLISS and just plain
AWESOMENESS.”
“When
I first heard of the intensives offered by a group of Oneness Trainers
and Doug Bentley it immediately struck a chord within me and I knew I
just had to go.
Six of us from upstate NY traveled down to New Jersey together and each one was
profoundly affected by the experiences the new teachings gave us. For
myself it was another conformation of how well these teachings have been
compiled by Bagavan and the Oneness Trainers in India for us here in the West
with our unique needs for Allowing the awaking process to unfold. The new
material we were offered in particular, the 21 aspects of our lives
that we are asked to contemplate once again like all of the other teachings given
before has confirmed for me what a fast track Oneness is for anyone on the path
of becoming One with the Divine. I am soooo glad I gave myself this experience.
Blessings “
And
more from other places:
"In all of my
experiences on my spiritual path, and I have had numerous miraculous ones, this
was the most awesome. Awesome does not really even begin to describe my
experience throughout this deepening event. First and foremost actually being
in the same space with so many like minded people was just the beginning of my
blissful weekend.
I was blessed with so
many miraculous feelings throughout this event.
To begin I was brought
up Catholic and, after my divorce, was left in search of a new direction. I
brought with me my intense love of ritual. I experienced great feelings during
each ritual at this deepening event. When I was watching the fruits placed on
the podicas I could feel the intense reverence which brought me to tears. After
placing the rose petals on the altar it I felt as if my crown blew wide open. During
the ritual of pouring the milk over the podicas, as I was waiting for my turn,
I held the milk over my crown and it felt as if I had poured it into my crown.
I felt it flow and trickle down my entire body from head to toe. And finally,
when I touched the feet on the picture of The Divine, I experienced so many
unexplainable feelings of Bliss! In addition I had experienced the Ananda
Mandala before, but it was so much more intense when experienced with so many
others.
Thank you and all
involved in the organization of this blessed wonderful experience!!!"
"There was a
degree of understanding that this weekend would be "special". Only
when we had been altered (literally) did we only begin to comprehend what had
taken place....Comprehension, by the way, is STILL happening and it comes in
waves of awareness not analyzation.
The Indian rituals are
paramount. We of the west are infants when it comes to actively participating
in expressing/experiencing true spirituality. With out the sharing in the
actual rituals the Preciousness and Overwhelming Joy would never have reached
the necessary crescendo within the personal experience. Experience is the key
because thought cannot,will never be able to,... up it.
Also having the music
live was HUGE. Having the lovely young Indian couple (if they aren't joined
that's OK) there showing us the how-to made everything truly grounded in
authenticity.
The who "I"
thought was me no longer exists thanks to this event....
(that fantasy was on its
way out, but a little was attempting to hold on.....POOF it was gone).
People should be told
straight up, if you aren't willing/ready/able to experience a major change in
your life, this event is not for you.
Thank You Thank You
Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You
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Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank you Thank You Thank You
Thank You Thank You = 108"
"I found the
Oneness Intensive to be the easiest way to have an experience of the Divine or
egolessness in the least amount of time. I asked for increased awakening, and I
got it! At the final deeksha I couldn't feel anything. I gave up, surrendered.
That's when I felt a warm golden light come out of the picture of AmmaBagavan
into my upper torso into the heart region. I began crying with joy. My mind
stopped its chatter and monkey mind. I felt totally at peace and bathed in
love--love and acceptance for myself and the ability to radiate out love to
others. It was bliss."
"Blessings
everyone! I am in a place that is so beautiful.I type the keys on my keyboard
in amazement and joy, wondering what the next words will be. Surprise! Then a
beautiful red line shows up telling me to change the spelling. How wonderful!!
And now I listen and feel the keys. I hear the harmony of breathe melding with
the rhythm of the key stokes. How incredible. The letters showing up on my
computer and it's all and everything and nothing. My body is swaying and it's
all one with the keyboard and the computer and the laughter and the joy. The
ocean of sound of the heater. I am so aware of that and the feeling of the
chair beneath me. Thank you for supporting me. I have so much gratitude for you
holding my weight. Everything is new and I take a drink of my green tea. I'm
drinking it. It tastes so delightful. I'm laughing. I'm here to think I wasn't
is funny to me. Now I am the laugh. I am the chair. I am ....I am..."
"This was my first
Oneness awakening course and I will try my best to describe my experiences,
although words don't quite capture the true essence of the weekend I fell
beautifully in love. I came to the OA course with two intentions. The first
being that I connect and feel a relationship with the divine, not knowing if
that was going to be with AmmaBhagavan but very open to that. The second
intention I had was to come out of this whole experience with a different/new
sense of being prior to coming into the course. Both of these intentions
blossomed into a beautiful and deeply connected reality. You will notice my
extensive use of the word "beautiful" which has taken a whole new
meaning to me and could be the one word that captures my experiences throughout
the Oneness Intensive as well as every moment since then.
The first day in the
awakening course the trainers took us through a process of healing the
relationship with our parents. Knowing that some healing needed to happen,
particularly with my mother, I deeply felt the hurt, anger, sadness, etc. that
had been festering in some layer of my being. The trainer then took us through
a process of rebirth through our divine. At this moment the most beautiful
connection was made with Amma. I felt me as a child and Amma my unconditional
loving and gently caring mother. My heart is so filled with Amma, the divine
love.
We started off the next
day with the ananda mandala. I have experienced this powerful meditation with
my Oneness Blessing group.
Throughout the meditation
I experienced many bursts of what I like to call "God laughs", a
completely uncontrollable release brought on by Divine grace. By the end of
this powerful experience I found myself completely in the present moment and
filled with bliss. I hugged many people whom I have never met but felt one with
each of them and had the most unconditional love for them. Every moment of that
day I felt Amma in my heart. I felt myself surrender my every being to Amma
Bhagavan. Every beautiful ritual performed throughout the day deepened that
bond/connection with Amma Bhagavan. After experiencing the Mukti Deeksha my
bond with Bhagavan was strengthened and become one with the connection I had
made with Amma, which became Amma Bhagavan. I was in a state of complete gratitude
and love for the Divine.
That same state of
gratitude that I felt has stayed with me every moment. I have experienced many
different states of consciousness since the intensive 8 days ago. After sharing
my experiences a few days after the Intensive with my group, my consciousness
shifted to a highly awakened state and lasted throughout the following day and
night. The sense of self that has always been there was no longer there. Every
part of my being was filled with a deep silence and stillness of the Divine,
Amma Bhagavan, everyone and everything. This was my pure Divine essence that
has always been there. My being was now simply gratitude every moment,
gratitude just for being in the moment. Every moment was the most beautiful
moment of my life and there was no need to go to the past or future. Thoughts
came but there was no reaction to them and they quickly would disappear.
The next day I
experienced what the trainers referred to as the art of suffering. Various
events occurred that morning that in the past I would have reacted to or blamed
externally. This was different though.
For the next hour or so
I cried and felt all the feelings that came up for me. Of course these feelings
had nothing to do with what happened that morning but I processed through
whatever I needed to feel. I surrendered to Amma Bhagavan and the suffering I
felt shortly passed as if nothing had happened. I am so grateful for every
moment and state I am in.
Thank you
AmmaBhagavan."
"I am wrting this
in grattitude for the guidence in providing us this awesome experience! Very
uplifting & healing! I felt immersed in love, peace, joy. It was a time of
acceptance, releasing and surrender. All of the rituals brought me experiences
of shifting energy, tears, vibrations & or body shaking I felt like I was
present but not there, an observer of myself. As I contemlpated the 21
conditoins I asked for help with life review especially. I received that help
and have been afforded the gift of forgiving & forgiveness around those
issues that surfaced. I had a brief episode of pain which quickly left and has
left me pain free in an area where I had suffered for years. Time stands still
for me and I can do all I need and still have plenty of time to BE. I also
experienced sensations of something moving and shifting under my skin & in
my muscles. The second day I welcomed and felt love for a person who used to
bother me alot and I tended to avoid. We hugged as if long lost brothers -- as
one. That same feeling of being one, with all present was wonderful. I'm a work
in progress and this weekend certainly deepened that progress. Bless you all
and thank you for coming to Houston."
"What an amazing
journey! I am in love with Indian rituals! I am in love with Amma/Bhagavan! I
am in love with Oneness! For the first time in my life, I have some
understanding of how to form a bond with the Divine. And I want more
opportunities to participate in a group in devotion and prayer until I can
become comfortable enough to create the same experience at home. I have a room
at home that I have dedicated to meditation and prayer but I still feel akward
and uncertain when I am on my own. To watch the Indian trainer lead us through
the rituals couldn't have been more perfect. The look on his face was so
inspiring, so full of love and devotion, I just wanted to soak it in and try to
emulate what I witnessed. I am so very gratefull for him. I experienced a great
deal of love. I felt free to give love and the beautiful thing is that for
once, I didn't need anything in return. My husband and I seperated just before
Christmas and he took the Awakening Course on Jan 7th and then we took the
Deepening together. We have experienced a lot of healing in our relationship
during the course. There is so much that I received that it is hard to choose
which experiences to share. I can write all day and still have more to share.
One of my biggest
insights came after leaving on Saturday night and remembering a specific time
in my life when the Divine was clearly at work. 18 years ago, my husband passed
away from an unsuccesful liver transplant. the summer after he died, I spent a
week white water rafting in Idaho.
When I came back from
my trip, it was hard to get back into work as I felt that part of me was still
in the mountains next to the river.
While at work, I was
reading "Out On a Limb" by Shirley McClain (on my
break) when I
experienced a moment of awakening. Out of the blue, I was surrounded by this
intense energy and many things I had heard and been taught during my life
flashed through my awareness and I understood how they were all interwined. For
a moment, it was as if I had been lifted up and could view reality from an
elevated perspective. In that moment, I had this thought - Oh. I need to go to
Unity. Clear and simple. No story. No question. Just knowing. Also, I knew for
certain that re-incarnation was very real. I did go to Unity and became a
member there. Looking back, I can see how that event and following that
guidance opened the door and set the stage to experience this past weekend.
Eighteen years ago, the way was provided and I had no idea. If my husband had
not died, I would not have gone to Idaho, I would not have had a spiritual
awakening, I would not have gone to Unity,, I would not have been launched on a
spiritual path, and I would not have been a part of history in Houston, TX. For
all of that, I'm so very greatful. I can even see how the seperation with my
husband has all been a part of our journey to be a part of this event and a
part of our healing."
"I was drawn to
attend for months as I was going to Ana Miller's Oneness gatherings on
Tuesdays. I had a couple of opportunities to train as a giver however
financially it didn't seem to work. However when this event came up I felt so
compelled to go and of course it happened as it was my time to know this.
I am so grateful to the
divine and to all of the trainers, Unity and Oneness for this experience and
the processes were life transforming for me.
The relationship guided
imagery healing segment with Skip was so impacting yet done so gently and with
grace. The rituals were so loving and caring and I felt so connected with
everyone there. I had a very abusive childhood and when we called out to Amma
and saw myself as a 4 year old my mind screamed out to the divine "why
weren't you there for me??" at that very same moment as I was saying it I
realized and knew with certainty that the divine was right by my side the
entire journey of growing up because here I am today and able to make this
journey with oneness. That was so powerfully healing for me. I am not an easy
one to surrender due to my upbringing of trauma and need for survival, I
completely surrendered my mind to my divine this weekend. I have been searching
my whole life to be more connected to my source and this took me to a level
that I haven't ever felt in my
51 years of life. Since
the intensive I feel at peace, in bliss, euphoric and so in tune with nature
and my fellow beings. Definitely more selfless overall as well. I want to share
this with everyone as it was an uplifting and magical, spiritual
experience."
"After hearing
Doug Bennett Thursday nite, Friday morning I awoke with vivid memory of a
dream. I was preparing for my wedding and was so happy. Symbollically I knew
this meant for me that I was going to have a huge shift in my life, life would
change as I knew it. The Oneness Intensive did just that. My overall experience
is very difficult to put into words. It was life changing for me. Overall I've
been completely stripped of parts of my personality and traits. I am a
different person. I know this at the core of my being. I'm very emotional about
the transformation. My awareness around people is different. I'm listening with
compassion instead of judgement. I'm patient with myself and others. I'm not
judging myself or others. I'm feeling love for everyone I meet, whether I know
them or not.
While standing in line
for my Blessing from Sri and Amma Bhagavan, my body was visibly vibrating and
knew I was already receiving the Divine Blessing. As my hands were on their
feet, near the very end, I felt Sri Bhagavan's heart under my hand. I didn't
feel a pulse, but felt something firm, warm and wet under my hand. I knew I was
allowed to feel his heart. Electrical like energy pulsed thru my body down to
my toes. I wanted to stay there forever as the feeling of love was
overwhelming."
There are so many
more.....but don't want to overload you all at once...
